Meet Carly Nogawski

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carly Nogawski.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Five years ago, I would have never expected to end up where I am today. Since I was 13, I had always planned on going into teaching. It was my love for travel though that introduced me to the world of photography, social media, and blogging, and essentially what brought me to my current career as a digital creator.

Traveling has always been that passion of mine that makes me feel the most alive! For as long as I can remember, I’ve always felt like the best version of myself when I’m out exploring. It forces me to live in the present moment, have an open mind, and stay in this ongoing state of learning. This mind-bending type of freedom is something I’ve always valued since I was a child. I’ve forever been the adventurous, rebellious type my entire life, so it actually doesn’t surprise me that this is where I’ve ended up today!

If I was to pinpoint where my story began, it would be five years ago when I embarked on a year-long trip around the world! I knew once I set down my roots as a teacher, it would be difficult to achieve all my dreams of seeing the world. At the time, though, I had no idea that the money I saved up would stretch as long as it did. I imagined three months of traveling tops. When I started booking everything though, I learned just how affordable worldwide travel can actually be, especially in places like Southeast Asia (where I ended up living for six months on the road!). When I set off on my trip and began sharing my travels on Instagram, that’s when I realized the majority of my friends and family didn’t know how affordable it could be either. That’s what inspired me to start my blog Light Travels and what I believe sparked so much of my growth on Instagram at the time. Instagram had also just started to gain momentum, and not too many people had posted about living a travel lifestyle at the time, so that was another big reason for my growth.

As my blog and Instagram started to accumulate more of a following, that’s when I was introduced to working with brands, first on a trade basis and then eventually on a paid basis. It all sounds so simple when I put it this way, but I definitely experienced many ups and downs to get to where I am today, especially with Instagram marketing and content creation being so new and foreign to brands at the time! Since entering this field of work five years ago, I’ve had to teach myself many entrepreneurial skills like SEO optimization, email marketing, pitching to brands, and so on, in order to make this career into a lasting, profitable business. I think that’s what so many people misunderstand about bloggers and creators.

For the most part, people just see the creative side of our work, like the blogs we write and pretty Instagram pictures we post. However, it’s the business side of the job that actually brings on long-term stability and success. This is something I had the opportunity to teach on several retreats around the world through a company called Pangea Dreams, where I taught workshops on personal branding, brand partnerships and Instagram 101. We focused on helping aspiring female entrepreneurs jumpstart their careers by teaching them all the skills I just mentioned, plus photography, editing, and all the other creative skills that can benefit entrepreneurs.

Fast forward five years later, I’ve adopted too many titles to count. It’s come to the point where I don’t even know a concise way to put it. I identify with all of the following: travel blogger, content creator, retreat leader, freelance photographer, and creative consultant!

Has it been a smooth road?
The road to where I am now has been such a crazy ride! As an entrepreneur and freelancer, my to-do list has seemed never-ending the past five years. There’s almost always something you can be learning or improving to advance. Also, as I mentioned before, I entered this field when social media marketing and blogging were fairly new to the world, so that caused some obstacles while starting out.

On a personal level, being an entrepreneur has definitely come with a lot of mental battles. Everything from imposter syndrome (even after five years of doing this job!) to loneliness on some scale. The latter is something I used to mourn after working as a TA in schools and having a team of co-workers. Luckily though, my Instagram has actually connected me with some of my now closest friends and collaborators. Then eventually after leading retreats the past couple of years, I grown a support circle over the years of over a hundred women, whom I’m so grateful for and can’t imagine my life without!

In terms of learning the ins and outs of this line of work, that’s also felt like a bit of a rollercoaster. The social media and online world is always evolving and advancing, which forces you to continuously adapt your work too. What I learned about blogging and Instagram 5 years ago is almost irrelevant information in today’s world, so it definitely keeps me on my toes! I think it’s also key to admit that I had zero idea what I was doing when I first started out. I vividly remember typing in “travel blogger” to Google 5 years ago because I didn’t even know where to begin! For the most part, all the knowledge I’ve accumulated over the years has been self-taught. Although it’s been a slow and steady process, I think it’s made the journey that much more rewarding!

The most recent struggle I’ve had to overcome is being forced to rebrand during the global pandemic this year. Covid-19 has obviously impacted the travel world in drastic ways, so this year I said goodbye to leading retreats and veered farther away from travel blogging. I almost feel lucky in a lot of ways though because it’s only intensified my passion and need for creative outlets during this time. 2020 has made me so grateful to have a creative job, solely because photography has been like therapy to me throughout this crazy year. While it’s really helped me improve my craft, I’m constantly having to regulate my work/life balance this year. I guess I’m grateful though that this is my biggest struggle right now! The past five years were a lot of hard work, but I’m just so glad to be at a point now where I’m so passionate about what I do, I actually have to force myself to turn off!

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
While my career began in social media and blogging, my main focus now is on content creation and freelance photography.

As a content creator, I create branded content for a wide range of companies’ websites and social media. As I mentioned, the visual component of branding is at the core of what I do. When creating content for brands, I first study their unique branding and aesthetic, then capture photography that emulates all those things. Sometimes I get to take my branding background even further and work 1-on-1 as a brand consultant in addition to just creating content that’s on-brand. When I get to marry those two roles with my love for photography, that’s where I really see my work shine!

I think the main thing that sets me apart as a content creator and something that many people don’t know about content creation in general is how all-encompassing and beneficial this (fairly new) line of work is to brands. Before “content” was even a word we used on a regular basis (AKA pre-social media world), there were only photographers really. As a content creator, I cut out a lot of the additional costs that used to be standard in your typical photoshoots of the past. I cover all travel, production, model, and equipment costs that usually come at hefty, individual prices when working with photographers on shoots! The fact that I could capture their products in different locations all over the world has definitely been the largest selling point when creating for brands over the years. Noticing the current industry’s need for this type of work is what’s brought me the most success as a content creator, and something I’m most proud of when it comes to making it into a stable career.

One other thing I believe that sets me apart from others in this field is my creative style. This is actually something I’ve just recently adopted and had to experience a lot of massive life changes before I could really discover it. With all the changes this year brought to my career, I was honestly about to call quits on everything I’ve built over the past five years. Until I took a solo Southwest road trip to visit family in August. That’s when it all clicked for me. I learned how to be completely self-sufficient in capturing all my photography (all the content I create for my Instagram and for brands I capture completely on my own with my tripod) and I discovered a style of photography that felt like my own for the first time. If you scroll through my Instagram feed, you’ll immediately notice my obsession with capturing life in motion! I love to tell a story with my photography, whether that’s through candid emotion or capturing moments interacting with the world around me on my adventures. I try to create a vibe that’s nostalgic with my edits and my goal is to always make the viewer feel like they’re right there experiencing that exact moment with me. 2020 forced me to really evaluate what’s most important to me in life: freedom, adventure, living life to the fullest! That’s what I try to capture in every photo and what I believe has helped set me apart creatively in this industry!

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I would 100% recommend LA as a starting point for all aspiring creatives and entrepreneurs. I find LA to be one of the largest hubs for meeting like-minded people in this field. I never feel there’s a shortage of connections when it comes to meeting people to collaborate and network with. Because of this abundant community, I feel so supported in what I do, inspired by the people I meet, and am constantly learning and improving my craft just from these relationships! Plus, as a creator/photographer, LA has an endless amount of beautiful locations to capture, which makes this job feel so much more effortless.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlynogg/

Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.