Inspiring Creator Series: Rebecca Carozzo from Create Media Studio

In product photography, Rebecca Carozzo has made quite a name for herself. This talented commercial and lifestyle beauty photographer, based in Dubai, has become a major source of inspiration for the Creatively Squared community, particularly when it comes to scroll-stopping content.

What makes Rebecca truly special isn't just her impressive portfolio, but her willingness to share her knowledge with others. From the very beginning she sh regularly gives the her followers a look behind the scenes of her photoshoots and post-production process, offering valuable insights into her creative approach.

Taking her educational efforts a step further, Rebecca has developed a course called "The Magic of Photoshop" amongst other impressive offerings. This course empowers photographers with the essential tools and techniques to produce high-quality, clean, and sharp images in Adobe Photoshop with speed and ease.

Let's take a closer look at Rebecca's creative journey and explore how she continues to inspire creativity within the photography community.

Meet Rebecca Carozzo

How did your journey to photography start? Have you always been a commercial and lifestyle beauty photographer?

Hey creators, I’m Rebecca! I’m from Italy, and right now, I’m based in Dubai. I started my photography career in Spain where I lived for three years. Last year, I moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

I graduated in Photography and New Media in Italy in 2018, but my dream was to become aphotojournalist. During my three years of university, I focused on learning photojournalism.

Fun fact: still life and commercial photography were the subjects I enjoyed least throughout the course.

However, after graduating, my purpose wasn’t clear anymore. After spending a six-month break in Spain, I started working in an advertising agency as a digital sales account. Even though my role wasn’t as a photographer, I often created content for my client’s social media and campaigns, and this is when I started to approach commercial photography.

A few months later, the pandemic hit, and in Italy, we were forced to stay at home for a long period. During this pause, I had the opportunity to think deeply about my real purpose. Since I had planned to return to Spain, I used this time to learn more about social media, digital marketing, and commercial photography.

Just for fun and to have something to do during the pandemic, I opened my Instagram account and started sharing my journey on social media, and I haven’t stopped since then.

Step by step, things evolved, and commercial photography became my full-time job.

What are some things people might not know about you?

• I went to Spain to learn English. When I say this, everyone laughs because in Spain,English is not widely spoken (I can say it’s even worse than in Italy, haha).
• I can’t eat any liquid food like broth, soups, or similar things, just the thought makesme shiver
• The voice messages I exchange with my friends living away are very long, sometimeseven more than 30 minutes, so then always passes a lot of days or weeks betweenone message to another because we do not have time to listen to them and answerproperly

What equipment do you currently use to produce your content?

I am currently still using my Sony Alpha 7 III, but I’m planning to upgrade it really soon—justwaiting for the 7V to be released! I use Godox QT600III and Godox DP600III strobes, as well as NANLITE FS-300B LED Bi continuous lights.

What is your favorite lighting to use?

I love using harsh lighting, so I always prefer to use strobes as the result is bright, clean, andsharp.

What are your three favourite props to use?

I love to use fresh ingredients and water, sand, and acrylic props.

What is your best advice to share with aspiring photographers?

Keep learning, practicing, and don’t give up—I know it sounds trivial, but having a photography career isn’t easy, and there will be moments when you want to quit. You need to be patient, motivated, and enjoy your path, learning from mistakes and situations. Even if there are difficult moments, there is nothing better than waking up every morning and enjoying what you’re doing.

Also, practicing is the key to everything—no one was good at the beginning, so just start even if you don’t know enough about photography or don’t have the best equipment. The only way to get better at what you’re doing is to practice and experiment with new things.

Your reels are simple yet really well done and educational (and so popular—one has 140kviews!). Any advice for creatives wanting to produce this type of content?

I should give advice to myself as, at the moment, I’m not so consistent and productive inproducing content, haha. I would say start filming yourself while you’re doing things, do research, and test different types of content. When you find the ones that work, produce more of them. At the same time, try to find your style and an easy process to make content, because not only do you need to enjoy making them (otherwise, you’ll stop doing it), but it also needs to be sustainable with your life and work.

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How do you keep learning and evolving your skills?

I like to buy new courses to improve my skills, and I often watch a lot of YouTube videos. But it’s really important that we put into practice what we learn, experimenting with new techniques or tools.

Which other creators do you admire and find inspiring?

There are a lot of creators that I find inspiring, and honestly, it’s so amazing to see how everyone from the community is improving and getting better day by day—especially creators that I started following at the beginning of my journey.

I’ll mention just a couple of names that I enjoy following—but again, I could make a really longlist.

• Wiktoria @wiktoriagralka
• Amanda and Alistair @timbremediahouse
• Florence James Collective @florencejamescollective
• Sam @germainephoto
• Cindy Clauds @cindy_clauds
• Aneta Laura @anetalauradotcom

What is next for you?

Since things have evolved quickly and unexpectedly since I moved to Dubai, I’m currentlyfocusing on building a really solid and efficient work process, collaborating with other freelancers, delegating some tasks, and building a more structured photography and videography studio. At the same time, I want to continue improving my photo retouching courses, adding new content, and welcoming new students.

A sneak peek into Rebecca’s "The Magic of Photoshop" course. Check out our Member Perks space of our online platform for a special discount for our community members.

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Thank you so much, Rebecca! Our community has really looked up to you for inspiration, and we're thrilled that you've shared your creative journey with us.

Follow Rebecca on Instagram @rebeccacreatemedia for more inspiration and visit her website for her portfolio.

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