I’m not going to be able to shut up about Palm Springs

Ace Hotel & Swim Club, Palm Springs

I have to return to 2022 to explain how I ended up across the country this January.

I got laid off from what I thought was my dream corporate job. It stung because, for a long time, my self-worth was tied up in my career, though those ties have loosened as motherhood took a front seat. I was lucky to get a generous severance and secure another role promptly. Because I could (and we so rarely can in a dual-income home), I took a few months to myself before jumping back into corporate America.

I have never been happy sitting still for long. My husband, sensing a restless and annoying spouse in his future, suggested I start a photography business and set up holiday pictures. Like many moms, I got a camera and started wandering around after my daughter and our dog. Not one to do things half-heartedly, I worked with an amazing local photographer to learn my camera better and then started collecting other pieces of gear. 

What happened was nothing short of magical, as I found a dormant little kernel of creativity that years of retail leadership and corporate life had all but extinguished. It bloomed through the holidays and set me on fire.

So, I started my new corporate role with a goal: work hard, but work harder to make a life as a photographer. A family photographer in Orlando. I do love taking pictures for businesses and professionals, but my heart belongs to the intimate sessions between people who love each other. And as the mom of a 6-year-old, I just really have a soft spot for the love of parenthood.

Step One: devour education.

I stumbled across Elena S. Blair in my pursuit of knowledge. I watched her family photography course on the Creative Live platform 2 times in 2 weeks. Her philosophy, her artistic vision, and her laid-back demeanor all spoke to me. When the chance to join her mastermind, a 5-month group mentorship with 30 other photographers, opened up, I jumped at it.

Step Two: total immersion.

For five months, I excitedly joined each Tuesday call, I took time each week to privately digest what we learned, I met with other photographers virtually from our cohort, and I worked on my mindset, my pricing, my technical skills, and my virtual presence. 

Our cohort culminated in a 2-day retreat in Palm Springs, California. I took the long trek from flat-as-a-cracker central Florida to one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in the US. I sat with other photographers and learned from them, laughed with them, and felt inspired and seen and encouraged by them. 

Elena teaching by doing and jumping in on our headshot session.

We did a maternity shoot along with the incredibly talented Ash Kaplan. Her photos incorporate the where as much as the who in a photoshoot, with stunning results.

We learned about the real possibility of burnout and the importance of personal passion projects from the honest and transparent Summer Murdock. Also, wide angle, mid-range, detail, from backlit, side light, and front light. This is my new mantra.

My almost-English major heart almost couldn’t handle the hysterical Rachel Larsen Weaver. I cannot wait to take her class and learn another creative craft to tie to my photography and also let these words out of my brain in a way that isn’t such a jumble. 

We watched Chloe Ramirez get a couple to relax so much in their session that they ended up getting in a swimming pool to pose in front of 40 cameras. What a skill!

We did yoga, we got to play with expensive Canon equipment (to my husband’s dismay, as I came home with a pricey wish list), and we got free rein to take each other’s photos around the quirky, kitschy, and unforgettable grounds of the Ace Hotel & Swim Club.

Photo by: Vanessa Brey @farmerbehindthelens

Quick shout-out: I also got to spend time with the amazing Kelsey Layman of my Facebook mommy group fame. 

I returned to Orlando a little heavy-hearted, especially because I made friends with some women that I think if they lived in my city would become some of my closest friends. I was also so full of that light that comes when your path is shown to you. It’s a sort of buoyancy that fills you up when you get to spend time with other people who find joy in the same way as you, and the heady optimism when you are in the presence of people showing you that your dreams can be your reality.  

Thank you to Elena S. Blair, for creating a community that is truly “Community Over Competition,” and that empowers women (and some men, too) to run their own businesses, to charge actual money for their art and services, that asks you to look inwards and then push outwardly for the success you deserve. 

See you all next year in the desert.

Community Over Competition