Did Someone Say Cheese ?

Photography is a talent most of us think we hold these days; everyone tries to unleash the little photographer in them, whether they are taking food pictures or just giggling with friends or maybe just on a sunny day at a park or landmarks on holiday trips. But they are not always just mindless creations, to an average person they are memories.

I was fortunate enough to interview a dreamer born with natural talent, who knew deep down she had a calling for photography. Kara Hakanson was born and raised in a small town in Wisconsin, USA. Kara is not only a photographer but also a professional Actor. She came to London to pursue her acting career but also kept her photography ongoing during her degree and work. Being a multi-talented artist is just something that comes to Kara naturally.

Kara was asked some questions about what inspires her photography and how she edits her work, and her answers did not disappoint.

What inspires your Photography?

Light. This may seem like an obvious answer to some because photography is all about light, but light is what mainly directs my work. Growing up in Midwest America, I was surrounded by nature and four seasons. So, I’d notice the difference between the setting winter light over the snow and the blazing morning summer sun streaming through my curtains. Do you know that new term people are throwing around, glimmer? The opposite of a trigger? I think mostly that’s what my photography captures. I capture the glimmers of life. Making your morning coffee and the sun is making the jar of honey glow, the low winter sun streaming through the window and highlighting the particles of dust, a friend’s skin glowing in the diffused light golden hour. What inspires me is those moments that make you go: Oh, life! It’s so beautiful! And I’m alive to experience it! It’s that intuition that kicks into my heart and tells me I need to capture this.

What is the one thing you knew about photography before taking pictures?

I was fortunate that I grew up with an artist mother and a father who was the family paparazzi with his 35mm film Pentax. I was born with an eye for photography in my blood. I learned composition colours and light from my mom and the importance of capturing the moments from my dad. He has albums upon albums of prints. I am slowly but surely catching up! I knew that having a camera in your hands was almost like a responsibility. To yourself, to others, to your memories and history. Technically what did I know about photography? Before I went to college, I learned from my dad, from books, and trial and error. No YouTube or TikTok tutorials for me when I was growing up!

Did you do a course in photography?

I did! I took two in undergraduate school in the States. I took a digital class with an emphasis on learning Photoshop and a black and white 35mm film photography class. Both were such eye-openers. I got comfortable with Photoshop thanks to the digital class and got into details since I had access to massive professional printers. Gosh, I miss those days! Seeing my work on massive prints makes you double-think what you’re photographing and printing. It makes you care. Certainly not like all the phone photo-snapping we can do now! The film class was incredible, my first time being in a dark room. Watching your images appear before your eyes is a crazy experience. Physically ‘dodging’ and ‘burning’ (tools in Photoshop) made me chuckle doing it the real way. It made me appreciate photographers before digital even more. I know we can learn so much from YouTube these days and books of course, but I think taking a class is still a useful tool. You learn things from each other. You share ideas. You interact with other humans.

What kind of cameras and lenses do you use?

For digital, I’m “old school” now with a Canon Rebel t5i. I’ve been meaning to upgrade for years, but it has been a sturdy, reliable camera since I bought it myself seven years ago. With that camera body 99% of the time, I use my 50mm lens. For film, I use a Canon Ae-1 and Canon A-1. Lots of metal in those cameras, very heavy! I’ve gone through a few Canon Ae-1s as after a while they just go out, but that is my go-to. Again, sturdy, reliable, and great image results. For those two film cameras, I use a 35mm lens.

Which lens is your favourite and why?

The 50mm is my baby. I did some behind-the-scenes photography for a commercial years ago and after I sent the shots to the cinematographer he said: You like the 50mm, don’t you? I said, Oh yeah. It’s my favourite. He said, I can tell. Your images in that focal length stand out so much more compared to the others. I’d be content to shoot on a 50mm for the rest of my life. I’ve used a 200 mm-70 mm for horse shows and while it’s a beast, the versatility is mind-blowing. The quality of shots I can get from a distance, which is necessary for equestrian events, never ceases to amaze me. That is certainly a special occasion lens, but I always get a little thrill when I attach it to the camera body. Feel like I’m ready to do work!

Can you tell me a bit about your editing process in post-production?

I’ve exclaimed from day one I am not a big editor. I’m not into fancy Photoshop work or Lightroom profiles. Of course, for something like headshots, what I tell my clients is I’m trying to make them look like they’ve been eating well, moving their bodies, and sleeping like a log. I’m capturing them on their best day. So, I may brighten things up like under-eyes, clear some spots, and get rid of stray hair. But I’m not a photographer that takes away the true essence of the photo. I’m not going to go crazy and get rid of all your fine lines or textures. Because then what is the point? That’s not you. And you’re just going to disappoint a casting director or potential employer if you walk in the room and look vastly different from your photo. For my nature photography, I do even less editing. I’m capturing something in that moment in time for a reason, I’m not going to mess with it in post.

How do you handle a situation where a client is not satisfied with your work?

Thankfully, overall, I’ve had happy clients. As far as I know! No one has outright told me they hate every image, hah! But I think I have had some that are a bit disappointed. Ten years ago, I lived in Los Angeles and made extra money by doing headshots. I had an actor who wanted to see the images as we were shooting, which I don’t mind to an extent, but I could tell she wasn’t thrilled. She felt she looked old and tired. Which, I hate to be blunt, but she was! She’d been out partying the night before and, compared to myself, she was over ten years older than me. But I told her these were the RAW images and of course, I would do some editing. I think she may have ended up using one or two if that. I think I remember seeing her post photos from another photographer and her face was quite airbrushed. I also recently had a client just not say anything about the images after I sent them. So that certainly makes me second-guess their thoughts! I knew there were great images to use from the collection. I even prompted them at one point asking if they were satisfied and…they never got back to me! Yikes.

To answer your question non-anecdotally, when someone comes to me to photograph their work, they have seen my previous images so they know what I can deliver, they know roughly what they’re going to get. So that will save me from lots of headaches. I do show clients an image here and there while we’re shooting, but never sit there and show them every single one! Even I who does barely editing don’t want to show the client the RAW images. If they’re not happy with what they’re seeing, I do my best to switch things up. New poses. New outfits and/or a new location if that’s an option. Being a photographer you must be super creative and think on your feet during the shoot. I’ll even try ideas I’m not 100% sure about because even if that doesn’t work out, it could open an idea to something else. A client could not be satisfied with the images for a plethora of reasons. If it’s headshots, it’s usually they’re over-analyzing themselves and I do what I can to boost their self-esteem. If it’s for artists’ work, it’s usually their piece isn’t being captured quite right so that can be easier to fix as it’s usually more technical. I’m a problem-solver so if a client isn’t satisfied, I know there is a way to work something out.

Who inspires your work or has influenced it?

The funny thing is, as much as I have loved photography and done it for nearly two decades, I don’t know if I’ve ever had a specific photographer, I’ve modelled my work after, or aspired to be like! I have very similar images to Ansel Adams of Yosemite in California, which wasn’t intentional. I hadn’t seen his work until after I shared my photos with friends and family and they said, whoa, this looks like an Ansel Adams! I have certainly seen a photographer’s work and thought Oh cool, I want to try that shot! But sadly, I wouldn’t be able to name any of them. I’ve been inspired by photographers in the Twin Cities, for sure. There are some women I’ve worked with and been photographed by and thought damn, they work so hard I admire that, and I want to have that independence in my creative career. But I’ve never wanted to necessarily shoot like they do, my work is very different from theirs. I think subconsciously, my dad influenced me. He always had his film camera with him when I was growing up. I know little Kara took note of that as a kid. I would get such joy and nostalgia going through his albums. He doesn’t shoot on film anymore, so I have taken over that role. It feels like a passing of the torch, you know? He turned digital years ago and I dove deeper into film. Now I’m the family paparazzi if I’m not off in the woods distracted photographing light. I also grew up with Petronella Ytsma, a big photographer from my town in the States. She did incredible work that is way different from my own, but I admired her making such a remarkable career for herself. I assisted her on a shoot once and felt like I had been given the golden ticket into this special world. I messed up a few times and probably wanted to cry at one point - we were documenting very expensive, nearly priceless historical art I was beyond nervous - but it was a good career lesson. She intimated me but I was envious of that as well! She was so sure of herself and her work. She looked like Annie Leibovitz, which I think is a crazy coincidence, so I always felt like I was in the presence of a legend.