Meet Alicia Kern | Professional Photographer

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

Hi Alicia, how do you think about risk?
I tend to approach risk with a “go for it” attitude, jumping off the proverbial cliff and building my parachute on the way down. Excitement propels me forward and even though I don’t have all the answers at the beginning, I would rather go after a dream that God has given me, rather than sit back waiting for it to be perfect before I ever take a step toward it.

Years ago, I learned to ditch perfection because I perceived that it is truly fear-based. With perfection, the focus is on not making a mistake, rather than focusing on growing. Instead of perfection, I now strive for the alternative which is excellence. Unlike perfection, excellence focuses on success and the goals I’ve reached. That small perspective shift gives me the freedom to pursue goals rather than shrink back from them because I’m not afraid of falling.

It has been said that the first 1 to 5 years of business are the hardest and I have been professionally photographing now for over 12.5 years! If I had waited for everything to be perfect, I may still be talking about starting my business because I still feel like I have so much more to learn (there is always room for growth)! But, I didn’t wait. I got out there, fumbled my way through my first few years of business and now have a solid footing underneath me.

I believe that potential entrepreneurs severely limit themselves by waiting for everything to be at the start that it really should be 10 or 15 years from now. Sometimes we get this grand picture in our minds of what we WANT our businesses to look like someday and focus so much on that finished picture that we forget that we need to start on it right where we are at so we CAN get there one day.

I believe that a feeling of intimidation and a lack of patience has caused many dreams to be buried in the graveyard of unfulfilled wishes. How much potential has been squelched? How many dreams have died and been lost to a lack of risk?

My Dad always taught me that it was better to try something and fail than to do nothing and succeed and I’ve adopted that belief into my own life and in my business.

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.
As a professional photographer, the market was originally saturated with male photographers back in the day, but I was breaking into it at a time when female photographers were really taking center stage. That meant that the market was now flooded with a lot of competition! How would I be set apart? How would I make what I did different? How different can you get?!

In order to answer that, I need to share a little bit of my background. Years ago, I used to work at Disneyland as a character hostess. A little girl came to visit Cinderella while I was hosting her and I could see that her face had fallen when other little girls (who were dressed up in pretend princess gowns) were receiving a lot of attention, but she, dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, wasn’t. She told me she couldn’t be a princess because she didn’t have a pretty dress like they did. (Insert my heart breaking!)

I reassured her that a pretty dress and tiara isn’t what made her a princess. I pointed at Cinderella and asked her, “Was Cinderella a princess when she wore her pretty ballgown or was she a princess because she was kind to others when they were being mean?” I told her that being a true princess went deeper than just wearing a pretty dress–that it came from having a beautiful heart and being a princess on the inside first. Her face lit up and she happily went over to meet her beloved heroine.

That is when a desire was birthed inside of me to help girls see themselves as God created them–as princesses with unique callings and giftings in their lives! I knew I wanted to create princess gowns that were special, but had never used a sewing machine before. I prayed and asked God for the ability to sew princess gowns and He miraculously gave me the knowledge of how to do it and out they came!

I now photograph girls in beautiful princess gowns so they have that special “wow” moment where they look and feel like a real princess, (because every girl should have that special moment!), while also teaching them during their photo session that a real princess is one that cultivates a heart of kindness, beauty, and love. I want every girl to walk away feeling special and knowing that she is special. It is the same when I approach high school senior photos and family photography. I want people of all ages to see themselves as God sees them–as unique and born with a purpose and a destiny! I really focus on connecting families together and helping teenagers see that they have something special inside of them.

I don’t have to question what makes me different now because I’ve had sooooo many of my clients tell me why I stand out from other photographers without prompting them and I value and appreciate that! They say that I’m the first photographer they have ever encountered that is constantly directing them. Chin down, eyes over, hand softer, etc. etc. and it’s because I’m creating them into pieces of art that captures the best version of themselves there is and they are always thrilled with the results! Sometimes it’s those small tweaks that make the biggest difference and even though it’s a lot of work and even though I have to establish a quick quick QUICK connection with strangers I am meeting for the first time, it really shows nicely in the photos. I get in there and am not afraid to break the distance and act like they have known me for years. The awkwardness quickly disappears. Many clients (actually the majority of my clients) have said that they always feel comfortable with me when I photograph them and they have fun during the actual photo session itself–the photos are an added bonus! And many have told me that I’m their, “photographer for life!”

Here is the biggest takeaway: You can reproduce photographs, but you cannot reproduce the artist photographing them! That is why it is so important to be true to who YOU are and not try to be a copycat of someone else. I once heard a quote that said, “If you’re always trying to be like someone else, the best you can ever be is number two.” God created you uniquely and you serve others so much better when you apply this to your craft.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One of my favorite places to be that I’m often at multiple times a week is at our church, (Fresh Start Church), in Peoria! I have grown so much in my relationship with God since attending there and God has healed me miraculously so many times of really big things! I keep having encounter after encounter with God there and He keeps drawing me back again and again! We are deep in revival and my husband and I both have been blessed to be asked to serve the Ruppets (revival puppets) ministry there. We love it!

In our free time my husband and I like to eat at and shop at local Mom and Pop restaurants and shops so we can put investment back into the local businesses! Our favorites so far are Pullano’s Pizza and Wings in Glendale and Daniel’s Jewelry in downtown Gilbert where we found the engagement and wedding ring I wanted! My husband and I got married in 2019 and a few weeks before the wedding, one of the large stones fell out of the heart-shaped ring that my husband had purchased at Daniel’s! The owner was so nice and replaced the diamond for free!!!

I love to antique shop and love to poke my nose into Merchant Square in old town Chandler, the antique shops in downtown Glendale and I literally travel the whole Phoenix Metropolitan area to shop at multiple Goodwill locations! So many people ask how I am able to find so many great finds at Goodwill and I tease and say I have the “Goodwill anointing.” I’m joking but do have a saying everytime I go: “Look up high and look down low. Get on your knees and get on your toes. For the best things are hidden and often behind. But if you give a little effort, there are great things you will find!”

Lastly, I love Pinsperation, especially the Splatter Room where you get to throw paint at all your friends! My girlfriends and I all went and had a blast! We blared the music and got more paint on each other than we did on our canvases!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I wouldn’t be doing what I do today, first and foremost without Jesus Christ. So much of what I am doing today has been birthed out of the dream that He put in my heart and He has confirmed (in a quite miraculous way!) that this is where He has me to be. My husband and family have always been so encouraging, as have my friends and my photo clients. I would also like to give a special thank you to Jen O’Sullivan, my old college teacher who taught me a wedding photography class that completely changed my life! She also saw potential in me before I ever saw it in myself!

Website: LIFESTYLE: www.BebaPhotography.com BUSINESS: www.BebaBusinessPhotography.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/BebaPhotography

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/-alicia-kern

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/BebaPhotography

Other: www.Pinterest.com/BebaPhotography

Image Credits
All of these photos are taken by myself 🙂 The photo taken of me, I did the camera setup for and had my husband take. No need to credit. Thanks!