We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Katherine Caro a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Katherine, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?
I am happier as a creative because this is what I’ve been wanting to do since I was in college. Sometimes I still think about what would it be like to just have a regular job. To be honest, it’s been a year and a half since I quit a regular job, but I feel better now because I’m FINALLY enjoying what I love to do. I sometimes reminisce those times after I graduated, I wanted to work for media networks but the money that I’ll be making won’t be enough to help my family. So, I decided to work at a BPO company that offers more. Back then, I needed to make decisions based on survival. It was a hard because I easily got burnt out and ended up regretting my decision at some point. Now, that I’m already working on my creative career path, I can’t help but be proud of myself. Resilience and patience got me where I’m at right now.
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 getting interested with photography since I was in grade school because my dad loves taking photos. I started with mobile photography on 2014; with Instagram’s #foodie, I would always take photos of food. Later on, I practiced taking photos of events, concerts to be specific. I became the photographer and public relations officer of Himig, my alma mater’s official music organization, and that helped me take better photos of concerts. I fell in love with low-light photography too! Around 2016, I applied to be a photojournalist at The Adamson Chronicle, my alma mater’s official student publication. Fortunately, I was able to make it; from there, I learned about sports photography, I had access to university games, and took photos at the courtside together with sports photographers from media channels! It was such a great experience. I am thankful to be a part of that organization. When I graduated in 2017, I made photography my side hustle; I would take birthday, wedding photos and basketball photos for the company I was working with. From 2019-2021, I was in Bahrain, I met group of photographers that helped me learn more about portrait photography, one time, I also had the opportunity to take photos of Bahrain’s National Basketball team. Now that I am in San Diego, I would like to help military’ families by taking good family photos. I understand the struggle of being far from family from time to time, so I want to be a part of their special moments together, by taking good photos. About being a content creator, I just started creating User Generated Content or UGC content late last year. I was approached by a company to make few videos for products, then I just kept doing it until more businesses/ companies approach me to help them market their products and services. Being a freelance photographer helped me connect with a lot of businesses, because I understand what they want to grow. This is one of the reasons why I always build a healthy connection with brands I work with.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I didn’t have my own camera til I graduated on 2017. So, I would need to borrow camera from my friends or The Adamson Chronicle’s office to be able to take photos of events. I never had a good laptop to edit photos too, so I use the Chronicle’s computer too to edit. Luckily, my brother had his own after I graduated, so I could borrow it whenever. It was so hard not to have all the equipments and tools to pursue my passion (photography); it is really expensive, but hey. Things just get better! I still learned and became a really resourceful photographer because of my challenges. Thanks to my supportive mom for my first camera and to my husband for providing more equipment that I need to improve my passion and services.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative, is the freedom to express and tell stories. I love how being a photographer and content creator allows me to introduce myself to people without saying a word. Let’s say, my reels about coffee shows how much of a coffee lover I am. The way I edit photos shows how warm I am. Even the way I take photos shows how much I value the most simple things in life.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katecoolens/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@katecoolensugc https://www.instagram.com/katesperspectives/