Meet Karen Vizcaino | Business Owner / Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Karen Vizcaino and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Karen, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I owe most of my business success to taking risks. I feel your hunger for growth has to outweigh your fear of failure and the sooner you take risks, the less you have to lose, making it much easier to bounce back. We are always proud of our achievements but our failures ensure that we learn valuable lessons, whether it is about our personality, our approach or our mindset. With each attempt, we have a chance to cultivate a better plan than the last and increase our chances at accomplishing our goal. I have had moments in my career where I have been extremely confident of my decisions and things didn’t pan out the way I had expected. For instance, coming up with a theme for my sessions, funding and designing a setup, getting very excited to present it and instead failing miserably because my vision was not what the clients wanted. It forced me to assess where it all went wrong to be able to come back and tailor it for my clients as well as my investments and myself. Learning, that although I think I may have cool, innovative ideas, not everyone feels the same. I have to create a middle ground so not only my clients are happy but I’m not sacrificing too much of my originality and creativity. This was a humbling experience. Since then, I have created a VIP page where our clients can have the freedom of bringing their own fun ideas to the table and respectfully discuss things they may want to see Lil Pixels do next! I always stay in tuned with our clients to give them the best possible experience while I continue to take risks with new ideas and visions. Some work, some don’t, regardless don’t shy away from trying new things!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Photography was customary in my household; we documented everything and everyone! When I had my first child, almost 12 years ago, I realized I did not want to skip a beat and wanted to capture every milestone. After working with a couple of wonderful photographers, I started creating fun setups and doing a little photography of my own on the side. I was overflowing with ideas making it so difficult to bring them all to life. Family and friends motivated me to go into photography as more than a hobby, so I began providing the service to my close friends as I was already doing it for my child. Before you know it, word got out and it helped my business grow in the beginning.

Venturing into photography not only alleviated some of the financial burden of paying another photographer multiple times a year, but eventually helped me gain financial freedom as a stay at home mom. It most importantly provided me with a creative outlet to distract me from some of my low points of motherhood. Just when I thought I had permanently lost my spark, I once again felt invigorated to stay up all night and wake up each day ready to create the path I wanted my life to take. I was back in control and my dad’s words of advice made so much sense to me at this point! My hobby not only helped distract me from the hardships in life, it truly became my safety net.

Starting a business is sometimes easier than sustaining an established one and photography is no exception. Apart from being a very saturated market, people are becoming savvy with technology and are taking their own photos using cell phones. Purchasing a quality camera has also become more affordable; phone apps are creating fun filters and advanced editing features, and on occasion, you see some good quality ones. In addition, there are the amateur shutterbugs offering basic services for a ridiculously low price that full-time professional photographers cannot offer.

I think what sets Lil Pixels Photography apart from others is its professionalism, flexibility, affordability, creativity and friendliness. We work with our clients when it comes to pricing, add-ons, scheduling, creating a unique and personalized setting. We listen to your ideas and strive to make you feel as comfortable as possible from maternity/newborns, to cake-smashes, graduates, boudoirs and everything in between! If we don’t have the props or backgrounds, we create it so that nothing stops us from bringing our clients’ vision to life. Our photographers engage with the client and are as transparent as friends are. On many, more occasions than not, our clients have become our close friends and we feel like we have known them for ages!

Along this journey, I have learned that people want to work with those that are relatable, those they can identify with and entrust with their most precious memories. You can always find that with Lil Pixels Photography!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
From a photographer’s perspective I will give you stunning views! The Arboretum in Arcadia, the Griffith Observatory, Vista Hermosa Park – a gorgeous little park hidden in downtown LA with a striking view of our skyline, Descanso Gardens, The Arts District… there’s so much to see! It’s California! Take an hour drive to a local mountain or about 30 minutes to a beach, all the views are spectacular!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I credit my work ethic to both my parents, as they modeled it all my life. My mom is supportive, intelligent and creative. She encourages me to keep going when things get tough. She looks after my children so that I can focus on my craft and give each one of my sessions a unique touch. She provides me with anything and everything so I can get through all the editing, especially during those rough, busy seasons. I never have to worry that my kids have not eaten a healthy meal, showered on time or are in any danger. She gives me a sense of security that I wouldn’t have otherwise. My mother always reminds me to do everything with pride no matter what it is, give it 100%. Afterall, it’s my name that makes my craft more marketable and competitive.

I credit my desire to pursue my passions to my dad. He always encouraged his children to work hard and have personal hobbies to keep us happy and distracted when the mundane aspects of life weighed heavy. He was an engineer at heart. He always said, “No job is worth doing unless it’s done with heart.” For this reason he would check my props for details. He would also build them to specifications to accommodate the background and my workspace. I’ll never forget the time when one of my benches ended up being too big to fit in between the trees on the Christmas tree farm. He took it apart, sawed it down, reupholstered it, and drove it back to me right before the clients began to arrive for their scheduled mini sessions. I will always remember my dad and his enthusiasm. I would have random requests sometimes, and at one time I needed to make matching outfits for siblings before their pictures. I was in the home stretch but continued to take breastfeeding breaks and I was starting to stress out. My dad assured me to stay calm, he’d have the outfits ready for me by the time I was done nursing my daughter. My dad could do it all and he saved me that day!
If I showed the slightest interest in a hobby, my dad was at my door the next day with not only ideas, but also supplies to encourage me to potentially build it into a business.

In addition to my parents, I am fortunate to be surrounded by incredibly talented and proactive siblings who literally stop at nothing to ease the burdens of working more than full time with 2 school age kids that have too many acitivites! I am blessed with remarkable family and supportive friends. No idea is too crazy in my circle and nothing is impossible!

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Other: Email: lilpixelsphotos@gmail.com