S14E13 | Embracing AI for personal creativity
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Today’s guest studied photography in college but gave it up after a professor convinced her that she lacked creativity. Fast forward a decade or two, and she not only has a successful full-time pet photography business, but she’s also embracing all that AI offers as a creative outlet!
I’m talking about Carol Arscott and no matter if the world of AI intimidates or excites you, today’s episode is sure to inspire not only with her work, but hearing how Carol came back to photography years after putting the camera down.
We covered:
Carol's experience as a student
The impact someone can have on your confidence
Assignments as students Vs clients
What this AI Series with Moby all about
What’s the future of Moby’s series
IN THE MEMBERS-ONLY EXTENDED EPISODE:
Mid-Journey Vs PS Beta
Mid-journey time and cost
The industry future in an age of AI
What full-time looks like for Carol
Working with rescues
Mentioned links:
Carol Arscott Photography
Carol Arscott Photography, USA
I am a luxury pet photographer in the United States. I am living the life of my dreams photographing pets, raising money for rescues, and helping other pet photographers to thrive in their businesses.
Transcript
Today's guest studied photography in college, but gave it up after a professor convinced her that she lacked creativity. Fast forward a decade or two, and she's not only a successful full-time pet photographer, but she's also embracing all that AI offers, especially to release her creative outlet. I'm talking about Carol Ascot, and no matter if the world of AI intimidates you or excites you, today's episode is sure to inspire not only with her beautiful work, but also hearing how Carol came back to photography years after putting the camera down.
Before we get into the show though, I wanted to let you know that tickets are now open for this year's Virtual Pet Photographers conference. You can just head on over to the pet photographers club.com/conference to find out more.
Welcome to the Pet Photographers Club. Tune in as experts share their insights to help grow your business with higher sales, creative marketing, and kick ARS business strategies now onto the
show.
I am Kirsten McConnell, and today I'm chatting with Carol of Carol Ascot Photography. Welcome to the Club,
Carol. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be on. I am a regular listener and it's such an honor to be here.
Wow. It's lovely to have you here. Now we have quite a bit to chat about today, but mostly I got you on the show after it was our most recent members meetup, I think for the PEP Club members.
You jumped on the Zoom call for that month. It must have been last month, I think. And Yeah. Afterwards, I don't know what triggered it, but for some reason I jumped on your Instagram. I must have heard something about it and I saw these amazing artwork, I guess you'd say, that you've been creating of your own dog in all these different situations.
So when I saw, I thought, this is great. Somebody that's actually like still doing this passion project. Something just for fun. And I really wanted to hear. Exactly kind of what inspired you, what it's about. Is it actually purely for fun? Do you see monetizing it in the future? And of course I wanted to chat AI with you as well today.
So before we get into all of that, I would love you to introduce yourself to the listener. Let them know where you're based in the world, a little bit of your backstory really briefly as to how you ended up being a pet photographer.
Sure. I am Carol Arcot. I am in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States.
And basically I, you know, just as most photographers, I've always loved photography. I did take one photography course in college, and my professor felt that I did not have what it takes to be a photographer and told me to put the camera down. So, no. So I, I did put it down for many, many, Years and I, I picked it up much later in life and I basically just started out, you know, just for fun.
I would do street photography just for, you know, something to do on my lunch break when I worked in the city. And yeah, I just, I loved it and I ended up starting to do some rescue photography. Most of my photos were centering around dogs at the local dog park and things like that. So, you know, I approached a rescue and I said, I, you know, I'd be happy to do photos for you if you would be interested in that.
It started from there. Other rescues started finding out about what I was doing, and they asked for, for help with their photos, and then it, it just grew from there. And I ended up launching my business in 2019. I shut it down in 2020 when the pandemic hit and reopened in 2021. And Sort of, that's where I am today.
I'm a full-time pet photographer, and people still say, is that really a thing? So it's, it's become a lot more mainstream, but there's still a lot of people that have never experienced a pet photographer. So I like to sort of spread the word about
that. Wow. That is quite a journey that you've had.
I mean, from a professor telling you, like, put the camera down to then like, you know, launching only for it. Have covid hit the following year, but still, you know, you haven't given up and you've, you, you're back at it. And you're full-time now after only being in business since 2021. So that's quite impressive.
I wanna dive into some of this a little bit more. Festival can, if you don't mind, can I take you back to when you were at college and you wanna shoot this photography class and your professor basically smashed all your dreams? I mean, I can't believe that happened. First of all. That's, Sad. I'm so sorry that happened.
You, but I mean, that must have rocked your confidence quite a bit. I mean, you said that you stopped shooting. Oh, sure, yes. Yeah. Okay. So would you
happy to talk about it? Yeah. So we had assignments, you know, every week and it was a, you know, beginning photography class. And so they were, they were sort of artsy assignments, you know?
Helping us to learn how to shoot and also how to work in the dark room back then, because, you know, there were no digital cameras then. And so I, I don't do well with formal assignments. I like to just go out and photograph what I love, which of course is animals. So I worked animals into all of my assignments and he didn't appreciate that.
He felt that that did not, that was not the assignment. I wasn't following directions. And I guess he felt that it wasn't artistic. Yeah, so I don't, he didn't, he didn't like, you know, all of my, my constructive criticism was not necessarily constructive. And it, it did, you know, it did affect my confidence for quite a while.
But, you know, you, you just, if it's something you love, you eventually get back to it. And It drew me in again, and I'm, I'm so happy to be able to pursue that and, you know, make a difference in the lives of dogs because the cornerstone of my business is rescue. So I try to give back to rescue in everything I do.
So, you know, I'm not only creating beautiful artwork for my clients, but I'm also helping. Dogs in need and supporting the, the fantastic people that do the really hard work and rescue. I mean, I just show up and take pictures. They are the ones that are out there on the front lines dealing with you know, all of the animals in, in awful situations.
Mm-hmm. Yeah, for sure. You know, it's super interesting that. I mean, an arts teacher can say you're not artistic enough. That doesn't even make sense. I mean, the whole point of art is that it's subjective, so that's crazy. I'm really sorry you experienced that, but I'm really proud that you've pushed through that.
I mean, okay, it took a little while, but here you are now doing it full-time and like you said, using that skill to, to help the dogs that are in need and help the rescues as well to, I imagine, you know, have their. Dogs adopted a bit faster and that kind of thing as well. So yeah, way to stick it to the man.
To be fair, I probably really wasn't following directions, you know, putting a, putting a bunny in, in every assignment, but, you know, it's, it's, it's what I loved and. You know, you have to find something that you're passionate about because that's when the magic happens. You know, if, if I were to photograph weddings, for example, that is not my passion and I, I don't feel that I would do a good job on that, but I just.
I'm so in love with animals and bringing out their inner beauty, their inner supermodels, and it, it's, it's so rewarding when I do a photo reveal with my clients and, and they're shocked. They've never seen their dog like that. You know, of course they have hundreds or thousands of pictures of them on their cell phones, but to see them looking like a model, you know, in a beautiful location, something that they can put big on their wall and enjoy every day, it's just, it's really great to be able to give that to people.
Mm. Yeah, for sure. And you know, you said something a couple of times then actually you said the same phrase that you're not very good at following assignments. And I have to say, I think that's a creative brain thing. I'm also the same, I know most photo, well, not most, but many, many photographers that would say the same thing.
But interestingly, when we work for a client, we actually are following an assignment. I mean, yeah, we have created freedom to some extent, but we've basically. I don't know, in conjunction with the client created the assignment, right? Because we've basically told the client what the assignment is by showing a certain portfolio on our website by putting them through a certain workflow and this kind of thing.
So we've kind of created the assignment, but at the same time, the client has also added to that because it's their dog who is not the same as the last person's dog or the next person's dog. Maybe it's a rabbit, maybe it's a rescue, you know, it could be, could be anything. And so, At the end of the day, there is still an assignment.
And from what I understand about you and your business, you like succeed very well at those assignments. So maybe it was just you know, That that particular style didn't mesh with you. And in fact, you alluded to that saying, you know, that you weren't supposed to put a bunny in every photo.
Yeah. I mean, you know, some of the assignments were, were architecture assignments, which I am an awful architecture photographer. I can't take a good picture of a building to, to save my life. But but, but you are totally right to, to. Go back to your point about working with clients is an assignment. I, I have a consultation with my clients before every session because I, I don't wanna just go out and, and create my vision.
I want to get their input. I want to know what they want me to bring out in their animals. So if there's a certain personality trait you know, if they're, if it's a shy dog or a confident dog, or, you know, if they're, if they're goofy and playful I want that image to be representative of the dog they know, because obviously I'm only spending a very short window of time with the dog.
So we also talk about, you know, what is their favorite spot? You know, do they have a location that they go to that's meaningful to them? And that's where we'll do the session. And so being able to, to think creatively is very important because usually I show up to locations that I've never been to before, so there's no time to scout.
The location really. I just have to go in and, and work with whatever's there. So it is an assignment, but it's a, a very fun one that I love.
I think you just wanted to be able to be in control of your assignment. Be like me, Carol. Yeah, absolutely. I think it's, I think it's really nice that this ended up coming into the conversation because you know, especially for any of the listeners that are, maybe if you are early on in your career, Or maybe you're not even early, maybe you're just hearing some negativity quite often around your work.
I think it's, it's powerful to hear these kinds of stories that, that you just shared, Carol, that you know, you had your professor basically kick you, kick you down, and yet you've turned around, have many years later and, yeah, well, he was wrong because look at your business and your creativity because, you know you, I think you mentioned that he thought you weren't artistic enough or something, or rather like that.
And yet what drew me, me to contact you to to join me on the interview today was your creativity and that. I see a lot of photography all the time as host of the club, and I'm always, you know, looking through different images, especially when, you know, award season and things like this. And yet amongst all of those amazing images, and trust me, I mean, you know, it's, well, everybody knows the quality now is incredible for pet photographers, and among all of that, it was your images that.
Grabbed my attention because of their creativity. I mean, that's, that's literally why I got you here. So for your, your, I think, I think it was your professor that kind of needed to, needed to open the mind a little bit. But anyway, while I've while we're talking about this, Just briefly, because you know, the topic of this episode was supposed to be ai, but we got a bit distracted.
So before we wrap up part one which is for everybody to listen to on whatever their favorite podcast player is, let's just dive into your project with Moby a little bit and the creativity behind that. So for somebody who hasn't seen it yet, how do you describe what it is that you are doing with Moby at the moment?
So Moby is, Moby gets attention wherever he goes just in real life. And also, you know, on, on the internet. He is a St. Poodle, which is a St. Bernard poodle mix. He is a rescue and he's giant. So, you know, if I take him out anywhere, we can't walk more than. About 10 feet without being stopped because people wanna ask me, you know, what kind of dog is he?
And everyone is captivated by him. So I find that when, you know, when he makes an appearance on social media, he gets a lot of response. And, you know, some new things were coming out. I was starting to explore mid journey. You know, as everybody is sort of jumping on the AI bandwagon, and I thought, well, let's, let's see what it can do.
And, and, and to be honest, I was procrastinating doing my taxes. I, so I was looking for something fun to, to escape some of the stress of that. And I just started playing around with, with Moby and I thought, well, let's see what we can do. Let's see if we can just put 'em in some. Some funny situations and see what AI can do with that.
And then I started putting him into different careers using AI and a, a combination of AI and Photoshop editing and, and actual photos of him. And then he got, it, got a really good response on social media, so people started requesting different jobs that they would like to see him perform. And so I started creating those based on everybody's requests.
And it just sort of grew from there.
That's so cool. How it become such an interactive experience with your audience, Carol? I think that's really beautiful. So just to summarize, you, you are photographing your dog in all these different, or, or the end result is your dog Moby in all of these different professions.
And you've done that by photographing him. And maybe some of the other elements too, and bring it all together as like a composite with a combination of using some AI and some Photoshop. Is that right? That's right. Yep. Okay, cool. So it just started off as procrastination, I find, understood, right? Yes.
Awesome. What about now? Where are you at now with it? Is it. A personal project, are you gonna keep doing it? Is it worth it because of the social media attraction? Do you wanna start offering these kind of creative sessions to clients? I mean, what are you thinking?
So, you know, it's, it's funny I am still doing it.
Not as much lately. I've been a little busy with some other, Projects. But it's, I don't really do it honestly, for the social media attraction. I mean, that is, that is a nice benefit of it. But I really just did it because it's fun, you know, and I like to see what is possible. I love technology and exploring that.
But in terms of using it for client use, at this time, no, AI is really not to the point yet where I can. Confidently use it for clients because with with dogs that have a little bit more variation, it often changes them into a completely different dog. The advantage with Moby is he's pretty generic looking and he is all one color, so I can.
Pretty easily transform him into, into different situations. But my other dog is black with a white stripe, and if I try to use her in mid journey, it sometimes turns her into a white dog with black spots or it, it, it sort of takes, takes over and it's not as accurate with her. So, you know, I really can't confidently go out to a client and offer this service because I have no idea what what will come back to
them.
Yeah, that makes total sense. I mean, yeah, the moment it's just a bit too new. I also read that at the moment there's like some legalities around it as well, that you're technically not supposed to use most of these platforms for commercial use. Is that still current information?
So I believe that is current.
However, I think we also need to look at the definition of commercial, right? Because a lot of times commercial means if you are using an image to sell a product, rather than just offering it to someone for their own personal use. So, you know, I think there's a little bit of ambiguity around that. If you go onto the forums, you see different arguments for both sides.
So right now, you know, I, I do it for fun. I've, I'm not monetizing it. And you know, even though right now it's not something that I can reliably do with, with more complex dogs, I think that that will be coming very soon in the next six months to a year. I mean, it's amazing to see how much progress AI has made just in the last year.
And, and then the whole Photoshop. Beta, that that was released, in fact, that was released after you and I decided to, to chat about this. So then I, I've been playing around with that, trying to see what it can do. Now that is a little bit more reliable. I can use that with all different dogs because it will keep the integrity of the dog.
You can select the dog as the subject and then invert the selection and change the background to whatever you want. So for example, I took Moby and I put I, I. Told Photoshop AI to put an ear of corn in his mouth, and it did a great job on that. And it put him into a cornfield you know, directed it to put him into a cornfield.
Now the cornfield doesn't look super realistic for the casual user. I think it would be fine. It's definitely not going to win any photography awards or, you know, well, it's not photography. It's, it's an image. It still looks fairly unrealistic, but you can do a lot of fun stuff with it. Mm-hmm. I'm playing around with another image of a dog from one of my sessions and I just told Photoshop to put the dog into a field of wildflowers and it gives you three different options and you could regenerate it if you're not happy with the outcome.
That was a little better. Still kind of fake looking. It's not doing a great job of matching the the lighting and blending it in that case. But I have seen other people that have used it where it does do a, a pretty remarkable job in some instances. It's very successful at putting shadows in, putting reflections in, in water, so it can do some really neat things.
It's also great. To use it to extend the canvas. So if you have an image that's sort of cropped in closely and you wanna expand it, it can make a big, beautiful scene. So I, I've seen it do some pretty remarkable things with that.
Wow, that's cool. I mean, I don't even know when it first came out. Must have been less than a year ago that we, we had access to things like this and now already it's just like so quickly developing.
It's in, it's incredible. Actually, I wanna dive into that a bit more. Especially Yeah. The future of ai, what you are anticipating, seeing how you might use it moving forward. And also a bit of a chat around different software that's currently available that maybe you've trialed as well. Cause you've mentioned two different ones so far, so.
Let's save that though for the members of the Pep Photographers Club because otherwise we're just gonna keep on chatting. It's, it's such a huge, huge topic and to me it's actually really new. I've only had a tiny little play, just that I kind of knew what to ask in this interview. But I know you've been playing heaps.
So let's dive into that. But like I said, I'm gonna save that for the members. So let's wrap up part one. Now, before we do, how can the listener find you and what is your Instagram handle so they can check out these amazing series of mobi?
Sure. My website is my name, www.carolarscott.com. And my Facebook and Instagram are at Carol R.
Scott Photography.
Awesome. That is pretty easy. I'm sure everybody can find it, but if not, don't worry. I've taken the notes for you. Just head on over to the pet photographers club.com/the-podcast. Search for Carol and she'll come up there. All right. That's it for part one of the episode. As always, if you're a member of the club, you can continue listening to part two in the member zone, or of course, via your private RSS feed in your favorite podcast player.
Don't forget, if you're not a member, you can join today. It's just $10 a month. You'll be able to hear the rest of this interview some more nitty gritty about AI and wherever else the conversation leads us. Membership of course, includes loads of other perks too and bonus content. Just head on over to the pep photographers club.com/join to find out more.
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