Creating our own Anniversary & Finding that One Person | professional growth

Photography is amazing! I truly feel blessed that I have found this gift and by gift I don’t mean that I have this gift! I mean that I truly feel blessed to be given this gift of photography! I feel blessed to be able to meet so many wonderful people and see so many beautiful and raw moments. I feel blessed that when I say “I’m going to work” I come home with a re-affirmation of how crazy beautiful and adventurous and lovingly messy in all the right ways life can be!

There is one thing about photography that can be tricky… it’s finding a balance not between work and life but between wanting so much for yourself and wanting so much for the others who are also striving to succeed in this wonderfully awesome field! A wonderfully awesome yet sometimes competitive field!

If you are a competitive person by nature, it can be really tricky to navigate: sad but true! One thing about me: I am a really competitive person! I’ve always been this way. I played a lot of sports growing up and I’ve always had a drive that made me want to be the very best at whatever it is I was doing!

I really worried when I started in photography that my competitive nature was going to get the best of me. How was I going to cultivate positive and true relationships with other photographers if I was competitive? How would I grow if we were always going to be working towards the same jobs?

Somehow though… this competitive bug that I have didn’t quite bite the same way as it had before!

Maybe that’s because I had Elizabeth!

I’ve actually known Elizabeth a really really long time! We grew up together in the same neighborhood. Her older brother and I went to school together all of our lives actually. Our parents are still in the same neighborhood and they still talk and catch up in the grocery store!

It wasn’t until I found out Elizabeth was also into photography though that our friendship really grew into what it is today! This is something I am truly grateful for and thank my lucky stars for every night!

One really important thing people tend to forget about photography when they think about all the things they need or want, is to make sure they have a friend and confident who also is growing right along with you!

This is a tough community! Art is a tough community because it’s all subjective! It’s all at your own pace and if you aren’t working at it, it can leave you behind in the dust. It’s super important to have someone there by your side to push you and keep you motivated!

Elizabeth and I do this for one another! We have each other’s back no matter what! This doesn’t mean we are each other cheerleaders ALL the time. Sometimes we give it to each other pretty straight and pretty bluntly. It’s the only way to grow! The difference is, I know she wants to see me succeed and I want to see her succeed! We push each other HARD! We make sure we share our tricks and our tips. We share our gear and our precious ideas too!

She’s my go to girl when I need someone to bounce an idea off of that I’m just not sure about or I can’t quite get right.

She’s the one person that I know no matter what happens.. she will be there!

She’s there to pick me up when I’m feeling low or having an off day. She’s there when I’m super excited about something (that no one else will understand!)

We are better together because we are growing together!

So here’s to US today! We’ve been shooting together for a while now but never really celebrated it!

She’s also doing some really BIG things right now with her business and her branding! Things I’m super excited about and super proud of her for!!!

So here’s to us and all our crazy shenangians together!!!

Thanks for always being my partner in crime! Thanks for always having my back YO!

You my girl EB!