We recently connected with Carin Dougherty and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Carin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Before photography, I worked in the medical field as a physician assistant. Making the transition from medicine to photography has been a wild ride, indeed! It all started with burn out from the day-to-day grind of clinical practice. I had enjoyed photography as a hobby and pastime, and had taken several local night and weekend classes on photography. One day it dawned upon me~ I could actually take some time off of work to go to photography school and really dive deep into what had become my new passion. I had a glimmer of an idea at that time, that maybe one day I could perhaps make money with my photography, but I had no idea how to do it or where to start. Fortunately, there is a well respected photography school in the town where I live, and as soon as I sat in on one of their open house events on a Saturday afternoon, I was sold on the idea of leaving my day job and enrolling in their 9 month full-time professional photography program. And that’s exactly what I did! I knew that in addition to technical and lighting skills in photography, the program also included roughly a third of the education on business and marketing. Without this, I would have been completely lost. They gave me the business tools I needed and a roadmap to get my business off the ground, and I actually graduated from the program with a business name, logo, portfolio, and website already created, as well as a business plan.

After I graduated from photography school, I returned to medicine part-time while I started to slowly build up my small photography business. It was pretty slow at first. There were long periods without bookings, and a lot of time and effort invested in free shoots to help build and expand my portfolio. But eventually I started decreasing my days in medicine and increasing the time I spent fully focused on my photography. At some point, I realized I wouldn’t be able to invest myself fully in my business with my energy and attention being diverted, even partially, to medicine. Ultimately, I decided I would cease my medical practice completely in order to pursue photography with 100% of my focus, energy, and attention. And that’s where I’m at right now~ doing everything in my power to grow and nurture my business. I’ve been exploring marketing, learning about SEO, enhancing my website, launching a new blog, and have recently run a local print ad. There are still ups and downs, but I’m grateful I was busy during wedding season and am now utilizing the “slow season” to work intensely on my SEO and marketing efforts. I look forward to 2025 and seeing how I can continue to grow and scale my business.

Carin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

When I graduated from photography school in 2021, I started my business off in the niche of boudoir photography as Carin Rene Boudoir. I figured returning to medicine and devoting only a portion of my time to photography would be more successful if I focused on a narrow photographic niche. However, over time, as I started to reduce my hours in medicine and concentrate more on photography, it became clear I needed to expand my services if I wanted to remain viable. In the summer of 2023 I redesigned my website under my new business name, Carin Rene Photo, and expanded my offerings to include weddings, portraits (family, senior, couples, pet), headshots, and model photography. I had been working as an independent contractor for Tolman Media over the preceding year, shooting weddings throughout Montana, so I had developed a portfolio of wedding imagery to use on the new website. Once I launched my new website, I started advertising my business on The Knot and WeddingWire, which proved beneficial in getting greater digital visibility. I also got connected with a local modeling agency in Western Montana and have done several studio portfolio sessions with their models.

While I started out mostly shooting on location, I had also really loved learning about studio lighting while in photography school. Early on during school I purchased a set of used strobes and umbrellas on Craigslist, but didn’t use them much until after graduation. Fortunately, there is a large area in the basement of my home where I started working more with studio lighting and backdrops. I was hesitant at first to invite clients over to my house (I was not super excited to show them the basement!), however it’s a large space and there is sufficient room to produce high quality portraits and I realized the space itself was extremely functional (though not very pretty). I have now done several paid shoots in my home studio and am very proud of the work I’ve been able to create there. Some day I’d love to finish the basement and make it a proper studio space, but until them I’m grateful to have a space to work in, as many photographers do not have such access for studio work.

There are so many talented photographers in Western Montana! It seems nearly every week I come across someone new on social media. There are not, however, a lot of studio portrait photographers in the local area. Being able to work with studio lighting is something that differentiates me from many other photographers in my local area, and I’d like to continue growing in this area. Perhaps my ultimate, long term goal with my photography business, is to move in the direction of having a full time portrait studio. But for now, I’m more than happy to be booking wedding clients, as well as other portrait clients, and also continuing to offer boudoir and other portrait sessions.

Believe it or not, there are some similarities to being a photographer and practicing medical clinician. Both require skill and bedside manner. My photography clients are often nervous and even shy in front of the camera at the start of a shoot, and I’ve learned (particularly through my initial work in boudoir) that a professional photo session can be a very empowering and uplifting experience. I absolutely love helping clients to relax and feel comfortable in front of the camera. I love bringing out the best in people and being able to show them how beautiful they are, through the art of photography.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I love this question! Photography is something I enjoy doing~ I find it to be the perfect blend of creativity and technical skill. But it’s also a means to an end for me. It has been the means by which I’ve been able to pursue owning and running my own business, and this is the biggest reward for me. I have long had a somewhat buried interest in having my own business. However, I never really explored it much as it didn’t seem like a feasible option for me. As a child I used to “play office” and “play school”… things I wanted for Christmas were a filing cabinet, grade books, and an office chair. But as I started to lose steam and drive in my clinical practice over the years, I started exploring the possibility of working for myself. Once I gave myself a little taste of it, by reducing my days per week working in medicine, I knew I wanted more; and I knew I wanted to fully work for myself 100% of the time. It made me eager to step away from my day job, probably a tad faster than might have otherwise been advised. However, I love the challenge of running my own business and seeing how far I can take it, and also disciplining myself away from negative thoughts and fear-based thinking that would impede growth. The little wins along the way with my own business mean infinitely more to me than bigger wins I’ve had in the past working for other people and other companies. Truly, the most rewarding aspect of being a creative for me is having the opportunity to be my own boss.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Pursuing this career change over the past few years has definitely tested my resilience. Moving away from a stable and financially rewarding career as a physician assistant, to an unpredictable and financially turbulent creative business owner has been, frankly, terrifying. Virtually every week I get ghosted by potential clients and don’t make bookings I felt sure I would get. It can definitely test one’s mindset and ability to stay positive. Yet, I remain focused on my long term goals, and I know there are strategies for growing the business and effectively marketing my services; and I know there are photographers who are running successful and profitable businesses. For me, the career change, in my late 40’s, has been a leap of faith, to say the least. Nurturing a small, fledgling business is forcing me to stay positive, and teaching me to embrace a new mindset that is focused on entrepreneurial success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://carinrene.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carinrenephoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carinrenephoto
• Other: My boudoir Instagram page is: https://www.instagram.com/carinreneboudoir/

Image Credits

All images by Carin Rene Photo