MEET CARIANNE OLDER
Photographer: @escaperealife
Hair: @anastasiia.terebova
Makeup: @landynalexa
Assist: @polderexpress
“As a photographer, there are few awards we can be nominated for, so this is an incredible honor! In an industry that is seemingly overtaken by men, it feels really cool to be a woman who is out here getting recognized by the general public. There are so many fantastic photographers nominated against me, I consider myself a winner already just by being nominated! I am always trying to change the narrative for women across the world who want to pursue a career in the creative arts. 7 years ago, I was sitting behind a computer screen in a tiny cubicle on the 25th floor of a skyscraper in NYC. To look back at that time in my life is crazy, I never saw myself owning a business and working for myself. I am honored to be recognized for my work as a photographer. It feels really special to be seen and appreciated in a field of work that is so competitive.” - Carianne
MERDE founder Molly Apple gets to know Carianne Older in her Hollywood home, where they discuss her humble self-taught beginnings, her passion for theater, and her blossoming career. You can vote for Carianne for the “Favorite Tour Photographer” iHeart Radio Music award here!
MERDE: How long have you been pursuing photography as your career?
CO: I’ve been photographing for 6 years, since 2017.
MERDE: What brought you to California?
CO: I was working in a talent agency in New York City, I they gave me two weeks off paid, so I came out here with my dad, just to hang out because I hadn’t been to california since I was ten. We went to disney, and joshua tree, and thought ‘oh it’s not so bad out here.’ The day I got back to New York, it was so cold and snowing, I had one day back in the office and the next day was a snow day. I called both my parents, who live in florida where I’m from. I said ‘hey, I don’t think I want to do this anymore’ and they said ‘you have a great life, you have a great job, you have a great apartment’ but I just didn’t think I could live in new york anymore. That was January, and I moved to Florida in October to learn how to drive, and then I moved to LA 9 months later.
I grew up in Florida, but never learned how to drive because I always knew I would move to New York, my whole vibe was New York. My whole identity shifted. I was working at Abrams Artist Agency, they're for acting and theater. I was on track to be an agent, and I really thought that’s what I wanted to do. I was there just shy of 2 years. From there, they had an LA office so I came out here and met with them. I thought after the 2 years I was there they would offer me a higher salary in LA to have a car, but they didn’t. I was coming to LA during those 9 months in Florida looking for jobs, and while I was there I was booking shoots. I would come out for a week at a time and I’d be totally booked with photoshoots. By the time I moved, these clients were ready to hire me again. I was getting to the final rounds of interviews at companies like Sony or Universal, but no one would hire me. But I was making a lot of money photographing, booking all through Instagram, it’s such a great tool and my career just took off from there.
MERDE: When did you start learning your craft?
CO: When I was in New York. I was so bored working my day job, I bought a really nice film camera and began taking photos on the weekends.
MERDE: What does being self-taught mean to you? As part of your bio, it can be both empowering and contentious.
CO: Definitely. A lot of people did go to school for this. I went to school for production management and arts administration under the theater umbrella at Marymount Manhattan College. I think the self taught aspect of my background is both negative and positive, I’m still learning everyday, and I think many professionals teach themselves. Now I teach, which is crazy. A lot of people don’t have the money to go to college, and I was lucky I was able to go to college, even if it wasn’t in what my career is now. It’s definitely been a challenge, but being a self taught photographer is cool because I tested my passion in the real world.
MERDE: How do you balance the quality of your work between film and digital photography?
CO: I taught myself first with film, which is harder to do, so when I went to digital everyone told me how easy it would be. I was so nervous and put it off for so long, but I started working with celebrity clients who wanted those photos just minutes after the shoot. It ended up being easy and natural, I don’t know why I waited so long to start shooting digital. It’s nice to do both, because not everyone likes the film look, and they want that quick turnover. When I was on tour with Charlie [Puth], I didn’t shoot film really at all, and people were dming me asking where I got the film developed. I was like guys, there’s no way I could be on a world tour with a celebrity and be shooting film waiting weeks for them to get back. I edit my digital images the same way I edit my film photos with just a little more coloring. I want my digital style to have that film look. I did a Hustler campaign last Valentine’s Day, and I shot the whole thing on digital, which I was nervous about, but the photos looked so good blown up huge at the store, so I was glad I did it digital.
MERDE: Do you also do post-production editing of your images? How did you teach yourself that?
CO: I don’t outsource for coloring, but I often outsource for retouching. I learned semi-recently. I think with film, you light it how you want it to look, so it comes out near perfect without too much editing. I take into consideration the film brand, the color, the light speed, lighting design, time of day, location, all of those factors relay into the image in real life being replicated by the camera. With digital, it’s quick for me to edit concert photography because the lighting design of the show is usually so good. It all depends on lighting. I took a few classes in lighting, and retouching from my friends who are also in the business.
MERDE: You went from self teaching to now teaching others, how would you define your teaching style?
CO: I’ve taught the last few times at Drip Dome Studio in LA, I really love working with them. I try to shoot somewhere that has a set design, I love to shoot elaborate sets. I teach by doing. I set up a shoot with my lighting and my models. The Drip Dome sisters sometimes create custom sets for me. I put the models in the space and give the students film. Some people shoot digital, which is okay too, whatever you’re comfortable with. It’s a portfolio building class. Most people have never shot film before, so I let them borrow one of my many film cameras, and teach them how to put the film in. Some people have film cameras that have been collecting dust, and are like hey it’s my time to learn! I want people to mess around and mess up, trade cameras, and learn by doing. It allows them to step in my shoes for the day.
MERDE: What photographers by the past are you most inspired by? I know you have a huge passion for theater, and the style you lean towards.
CO: I don’t get inspired by a lot of photographers because I never want to replicate, I like to go see theater performances, movies, and museum exhibitions. I’m not a big tv watcher, but I will look up imagery of iconic scenes from movies. I just did a Labyrinth re-creation. I’m very inspired by film directors. I love David Lynch, I’ve done so many David Lynch re-creations, I’ll probably do all his moves until I’’ve done them all.
MERDE: What do you find so special about re-creation imagery?
CO: I think it feels familiar. People like to see something nostalgic that was done 20 years ago and view my take on it. Sometimes I’ll do re-creations spot on, but it can never be perfect - especially if it’s from the 60s, 70s or 80s.
MERDE: How does the Golden Age of Hollywood appear thematically in your work?
CO: I love that era. I love the hair, makeup, outfits, and designer everything. I look like a yoga teacher everyday, I’m in spandex sets. While I love to get dressed up and go out, no one does that on a day-to-day basis anymore. I think in those eras, you go to the grocery store decked out. There’s something to be said for that, and I don’t think we’ll go back to that anytime soon. I appreciate the casual aspect of life today.
MERDE: How did you build a community of creatives that you collaborate with to bring these glamorous re-creations to life?
CO: I have a huge google doc of people I’ve worked with, or want to work with. I have go-to talent for sure, like if I want vintage hair, I hire Ester - she’s the queen of vintage hair in La. Her hair doesn’t move. She did do-and-go hair for the Playboy shoot I did, with bunny suits, and the hair didn’t go anywhere for 12 hours the entire day. La is the place where glam is top tier, and I feel I’ve cultivated so many collaborators who have also become great friends. We all route for each other and refer each other for gigs.
MERDE: How do you decide when you’re going to work with a high profile client, because you have so many in your book?
CO: A lot of them I cold dmed or cold dmed, reaching out to their managers. This year became easier, as I built my portfolio with other high profile clients, more reached out to me. There have definitely been some that reached out that I didn’t want to work with. You have to be very careful as to who is going to want my style. I creatively direct almost all my shoots unless I’m on a music video doing BTS, and I align with their vision.
MERDE: Would you call yourself a creative director as well?
CO: Yes
MERDE: Now that you’ve begun to attend speaking events and are teaching classes of your own, what is something you want to accomplish in your career in the future as a voice behind the camera?
CO: I would love to be a teacher at a college.
MERDE: Professor Older!!
CO: I always wanted to teach. Growing up doing theater, I had the best teachers. I thought I would be a theater teacher when I was older, and I can teach photography. I teach one-on-one, and do zooms. It's like I’m a life coach for people. A lot of them just have questions for me about my life, and what I think they should be doing for their careers.
MERDE: Is that a weird feeling to be giving people advice?
CO: It is, but I think I have a good head on my shoulders, and I’m good at giving advice. It’s been really nice, seeing the progress people’s work has made. I love when they share it with me.
MERDE: Are there other aspects of your theater background that you believe assists your photography career?
CO: I manage myself really well. I’m very professional, I know how to properly reach out to management, and send emails, my calendar is to-the-second. I’m very organized, I do my taxes, it’s a business, and a lot of creatives aren’t successful because they don’t know how to run their business. I was always taught to do things by the book as a stage manager and production manager, if you miss something on set, it’s life or death. I was taught to be both creative and detail-oriented in my theater background.
MERDE: What’s something that you miss about new york that you don’t get here in LA?
CO: I miss people having to follow through. I could call my friends in New York to meet me, and they’d all show up. People are more isolated here. Now that I’m older, entering my early thirties, I understand going out less and I don’t crave it so much anymore, but I do miss it.
MERDE: Who is someone that you’re dying to work with?
CO: I really see myself working with Lady Gaga one day, if you know me, you know I associate myself with her. I just saw Boy Genius live last night, and Phoebe Bridgers has been high on my list, and Boy Genius would be amazing because they love to dress up and do re-creations, so does Gaga. These people would just get it, and see my vision. I just manifested Kim Petras, I’m big on twitter, and earlier this year I tweeted at her asking when I would shoot her, and now here I am going to shoot her show tonight. It’s about knowing the right people to ask, putting in the work, and saying what you want, which equals outcome.