Meet Kara Warren | Photographer & Owner of Kara Warren Photography

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kara Warren and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kara, what do you attribute your success to?
Running your own business is not an easy feat. And not just running a business, but doing so in a manner that develops a successful, unique brand is even more difficult. So what is the secret to success? To think we have ever arrived at end of this question is naive, but there is one attribute I have found paramount to cultivate success– integrity: to be true to yourself, your values, and your word. In the words of the American Poet, E.E. Cummings, “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.”

The success of my photography business pivoted dramatically when I discovered for myself what Cummings was getting at: there is the difference between being liked and being loved. Being liked requires you to maintain an appearance that conforms to the expectations, habits, and patterns of an audience; it requires you to mold the content you create into what is deemed worthy of approbation by society and hide the parts of yourself that some may not like. In essence, you live in the shadow of everything you were created to be, only showing the parts of a vision that every other person also puts on display for approval. Therefore, it is no wonder it would be difficult to experience success as a brand when living for the approval of man because the meaning of a brand is defined as, “a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.” The purpose of a brand isn’t to be like everyone else. It isn’t to be liked by all. On the contrary, the purpose of a brand is to be loved, to be celebrated by those who cherish who you are and what you stand for. Being loved requires you to be fully known, every single part of yourself– the unique parts that set you apart from every other person and every other brand, and with that, others may greet you with disapproval. But, seeking to establish your brand with the intent of being loved rather than liked frees you from the burden of maintaining a perfect appearance and allows you to simply display authenticity. There is no striving. And where there is no striving, there is freedom to thrive from within and to step into the calling that has been placed on your life in the fullness of everything you have been created to be.

I have sought to build a brand that will always hold fast and stay true to my vision, as opposed to conforming to the ways notoriety was been gained by some other of the biggest names in my market, because at the end of the day, I know that once I fall prey to serving the approval of man, the delight and joy that comes with pursing my calling will disappear. So here I am, by no means having arrived at the end of my road, running fast the race that has been set before me in hopes that I have been made worthy of the call.

What should our readers know about your business?
My photography business exists to capture raw beauty in the fullness of its glory, for after all, we are created in the image of God and all of creation proclaims His glory.

In my eyes, an image is not about the image itself— it is about what is in front of the lense that is being captured: the raw beauty that already exists, the story behind the event, the intimacy of the moment, and the building of a joyful memory. What makes my brand unique is my passion for my subject: people, not just photography itself. My desire is to be able to speak truth and life into my clients as I build relationships with them though my work; I want to remind them that they are beautifully, wonderfully, and uniquely made so that they step into all that they have been created to be with confidence in front of the camera; I want to hear the stories that lead to the crossing of our paths; I want to be able to capture some of the largest and smallest moments of our finite lives that can be cherished for all the years to come and can serve as a pillar of stones in remembrance of the work by the hand of the Lord.

Choosing this path was definitely not for the purpose of comfort and ease- and I knew that. If anything, I knew I was picking the narrow, less-traveled path that would be full of hurdles to overcome and things to learn. An undergraduate degree in Biochemistry never prepares you to jump into a career in Photography, and it definitely comes no where close to preparing you to create and run your business. Perhaps the largest roadblock I have come to so far is the task of building a client base in an entirely new state and part of the country. As a photographer, your livelihood is built on the clients you can book, and when you do not know anyone, it becomes a pretty impossible feat to accomplish. But I knew that if I was being faithful to walk where I had been called, I was going to be equipped in each step with exactly what I needed— and let me be the first to testify of this truth. I began to message local photographers and natives of the city, offering my services in any and every way possible. I started building my knowledge of marketing and advertising. I sought to build a brand that existed to glorify the Lord and stay true to my vision, as opposed to conforming to the ways notoriety was being gained by other popular names. So here I am, by no means having arrived at the end of my road, but I am running fast the race that has been set before me in hopes that I have been made worthy of the call.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was in the city for a weekend trip, it would be quite the adventure! I personally love a good mix of walking off the beaten path and hitting up the go to spots for locals. We would start Saturday morning off the only way you possibly can– grabbing coffee at Fox Trot and hitting up the local Farmer’s Market before heading to brunch at The Henry!! Then I would take my friends for a little exploring and hiking at the Big Cedar Wilderness Trail to see some beautiful creation! We would end the night by going to explore one of my favorite areas- the Bishop Arts District, grabbing dinner at Paradiso or Eno’s Pizza Tavern, and capping the night with ice cream from MELT Ice Cream!! A great day indeed it would be!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My career as a photographer can almost entirely be attributed to two books: “Don’t Waste Your Life” by John Piper and “Garden City” by John Mark Comer. Believe it or not, I was actually a Biochemistry major, Biology minor, Pre-Physician Assistant student at Baylor University. When COVID-19 hit this past year, I was heading into my last year at Baylor and was completing my applications and interviews for Physician Assistant school. With the pandemic, I had more time on my hands, and decided to start reading these two books that had been sitting on my shelf for a while. As I started these books, I began to consider if the path I was headed on was one where I was living in the fullness of everything that I had been created to be and if it was one that allowed me to live a purposeful life. The conclusion I came to was my career in the medical field was serving as a means to an end: I was going to work so that once I was off of work I could have the capability to pursue things I was passionate about. In essence, there was no delight in the work of my hands, which would make completing my purpose here on this earth much harder. I was living a life wasted as a diminished version of myself.

Once I came to this realization, I sought out to understand what it looked like to delight here on this earth. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined doing photography as a career, but as I began to delight, my desires were refined, and this burden, passion, and gift for photography began to emerge. More than anything, my passion is for loving people, and while there are many capacities which this can be fulfilled, I had to learn to delight so that I could understand the way I was being called to love and serve people, and right now— that is by listening to peoples’ stories, encouraging others, and speaking truth and life into those I encounter while capturing raw beauty in the fullness of its glory. Little did I know my journey in life had been preparing me for this calling, but these two books were the means used to get me here, and I would not change a single thing.

Website: https://karawarrenphotography.mypixieset.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kara_warren_photography/