My brand values continue to evolve as I grow, with feedback always welcome. These could not have been written without the guidance from Erica and India at The Pause on the Play community, where they encourage me to take imperfect action and hold myself accountable.

Duality

What I do: As I grow and evolve, I am able to hold fuller space for two things at the same time. I approach life with a positive energy, and a willingness to acknowledge that there is darkness in the light. The realization that we can celebrate and recognize there is a lot of work to do. To better understand where people are coming from, I try to explore the “in between.” The “yes and” of it all. Two ideas, identities, or beliefs can be true at the same time, even when they are opposing.  

I do this by: Showing up as a positive force for you, while also acknowledging your pain and suffering. Addressing my discomfort head-on as I learn and unlearn, while not allowing it to let me shy away from actionable disruption. Photographing the full spectrum of human emotion and our many nuances, like when joy and grief co-exist. Embracing how we do not live in checked boxes, rather we exist in intersectionality, duality, and complexity. Understanding how far we’ve come, and yet, how little has changed. As I embrace my own duality and contradictions, it opens me up to other folks’ gray areas as well, so we can better understand each other. 

Fluidity

What I do: I celebrate all kinds of love and photograph folks of all races, gender identities, sexualities, cultures, religions, bodies, and abilities. I want to honor your experience by letting you lead the way in terms of how you identify and how you’d like to be addressed. I want you to reclaim your ability to label yourself, versus how someone labels you, while acknowledging that not all identities have to be set in stone. I will respect you, listen to you, support you, and affirm you for your whole being, and allow you to dictate the terms of who you are and what your story is. 

I do this by: As a photographer, fluidity can show up in a lot of ways — improvising if the forecast doesn’t cooperate and by being flexible when things are out of our control. Showing grace, and seeing these shifts as an opportunity to get curious together. Tapping into joy and possibility and reminding you that you always have access to it. Referring my clients, many of whom are LGBTQIA+, to like-minded vendors who care about equality, are socially conscious, and share similar values. Advocating for safer, more diverse, more inclusive, and more accessible industry standards. Reducing the amount of labor you have to engage in so we can more comfortably tell your story together.

Connection

What I do: We all hold privileges and are imperfect, breathing beings. I want to be in community with people, and hold people in this work, while also feeling held. In order to achieve this type of care-informed connection, we must have the courage to share our individual and collective feelings with each other. To be willing to believe in ourselves and our potential. I try to bring both deep connection and fun into my environment, with a playful, yet powerful, approach to photography. I aim to build trust in my relationships through collaboration. Part of this means normalizing and respecting boundaries and photographing folks through a trauma-informed lens. Much of it means listening and being open to change. 

I do this by: Encouraging us to create an authentic connection, by stepping outside of our comfort zones, through transparency and vulnerability — which both stem from each other. Working together to inspire growth through diverse thinking, shared experiences, and meaningful dialogue. Fostering the safety to hold me accountable, and I you, as that is an act of care and community. Amplifying the voices that too often go unheard — through an intersectional lens and by capturing your joy as resistance. And appreciating the process just as much as the end result.