Today we’d like to introduce you to Francisco Marcial and Karen Ochoa-Marcial.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Back in 2012 my husband and I were dating, and I had joined a pageant. He would attend all of my events and sat there with his camera in hand. All the girls from the pageant were so intrigued because there he was, always, like my personal photographer. By the end of the beauty contest, he uploaded the pictures to social media and plenty of people reached out asking who the photographer was. It then sparked an idea to us that maybe we can work together, as a team, and have our own photography business. I didn’t know anything about cameras at the time, Francisco did, but I definitely knew how to strike a pose and visualize an idea, so that’s exactly how we started. I would pose clients and Francisco would snap the picture. Today, CKM Photography is still a team of two and we’re working toward an ever-growing portfolio.
Please tell us about your art.
Our inspiration comes from our clients. We meet up with them for a consultation to get to know them more, and we go over their ideas. Often times client’s will have a theme or they bring in a sample picture of what they want. We build off of those ideas and begin our search to find a location and give them prop suggestions. There is nothing more pleasant than to see the face of a customer light up the day we reveal their pictures. It’s astonishing to hear them say that what they envisioned came to life through a picture. We try to go above and beyond to capture that life time memory even if it means staying overtime at no additional cost. Most of the events we do are cotillons, a girl only turns fifteen once, so we try to make it as magical as possible for them. We want our customers to look back at their pictures years down and to relive that moment with a smile on their face.
Given everything that is going on in the world today, do you think the role of artists has changed? How do local, national or international events and issues affect your art?
Countless number of unfortunate events can happen around the world, but the one thing that can never change is art as a form of expression. We choose to display the beautiful side of the world through our photography. With so much negativity going around our newsfeed, it’s always great to see an inspiring image that restores your faith in humanity.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
All of our work is displayed on our website under “client galleries”. None of the albums are set to private settings so everyone is more than welcome to view. We also have a Facebook and Instagram account where we share behind the scenes pictures and videos. We love to see our viewers reactions with hearts and emojis. The best form of support toward our work is by sharing our posts, hitting the like button, and leaving a recommendation comment on a post when someone is looking for a photographer. We are always thankful for that.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2251 S Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL, 60616 - Website: www.ckmphotography.net
- Phone: 773-329-7611
- Email: k.ckmchicago@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instragram.com/ckmchicago
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ckmchicago
Image Credit:
CKM Photography
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