We recently connected with Tabitha Turner and have shared our conversation below.
Tabitha, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you have any thoughts about how to create a more inclusive workplace?
I’m very passionate about creating more inclusive workspaces in the photography industry – not just with photographers, but with clients.
Something that has been very important to my work in the last few years has been inclusivity. As a visual medium, photography usually focuses on what is societally defined as beautiful and accepted. I took a hard look at my portfolio (and the portfolio of photographers I respect) and noticed a lot of straight couples, largely white clientele, very thin humans, and just generally very traditionally beautiful people.
While photography is a luxury service, it also should be available to any person of any size, gender, sexuality, race, age, etc. Seeing the lack of diversity in the clientele broke my heart. I’m a queer, plus-sized human. I want more representation for everyone, including myself.
So many people don’t feel comfortable in front of a camera. Let me rephrase: very, very few people naturally feel comfortable in front of a camera. Something I really pride myself on is creating space where people feel comfortable to be their full selves. I walk into every session with the goal of getting my client’s essence on camera. And that is beautiful and photo worthy every single time. People specifically don’t feel comfortable if they’re not often represented in the media they’re consuming – so I’ve made it a point to keep my Instagram feed/portfolio as diverse as possible.
Tabitha, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Hi! I’m Tabitha and I’m a photographer based in Nashville, TN.
I picked up my parent’s Nikon Coolpix when I was 11 and have had a camera in my hand since. People started paying me to take photos of their families with I was about 15 (the photos were truly awful, but that’s what you get when paying a 15 year-old $25 dollars for family photos).
Almost all of my training has been trial and error. I’ve always had an artistic eye, but the technical/business/organizational side of it has truly been, “just figuring it out.” For example: I shot my first wedding in 2014 and had no system for storing/backing up my memory cards. I put the memory card from the wedding in my pocket and it ended up in lost in a friend’s couch for 2 weeks (PANIC SOUNDS). I did end up finding it, but learned quickly that immediately backing up and safely storing my photos was a necessity (which seems obvious, but sometimes you just have to learn the hard way).
After years and years of side-gigging photography, a good friend pushed me toward photography as an actual job. Having no formal training was a hurdle for me to get over, and I was genuinely unsure anyone would consistently pay me for it – but here we are 4 years later and it’s my full time job!
I remember the day I officially decided I was “all in” and spent the thousands to upgrade my camera and lenses. I laid on the floor so stressed out that I’d never make that money back. But I’d easily paid it off within a year. Sometimes you just have to bet on yourself! It was a worthy investment.
Once the equipment was purchased I had to figure out consistent clientele. I decided I was going to do a session a week regardless of whether or not it was paid to start building my portfolio and to learn my new gear. So that’s what I did! And within a couple of months I had consistent enough work to cover most of my bills.
As all this was going on, my friend and I decided we needed to move to a bigger city with more of a creative scene. We’re both in visual arts and both lived in a small town in East Tennessee. We wanted a challenge. So off to Nashville we went.
Once again I found myself entirely void of clients and in a new place with few connections (and a pandemic looming), so I made a tiktok offering free sessions to Nashville residents for 3 weeks to see what happened. And once again, I worked up a referral base and started working in Nashville.
Up to this point, I’d primarily photographed couples and weddings. I enjoyed it and it was a lot of fun (I love a good wedding reception). Immortalizing moments of vulnerability and love between people was (and is) so special. However, since moving to Nashville, I’ve gotten connected with the music scene and have felt myself come alive working on sessions with artists. The creativity of putting together visual content for a song or album is enthralling.
I now have a team that works together to do artist content days. It’s myself, a videographer, a stylist, and a make-up artist. We have a blast working together creating absolute magic. So recently, I’ve been shifting away from weddings and into that arena a bit more. I still do weddings though, specifically if the couple is open to trusting me with fun photo ideas! I recently shot a wedding with a tarot card reader, an aerial pole dancer, and a magician! So still very much doing as much of that as possible.
My personality is bent towards consistent growth and learning (I get bored pretty easily). Lucky for me, photography is constantly offering me new challenges and things to learn. From posing and getting my clients to express real emotions in front of a camera, to flash, studio lighting, natural lighting and figuring out direct sunlight, to working with a team, to exploring filters, to learning new aspects of photoshop – there is literally always something new to learn. Huzzah!
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Unlearning my own body shame issues has been a huge part of being a good photographer.
I grew up with a lot of body shame. And when you carry shame/disgust around large bodies, how are you supposed to photograph them well?! You don’t.
I think about my body throughout the day, every day, and have since I was 11. I’ve been trained to.
A lot of us can probably name the moment we became aware of our bodies in a negative way. The moment the light switched and the body went from being the marvelous thing of play and movement to a searing source of shame.
When I was 11 years old my friend group decided to weigh ourselves. I was 10 pounds heavier than anyone else in the group. Everything I knew about my body dissolved. The way she ran and climbed and swam. The way she fought and cared and taught me. The way she held others. It all vaporized in a cloud of shame. I spent years finding my way out of that fog.
As a photographer I get to fight my body shame with photography. It’s so beautiful, and raw, and vulnerable, and gives permission for others to show up in their bodies as they are. Self-portraiture has been a huge part of my journey as a human, and as a photographer. Learning to love what I see in the camera, learning to be see the rolls of fat and cellulite as part of the body that so powerfully carries and holds me has been such an instrumental part in my ability to show up and create safety and confidence in those I work with.
It’s a journey and I’m still on it – and I’m so proud of how far I’ve come!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Everyone is a work of art. Every single human is unique and beautiful. We’re all specific cells and DNA, and there will never be another one of any of us.
Through photography I get to find a pathway to the inner most truth and essence of the person in front of me and then preserve the memory of what I see. It’s art and it’s powerful and it’s healing.
Having the honor of photographing the unique humanity of each one of my clients is such a joy. And one of my favorite parts of my job is my clients reaction to seeing themselves through my lens. Ugh. It makes me so happy.
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