We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Karlo Gesner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Karlo, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I was living in an apartment above my parent’s garage at the age 0f 24. College……was a mislabeled attempt to say the least (I had recently graduated from Virginia Tech with an Engineering Degree….but I was not passionate about it).

Around the same time, I was gifted a Canon Rebel Xti. I had always wanted a camera as a teen, but it was seen as a “poor investment” by my parents as it was an expensive hobby and they didn’t have faith that anything would come of it.

Fast forward to now.
I’m a Professional Commercial Photographer w/ 15+ years of experience and paying my bills with my craft.

The Risk:
Back in 2008, I was down and out. I was living with my parents, my confidence was at an all time low, and I was feeling lost and directionless on the daily. Being perpetually single, I made a promise to myself that I would seek out someone I could bring home to my parents.

2 weeks after I made that promise to myself, I found Amanda. She was genuine, she was beautiful and charismatic, she smiled with her eyes.

After 3 mos. of dating, I found myself with a decision to make. Do I remain in my situation living at home, or should I take the leap and pursue a new life in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with Amanda? I was hesitant. All I knew about Lancaster, PA was the Amish…..and that was honestly about it.

(Around the same time I made initial contact with Amanda)
I took that camera that was gifted to me and was now shooting regularly. I would shoot 100 photos, maybe 5 would turn out good. I thought I was going to be David LaChapelle out of the box. I mean, this was a $600 “Professional” camera right?

Then one day I created an image that shocked me to my core. It was an image of a record spinning on a turntable at home. (You may be familiar with the Fallen Angel imagery of Led Zeppelin, perhaps on a concert t-shirt)

I brought my lens low and zoomed in. The record was spinning, I used slow shutter to create motion blur to capture the streaking letters and the angel. The needle was perfectly sharp, delicately dancing on the surface of the vinyl.

I now knew what this camera was capable of.

From that day forward, I became obsessed. How do I take the image from my mind and translate it through this machine and into the physical world? That was my quest, to hone my knowledge, skill, and experience so that the camera would become an extension of me.

I began shooting concerts at the local venue.
This led me to becoming the house photographer.

I wanted to be published so I contacted the local newspaper.
This led me to becoming freelance staff and having my name printed next to my images for my community to see.

I was asked to shoot a wedding.
Terrified, I said “yes”

I took the leap and moved to Lancaster, PA. All I had at the time was my girl and my camera. No job, no relationships, just a dream and a drive.

With Amanda’s constant support and encouragement, I set out into the city (yes, Lancaster is actually a bustling creative city). I discovered people that were my age that were doing creative things on a professional level that allowed them to live off of their creativity. They were living my dream and I wanted to be a part of it.

I planted my seed in Lancaster, PA. In my time here, I taught photography at an after-school program, carried bags for established photographers, assisted on shoots, and eventually began second shooting. I then started booking my own Weddings, 25-30 Weddings per year for 10 years. When my daughter was born, I switched to Commercial Photography, and shot for one of the most beautiful and prominent publications in the area that also doubled as a Branding & Marketing Agency.

Now, nearly 15 years after making the decision to move to Lancaster, I am an independent freelance Commercial Photographer. I have a wife, a daughter, & a beautiful home in the country. Every day people pay me to create images.

And it’s all because I took that risk.

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

I’m a Professional Commercial Photographer. I have 15 years of Professional Photography experience. I started with Weddings in 2008, continued that full time for about 10 years, shooting 25-30 Weddings per year. I never went to school for photography, I learned purely off the Internet / Youtube combined with inserting myself into real life experiences (this is where the real learning happened).

After my daughter was born in 2015, I decided that I needed to free up nights and weekends from weddings for family and decided to explore Commercial Photography, which was much more M-F / 9-5.

I shot for a local Magazine / Agency (Fig Industries) for 4 years after that, which is where I gained the majority of my Commercial Experience. In a given day, I would have anywhere between 6-12 shoots per day, ranging from retail owners, to public officials, to food, to even a dog on a Vespa for a local optometrist.

Currently, I focus mainly on Commercial Work. Some of my clients include Armstrong World Industries, Halloway Media, and Lenovo Computers.

Some Services I Offer:
• Corporate Lifestyle Photography
• Drone Photography
• Quantity Headshots
• Food Photography
• Personal Branding Photography

I currently shoot for Susquehanna Style Magazine, a local publication that covers the majority of Central Pennsylvania. This is a great lead generator for meeting and obtaining future clients.

I think part of what makes me unique is the Marketing Experience I gained while working at Fig Industries (Marketing Agency & Publication). Because of that experience, I don’t see myself as merely creating images, more-so I’m creating Marketing Assets that promote engagement, which stimulates leads and ultimately sales.

People enjoy working with me b/c I have a knack for connecting with people and facilitating natural and authentic captures.

What do I want people to know about me? Photography is just a component of what I do. I help create Marketing Concepts, which leads to Shoot Production, and ultimately execution.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

It’s not about me.

The attractiveness of being a Photographer as far as it being a “sexy” (for lack of a better word) occupation has it’s appeal. There are many Photographers out there that take on the identity of being a “rockstar”, or at least pursue that identity, and that can be inhibiting to forming relationships.

I learned quickly while working w/ a Creative Team at an agency, that it’s very much a group collaboration, much like a Jam-Band. When one person gets inspired and is primed to contribute, it’s the other team members’ responsibility to support and fine-tune that idea all the way through execution. Some days I’m a Creative, some days I’m a technician executing someone else’s vision.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

“They say if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life” – This is a lie.

Truth be told, if you do what you love for a living, you’ll work harder than you ever have before. Passion creates momentum, which creates more demand, and ultimately more workload.

What I will say, is that if you do what you love, you’ll work harder than you ever have. The difference is, when you wake up the next morning, you’ll want to do it all over again.

It’s a self-kindling fire of sorts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://karlophotography.pixieset.com/?t=commercial (Main Website in Development)
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/karlo.photo
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karlo.gesner
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/karlophoto

Image Credits
Profile Photo (me w/ Lighting Equipment) – Photo by Ray Duker