Today we’d like to introduce you to Hailey Karcic.
Hailey, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
From a very young age, I learned to love taking pictures and videos. My Nagymama (that means grandmother in Hungarian) would always make little home videos of my cousins and I on VHS tapes. She passed away the summer before I went into second grade. It has been really difficult growing up without her in my life, and I am so thankful for all of the memories she was able to capture on her camera. I believe growing up in front of the camera is what inspired me to want to make videos and take pictures throughout my life. My mom helped me post some videos on YouTube around 3rd grade. Over the years, I started getting more serious with it and created YouTube.com/HaileyKarcic. I shared my mental health stories and encouraged others to seek help. I started posting travel vlogs, exploring abandoned places, and simply documenting my life just like my Nagymama did. Although I am not very consistent with my channel, I have expanded to other social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. I like to share the reality of my life on the internet because a lot of people seem to put a mask on when it comes to social media. I try to keep my profiles as real as possible. I am not afraid to pull out my camera and post a video with no makeup on. I like to share my experiences with others because I know other people go through the same things that I have. It feels good to know that someone else can relate to you! Around 8th grade, I started getting really into photography. I started taking pictures of anything and everything I could! I recently created an Instagram account to share some of my work on social media @HaileyKarcicPhotography. I love being in front of the camera, but I love capturing amazing images behind the camera as well.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Posting my life on the internet has come with lots of challenges. I have received lots of hate comments about my weight, the way I do my job (I am also a nanny), and basically anything and everything someone could say to try to put me down. I’ve learned to just ignore the hate comments as much as I possibly can. It is also challenging to keep up with TikTok and photography when I am a college student, working full time, and dealing with mental illness. Some days I will be so motivated and get things done, while other times, I can fall into a depressive state and struggle to even get myself out of bed in the morning. Checking emails and being able to get in contact with brands for brand deals is also difficult as a college student working full time. I would like to use my platform to not only share my life with others but to hopefully be able to help afford at least gas money. I may have a decent amount of followers but what a lot of people don’t realize is that you don’t make money off of followers; you make money off of brand deals.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a full-time nanny and college student who does photography and TikTok on the side. I am very proud of myself for being able to continue with my photography and make videos, all while focusing on school. Although it can be very challenging, I am glad that I can make people smile with my videos and make people feel included. I recently had some medical issues that I spoke openly about on TikTok, and to my surprise, thousands of other people had been going through the exact same thing! I think what sets me apart from others is that although I want to do social media and photography full-time, I know that isn’t always an option. I am going to school and working towards a degree in early childhood education. I believe it is good to have a backup plan if things don’t work out. Right now, being a social media influencer is just what I would consider a side job since I don’t make very much off of it. As I continue to grow and hopefully expand my content, I will still have a degree and a career if things don’t work out.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Try to stay consistent! This is something I still struggle with, and I can tell you that going viral is very unexpected. I could work so hard on a video and spend so much time recording and editing just for it to get 100 views. The videos that have gone viral seem to always be the most unexpected random videos of my real life. If you are interested in any form of photography or videography, don’t be afraid to pick up a camera and try it out! Even just working with your cell phone, you are still gaining experience and learning what you like and dislike about it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @HaileyKarcic and @HaileyKarcicPhotography
- Youtube: YouTube.com/HaileyKarcic
- Other: TikTok: @Hailey.Karcic
Image Credits
Hailey Karcic
