We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jacqueline Giltrow a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jacqueline , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I had studied Photography at university, but upon finishing up at University I really had no passion for it. I felt like “studying” photography had taken the joy out of it. I went on to work in marketing, sales and business development roles. I worked in the corporate sector for 17 years. I enjoyed it, making my way up the ladder and meeting amazing people. However I wasn’t waking up everyday excited about my life and I started to wonder if there was something more for me. I took a trip to Europe with a friend and felt instantly inspired again. That trip was only 3 weeks but I knew I wanted more time to flesh out this feeling. I was working in a female dominated retail sector at the time. I went to my head of operations and told her I needed maternity leave- only I wasn’t pregnant and would only need 3 months not 6 months. Of course there was a few more details than that but you get the idea.

I took my sabbatical in Positano on the Amalfi Coast. I spent the time eating, drinking and taking photos. You don’t come back from that- you just figure out how to make it full time. So I returned to Australia, gave me notice and moved to Italy. To be transparent I really had no idea how I was going to make it work, I had no portfolio or experience running my own business. I knew though- I would figure it out, whatever I needed to do, however much I needed to wing it.

Fast forward 5 years and I’m still spending summers in Positano- travelling the world creating moments and living exactly as I had planned. It’s not been without sacrifice, self doubts and some epic failures. The biggest risk for me was staying where I was, so it was an easy decision to make the move, leave all comfort zones behind. The hard part is the execution- but you just have to trust yourself, and surround yourself with the right people.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

From a young age I was passionate about photography. My father was a keen photography hobbyest and I was fascinated by his cameras, light and capturing beautiful moments. The first lesson I learnt from him was “It’s the Indian not the arrow” so my early stages were focused on finding my eye, not the equipment I was using. This is something that has definitely stayed with me through my career, I went on to study photography at university, but by the end if the degree I actually found myself uninspired by the craft. The classroom environment had somehow taken the joy out of it for me so upon leaving university I went on to work in marketing and sales roles.
I stayed in the corporate sector for 17 years before a trip to Italy saw me find my joy of photography again. I decided to make the leap from corporate to creative life. I packed up my life in Australia and moved to Positano on the Amalfi coast.
To be transparent, in the early stages I really had no solid plan on how I would forge a career as a full time photographer- I just knew I wanted freedom, travel and to create beautiful and aspirational imagery.

I created the opportunity for fashion brands to shoot content in stunning locations without the need to send full teams. In essence they would send the product and I would deliver the full production end to end. Shooting international campaigns can be costly and quite time consuming for brands to produce themselves, this place in the market to offer brands the ability to create aspirational campaigns around the world with a lot more ease is something I became very passionate about and utlimitely became the majority of my creative work.

Basing myself between Europe and Indonesia for the past four years it’s hard to pin down one moment I am most proud of. I’ve seen so many amazing moments and connections with new people. The freedom this creative life is affording me is beyond words. I think the one thing I will say it’s just go for it- the moment to take the leap is something you will never regret- everything works out, you can build a life you are proud of, it just takes that first step.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I would have loved the ability to connect easily with other creatives and source talent like HMUA/Models etc in the locations I was traveling to. It’s been this need that I have actually been working with a partner to create an app to connect creatives and brands globally.
Our app “Locational” will be live the end of August. It’s a project I am super excited about and really feel its an industry tool that see so many amazing creatives and brands connect easily to create around the world.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me it’s seeing the emotion evoked by beautiful imagery. Those special moments that inspire, encourage people to dream, see the world in a new way. There is something so powerful about a photo, the way it speaks differently to everyone.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @jacgiltrow
• Other: https://locational.app/