Everything can be a source of inspiration

Svetlana Karner is a traveler. She lives in Vienna, Dubai, and Provence with her family. In vain, one looks for this balancing act or even restlessness in her pictures. With the help of her family, she has created a world of images in which emotionality and sustainability are deeply anchored. We talked to her about her path into stock photography, the influence of her family, and her inspirations

Hey Svetlana, thank you for doing this interview. Let’s get right to it – how did you become a photographer, and how did you take your first step in the stock photography business?

Hi Westend61, thank you so much for having me. I used to work in an international trading company. Traveling a lot was one part of the job; I got to meet so many people. At that time, I discovered photography, which soon became my biggest passion. I started taking pictures everywhere I went. In 2009, an American agency saw my photographic work and invited me to work with them. I’ve started to sell my first images. That’s how I got into stock photography.

You focus on family a lot. How does that affect your work?

After the birth of my daughter Lilly I quit my job and started with family sessions. I also uploaded the images to Instagram.
I used to photograph still life with a focus on food initially, but my daughter taught me how fun it could be to photograph emotions.

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Speaking of Instagram. You have quite a large number of followers. How does it help you sell your work?

My followers became my clients and gave me support, but it is more than that. Instagram is still a great opportunity to share my work as well as some thoughts and ideas about photography.

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We think one of your productions, in particular, showcases a drastic change we need in the way we treat nature to make a promising future for our children possible. You’re in a field with wind turbines in the background—a simple yet trend-setting production where you give your emotional imagery a perfect setting. How did you come up with this production?

It’s not just my work. It’s everything. We try to support and implement a sustainable lifestyle as far as we can. We started with organic shopping and vegan-only days about ten years ago. We even tried to produce by ourselves in France without creating waste. Our daughter is familiar with these things, and I try to explain them by showing her examples, like visiting local farms with fruits and animals. The windmill trip was also one of that kind. We had a lovely picnic out there, and now she is very excited each time she sees windmills. I think the earlier we start to teach about sustainable living in all its facets, the better, and the best thing is to teach our children by living a live example.

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Show us a photo or Production from our portfolio by another Westend61 photographer that inspires you. Why does it?

This is not so easy, because there are so many great pictures. However, one picture by Tania Cervian immediately comes to mind. It shows a woman riding her bike through the fields. I love her emotions and the feeling of freedom. It also reminds me of my favorite place – Provence, where I often go by bike to discover new places and get inspired by nature.

I also love the pictures of Uwe Umstädter and the way he portrays older people

Where do you seek your inspiration from?

I love to shoot people in their natural surroundings and try to capture genuine emotions. I’m always searching for new faces which inspire me and give me ideas for the next photo shoot.

But also, everyday life could be a source of inspiration, where you can find beautiful moments in some routine activities.

Please name your favorite photo from your Westend61 profile.

As for my favorite shot, I like the image of the daughter embracing her father, which I took this summer