We recently connected with Alexandria Kasparian and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexandria, thanks for joining us today. We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today.

If I was starting over, there are so many thing I’d do differently. Being a creative in 2013 is so different then 2024, I’d would first tell myself to not to worry about having the best camera, equipment and programs and to master the talent first with what you have. It will pay off in the long run. Start a portfolio and find a mentor as soon as possible. Someone who will challenge and push you to be better for yourself. One way to grow faster, is not being afraid and reaching out to more people in the industry, just by networking you can make some friends and connections for life at the end of the day. One more way to grow is to stay learning and adapt. Tech is changing so fast and in a creative position you’ll need to be one step ahead, so research and trial and error are a part of the job, and it’s okay to know it will be frustrating and tiresome some days but the reward is greater at the end. That’s to say, please schedule time to rest, recharge to keep your creativity flowing.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Alexandria (Alex) Kasparian. I’m a creative director and photographer. I’ve been in design for years and have worked for and with companies such as Google, Twitter, Pinterest, Netflix, Amazon, Universal, Sony to name a few.

I’m super proud to say that I’m a EMMY Nominee, and 3x Clio, 1x Webby, and 1x OMMA award winner from my collaboration of work.

I’ve created a studio surrounding my photography and creative direction called Akstudios Creative Productions. Where I off photography, videography and creative direction for ecomm-campaigns, actors press images, editorial magazine print, music videos, and album covers. I also offer and have a stylist and makeup artist as part of the the team when needed.

We have the ability to help create concepts for client campaigns and scout models/actors as well.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Yes, two that stand out are finding a mentor and networking. Mentorship is very important, this is the part of journey that gave me the courage to put my art out there to the world and taught me a lot of knowledge in this industry. You truly are learning from someone else’s mistakes and in my case, I found a community of women photographers from all over the world that help and support each other’s journeys. There’s no gatekeeping here.

Networking is where/how you find your leads and some great friendships. It’s crucial to network with creatives in your industry, I really struggle with this due to being an introvert and tend to keep to myself and stay in my bubble. I’m a awkward person and I sometimes don’t know what to say to start a conversation. Networking more helped me improve my communication skills and it bleeds over and all aspects of my work.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

PITCH PITCH PITCH!! Says it all! 90% of clients come from this.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.akstudios.productions
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akstudios.creative/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therealalexkasparian
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akasparian/

Image Credits

Jason Griffin, Vincent Weathersby, Emily Lara, Monique Mazer, Aniya Mandy, Anie Shaboyan Christina Schmidtt, Philip Ponesky, Amanda Pacheco, Lindsey Dasylveira, Tolú Ekundare, Jock McKissic, Stephen Barrington, Holiday Kriegel