Karen Mullen is grounded in the solid teachings provided by the Professional Photographers of America and the Professional Photographers of Washington; as well as additional education with the Professional Photographic Association of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri.

Karen, along with her daughter Laine, continues to attend courses in photography and photoshop, where she has learned advanced retouching and special effects for her work.

Professional Affiliations:

• Karen is a Certified Professional Photographer and a member of the Professional Photographers of America (www.ppa.com)• Professional Photographers of Washington (www.ppw.org)
• National Association of Photoshop Professionals (www.photoshopuser.com)

Specializations
• High School Seniors
• Babies
• Children
• Families

Karen & the Mullen Clan
Part II: The Long Story
Karen began taking photographs while she was an exchange student in Germany in high school. She studied photography and writing at the University of Missouri and received a Bachelor of Journalism.

Karen and her late husband Leo began their marriage in 1983 upon graduation. An early pregnancy changed Karen’s career plans: she intended to work for the Springfield News Leader, as Leo did, but she had a firm commitment to staying home with her children. She freelanced for several years, then switched to stock photography, where her work was represented by a stock photo agency.

In 1997, tired of Karen’s complaints about working for free for friends and acquaintances, Leo encouraged her to form a portrait photography business. She immersed herself in education provided by the Professional Photographers of America and the Professional Photographers of Washington and additional education with the Professional Photographic Association of British Columbia. From a background of journalistic photography, Karen learned to incorporate great poses with great moments.

In 1999 Karen began her training in Adobe Photoshop and invested in the appropriate equipment. Computers and photography together changed Karen’s direction and she made the jump to full-time digital photography in 2002 to complete the transformation.

Karen lost her husband Leo unexpectedly in 2000. She is grateful to both Leo and God for allowing her to have three years of education behind her before she was compelled to grow a small business into a somewhat larger business!

Critical to the story, Karen was three months pregnant when Leo died. Today, little Leo is 7 years old. With the support of her three young adult kids, Karen juggles photography and parenting, occasionally finding time for household duties such as cooking dinner.

Laine, Karen’s 22-year-old daughter, photographs sessions during the summer, when available. Laine is a theatre student at the Ilkhom Conservatory in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Gabe, Karen’s 18-year-old son,is a senior at Lynden Christian. He is the editor for the school paper and writes prolifically.

Ben, Karen’s 24-year-old son, is a guard in Bellingham.

Leo, Karen’s 7-year-old son, provides joy and laughter for the whole family.

In November 2007 Karen opened up an actual home studio in what was once her garage. She also still photographs on location.

In May 2008, Karen passed both the image review and the PPA certification exam to become one of only 17 certified professional photographers in Washington! It was a great brain exercise and helped fill in gaps that Karen wished to fully understand. Photography is both a brainy and artsy business!

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