Micah - Mentor, Marketer, & Mama

For this blog, I thought I would try something new and talk about some of the awesome humans I get to meet and shoot along this adventure of life. I have been so blessed to work with so many badass, inspiring people who make photography even more fun for me. It definitely makes work feel more like play when I'm surrounded by people that help bring out my creativity, so I would like to uplift these people and give them a shout out!

Super Bowl Sunday, I was lucky enough to photograph someone who has been a significant role model to me, Micah, and her sweet little biscuit. Her little one is one year old and was an absolute treat to photograph, but more about that later!

I met Micah last semester in my marketing class. By meeting her in class, I mean that she was actually the professor, which is badass on its own! It is so rare to have a young, relatable female teacher in a university setting, and I definitely got lucky with this one! Micah specializes in teaching women business owners how to market themselves and their brands. She specifically specializes in the topic of gamification. If you're like me, you have no idea what this word means. Basically, she teaches people how to incorporate persuasion and science into their marketing. Those fun little things in marketing that keep you coming back are due to brilliant people like her.

It's funny. Although the class was focused on marketing, the most important thing her class taught me was about myself. Micah taught me about this thing called "imposter syndrome." Essentially, imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern where you don't believe you've earned what you've achieved. You doubt your accomplishments, and fear being viewed as a fraud, despite evidence that you know what you are doing. When I heard this, I was like holy cow! This is me when it comes to photography, to a T. I often feel so insecure about what I'm doing with photography even though I've been doing it for years. This spoke to me so loudly. I've solidly built my portfolio and consistently produce work that I am proud of for a good while now. However, I still sometimes fear that those accomplishments were just flukes. I mean, what if I'm just a one-shot-wonder? What if I don't make good enough work on my next shoot? What if I get there, and my subject thinks I have no idea what I'm doing? Thinking like th