Holy MOLY, May has been super exciting for me!

KATIE + YURA
I have known Katie for over 10 years. She had asked me to shoot her and Yura’s wedding and I enthusiastically said yes! We met up the week of her wedding at Ames Municipal Airport to sort things out, timelines and contracts and such. It was one of the best meetings I’ve ever had. A few days later, I met up with Katie and Yura at the courthouse for their wedding. I found out they do not allow photographer’s equipment in there, but I was able to catch them as they came out newlyweds!!

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY SUMMIT
I did a thing that’s crazy for me. It’s pretty tame in all reality, but it’s out of character for me so it feels a little crazy. I saw an ad on Facebook for a Wedding Photography Summit. I checked it out, and saw that Gary Vee was going to be a keynote. They were also advertising this two day conference for $7.

I signed up.

I was pretty sketched out because I had never heard of any of the people presenting, and I had never heard of this Jai Long guy who was hosting it. But I figured it was $7. So what have I got to lose? Nothing.

So on May 25-26, I spend 14 hours at my desk learning and taking notes from these people I had never heard of. It was probably the best $7 I’ve ever spent. Every speaker emphasized two of my biggest weaknesses: confidence/attitude, and authenticity. I got my shit called out.

I’ve been building this brand around authenticity and being genuine for 5 years. I’ve been very focused on that. One thing I completely missed is actually showing up. I don’t let people see who I am. People on my feeds don’t know me because I am trying to cultivate this super professional image because I think that’s what works. The most important thing I learned was that I have to show up. Wedding clients (YOU!) want to know who is going to be showing up on their wedding day. They want to know that they will like and can trust this person who will be with them in some of the most intimate moments of the biggest day of their lives, and you can’t earn that trust if you’re constantly only showing one little fraction of who you are.

Total game changer. I took a chance on an ad for a $7 conference, and turned out to be fucking awesome.

BEING REAL
The core of my brand is being real, being openly human, and unabashedly honest about this journey of running a company. One thing I came to realize was that I hide a lot. On social media, I don’t let people see my face and I also have a habit of trying to be professional, clean or like other people because I want people to see me a certain way. I think that if I “be like them” then I’ll have the success they have. I’ve been so wrapped up in getting my business to succeed that I’ve forgotten to be the real, raw, unashamed me. I’ve been forgetting a core component of my brand: ME.

So fuck it. Fuck all that. And as Gary Vee says, “Fuck what people think.” I’m going to show up on social media more, and I’m going to show up as myself, my face and all. Even if I’m feeling kind of ugly that day. Be honest, everyone feels ugly sometimes. I’m going to stop acting like my life is a dang highlight reel. It’s fucking not and anyone who is starting a business who tells you that its all highlights is full of shit. I’m also probably going to cuss a little more, but I’m still not going to cuss at your wedding, in your sessions and I’m not going to cuss in meetings with you. I have some class and I know how to be professional. But be real, don’t you kind of clean up your act when you go to work?

TIKTOK
I never wanted to join TikTok. Personally, I’ve thought it was silly and I don’t have the energy to manage a hundred social media networks. But I did. And I’m on it. And it’s probably not going to be as dumb as I think. I thought Snapchat was stupid and then I joined that and it’s alright. I have no idea what I’m doing so in addition to shit getting real, its probably going to get a little weird. Anyway, if you’re on TikTok, hit me up: @emmaleecreative. Also, maybe I’m old AF but the spelling of TikTok is stupid. Also, get off my lawn.