Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area.

Karen Alsop of Story Art, has made the move from full time wedding photographer to fine art photographer and composite photography expert. Donating time and talent to projects she believes in has resulted in both financial and personal rewards. In this interview, Karen shares how to make a difference with your photography.

No matter where your passions lie, who you'd like to help, what movement or charity you'd like to bring attention to, there are ways you can use your photography to achieve those goals. This is exactly what Karen does with her photography and she shares how you can do the same in this interview. Not only do we focus on the feel good aspect of doing good things with your skills, Karen goes deep into the financial costs and rewards for this style of photographic pursuit.

Here’s some of what we cover:

  • Winning 1st Place in the Wedding Contemporary Category at WPPI
  • How Karen envisioned her concept for her prize-winning boxing photo
  • What can result from including famous people in your photography
  • Award eligibility for adding photography
  • How Tahliyah's family found Karen and her photography work
  • How you can make a difference as a photographer
  • The challenges Karen dealt with to create her composite for Tahliyah's photo
  • Why Karen chose to collaborate with a foundation instead of accepting payment
  • Setting up a photography project to go viral
  • Having a successful photography business has freed Karen to do charity projects
  • Working for free with no guarantee you will get exposure for your photography
  • How to chose the right foundation for your charity projects
  • How to approach foundations and propose the collaboration
  • How Karen is generating income from her workshops and charity projects
  • Benefits of partnering with a foundation
  • Karen's goal in building exposure for her brand
  • Why is it important for Karen to make a difference as a photographer?
  • How to maximize the exposure or business benefits of charity projects
  • How to help bring awareness to your charity photography projects
  • How to start your own photography project
  • Risks you need to consider when joining photography competitions
  • You don't need an award-winning photo to gain exposure and go viral
  • How to increase your social media reach with your photography project work
  • Karen's strategy when launching new images on Facebook
  • What's the best way to launch a new photography project for maximum reach?
  • What equipment Karen uses to record behind-the-scenes of her projects
  • Networking and partnering tactics to add power to a photography project
  • How and who to approach when searching for collaborators for your photography
  • What to promise your collaborators when working on projects or workshops
  • Why event venues would consider giving a discount for your workshops
  • Saying ‘no' to clients

Karen Alsop Photography Podcast

What’s on Offer for Premium Members

If you’re a premium member, you should have received an email with links to your version of this episode where you can hear lots more content from where we dive deeper into some of the earlier topics plus some new ones that I pushed hard for that include:

  • Why Karen won't hire a first or second shooter for her wedding photography business
  • Karen's premium wedding pricing and packages
  • Offering additional complimentary services for half the price due to marketing
  • Who are Karen's clients today and where is the income coming from?
  • Shifting clientele from domestic clients to other photographers as clients
  • Is pursuing a career in fine art photograpy a possibility in todays market?
  • What type of photographers are Karen's fine art clients?
  • How should photographers charge other photographers for their work?
  • What part of Karen's business has generated the most income?
  • What kind of work should photographers be putting out there for exposure?
  • What Karen would do if she had to go back and do portrait or wedding photography
  • How to gain maximum mileage from your photography work
  • Karen's marketing strategy to draw people in to her photography work
  • Would Karen capitalize on famous personalities showing up at her wedding?
  • Will having sponsorships get you more exposure for your business?
  • What networking means for Karen
  • How to benefit from becoming an Ambassador for a particular brand
  • The difference between a sponsorship and an ambassadorship
  • Ideas relevant to photographers changing direction in their photography
  • Is it adviseable to show clients sample images of your work when shooting composites?
  • Why Karen won't provide hi-res photos of her composite images to clients

If you’re on the fence about becoming a premium member, join with the $1 trial today and get access to the FULL interview with Karen Alsop, get access to an amazing back catalogue of interviews and ALL future interviews delivered automatically to your phone or tablet.

Even if you get shared on a really big blog, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to get tons of traffic – Karen Alsop

Plus, access to a members only Facebook group where you'll connect with other members and interview guests to help, support and motivate you to take what you hear in each episode and put it into action. You will not find cooler, more motivated and caring photographers online.

5 Year old Tahliyah is unable to walk, unable to speak, but despite this her smile and joy radiate beyond her…

Posted by Story Art by Karen Alsop on Monday, March 7, 2016

 

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know what your biggest takeaway is – what is the one thing that you’d like to implement or learnt from what was shared? Let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below.

People want to know who you are not just that you take amazing photos – Karen Alsop

If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Karen or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them below.

Karen Alsop Photography Podcast

iTunes Reviews and Shout-outs

Each week I check for any new iTunes reviews and it's always a buzz to receive these… for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, it's confirmation that I'm on the right track with the interviews and that they really are helping you improve your photography business. That's awesome!

Secondly, iTunes is the biggest search engine when it comes to podcasts and it's your reviews and ratings that help other photographers find PhotoBizX. More listeners means more interviews and ultimately a better show.

If you have left a review in the past, thank you!

If you haven't and you'd like to, head to https://photobizx.com/itunes and you can leave some honest feedback and a rating which will help both me and the show and I'll be sure to thank you on the show and add a link to your website or blog if you let me know the URL and your name.

Karen Alsop Photography Podcast

New makeover for the PhotoBizX website

This week sees the launch a newly made over PhotoBizX website following a “plant the seed” email for Alex Vita of Foreground Web.

After messing around and attempting to make some modifications myself without any real success, a perfectly timed email arrived from Alex with some ideas on how he felt the site could be improved.

I was all ears and following a simple, painless process over 10 days, the site looks brand new and modernised with some obvious and subtle tweaks to the look and functionality.

Being the first time I've been through a process like this, I can highly recommend it to any listener looking to overhaul their own site. With almost no interruption throughout the changes being implemented, it was 100% painless and something I'd do again.

The best aspect was having someone of Alex's skill put his ideas for improvement to me while questioning earlier decisions I'd made in regard to naming, styling and navigation. His approach helped me assess the site from a users perspective which differed to my perception of the site as someone who spends time there everyday. Familiarity with the site had led me to overlook a number of flaws Alex was able to point out and rectify.

Karen Alsop Photography Podcast

Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:

Karen Alsop Website

Karen Alsop on Facebook

Karen Alsop on Instagram

Blog Post about WPPI Win

Tahliyah's Story – Free to Fly

Emma & Jeremy Sebastian's Wedding

The Groom's Story (Video)

Pushing the Limits of Wedding Photography: The Groom's Story (Blog)

Guy Sebastian

Sebastian Foundation

Heartfelt – volunteer organisation of professional photographers in Australia and New Zealand

St. Vincent de Paul Society

Herald Sun: Artwork gives Tahliya Griffin wings, goes viral on Facebook

The Candid Frame Podcast

10 Photographers You Should Follow on Instagram Right Now

Episode 129: Karen Alsop – How To Build A Successful Fine Art Photography Business

Episode 050: Ibarionex Perello – Photography Business Success Without Shooting

Episode 012: Jerry Ghionis – Cooking Up Wedding Photography Success, Don’t Get Caught in the Fire

WPPI

AIPP

Nathaniel Willemse

Rode App

Final Cut Pro

Premiere Pro

Adobe Slate

iMovie

Periscope

Kayell Australia

Eizo

Canson Australia

Wacom Australia

DIY Photography

How To Get Testimonials That Help You Make More Sales

Foreground Web – Home of photography website developer Alex Vita

Impact Images Wedding Collections

10 Tips for a Kick Ass Wedding – Hi Res version

10 Tips for a Kick Ass Wedding – Lo Res version

Equipment

Rode Smartlav Lavalier Microphone for iPhone and Smartphones

Epson Stylus Pro 3880 Color Inkjet Printer (CA61201-VM)

Karen Alsop Photography Podcast

Thank you!

Thank you again for listening to the show and thanks to Karen for coming on and sharing so much about your business.

I wanted to do this for the family and it wasn't to get an income from it but it was to make a difference – Karen Alsop

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions about this episode, please be sure to leave them below in the comment section of this post, and if you liked the episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post!

That’s it for me this week, hope everything is going well for you in life and business!

Thanks and speak soon

Andrew