We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Loren Pullum. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Loren below.
Hi Loren, thanks for joining us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later?
I think more than wishing I had started sooner or later than I did – that I wish I had taken myself seriously sooner. When I was contemplating this question I finally realized that Loren Kmp Photography started as soon as I had a camera I could use regularly, but that I didn’t take Loren Kmp Photography seriously enough to turn it into a business. I let my passion for photography wain in those early years because it’s an incredibly hard business to get into, especially when you’re not able to find mentorship, or enough support.
And in my case, I was also moving around a lot for about a decade – juggling creative pursuits with every day responsibilities just didn’t come naturally to me. I found it much easier to focus on my structured, easily rewarding day job. So yeah, I really wish I had taken building a business more seriously, and worked harder to build connections within the photography / creatives industry to find the support I was lacking early on. Finding that community has been really key for me.
Loren, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I was truly honored and quietly set to work. I’m sure I bugged my mom everyday about picking up that camera roll – I wanted to see them so badly. Finally, when we got the pictures back everyone was a little impressed. I had actually taken some good photos. I hadn’t wasted any frames on silly things, or only gotten pictures of the other grandkids my age. I had understood the assignment, and the photos were happily added to my grandmother’s photo album.
A photographer was born.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
I wish they realized how often creatives are asked to work for free, when they themselves wouldn’t be willing to. I think the hardest part of being a creative is getting people to value your work and the work that goes into that work. There are so many invisible steps and expenses, especially in something like photography. That for example, a session fee doesn’t only represent that time the photographer spends in front of you, but all the time they spend before and after they see you. That our pricing is important to creating sustainable lives and helping support our communities, and that everything goes to supporting the work that caught your eye.
Contact Info:
- Website: lorenkmpphotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorenkmp/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lorenkmpphotography
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorenpullum/
Image Credits
Loren Pullum, Loren Kmp Photography