Today we’d like to introduce you to Karina Bastos.
Hi Karina, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I am originally from São Paulo, Brazil! I grew up in a very humble and hardworking family, and honestly my entire community was both hardworking and humble as well. I am very proud of the place that I’m from. I have divorced parents, so that was something I had to work through as a child. I have four incredible siblings who are all hard workers as well. I am the second oldest of the four.
I began working at the age of 14 as a camp counselor, so I have been perfecting my work ethic for quite some time now. I’ve always been into photography, and I was often found playing with my family’s camera when I was a child. Eventually, I finally decided to pursue my dreams. I got into college with photography as my major. Apart from photography, I had always dreamed of traveling the world and living abroad. I finally came to the U.S. in 2016 as a student. After I received my degree, I got a job at a studio, and then soon after that, I started my own wedding photography business.
I got married to my amazing husband in 2017, who has been one of my biggest supporters ever since. I am now a full-time wedding photographer, and I have been working extremely hard at growing my business to places that I originally thought were only in my wildest dreams.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I have had quite a few struggles in my life and in my time as a photographer, but nothing that I would ever complain about. Each of these struggles has taught me something valuable that I continue to use to this day.
First was the language barrier. This is something I still struggle with occasionally, but not nearly as much as five years ago when I first moved here. Obviously, communication is a hugely important skill to have as a wedding photographer, so this is something that I worked very hard to overcome and am still working on now.
Next, I had to work on the work/life balance of being a business owner. As entrepreneurs, we wear many, many hats. Sometimes it becomes hard to juggle, and my personal life suffers because of it. Setting boundaries for your clients as well as yourself is something that is super important to do. When you own your own business, it’s also easy to be too tough on yourself, so giving myself grace is something I’m always working at.
Then, there is the pressure of being an immigrant. There is this added sort of pressure, on top of being a business owner, to “make it” in the U.S. I want to make my parents and family proud, I want to make my community back home proud, and I want to make myself proud. I’m constantly finding a balance between giving myself grace while also making sure I take advantage of all the beautiful opportunities my new home gives me.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a San Diego, California-based wedding photographer. I also love to capture families, engagements, maternity sessions, proposals, newborn sessions, elopements, and basically anything someone trusts me enough to capture! I consider myself an expert on making people feel comfortable in front of the camera and creating images that tell stories. I am a Couple’s Choice Award winner on Wedding Wire as well!
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Whenever I’m asked about a specific childhood memory, especially when it relates to photography, I always think of this one moment. Back in the 00’s, my sister had an event at her kindergarten. I BEGGED my family to let me take the photos during the event. I took a lot… but some of them were pretty bad. Since this was the 00’s, I had used film, so we didn’t get to see the results until a few days later. Needless to say, my family had a good laugh about it. We all start from somewhere right?
Contact Info:
- Email: contact@karinasantosphoto.com
- Website: https://www.karinasantosphoto.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photokarinasantos/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/photokarinasantos/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/karina-santos-photography-san-francisco
