Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Carley Pearson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Carley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
Becoming a “Doula-tog” — a doula and photographer — was something that I now realize I’ve been in training for my entire life.
My maternal grandmother was an artist so I’ve had the great privilege of being saturated in creativity and beauty from the time I was born. At the age of 8, I graduated from making elaborate houses for my Barbies to photography when my dad gifted me my first camera. I was immediately drawn to documenting people. Not in a posed, hold still kind of way — I wanted to capture others in their element! The joy of life and the quiet, easily missed moments were the things I was most intrigued by. I spent a great deal of time playing with the camera and by the time I was in high school, I graduated with quite the portfolio thanks to the numerous photography courses my school offered and my ever growing passion. From there, I went to the University of Texas where I received my Bachelors of Fine Art in Studio Art. I spent the first couple of years in undergrad exploring other crafts but always found my way back to photography and ended my formal education with a reignited passion for it.
Becoming a doula has been a less defined path. Being a highly sensitive person, I’ve always been a helper (shout out to the other enneagram Type 2’s out there) but combining my passion for helping others and art seemed to be a harder concept for those in the formal education system to comprehend. I remember meeting with numerous career counselors in high school and undergrad and not one suggested doula as a career. I did however get advise to pursue art therapy which did land me in a job as a home health aide during college and a role at Dell Children’s Medial Center afterward where I was able to get frontline experience in the medical field, something which has now aided me greatly as a doula. My job as a Child Life Assistant has aided me now in learning my craft as a doula in ways I could never have appreciated then. It taught me how to meet families and patients where they are in their healing journeys and that many people are terrified of being in the hospital. The challenge to make the hospital less scary for my tiny patients was one I gladly accepted and still utilize to this day with my adult clients as they transition to parenthood. Even more, it taught me how to get curious about my patients feelings and validate them without taking ownership for them; something that is absolutely critical in the role of a doula.
I took a detour after working in child life and spent time in hospital administration while building my photography business on the side. At the time, I didn’t understand how this detour would help me, but it gave me the space and time to emotionally grow in ways that now make it possible for me to be a doula. I am now so grateful for this time because it gave me to opportunity to really explore what my photography business could be and taught me that photographing weddings, while checking the boxes for documenting strong emotions, was not my passion. I settled into documenting families and grew a fondness for seeing the families grow through the years! A few years later while working at a healthcare nonprofit, and after the birth of my first niece, I finally found the doula role. I attended my first birth as a photographer but left knowing this was the role that checked all the boxes — I could help others through this tremendous transition and document life’s most beautiful moments at the same time. Within a year of deciding to become a doula, I became certified through DONA International and received a graduate certificate in maternal and child health from the University of Texas School of Public Health.
I would like to say that speeding up my learning would have served me well but to be honest, time was my friend through this process. While I was in the weeds, it was frustrating for sure to not be able to see the bigger picture, but now, being on the other side, I see how each of these experiences served me to not only better understand myself for me but learn the skills to best support my clients. I now appreciate my job in a way that I’m not sure I would if I hadn’t had jobs along the way that didn’t check all the boxes. I had to learn that wedding photography wasn’t my jam before becoming a full time photographer and I had to work various roles in healthcare to learn that it wasn’t the system I was passionate about, it was the people navigating it that I wanted to serve.
The skills that I would say have been most essential would be curiosity, humility, and tenacity. Somehow, I have combined 2 of my greatest passions — serving others and documenting memories. Learning my craft and building my business has been one of the most humbling and rewarding experiences of my life. I am always learning and hope to forever be a student of my craft.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Carley Pearson and I’m a DONA certified labor doula and lifestyle photographer who specializes in maternity, birth, and newborn photography. I grew up a total river rat in New Braunfels, Texas and moved to Austin in 2008 to attend the University of Texas and haven’t left since! Friends would describe me as warm, bubbly, and rock solid. I love the full-spectrum care of people who are expecting and while I’ve always been passionate about maternal health, my sister’s birth was the tipping point I needed to dive headfirst into becoming a doula.
I take my role as a doula very seriously and it is the greatest honor being invited into someone’s birth space. My goal is to be your sounding board, your educator, your advocate, your in-pocket Google, and your biggest fan. Our work together is a judgement free zone where no question, picture of bodily fluids, or suggestion is off limits. A forever student, I am constantly learning my craft to better serve my families from preconception to postpartum and beyond. Additionally, it is one of my greatest joys to go from being someone’s doula to their family photographer! Our work together often starts with a gorgeous maternity session and blossoms from there to a newborn session and eventually annual family portraits. It is so much fun to see my families grow through the years and I’ve had to honor of documenting some of my families for over 7 years now! I am most proud of how I have taken my business from a side gig to a thriving, full-time business where I had the great privilege of attending over 100 (!!!!) births and receiving Honoree status by the 2021 Austin Birth Awards.
Whether you’re new to this whole parenthood thing, growing your family for the second time, or just needing to update your family portrait, I’m passionate about embracing the authentic and helping families feel empowered at all stages of parenthood. I have a knack for becoming friends with my clients and on any given day, you can find me hangin’ in my overalls with my camera in one hand and a book on birth in the other. My hubby and I currently live in the Allandale neighborhood in Austin with our feisty calico, Beanie, and hilarious labs, Wink and Emmylou. When we aren’t chasing after our brood, you can find us chowing down at Little Deli or taking a dip in Barton Springs.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Honestly, just by being myself! I love connecting with others and I consider it an honor, not a chore, to do so. I like to actually get to know my clients and their stories! My biggest goal is to help clients feel empowered. For my photography clients, that may mean taking the stress out of their newborn session by keeping their toddler entertained while they feed their newborn (and documenting some super cute pictures of their toddler while I’m at it!). With my doula clients, it may mean getting to the root of what they are most afraid of and helping unpack the evidence so they feel more comfortable and confident in their decision. In both situations, taking a genuine interest (because I want to!) in my clients always serves me well — and helps me to serve them well in turn!
I am also a firm believer that there is a doula and a photographer for everyone. That doulatog may not be me, but if it is, I’m so honored to be in your corner! As weird as it sounds, I always give potential clients permission not to hire me. Working together is like picking a partner — we are going to be together during one of the most vulnerable moments in your life. I want you to feel 1000% comfortable with me by your side and I never take is personally if there’s someone else that is a better fit for you. I am also a firm believer that the clients and the babies I’m supposed to be at their birth, I will somehow be there. I once interviewed with a client who ultimately selected another doula. That doula ended up getting COVID and I attended the client’s birth in her place! You just never know which babies and which clients the universe believes needs your energy.
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
I love to spoil my clients! I always say that I have a knack for becoming friends with my clients. And if I view them as friends, not just clients, why not treat them like friends as well? I am super invested in my client’s lives; each of their milestones are on my calendar. As a result, I’m a big fan of hand written notes of encouragement for no reason, reaching out around milestones and birthdays, homemade sitz bath and bone broth, and never coming to a postpartum check in empty handed. One of my first questions I ask my doula clients is if they’re coffee drinkers and how they take their coffee. My goal is to alway go above and beyond for each of my clients and if for whatever reason I am unable to, I always communicate honestly, clearly, and respectfully. This approached as served me well time and time again. I am so proud to say that referrals are my main source of business and I am so grateful to my incredible clients for their loyalty. It has allowed me to take a step back from the parts of my business I don’t feel as passionately about (like social media) and invest my time in the parts of my business I truly enjoy (like taking more classes so I can better serve my clients!).
Contact Info:
- Website: www.carleyephotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carleyephotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carleyephotography/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carley-pearson-cd-dona-b6383746/
Image Credits
Family Portrait by Eryn Davidson Photography Headshots by Diana Ascarrunz Photography