Daily Inspiration: Meet Corine Olarte

Today we’d like to introduce you to Corine Olarte.

Hi Corine, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, how can you bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started photography in 2017. As the publicity chair for Moonlight Dance Crew at UNC Chapel Hill, I was asked to learn how to use a camera to create marketing content for our events. I had no prior interest in photography, but I am always willing to expand my horizons and learn new skills. I thought it would be one of my many random hobbies, but I soon realized that I was practicing it every day and could not stop exploring all the possibilities within photography (I am still the same way now!). It encompassed everything I liked: creativity, connecting with people, appreciating movement, etc. Despite realizing how much I liked it, I still stuck with my pre-med track in college. I had a narrow view of what it meant to help people, which was exclusive to healthcare. I changed majors and graduated with a Psychology degree, Class of 2020. On top of world events and personal life events, I felt a lot of doubt in myself and what I was supposed to do with my life. I hopped around many jobs and careers to try out, but nothing seemed to truly resonate with me or it was a toxic work environment I could not bring myself to staying in. During my 50th existential crisis, I realized how much art, all kinds of art, helped me get through tough times. I thought maybe I can help people through art.

By January 2021, I decided to take photography to higher levels. I began shooting more, creating more opportunities for myself, and get better at the business side of creative entrepreneurship. By January 2022, I registered Corine Olarte Photography LLC and started working full-time (along with a part-time job – everyone is still a creative and an artist, even with another job to help fund that passion). By September 2022, I quit my part-time job and went all-in on creative entrepreneurship. It has already been a wild and exciting ride. I still feel like a baby, and here I am with my own business at just 24.  On top of meeting and photographing so many incredible people, I’ve gotten to make a lot of new friends, to dream big, and to be part of interviews like this! I even have my first mentee to start my mentorship program focused on empowering people to enter this industry. Throughout all of this, I have my close family and friends to thank for the way they supported me through their words, as my first models, and as the first people who connected me to more people within the creative community.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As creative entrepreneurs and individuals, we forget how much of ourselves is in our work. Our identities, values, passions, and memories are all encompassed in the artwork we create. The way I approach photography and business are absolutely influenced by my reflections of my experiences as a queer Filipino immigrant/woman of color who has battled with depression, anxiety, and trauma all of her life. The road doesn’t get any smoother with huge life events and changes, such as when my siblings and I took care of my mom, who was battling stage 3 cancer, while we were all going through our own struggles and having to see such an important person in our life go through something so difficult. It was also my first year as a full-time, official business owner who had no idea what she was doing. Life and its struggles in general are already hard, and it is just made harder for people like me and my loved ones who are part of communities that society does not value. And even with all of the struggles I can list out in my personal and professional life, I realize how important it is for me to show up for people and communities and to create a space that makes us feel like we can love and appreciate ourselves again.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a full-time freelance photographer based in Charlotte, NC (creative portrait, brand, event, editorial, and fashion) who promotes positive self-perception through unique photoshoot experiences where you are the hero of your own story. I am most proud of how I can use my art to empower people, especially LGBTQ+ people and BIPOC. I love drawing creative inspiration from film, comic books, anime, paintings, music, and whatever brings joy. And after many years of our communities feeling so much pain and so much media centered around the pain we go through, I want to remind people how much joy is within our communities and how we can continue to let joy visit us even through tough times.

Brand tagline: Become the hero of your own story. Everyone is the main character of their beautiful life full of exciting, candid, and worthwhile moments. Everyone’s story deserves to be heard by the world.

What sets me apart: The media I consume becomes my personality (lol), and so I live by a quote by Uncle Iroh from ATLA, “It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. It becomes rigid and stale if we take it from only one place. Understanding others, the other elements, and nations will help you become whole.” I apply this to all aspects of my life, professional and personal. I am constantly learning from different perspectives and creatives (not just photographers but models, designers, spoken word poets, chefs, etc.). I am always a go-getter and free spirit, and it has helped me connect with many people throughout all these years.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc.?

• Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Dr. Kristin Neff
  I picked up the first self-improvement book after one of my therapists recommended it. Artists and creative entrepreneurs need to care for their mental and emotional health and rewire how they speak with a kinder voice.
• The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet by Leah Thomas
  Social justice has always been a central point of everything I do. Even as a creative entrepreneur, I have to do my part and figure out ways to build a business that can dismantle oppression systems and advocate for many communities.
• The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.
  As a portrait photographer focused on capturing people and their bodies, as well as someone in my healing journey, understanding how to honor one’s body best is a way to build longevity in my career and my impact on community members to continue spreading that message of healing and growing and honoring yourself.
• Make Your Break – Creative Business Podcast by Jai Long
  Daily inspiration for creative entrepreneurs. I am even going to take his business coaching course! It helps a lot on morning walks to get my workday started.
• David Suh on TikTok (@davidsuh)
  A photographer whose posing is centered around positive self-perception, adding comedy into photography work and environment (it does not have to be super scary professional, serious vibes)

Pricing:

• All my photoshoot experiences and services are listed on my website at www.corineolarte.com/services
• I love to travel, so I am available to the Raleigh area to photograph!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.corineolarte.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/corine.photo
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@corine.photo?lang=en

Image Credits
Picture of myself with the red background and me with my camera. Photographer: Hnub Creative Co (IG: @hnubcreativeco) All other pictures are by Corine Olarte Photography LLC (@corine.photo)