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

Caroline, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Everyone has crazy stuff happen to them, but often small business owners and creatives, artists and others who are doing something off the beaten path are often hit with things (positive or negative) that are so out there, so unpredictable and unexpected. Can you share a crazy story from your journey?

I’m very fortunate to have captured some of the top leading women and men in their fields (entrepreneurs, coaches, course creators, spiritual leaders, authors, speakers) – Marie Forleo, Amy Porterfield, Chalene Johnson, Fabienne Fredrickson, Michael Beckwith, Marianne Williamson, Kai Ryssdal from NPR. Those are some of the major positive achievements of my photography career, but people are almost always a bit shocked to hear: none of these people made my business suddenly blow up. And in fact, nothing of the sort.

Any upticks I saw in my business seemed to smooth-out or course-correct the following year. (I started my business as a side hustle in 2005 and went full time in 2011 when I was finally done being an actor. I’ve grossed over a million dollars as a photographer & I love coaching and mentoring other photographers to help them achieve the successes they want.)

I think a lot of people think that because I have worked with such an array of people at that high level, that I’m not available or attainable for the brand new just-starting-out entrepreneur or coach. So in some ways I wonder if capturing these big names has actually lost me potential clients.

I think some people assume those “big dogs” is a key to my success, but I really think a big chunk of it is micro-influencers – and in fact, the micro influencers I am talking about would never refer to themselves as that. Call them “squeaky wheels” – the talkers. The people that tell all their friends “omigod you HAVE to get this it’s AMAZING. It’s the BEST.”

And then if I have photographed someone that a person knows in real life, it sort of clicks for them (no pun intended) what I do, making people look really fabulous and beautiful but also very real, alive, and completely themselves. Their essence. Them on their very best day. I try to really limit photoshop to keeping it extremely subtle.

I think for every client I got that had faith in me and chose me because of that stamp of approval from Marie Forleo, Amy Porterfield and the others, there was another potential client that I lost because they thought “not yet. I’m not there yet, Or One day maybe, when I’m BIG.”

So those are some big positives, but this is a juicy question and because people may be expecting something outrageous,
here is a rundown of outrageous things I have seen or dealt with:
– an Australian client who stiffed me, then demanded photos before ANY payment was made (I didn’t even get a deposit that time!)
– a client who never showed up and seemed to have simply vanished. I still wonder what happened.
– a couple of actors who completely flew off the handle because they thought they could get anything under the sun that they wanted. I think they had sniffed out that I was a people pleaser. One was a very scary big old guy who threatened to sue me over $150. He previously made a point of telling me he made $400k a year. Thank GOD I had a makeup artist there as a witness.
– a couple of people who wrote not so lovely reviews but continue to use their photos to great success while their bad reviews sit at the top of my yelp (but I think we all know at this point yelp is pretty terrible.)
– a guy who brought what looked like a very real gun into my apartment and wanted photos of him holding the gun (I refused).
– a So-Cal based “celebrity” stylist I referred big money clients to, who I then hired for myself but simply got conned (was really shocking considering the business relationship – can you imagine a stylist who delivers literally nothing? Beware of stylists that say they work with celebrities but can’t show or name any.)
– someone famous-ish and supposedly very spiritual saying homophobic and gross money-obsessed things during their shoot, and just being really icky in general. That was a rough one. I felt like I had been hit by a truck on a metaphysical psychic level. I was bedridden for 3 days. I learned a big lesson that day: all of these leaders and heroes. They are just people. Full of quirks and flaws and blindspots. They are really just channels for what they preach. They teach what they too need to learn. Appreciate their message but don’t deify the man or woman.
– oh and I’ve had my photos stolen and used by other entrepreneurs and even other photographers, I’ve lost track of how many times.

The trick with a lot of this stuff is trying to deal with it quickly and efficiently so you can move on. A tall order though for sensitive creative types! I try to ask myself “is this bringing me closer to my vision? or taking me further away from my vision? who I want to be, what I want me life to be, what I want my business to be…”
I’ve also started to differentiate what is a personal legacy vs what is a professional legacy. Because a lot of people with a huge professional legacy, well, were huge jerks! They valued professional or creative legacy far above personal legacy – Picasso, John Lennon, Mother Theresa. It’s sort of shocking when you look into these massive historical figures and geniuses.

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 started as a headshot photographer for actors and was a Backstage Reader’s Choice top headshot photographer for 4 years in a row in Los Angeles and New York City. It was perfect because I was an actor myself.

In 2011 I had a massive burglary of ALL of my equipment and ALL of my lifetime archives. No insurance. No cloud backup.

That’s around when I was done with acting. I was more upset about the photos lost than anything else. Because my whole life’s work was gone save for a dinky little website and some low rez facebook photos, I became obsessed with creating work that was so much better than anything I’d ever done before. I needed to take the significance off the loss somehow. It really was like life or death for me for a couple of years. If I didn’t top myself at every single shoot I felt like a failure. It was not healthy. But it made me a far better photographer. People seemed to take notice. I was churning out a lot of great work, pushing myself constantly. I slept with my laptop next to me for months.

I sort of fell into personal branding photography (and videography was a logical part of that since I had been on so many sets and loved film and TV). I got pretty lucky with the timing of when I quit acting and started traveling for clients all over the world. The coaching industry was growing perfectly alongside me, unbeknownst to me I think. I think my background as an actor and filmmaker gave me this special sauce, that I see every photo as a potential still taken from a movie or commercial. What is the scene? What is the story? I think a lot of photographers miss this.

If the subject is looking into the camera, then the scene is between the person and the audience, so who is the audience? What are they looking to feel? How does the subject connect with the audience without being able to speak? It is through gesture, body language, posing, expression, movement, the environment around them, the lighting, the clothes. It all says something. For my clients it is usually along the lines of “Welcome! Hi! I’m here to help. I’ve got you. We’re gonna do this together! It’s gonna be fun! I’ve been where you are. I feel you. I understand your struggles and fears. Get ready for amazing things!”

And then balancing all of that with flattering lighting, angles, colors, clothes and subtle post-production.

With underwater photography and maternity photos in the water though, it is completely different. It’s all about letting go, relaxing, enjoying the warm water (I shoot in private heated pools mostly, though I have shot in the ocean a bunch as well). My underwater work is all about escape, fantasy, dreams, outerspace, and my maternity work is all about the idea of the womb, mother nature, safety, warmth, the quiet of the water as womb, before being born into the wild and loud world.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I think being a recovering people pleaser, learning about where that comes from in society and as well as from childhood. Getting over it is clunky, ineloquent. Sometimes you over-correct. I follow Terri Cole and the Holistic Psychologist and love their content. Having an amazing circle of friends who are supportive and positive are key also. Or even just one friend. Be very careful about letting people who subtly de-value you close to you. Keyword there is subtle, because it’s harder to spot than full-on assholes.

I don’t believe in cutting people out unless they are truly toxic. I think you can have a variety of friendships and business relationships – not everyone has to be a version of what you want to become yourself (you know that old saying that you are the sum of the people you spend the most time with), but I think if you are open, you can see qualities in people that you appreciate and admire. You don’t have to have a circle of just million dollar boss babes. My circle really runs an extremely wide gamut. I would really challenge anyone to show me they have a more diverse circle. I am very close with people I don’t agree with politically even, and I love them dearly. Mandy Kahn the poet teaches a weekly free “peace class” that has been an inspiration. Highly recommend.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I am very competitive. I’m always looking for ways to differentiate my work and my services, while staying inspired and true to my creative instincts. It used to be unhealthy. I’ve softened a bit. My confidence has deepened. I have become a bit more chill. I don’t have as much to prove anymore when it comes to branding photography. My Underwater photography is newer, only about 3 years in. Those shoots take me forever to edit sometimes. I am re-developing my eye again in a whole different way. It’s exciting. I feel younger, fresher. I am learning to like the unknown, to find the thrill in that rather than fear or dread. Fear is often an interpretation on excitement. Nerves can be good. It’s all energy.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.carolinewhitephotography.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/carolinewfineart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarolineWPhoto/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-white-80333112
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/carolinegirl81
• Other: www.instagram.com/carolinewphoto https://maps.app.goo.gl/mdHCwxcczv1GLNih8

Image Credits
all images (c) Caroline White Photography