Kari Campos Photography | Chicago, IL

Meet Me: Kari Campos, Lifestyle Photographer

Location: Westmont, IL
Email: kari@karicamposphotography.com

2009 was the year it began. As I was planning my wedding I fell in love with photography. There were so many pretty pictures out there, and I wanted to be able to create beautiful pictures on my own. That year, I received my first dSLR camera as a wedding gift from my husband. I don’t think he knew what he got himself into because I’ve been obsessed ever since--reading, learning, and taking classes. I began shooting sessions in the fall of 2010 and knew that I found my passion.

Why do I take pictures? It’s a simple answer really. Pretty photos make me happy. And being able to provide others with pretty photos that make them happy makes me even happier, cheesy as it may sound. I feel blessed to be able to spend an hour or two photographing a moment in time in other’s lives.

Besides my photography life, I am a wife to my college sweetheart Raul, and the two of us are dedicated alums to our Alma Mater Cornell University. My Beagle/Pointer mix Marty is like a son to me, and might just be the cutest “perma-pup” ever. During the week when I’m not shooting, you can find me at work in the world of healthcare administration. I’m a lover of good food, tasty wine, and craft beer. Chips and salsa are my weakness, as are freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. I’m a loud and proud fan of my hometown team, the Indianapolis Colts. I love traveling, and would love to add Europe to the list of places I’ve visited by 2015. I cherish my family and love children. But probably most useful to you is I love being a photographer.

Thanks so much for visiting my website. Take your time to look around. I hope you love what you see as much as I do, because I’d love to shoot you or your little one(s) (with my camera of course)!

Author Archives: Kari Campos

{Chicago Newborn Photography}: Stella

February 2, 2011

This little girl makes my heart melt. Not only is she just about the cutest newborn ever, but she also happens to be my niece, the first grandchild for my parents. You may remember her beautiful mom Jessica from her Maternity Shoot a couple weeks back. I was so thrilled that Jess allowed me to photograph Stella when she was just 7 days old this past Sunday. It was my first newborn shoot, and I don’t think it could have gone any better. I learned a lot about patience and Stella even reminded me that babies without diapers can be a dangerous thing (thanks for that Stella).

So, without further ado, take a look at some of my favorites from our shoot…

Posted in Newborn

{Chicago Baby Photography}: Mason

January 28, 2011

I love a challenge. And what I’ve found in the past few months is that young children provide quite the challenge to photograph. With that said, I can confidently say that these challenging sessions with wee ones are also some of the most enjoyable sessions I do.

My session with nine month old baby Mason was no different. He was such a sweet little boy, and while his crawling here, there, and everywhere made for a challenge, he did provide me with some great candid moments and some cute smiles too.

I always walk away from sessions grateful that people are willing to give me the opportunity to photograph them and/or their children. Thanks so much to Sarah and Kurt for entrusting me with capturing Mason at such an adorable time in his life!

Posted in Baby, Children

{Chicago Maternity Photography}: J and Baby C

January 18, 2011

In just a couple weeks (or even less maybe) my brother and his wife J will be welcoming their first baby to the family. Words can’t express how excited we are (we meaning all of my side of the family and all of her family) as it will be the first grandchild on either side. We all can’t wait to find out whether little Baby C is a boy or girl. The suspense is killing us all!

Changing subjects (sorta) a little over a week ago, J entrusted me to take her maternity photos. J, thank you so much for having confidence in me. Believe me, I felt pressure to deliver because the last thing I’d want to do is mess up one’s maternity pics from their first pregnancy. Luckily, J is one gorgeous and alllll baby pregnant lady, which made taking her pictures all that much easier. She was also extremely patient with me as I navigated my camera to get the right settings for my first true indoor shoot. Add in a new reflector that I was trying to balance as I went, and it was certainly a sight to be seen!

So, without further ado, I’d like to share with you a couple of my favorites…

I’m so looking forward to photographing my new nephew/niece in just a couple weeks!

Posted in Maternity

My Last Session of 2010

January 12, 2011

Raul and I (and the pup of course) went to Indianapolis for Christmas to spend it with my parents and sister. It’s always nice to be back home for the holidays. We spent our days playing games, baking, eating, more eating, drinking, and just generally relaxing. A great break from the grind of everyday life! In addition, I had the opportunity to shoot my last session of the year for two of my parents’ best friends and their family.

I’ll just be honest here, I feel like shooting for people you know is almost more nervewracking than photographing people you don’t know. There’s this fear of failure that overcomes me: what if they truly hate what I produce?!

Well, luckily, that wasn’t the case. Or at least that’s what I’ve been told. Which is great considering this was my first ever indoor shoot. And on top of that, it was my first large group shoot as well. I’ll even add one more to the mix–it was my first session using my new camera, the Canon 7D! Let me tell you, a 50mm lens on a cropped body is even more of a challenge while indoors and shooting a large group. But, with all that said, I managed, and I’m happy to share a couple of my favorite shots.

Of course, I couldn’t resist getting pictures of my favorite subjects: children! Aren’t they adorable?!

Thank you Deb and Jimmy and the rest of your clan for allowing me to photograph your fun family! I hope to do it again in the future!

Posted in Children, Family

Steps to Establishing a Business

January 9, 2011

Establishing a small business is no easy feat. I’ve spent countless hours reading up online and have even attended a course through the Small Business Administration in an attempt to educate myself on all that needs to be done to legally establish Kari Campos Photography as a business.

Because I know how difficult it is to weave one’s way through all the information out there, I thought I’d share as I go. DISCLAIMER: Each state is different and has it’s own rules and regulations. Please don’t base your business decisions solely on mine as outlined. In no way am I guaranteeing that my way is the “right” way, as I’m sure there’s no one “right” way anyway.

It should be noted as well that these steps have taken place after a lot of prerequisites, such as deciding to be a sole proprietorship over other types of businesses, determining what I want to shoot, developing a draft business plan, and thinking my way through a lot of other decisions that need to be made.

So here goes…steps I’ve taken on the journey to establish Kari Campos Photography:

Registered KCP through the county clerk/a.k.a. “Doing Business As”; this involved a trip to the bank to get the registration request notarized and a small registration fee of $5 in my county. Early January 2011.
Received next steps from the county. I have to publish my “Doing Business As” Notice in a local paper for three consecutive weeks. Upon completion, the newspaper will send the county a confirmation, and they in turn will send me my registration. Mid-January 2011.
Registered for a Federal Tax ID Number–a rather painless online process. Mid-January 2011.
Research contracts and looked at samples from other photographer’s websites. Began constructing my own. Mid-January 2011.
Hired a graphic designer to create a new and very much improved logo for my business. In Process. Mid-January 2011.
Contacted my aunt, a CPA to get advice on whether to hire an accountant/CPA for my business. She provided encouraging words and didn’t think I’d require an accountant/CPA. Recommended that I purchase Quickbooks (on the list of to-do’s). I ordered a book on basic bookkeeping. Mid-January 2011.
Finalized my pricing with the help of Stacy Reeve’s “Pricing Guide”. Late January 2011.
Researched online gallery/proofing options. Registered with InstaProofs due to no monthly/annual fee (fee based on sales). Began setting up site. Late January 2011.
Began designing my new website by purchasing a ProPhoto Blog. Early February 2011.
Registered my business online with the Illinois Department of Revenue. Early February 2011.

Stay tuned as I update my steps along the way. You can find this post in the future under the “For Photographers” tab.

Posted in Starting a Photography Business

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