Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Talbot.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Caroline. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve always had a passion for photography, especially photographing people. Photography was always my outlet for connecting with others. Having battled anxiety for most of my adult life, my camera and my images became how I (quite literally) showed the people I loved that I care and see beauty in them. I was always the person in my family with a camera in hand, but until 2011, never considered that it could be a career, and that I could connect with so many people on such a deep level.
After 10 years in the corporate world with a career in Finance, I completely switched gears (you don’t find many CPA photographers!), and I started my photography career shooting weddings (and still shoot a select few a year!). In the past few years have fallen in love with creating beautiful portraits of women. I now have a studio in Beverly, MA, where I specialize in boudoir photography.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Ha, most definitely not! Coming from the Finance world, especially in my auditing days, I was taught to avoid risk like the plague, so leaving my steady job was definitely not something I took lightly! For three years, I worked two full time jobs before making the leap (perhaps it was the sleep deprivation that made me finally throw caution to the wind!).
It was absolutely terrifying, and tons of hard work with so many sleepless nights. There was always a constant flux of not believing that this was possible, to the complete high of sharing images with my clients. I felt guilty admitting I loved my job. After all, I was supposed to go to work, crunch the numbers, keep my head down, and get my paycheck so I could do the things I loved on the weekends, right? I would shy away when people I met asked what I did for a living.
I laugh about it now, because when someone asks what I do, I’ll talk their ear off about how amazing my job is!
Please tell us about Caroline Talbot Studios.
As a photographer, I’m known for my minimalistic and expressive images. I don’t shoot for “pretty”. My goal for each client is to create an honest, vulnerable, and beautiful documentation of who they are, meeting them just outside of their comfort zone.
The boudoir experience isn’t completely about the images for me. It’s about showing each person I photograph that they absolutely deserved to be photographed, and that it is not only ok to love that documentation of themselves, but its how they should feel every day. Now that I’m a mom of a little girl who is the absolute light of my life, I’m even more driven to show her that ALL women are beautiful, and that everyone deserves to feel that way. I never want her to question that in herself.
Society is constantly creating a tiny box that beauty standards fit into, leaving so many of us not feeling like we are enough. Not worthy of being documented. We’re too fat, too thin, too tall, too short, too quirky, too serious, or not serious enough. We’re taught that we will be enough…when. When we’re thinner, when we have more money, when we have kids… when, when, when! I focus on showing women that they deserve to be photographed as they are now, and that despite what they may believe, they are beautiful, sexy, and strong. Beauty is not defined by your shape, size, age, or skin color. It’s about confidence and owning everything you have.
My clients are typically going through some sort of transition in life, whether it be marriage, divorce, becoming a mother, or surviving cancer. Some initially book their session as a gift for a significant other, but they all leave realizing that the experience was most definitely a gift to themselves. One common thread for all of these women is that they are looking to find and document a newfound sense of self. They want to start or continue on a self-love journey, and after their sessions, they’re addicted to helping other women do the same.
I’m most proud of this community of women that I’ve connected with each other, who now have a fire lit inside of them knowing that they deserve to know they are more than enough, and that through their experience with me, they’re driven to help others feel the same way they do every time they see the images we created together.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
One of my favorite memories was the first time I can remember taking photographs as a kid. We were on a family vacation in New Hampshire on Lake Winnipesaukee, and we had a little private beach with a sign on a rock that said “chipmunk crossing”. One late afternoon, while we were waiting for my cousins to arrive (I’m an only child, so we would always tag team vacations with them!) I sat by that crossing with my little Kodak 110mm film camera (in hot pink, naturally), and probably went through three rolls of film photographing chipmunks at sunset. I don’t even think we ever developed the film, but I can remember the images I created and the colors of the sky, and how proud I felt of what I made, and how much I loved sitting there with that camera.
Pricing:
- Sessions start at $500, and include a styling consultation, hair and makeup, a 2 hour studio session, and a 1 hour reveal party.
Contact Info:
- Address: 275 Cabot Street, Suite 2
Beverly, MA, 01915 - Website: www.carolinetalbot.com
- Phone: 978-500-3540
- Email: caroline@carolinetalbotphoto.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolinetalbotstudios
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/carolinetalbotstudios
- Other: www.facebook.com/groups/carolinetalbotvipinsiders
Image Credit:
All Images Courtesy Caroline Talbot Studios
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