We were lucky to catch up with Carolina Rivera recently and have shared our conversation below.

Carolina, appreciate you joining us today. Innovation comes in all shapes, sizes and across all industries, so we’d love to hear about something you’ve done that you feel was particularly innovative.

The Pandemic has flipped us upside down, across every industry and across the entire world. That’s definitely something we can all relate to in one way or another. Some people had to dig their way up for some sort of “air”/relief, while others found their footing a bit more easily. The term “pivot” was first coined during that time period as an essential way of being able to still run your business/career, in a way that might be different from the usual, with the new demands of the market.

For a while, myself and other photographers were really running dry with our income, as in-person weddings kept getting pushed back further, family photo sessions were being held from porches (if at all), and in-person gatherings for networking were also on hold.

With the bad always comes another side if you dig deeper though. At least that’s the way I see it.

It’s within this time period that I discovered “virtual photography” – which intrigued me at first, and I started to “play” with it. While at the beginning it was not at it’s most developed, using facetime “screenshots” in low resolution to capture the images, it still intrigued me enough to give it a shot. Eventually the form of virtual photography took a little more interest amongst a community of photographers internationally, and even a couple of apps were developed for better quality photos through a phone. Since we were so sheltered at the time, yet all experiencing the same experiences, same emotions, different ways, all across the globe, and with this unique way of capturing people via a “phone call”- I started a project of capturing faces across the world, connecting with random people in different cities and countries, and interviewing them about their pandemic experiences.

I found it was such a beautiful way to connect with strangers, who were all experiencing the same thing at the same time around the world.

The idea of virtual photography is really fascinating to me – a photo captured through a phone, which nowadays many people do regularly with the quality of the mobile devices – being led by a professional photographer on the other side of the camera as to where to put the phone for placement, light, and how to pose.

It is not something that I thought would ever be possible, to have a professional, high quality photo shoot, without the photographer being in the same room with you.

And I think it has led me to explore the possibilities of photography. I cant wait to see what the next developments in another 25 years might be.

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.

My name is Carolina Rivera. I am a wedding and portrait photographer, with a fine art documentary approach. I started my journey into the art world since I was a child, always being fascinated with drawing, painting, people watching, and flipping through family photo albums. I evolved that love of art into a career choice, as I decided to go to college for photography, and received a BFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts in NYC. My influences growing up were in fashion, portrait, and documentary photography, but always with a fascination for people and what makes them tick on the inside (in fact, before becoming a photographer, I considered becoming a psychologist). I think this mix of influences has helped shape my photography to what it is now. I slowly worked my way into the wedding world, as this is not something I thought I’d be doing. Weddings, 20-30 years ago, were not the creative outlets that they are now, and that has changed a lot since I’ve been shooting weddings. It is the part of the industry that I love – to be able to make creative and expressive images that can be considered “art” yet it is also meaningful to someone and their family as an irreplaceable memory of a special day.

My portfolio of wedding images is heavily centered on emotions. I love to instigate feelings through my images, and transport the viewers into a different era while looking into this world that the image creates. Similar to the way cinema does, which is also a huge inspiration to me. It’s something that I think not a lot of wedding photographs do. Many wedding photographs capture the look of the day, and the beauty of the surroundings, but something I’m proud to be able to boast is that I capture the essence of how it felt to be there in that moment, and that is always my goal when creating an image. A highlight in my career was when I received the sought-after recognition of Rangefinder Magazine’s Rising Stars in Wedding Photography in 2020.

When I’m not capturing images of people, I am a mom to 2 little girls, a dog mom, a wife. You can find me at the gym, at a corner of Barnes and Nobles with a coffee and a stack of self development books, or spending time with my family (I’m one of 4 siblings and we are extremely close).

You can find my latest work on my instagram account at @carolinariveraphotographer – follow me and say “hey!” I love making new friends

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

The road to becoming a full-time artist/photographer was definitely a long one for me – and one when several times I felt like giving up. It is not your typical run-of-the-mill job in corporate that lands you benefits and salary increases, let alone a steady paycheck. You are the CEO of your business at the same time as the employee, the delivery person, the marketing manager, the project manager, the accountant, and everything in between.

That said, when I left college, after having graduated with a photography degree, it was such a large world that I felt lost.

I started out with jobs that “paid the bills” like waitressing, working in production for a photography studio, among others, while still building up my love photography and trying to figure my way into the industry. All this while not having much contact with other photographers, because the internet community of photographers was really just getting started.

My final job before going full time as a photographer, I was working as a Creative Director for a start up magazine. Every bit of that paycheck went towards living expenses, and every bit of my photography “side hussle” income was going towards reinvesting in myself through equipment, workshops, education, website, advertising, and building myself up. I got to a point where I had a little bit of footing underneath of me, so when I was let go from my job, I thought it was the perfect time to give myself the permission to go full time with my passion of photography. I made sure I had about 6 months of living expenses saved up, and buckled in, and got going.

I dont think this move would have been possible had it not been for the strong community of photographers that I have been so thankful to know. Just as I was getting started with my business, the photography community via internet forums, facebook groups, and in-person gatherings became an important tool of growth for me and still is to this day.

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

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is knowing that I am creating something meaningful for someone else. I love that I am not only fulfilling my own desire as an artist to create, and have a medium of expression for myself, but that whatever I create actually means something to the person I created it for. There is no substitute for that feeling. I don’t think I would ever be able to feel that working in a corporate 9-5 job, taking orders from someone, or working in a streamlined setting with defined roles. As hard as it is to “do everything” all at once in my job, it’s also a blessing to be able to control every aspect of what my career is, and to be able to actually make money, support my family, and do what I love having created this life for myself, makes me super proud of what I’ve done – especially looking back at my 21 year-old confused self, not knowing whether to go back to college for a more “traditional” role, or stick with it. I’m glad I stuck with it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cwrphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolinariveraphotographer
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cwrphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolina-rivera-20511a7/
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/carolinariveraphotographer/

Image Credits
Photos by Carolina Rivera Photo of Carolina by Jashim Jalal Studios