My name is Kara Clark, I am 34 years old and I live in Los
Angeles, CA. I am the owner and full time photographer of Kara Elizabeth
Photography. In addition to being a
photographer, I am a mom of 4 lovely children,
Ethan, Allison, Kaylee and Emily, with whom I am beyond blessed, and my
wonderful, supportive, handsome husband, Tristan.
Of course photography is a big part of my life but I also
have many other interests. I love being outdoors, camping at the beach, hiking and running. I also love traveling, spending time with my
family, and getting to appreciate the little things in life. I am a coffee
addict, I will admit, I need it to get
through my day, and I am OK with that! I
love to laugh, and I love to make memories through experiences. I am a firm
believer that the glass is always half full,
and life is what we make it. I also believe that working hard, will get
you many places in life, and seizing every opportunity that you have is the
secret to success.
I always had an interest in photography, I loved looking at
images and art. I did not pick up my first camera until I was in my freshman
year of college, in 1997. I was an Art
Major at Calvin College, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I was very interested in
photography so I decided that I would pursue Graphic design, with a photography
minor. I completely owe my introduction
to photography and film to my Photography professor, Jennifer Steensma-Hoag.
She introduced me to film photography,
the style, the skill and basics which I have based my photography career
off of today. I was taught under her
instruction in the dark room where I lived to work and spend so many hours,
learning, helping, and teaching other students as well! But even though I loved
Photography, and graduated with my major in Photography, there was still a
journey that had to be taken to be where I am today.
When I graduated college, I loved photography and did some shoots
on the side with other jobs. It was
always a hobby, a passion but not a career. The turning point for me, came from
a place of desperation. Honestly. I was going through a very difficult divorce,
I was at a very low point in my life. I was working day in and day out.. not
seeing my kids very often and this was weighing down on my heart and I could
see the absence of me as a mother in my children's life. I was doing everything
possible to support my kids in such a hard time, but they were missing the most
important thing, ME. We were missing important moments. We were missing out on
the little things together. At the time
I was working as a teacher, one of my other passions, and I was raising other
people's kids at my day job while mine were lonely for their mom. I had a
breaking point. A moment where I realized I had to make a change, doing
something I loved, while still being available to my children, as their mom. I
took a huge risk, and decided I was going to quit my job and do photography
full time. It was a crazy risk. I could not have done it if my mom and dad did
not help me and give me an avenue to pursue this career.
From that moment, I have grown a business
while seeing every moment of my children's lives.. which are so quickly passing
by. It has not been easy. Money has been tight, I have had many late nights,
lots of planning, hard work and building a business. But I have NOT looked back
since. I have based my career, on honesty, hard work, and always being willing
to learn, take criticism and blood sweat and tears. I am beyond fortunate to be
doing something I love, and to have others support me in this journey and
believe in what I do and to see my work as Art, and a form of expression.
In photography, I love doing portraits. I love finding that
inner beauty. That spark, that lovely moment where my subject feels
lovely, is able to let go and is able to express and show the true reality
of who they are.
I love photographing children, they are innocent, and often
times the most uninhibited behind a
camera. There is something about their raw beauty and the way they see the
world. So fresh, honest sweet and
innocent. In a world where we are
exposed to see and hear so much hurt, and sadness.. the way a child sees
things, it is like being able to relive the world in a new and fresh way..
untouched and pure. Some of the children in my images, are family, my niece is definitely
a muse for me, since she was born she is use to Auntie with the camera. Her expressions,
and joy for life are just wonderful to capture! She captivates me. There is something very memorable about
capturing your own family as well. Often, I find myself falling in love with
the images of my family and kids, and children, because there are so many raw
emotions connected to the individuals, or memories of the moment which come
rushing back with an image. It is like
hearing a song, an image takes you back to the moment itself, I love that about
photography.
I like both color, Black and White and Sepia colored
images. I really feel that each image
has its own personality. Whether it be soft and gentle with color, or striking
and emotional with black and white or sepia. It really depends on each image as
to how I edit them, that I feel is part of the artistic style as well.
As far as gear, I shoot with a Nikon D7000, I mostly use my
24-70mm 2.8 lens or the 50mm 1.8 lens.
My dream camera is the Nikon D600 which I am hoping will be in my gear
bag soon!
My deepest passion in life is photography. I only hope that
my business will continue to grow and flourish. I would love to be doing more
dance and creative photography, possible traveling while doing photography for
certain venues. I love creative and artistic photography and I would love to be
a part of collaborations with other photographers. I feel that I learn so much
from others, while working together and learning from each other. I also want
to continue my mentoring for beginning photographers, possibly work with high
school students, or college students by providing internships and teaching
them, from a mentoring perspective!
If I could choose one word that I would like others to feel when they see my photography work, it would be creative. I would hope
others would see life and creativity in my subjects, how they are captured, and
that my work would continue to change in this way, to show life and my love for
the art of photography.
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