Beautiful Light

There is this spot on the side of our building that gets the most gorgeous golden light in the evenings. I’ve noticed it now for at least three weeks and I always think to myself that I want to go out and photograph it. In the last week, our Crepe Myrtle trees have started blooming, so tonight, it was just too beautiful not to photograph. Here are a few shots I grabbed during the Golden Hour! But this is not really the beautiful light that I want to talk about in this post. The beautiful light I want to talk about is the light I’ve seen in some amazing friends and mentors that I have met in the last year. First, I must start by saying, I just can’t believe the impact that workshops have had on me this year. The education available to photographers and creatives right now is just incredible. The very first workshop I attended was a workshop called Renew, led by Ginny Corbett of Ginny Corbett Photography. I met some lovely women and friends through this workshop and I soaked in some of the most amazing wisdom from Ginny. I cried three times and I finally understood the why behind my passion for photography when I left. I learned about rest and creativity and how vastly important they are to life and business. Really life changing stuff! Several months later, I asked Ginny if it would ever be possible for me to shadow her at one of her weddings and when she said yes, I called Grady in tears. I was just so excited. I cry a lot ya’ll, sorry, not sorry. It just happens. Shadowing Ginny was one of the most unique and special photography experiences I’ve had to date. I mean not only is Ginny an awesome photographer, she is a person so in tune with people. She connected with her bride on this day in a way that I didn’t even know was possible. There was rain this day and a sweet bride that dreamed her whole life of an outdoor wedding. But the bridal party joined hands, prayed and Ginny was right there with them. There were tears and prayers and soon every cloud was replaced with joy and peace. It was SO special. Ginny has a joy and a light that just radiates from her being and I can’t even begin to tell you how encouraging and inspiring she has been to me and countless others I’m sure. I am so grateful for her and the wisdom she has shared with the photography community. Not to mention, she is just super fun to be around!

This is Ginny in action at Rose Hill Plantation. Look at all those smiles!

Another amazing workshop I attended this year was CLIC in Raleigh NC. One of the speakers featured at the conference was Amanda Hedgepeth of Amanda Hedgepeth Photography. I was totally blown away by her spunk and spirit at CLIC. She was so passionate about her family. It was so clear that this was the number one priority in her life! Mad respect. Loved that about her. But not only that, she was a brilliant business woman. She had so many great pointers for simple systems to help you have a productive workflow! Shortly after the conference, I emailed Amanda to set up a mentoring session and just this week I made the drive to the Outer Banks to spend the day with Amanda. Though I nearly had a nervous break down when I got in my car and my navigator told me 30 minutes longer than I originally thought – I made it, and Amanda was totally gracious even though I was 15 minutes late. We headed out to a quick headshot session (in which I managed to lose my glasses, yes, it could have been a totally tragic day if I had given into it) and then on to Awful Arthurs for lunch and Q&A. I mention the little road blocks in my day because I am the kind of person that can sometimes really let those things get to me and control my whole day. But being around Amanda who just radiates positivity and kindness just makes those things seem to not matter as much. Sitting for those few hours with Amanda is some of the sweetest time I have had this year. She just pours her heart into her work, her family and uplifting the photography industry. She has a beautiful light of love and encouragement! She reminded me of the hustle and that it’s not easy in a way that motivated me to work hard and give it my all! She reminded me that our hearts are so important in this work even though they are so vulnerable every time we put out a photo! So honored to have had the opportunity to spend the day with this lady! What a gem she is! I only hope one day that I can help and impact others in the way these women have helped and impacted me. They are so humble, so gracious with their time and so full of light!! I can’t say thank you enough to them and to all the other amazing women I have met in the past year! There are so many more (like my CLIC bff’s, Ashley, Dyanna and Brooke) that I will certainly write an entire blog post on at some point) and my heart is just overflowing with gratitude right now!

Me and Amanda at CLIC this year in Raleigh!

Here is to beautiful light, finding it and being it in the lives of others!