Kara Nixon Photography

Half of the time I’m waiting on brands to share what I’ve shot for them, so a creative shoot here and there is necessary. Thanks Julian for being down to get creative / workout. I swear last night was payback for this shoot. Swipe to the end to see how i felt every time Julian walked by But really, this dude served up a solid circuit last night, but our real motivation - @miquelle_camille who coached us and cheered us along the whole way, even when we wanted to quit. Hit ...up Julian if you need personal training or if you’re down for group classes, holla and let’s goooo. Let’s be real, I modified a good portion of last night so you’ll be in good company if you’re scared. Julian will tell you how scared I was to go to a strength class at MOXI3. I stuck to what I know, spin. Even though the instructors push us and change it up each ride, I was stuck in my comfort zone. But newsflash, I was just as nervous for my first spin class as I was for my first strength class. I quickly learned while yes the class can be hard, it’s so motivating because guess what! Your body is way stronger than you realize and you can do way more than you think you can! Sure I had to modify last night, but there were so many things I didn’t even think I could do that I did with ease (and a lot of sweat). Shout out to an amazing community, @moxi3fitness.

Putting together mood boards reminds me of days like this... randomly meeting up in New York to shoot for the heck of it. Ben and I have managed to randomly meet up in different cities and always wind up with some great photos. I can’t wait to get back to creating for the heck of it later this month when weddings slow down.

Brandon is one of those friends (along with Andrew) who I send dog memes to all day long. He’s also one of those friends I try to see every time I’m in New York. It’s been weird not being able to catch up with him every couple of months, but surprise surprise... I saw his face last night on the preview for the upcoming season of the Bachelorette and this morning I texted him asking if I had to watch this season. So for all of my friends who love everything Bachelor nation, watch for this cutie friend of mine

Missing New York.

Happy anniversary to two of my favorite people!! So jealous you’re in New York right now my last trip before quarantine was to Growth Con in Vegas with these two and the rest of the Cardone team. Can’t wait until we can shoot again. I’m starting to get really antsy to travel again. How’s everyone feel about travel these days?

Yesterday with @_dale_samson // it’s so good to be back creating with cool people like Dale. I sent him some inspiration and he put together some rad looks & this is only the first one. Can’t wait to share more of this series.

Going through some oldies with @mitchell.wick in preparation for a creative shoot later today! Feels like I haven’t worked with a male model in MONTHS because oh wait I haven’t My first wedding back in action was a hot mess in terms of directing and remembering the flow of poses/movements during romantics I’ve never relied so heavily on my second shooter to help me with poses. Usually I’m like there’s not enough time!! but instead I was struggling to fill the time. To my couple, it seemed normal and great, but to me it felt like I couldn’t get my creative juices flowing again. The mask on a wedding day probably doesn’t help though Fingers crossed that doesn’t happen tonight & if it does... well here’s your warning @_dale_samson Also Mitch had the right idea a year ago

Fun little series with @c.h.kennedy in San Clemente a few weeks ago. I had a little social media brand shoot to do and she needed this jacket photographed for a brand collab she was doing. We wound up doing a trade (aka no money exchanged here), so we could each get photos for the brand we were working with. While free tests aren’t something I normally do anymore, if it benefits both of us and there’s an actual TRADE in the process, I’m all for it! I contacted Christine with... a budget to pay her for modeling and she was in! A couple days later, she threw out the idea of doing a trade rather than paying her (she also said it was totally fine if I didn’t want to do a trade - she didn’t expect anything). It made sense for both of us because 1) it’s another brand under each of our belts, 2) I didn’t have to pay her for modeling and she didn’t have to book an entire shoot separately. Trade for print or TFP is and has been very popular, but honestly as a photographer, there’s usually not an actual trade in this scenario unless you’re a new photographer who needs to build up their portfolio. I’ve been full time for 5 years, but I spent 3-5 years before that building my portfolio. I still do creative shoots to sharpen my skills, have up to date content, and meet new people/brands, but ultimately if I’m going to do a trade, it needs to benefit both of us, not only you. It’s been said time and time again, exposure doesn’t pay my bills and while yes a majority of my work comes from word of mouth, it’s from people who paid full price. If it was a trade situation, it was a trade that benefited both of us. Side note: keep in mind the brands rights and usage when doing a trade shoot. It made sense for each of us in this scenario, but it may not always make sense for you.

My hair is this long again and I’m debating cutting a few inches or going for my usual, the full chop to long bob. What would you do? : @ovethmartinez

Spent Monday and Tuesday in the most breathtaking place ever and now I’m ready for all the road trips and adventures. On my list so far: Zion Grand Canyon + Sedona again... All over Colorado SLO Back to Yosemite See more

Where do you find your community these days? Online? In person? Both? I’ve found joy in both an online and an in person community, but my online community wouldn’t be successful if I didn’t have the in person relationships to back it up. I spent the last month going through Proverbs with a group of people online via a group DM, but it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t invited my friend @josephsurfs to @saturate_oc . He and his girlfriend @mariah_broad have become such good... friends of mine during this time. Joseph and I have known each other for a long time, but we really haven’t chatted much in the past 2 years since I took photos of him. I saw on Instagram he was growing in his relationship with God, so I passed on the information about Saturate since he doesn’t live far. Fast-forward to meeting in a park with one of their friends and attending @hallelujahunderground and now going through Proverbs together. Today is our last day and while I only have personally met J+M, this community has been so life giving this past month. Every day, I wake up to at least one message in the group whether it’s a verse that really stood out, a prayer request, or insight on how a verse is speaking into someone’s life in the group. This community wouldn’t mean so much if people weren’t willing to be vulnerable and show up no matter what. There are definitely days where I think man I don’t feel like reading Proverbs before bed tonight. I’m really tired and I need to pack/edit, but I force myself to at least read through it once then go back again. I’ve read every chapter, but honestly, I’m still going back and taking notes on chapter 27 today. Proverbs is a lot to take in. The Bible in general is a lot to take in. Don’t be afraid to re-read the same chapter 3-5 times if you have to or read another version - the other night I read the NIV, Passion, ESV, and King James THEN I went to my study Bible with commentary and compared it to the commentary in the Passion Bible. Find a community who will go through it with you. Don’t be afraid to start your own - that’s what Joseph and Mariah did and it’s been exactly what I need in the midst of a busy season.

I talked to a few friends in New York today, which made me think of this day. It made me think of all of the models I’ve photographed over the years... models I’ve stayed friends with, models I follow on Instagram but haven’t seen in years, models I follow and shoot with each year, etc. I’m not one to pay attention to followers usually, but I’ve watched the follower count drop dramatically throughout covid from 11.2k to 10.7k. Don’t get me wrong, I unfollowed quite a few p...eople I never see/talk to or who don’t inspire me. I know with lockdown, I was personally limited on content and was/am posting old photos (like these shots) and like everyone was posting daily life, but now I’m back to shooting pretty consistently and exploring again. SO!! What do you want to see? What do you want to see more/less of? What inspires you? What makes you follow me or want to follow me? See more

In light of yesterday @hufworldwide @keithhufnagel // threw in a couple extras for fun though.

Stoked for a mini road trip this weekend and finally reuniting with my gal pal @nessietodd. The last time we saw each other was at (re)treat yo’self right before lockdown here are a few favorites from that weekend getaway!