S03 E03: The Business of Photography with Karen Rosalie of Rosalie Agency

Waves Social Podcast

Karen Rosalie is the Founder and Creative-in-Charge at Rosalie Agency in Los Angeles. Rosalie Agency is an LA-based creative team that produces and shoots campaigns and ads for beauty brands, specifically Sephora brands such as KKW Beauty, Dr. Dennis Gross, Summer Fridays, Kate Somerville, Kylie Skin, and many more. On top of all of the branded content and projects that she has produced for Instagram and other mediums, Karen also shares helpful content and advice for the next generation of photographers. In this episode, she talks about getting her start out of school, what brought her to photography in the first place, and some of her first big clients, as well as the transition from her personal work to a branded agency approach. Tuning in, you’ll find out why Karen believes that every photographer should be a businessperson. One thing that stands out about this interview is how intentional Karen is in everything that she does, from starting her business to producing work for her brands. Her advice is not just helpful for photographers and freelancers, but also people in the agency space or even on the branding side; across the board, you have to be creative, reinvent how you bring your product to market, and capture the value it offers. No matter what your role is in the creative process, you’ll find value in today’s episode, so make sure to tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Karen’s background and how she first got into photography.
• How studying fine art taught her about meeting deadlines and the business of photography.
• Hear about Karen’s shift from independent creative to business owner and working with a creative team.
• Why Karen believes that every photographer should be business-minded.
• Karen describes the process of starting Rosalie Agency, including her first client.
• Overcoming imposter syndrome using a fake-it-till-you-make-it approach.
• Her advice for listeners looking to land a first big client: consistently shooting and networking.
• Learn about Karen’s “social first” strategy and how she uses Instagram to market herself.
• The moment that Karen saw Instagram as a powerful marketing platform.
• What the evolution of Rosalie Agency looks like, and why Karen loves the beauty niche.
• Some past projects that stand out for Karen, such as with brands that completely surrender the creative direction of a campaign.
• How Karen manages to insert her own creative style into her commercial work.
• Behind the scenes of working with a big brand: how to prepare for a large-scale shoot.
• How Karen balances being behind the lens versus sitting in the creative director’s seat.
• The biggest challenges she has faced as a business owner, like scaling and hiring out.
• Why Karen creates personal content and invests so much time in supporting the next generation of photographers.
• How COVID has impacted her work and how she is overcoming those challenges.
• The importance of great digital content and high-quality images, especially during COVID.
• Shooting on her camera versus shooting on her phone for social.
• Karen talks about getting married and starting a painting studio during a pandemic.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Waves with Mike (@mmmiiike) and Mitzi (@mmmitzi).

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S6 - present Production by Morgan Berna, editing by Harrison Neef.