I’m 16 years old and look over to my father on the other side of the pool table, “I’m going to be a music teacher.” His response was classic, “Aleks my Son nooo. You’re not going to make An-E Mahhhhhhne.” Then he asked, “What, you teach high school?” I nodded in the affirmative akin to a dog who had just been scolded for destroying a couch cushion. “Even worse! Why can’t you be doctor or lawyer?” And pretty much every year since, at least once or twice he will remind me, … “You know… you still could become doctor or lawyer. Look at your seester.”

An old school immigrant mentality yes, but he means well. I bring this up because I texted a colleague earlier this week, in the middle of a conversation, “I’m a sucker for teaching.” A sucker. That moment had me pause, not as a derogatory item but as in I love teaching. I look at the lessons of my family, the copious amount of college education under my belt, and the 20+ years of trial and error with entrepreneurship and art, and I think to myself, why wouldn’t I want to give this away? 

Photography, Art, Life, it’s all trial and error. Missteps, false starts, and small victories are what create great art. Those lessons need to be shared, built upon, adapted. That being said, I’m rolling out Teach Me Tuesdays on Instagram. Coined by one of our dear followers, every Tuesday I’ll pop on to social media for a bit of bitesized photo rant, and how to improve your already gorgeous photos to the extraordinary.

Not following me on instagram? Get on it! You can find the studio @karjaka and my personal @alekskarjaka. And as always, my team and I are here with any questions or topics you’d like covered!

Happy Snapping!