I hope everyone has had a good week so far. It's been bitterly cold in New Zealand the last few days, and most of the country got snow. Sadly, I didn't get to see any - Auckland tends to just get wind and rain. Anyway, enough about the weather.
Meet this week's fantastic Friday Featured Artist; the hugely talented Kara Haupt.
Kara is an incredibly inspirational woman. At just 19, she has already accomplished so much. She is the brains behind I Just Might Explode which has just moved from Typepad to its new home. She also has a range of sweet decals for sale, has created online workshops and now she is taking it a step further and focusing on becoming a self employed photographer. And if that wasn't enough, she has just launched her online photography portfolio.
What I admire the most about Kara is her determination and drive to succeed in a field she has such a passion for. I feel very lucky to be able to follow her journey as she makes her mark on the world. Following her blog and her accomplishments (and sometimes struggles) makes me want to work and push even harder to achieve what I want to and just for that alone, I want to say a big thanks to Kara :)
She was kind enough to answer a few questions about her work and her goals for this week; so what are you waiting for?
Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Kara Haupt. I'm an artist, blogger, photographer. I'm 19 and live in Boise, Idaho. I went to art school in NYC last year and now am taking a semester off before I move to Portland early next year! I spend most of my days blogging, creating online art journaling classes, and trying to tame my to-do lists.
What made you decide to pursue being a self employed photographer?
Hmm. I've always enjoyed doing senior portraits and other shoots. I was a photography major in art school(will probably be one next year too) and wanted to put my skills to use. I took the semester off to raise money for living in Portland next year, so using my photography skills in a business was one of my first orders of business.
Do you have any advice for someone wanting to become a self employed artist? Whats been the hardest thing so far?
Hmm. It's hard for me to say right now because I haven't been doing it "full-time" for very long. But, I read in an article about Sam Beam(the lead singer of the band Iron & Wine) that he gets up and works every day, tries to apply discipline to it, and accept that not every day is going to be awesome. I feel fortunate to be self employed, but it's not incredibly easy for me. It's hard for me to stay focused and not get discouraged, particularly on days when I don't leave the house. My advice is to just suck it up, remember that I'm not in a soul-ripping job, and maintain a good attitude through things I don't necessarily want to do. That sounds like I don't like what I'm doing, I do! I just have a lazy-person personality.
What are your top three tips for taking photos?
Learn to shoot in Manual. Don't sacrifice quality for trends. Try new things!
What camera do you use most and which one is the most fun to use?
I use my digital SLR most (A Canon 50d with the 50mm 1.4 lens). The most fun camera is probably my Instax Wide. Instant photos are so fun!
Where do you want to be in 5 years?
I would like to hopefully be graduated from art school with a BFA and still working for myself! I hope to be living and pursuing a whole, beautiful life.
What drives you to keep working hard?
I love independence. I was pretty independent all through high school and moving to NYC without really knowing a soul helped turn me into a self-sufficient person. I want a beautiful life and working every day to have one keeps me motivated. Also, this sounds bad, but money does too. I'm really motivated to make enough to live the life I want to(in Portland) and pay off my student loans considerably before I graduate.
Are you working on any side projects at the moment other than your photography?
I'm currently working a ton on an online scrapbook class and coding a new website to sell my PDF classes. I'm going to be redesigning all past classes by mid September too. I'm also starting a business with one of my best friends to unveiled later in the month. I also just got an idea today about the zine I want to create later in September. I obviously like projects, haha!
Meet this week's fantastic Friday Featured Artist; the hugely talented Kara Haupt.
Kara is an incredibly inspirational woman. At just 19, she has already accomplished so much. She is the brains behind I Just Might Explode which has just moved from Typepad to its new home. She also has a range of sweet decals for sale, has created online workshops and now she is taking it a step further and focusing on becoming a self employed photographer. And if that wasn't enough, she has just launched her online photography portfolio.
What I admire the most about Kara is her determination and drive to succeed in a field she has such a passion for. I feel very lucky to be able to follow her journey as she makes her mark on the world. Following her blog and her accomplishments (and sometimes struggles) makes me want to work and push even harder to achieve what I want to and just for that alone, I want to say a big thanks to Kara :)
She was kind enough to answer a few questions about her work and her goals for this week; so what are you waiting for?
Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Kara Haupt. I'm an artist, blogger, photographer. I'm 19 and live in Boise, Idaho. I went to art school in NYC last year and now am taking a semester off before I move to Portland early next year! I spend most of my days blogging, creating online art journaling classes, and trying to tame my to-do lists.
What made you decide to pursue being a self employed photographer?
Hmm. I've always enjoyed doing senior portraits and other shoots. I was a photography major in art school(will probably be one next year too) and wanted to put my skills to use. I took the semester off to raise money for living in Portland next year, so using my photography skills in a business was one of my first orders of business.
Do you have any advice for someone wanting to become a self employed artist? Whats been the hardest thing so far?
Hmm. It's hard for me to say right now because I haven't been doing it "full-time" for very long. But, I read in an article about Sam Beam(the lead singer of the band Iron & Wine) that he gets up and works every day, tries to apply discipline to it, and accept that not every day is going to be awesome. I feel fortunate to be self employed, but it's not incredibly easy for me. It's hard for me to stay focused and not get discouraged, particularly on days when I don't leave the house. My advice is to just suck it up, remember that I'm not in a soul-ripping job, and maintain a good attitude through things I don't necessarily want to do. That sounds like I don't like what I'm doing, I do! I just have a lazy-person personality.
What are your top three tips for taking photos?
Learn to shoot in Manual. Don't sacrifice quality for trends. Try new things!
What camera do you use most and which one is the most fun to use?
I use my digital SLR most (A Canon 50d with the 50mm 1.4 lens). The most fun camera is probably my Instax Wide. Instant photos are so fun!
Where do you want to be in 5 years?
I would like to hopefully be graduated from art school with a BFA and still working for myself! I hope to be living and pursuing a whole, beautiful life.
What drives you to keep working hard?
I love independence. I was pretty independent all through high school and moving to NYC without really knowing a soul helped turn me into a self-sufficient person. I want a beautiful life and working every day to have one keeps me motivated. Also, this sounds bad, but money does too. I'm really motivated to make enough to live the life I want to(in Portland) and pay off my student loans considerably before I graduate.
Are you working on any side projects at the moment other than your photography?
I'm currently working a ton on an online scrapbook class and coding a new website to sell my PDF classes. I'm going to be redesigning all past classes by mid September too. I'm also starting a business with one of my best friends to unveiled later in the month. I also just got an idea today about the zine I want to create later in September. I obviously like projects, haha!
Thanks again to Kara for this wonderful interview; I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did :)
Make sure you have a good look at Kara's online; she is all over the place:
Happy Friday everyone!!
Rhiannon xxx
i like looking at kara's phtographs! :)
ReplyDeletehttp://honeybeelane.blogspot.com/
She is such an inspiration! i started my business when I was 19 and she is already so successful! I now feel the need to push my business forward!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing! <3