We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kari Groen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kari below.
Kari , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
One thing I am very passionate about is travel. I absolutely love getting to explore new places, and it has always been a goal of mine to somehow combine my love for photography with my love for travel. And so an idea was born- about a year ago, I launched my bucket list deal. With this deal, clients are offered up to 75% off of their package if they take me to one of my bucket list locations! These locations vary from national parks, to coastal regions, to international locations. This deal has landed me a few really fun sessions and weddings and I’m hoping to book lots more travel in 2024 and 2025!
Kari , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Kari Groen of Kari Claire Photography! I am a midwest based wedding, senior, and lifestyle photographer who is passionate about capturing authentic emotions and memories. I strive to build genuine relationships with my clients so that they feel comfortable and confident during their sessions. The friendships that this job has brought me mean SO MUCH to me and I have been blessed to be surrounded by the absolute best community of fellow photographers and supporters. Another thing that is so important to me that impacts my business is my faith! It is my biggest goal to make it so that my business and interactions with clients reflect my relationship with Jesus.
I would say that I have a candid, true to life, documentary style when it comes to my shooting style and editing! I direct as needed but also love to take a step back and capture the small, unposed moments between people. I tailor every session to the clients as every relationship is different. For example, some couples have the best time with fun, silly prompts and geek out when I tell them to ‘play tag’ but feel less comfortable with the quiet, intimate prompts. I pride myself on being a good ‘people reader’ and being able to format shoots so that every couple feels like their relationship is documented authentically.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I had been more comfortable reaching out to other photographers for advice and just general connection when I first started out as a photographer! For too long, I thought that we were in ‘competition’ with each other and that I should figure it all out on my own. I know now that that is so far from the truth!! I value my relationships with other photographers so much now and truly think I would have gone crazy by now without them haha. Having friends who genuinely understand what it’s like to be a small business owner and can sympathize with me in my struggles and celebrate with me in my triumphs is so fulfilling! So to any new photographers reading this- don’t be afraid to reach out to me or other photographers for advice and community!!
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Posting consistently is KEY! I used to be embarrassed posting more than once a week on Instagram and now I post 3-5 times a week on my feed and every day on my story! I’ve also been pushing myself to post more consistently on TikTok and Instagram Reels. It can feel awkward and weird when you first start posting more, but it is so important to get your work out there consistently so that the Instagram algorithm picks you up as a frequent poster and pushes your content more! Using trending audios and relevant hashtags is also a super easy way to reach new audiences.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kariclairephotography.com/
- Instagram: @kariclairephotography
- Other: TikTok: @kariclairephotography
Image Credits
Kari Claire Photography