Meet Olivia Carroll

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Olivia Carroll. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Olivia, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?

I have strong passion for all aspects of photography. When I’m not shooting portrait sessions, I love shooting landscape photography for fun. The beauty of nature inspires me and recharges my “soul batteries.” My love for capturing landscapes, sunsets, and details of nature is what sparked my passion for photography early in life so I’ve made sure to always keep a little of that in my life for a good balance. Photographing my own children also allows me to try out new creative techniques, sets, poses, and styles out before trying them on a client. I’m always trying to keep myself educated and up to date with photography so I study and practice new tricks, gear, and inspo ideas all the time. I have always believed in working hard and always trying to learn and grow more. The art of photography is a genuine joy for me. I’m not afraid to try new things and learn. Photography opens the door to so much creativity and beauty. I love telling a story with my photography.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am a portrait and real estate photographer. I shoot all types of portraits throughout all ages in life from maternity and newborn to senior portraits, engagement, weddings, and family portraits.
The gift of family is the most important thing in the world to me so capturing the unique love and joy between a family is such an honor. I have two children of my own so I know how important capturing their big personalities is and how those images are truly cherished for lifetimes.
Photographing a couple declaring their love and devotion for each other on their wedding day is also a huge honor that I am so grateful to capture. I love photographing the bride and groom in sweet loving poses and capturing genuine smiles and laughter through active fun poses. It is a BIG day, one that is dreamed of throughout childhood, and planned to perfection, and being asked to photograph it is a job I don’t take lightly. I pour my heart and soul into my photography so these memories can be frozen beautifully in time forever.
My real estate photography is more technical and I love the variety it adds to my schedule. I know how much time gets put into preparing a home to sell, rent as an Airbnb, or advertise commercially and it’s an honor being asked to photograph these beautiful spaces and help turn dreams into a reality. I shoot all real estate photography as wide angle HDR and I shoot with a drone for aerial views as well.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The obvious most important thing to my photography career was mastering my cameras and all settings. My cameras are like an extension to my body at this point. I take them with me everywhere and I try out new lenses/gear all the time to improve or discover new techniques and styles I love. Capturing light correctly at all times of day is another extremely important skill that has taken time and years of experience to master. Shooting weddings has made this very important as these photos are taken at all times of day in new locations. Lastly but certainly not least, editing skills is something that has taken years to perfect and develop my distinct style. Editing is what takes the most time in photography and is what can turn a beautiful image into a magical print. I do not use AI or presets, I go into every detail of an image in post processing and adjust what’s needed to turn that image into a frame worthy piece of art.

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

I 110% believe it is so important to work on areas of weakness or try things we are uncomfortable with. We all have strengths that drive us and push us into our areas of expertise but without working on the weaknesses, we can never truly grow and become a master of our craft. It’s definitely hard and uncomfortable to work on our weaknesses and we’re going to fail a few times before improving but that’s how we learn. Some of my greatest weaknesses have become some of my strengths because I’ve realized how important those aspects of my career were to help me become a more well rounded efficient photographer and business owner. I always say, if I ever stop putting blood, sweat, and tears into this, then I’ve lost my passion and it’s time to move on. I love my career and business and I’ve learned to love pushing myself through my weaknesses because what’s on the other side of that has led to incredible growth and opportunity for me. One of my weaknesses at the beginning of my professional photography journey was shooting portraits (particularly wedding portraits) at all hours of the day. Photographers love golden hour-the hour before sunset, particularly for portraits because the light is ideal for a nice skin glow, eyes are bright, background bokeh and sunray flares are perfect and there isn’t harsh contrast in highlights and shadows. Unfortunately, weddings are not planned around golden hour and portraits for these days take hours during various times of the day so I have needed to push myself through this weakness to master photographing under bright afternoon and dark after dusk lighting. It has forced me to try new techniques, adapt to location of portraits, and adjust editing styles in post processing. I am grateful for this because it has made me a stronger photographer that is confident to say I can photograph high quality portraits anytime anywhere.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.violetskiesphotography.com
• Instagram: violetskiesphotograph
• Facebook: Violet Skies Photography

Image Credits

Violet Skies Photography