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Sed ut perspiciatis unde.
SubscribeWe were lucky to catch up with Karen Ollis recently and have shared our conversation below.
Karen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Often the greatest growth and the biggest wins come right after a defeat. Other times the failure serves as a lesson that’s helpful later in your journey. We’d appreciate if you could open up about a time you’ve failed.
Early on in my career I had a significant wake up call. It was October in Cleveland when I was contacted by an advertising agency to do a week’s long lifestyle photo session for a health insurance company. This particular year the weather was turning cold and unpredictable so we made plans to do the photography in Miami. I was more caught up in the excitement of going on location, coordinating models, etc. along with everything necessary to complete the project that I didn’t give much thought to the client though the name was familiar. As well the project was coming through an ad agency I trusted and an art director I was close with.
We set out for Miami and had a wonderful week creating great lifestyle photographs with the age range of seniors-retirees we had been tasked with via the project brief. Everything turned out great and all were happy. I was thinking at the time, this project was a huge success and hopefully would be leading to more projects.
Fast forward a little over a year after completing the project, its on a Sunday evening when I catch an episode of 60 Minutes. My jaw dropped when the episode began to air…The revealing segment was about the health insurance company I had done the lifestyle session. Bottom line the insurance company had been found to be bulking seniors out of their money and not providing coverage contractually agree upon. By the end of the TV segment I was in tears, mortified I had unwittingly helped the client swindle customers. Here my photographs were used to convince seniors they could have an active lifestyle while not worrying about health coverage.
While the photography session had been successful what had been a failure was my lack of awareness to the client’s business practices and unethical reputation which had started prior to my involvement. From that point on I have researched, basically vetting potential clients because I have not wanted to promote those that are inclined to put profits over humanity. I also move towards working with Corporate Direct-B2B, a direction I continue to move instead of the consumer advertising game that can be image oriented and nafarious.
As an artist I was never too keen on working in advertising however, it is an area an artist can make a living. I learned to be careful who I created for and the audience on the receiving end of the marketing message. At the end of the day I need to live with myself so that message that is being visually communicated has to pass my standards.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
What I most enjoy is photographing people in an editorial style that provides insight into who they really are. Sometimes the photographs are embellished in camera to tell a more in depth story and sometimes the photographs are more classic so that they stand the test of time not burdened by style trends. For my clients who are aligned with human values, my approach speaks to their philosophy. More and more companies/corporations are realizing they are actually a collective of human beings so to promote themselves they are highlighting individuals and teams comprising their organizations. This is where I come in because in any given situation I can photograph a wide range of personalities having the ability to see the humanity and value in each.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Authenticity. Whether I’m photographing people nature scenes, I’m seeking out how best to present the authentic and intrinsic qualities that make each unique. Regardless of subject matter, a major component of my work is providing a sense of energy about the specific subject. What you see with your mind is the subject yet the underlying intuitive message within the photograph is energetic. For me the energy is everything. Even though I might be creating photographs for an article, or for marketing purpose or a fine art calendar, in the background I’m working in the realm of the intuitive healing arts, communicating at deeper levels.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Life is about adaptation so figure if you work in your field for a few decades you will have had to pivot several times to survive. The last major business pivot was during COVID, no surprise there. Imagine your reputation is built around photographing people and there is a pandemic. The silence of that vacuum was deafening. Since I had to be careful of my own health and that of my family’s I had to limit physical interaction. Through out my career I have had lots of experience photographing product still life so I quickly picked up projects and worked remotely in my studio. As COVID eased I shifted back to photographing people. What helps in being able to pivot is a knowledge base and not being so specialized you can’t perform well in other applications. My photographic experience is extremely board so there isn’t anything I can’t do. I have specialities I prefer because those are where my heart is.
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Image Credits
All photographs c.2024 Karen Ollis
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