I come from a Corporate America background, and six years ago I left my cushy job with full benefits to become a professional photographer and small business owner. I was thrown into the world of the unknown. It’s a scary and sometimes lonely work-from-home world, with no one to watch over and guide you. (But I could sleep late, work outdoors, and wear my comfy yoga pants all day if I wanted, right?) I was a creative professional, an entrepreneur, an artist and photographer who was going to find her way in this new world!
At the time, I had to sell my clients on the benefits of shooting 100% digital vs. film during my consultations. Then I had to educate my clients on this “photojournalism” trend and why it wasn’t such a new thing to those of us who actually went to journalism school and had it in our blood, and lived for the emotion or story found in our imagery. So much has changed since then. Now everyone shoots digital, tons of people considers themselves a “photojournalist” of some sort, and it’s a challenge to keep up with the digital and technology upgrades that happen yearly. Don’t forget the growing competition to see who has the best Social Media skills and who’s blogging the latest tech or photo trends.
Six years later, you can’t help but wonder… is there more? What am I missing? There has to be more to inspire me creatively, to allow me to grow and learn, and to remind me why I started this small business in the first place, right? So recently, I had the opportunity to attend a small photography conference called Inspire Boston. It was an incredibly uplifting and emotional few days for me. I left feeling exhilarated and ready to conquer the world! (My business world that is, ha ha.) It took me a few days to sit with my feelings and really figure out what happened in Concord, Mass in that short amount of time. Here are some of my thoughts and what was featured on the Adorama Learning Center website (for those who want to keep reading).
It was an honor to learn from and to work with this amazing community of photographers, and I hope you’ll take a moment to get to know each of them or visit their sites. I hope you enjoyed a sampling of the photos that I captured during the conference workshops too. Cheers!
