We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Carla Cladd. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Carla below.

Hi Carla , thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I learn photography by picking up my iPhone one day and started taking photos. Learning the different angles of each person I took photos of with that phone but as time went on that’s when I started looking at YouTube videos of different photographers. Going to college for a few semester as an art major, I took a film photography class that taught me the main thing shooting on manual mode. Learning the shutter speed ,f stop , aperture ,even iso that made an impact on my work today! . What I know now I just wished that I would’ve went to college for art when I graduated instead of nursing because I would’ve learned all the important things first but all in all i still came out on top in the end . And of course I’m still learning new techniques each day! Obstacle that’s stood in my way would be self doubt I had a lot of it ! Comparing my work to other people made me feel less than a photographer at one point however I had to understand that every photographer work and shooting style is different because photography is art and art has many layers to it!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a down to earth spiritual person that love all types of art! I’m big on energies so when I’m working with a client or even doing a event ,their energy plays a big part in the session because that’s how I know the shoot will be amazing for the both of us. I’m not limited when it comes to photography , I can do quite a lot but if I don’t know ,I will learn and I’m not ashamed to tell a client I don’t know but this photographer do because we all know our strong suits when it comes to this line of work. I started out with photography when I was taking photos on my iPhone4! I was having photo session and all! But of course I soon bought my first camera and the journey started to grow from there. I’ve been taking photos for like 10 years but 6 years professionally ,it’s been some ups and downs but I wouldn’t change it for the world. My main goal is to be a high fashion photographer for some of the top magazines companies and I know I will be up there one day. I always remember my brand “Keep Creating Keep Inspiring “ to keep me going at times as well. All around I’m artist, my camera is my paint brush and the clients are my canvases.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy I use to build my clientele is posting on social media every chance I get with creative shoots that will catch a person eye! And letting them know it’s going to be a great vibe with me when coming to their session.

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

Making my clients feel beautiful in their own skin and seeing their eyes light up when showing them some of the photos off camera. And the biggest of them all is giving them the edit photos and they tell me they love them and how beautiful they are! Getting to create more art with my models each chance I get.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.urbanfilmsphotography.com
• Instagram: hot.tea_
• Facebook: Alexandria Carla

Image Credits
Couple Photo – Adaisa and Traveon Shanice Raegan Regina Do’Shea Nykeria Jocelyn Sienna Joshalyn Shalom