This story really begins in September 2010, when I attended WPPI U, a 2 day workshop for emerging photographers held at the Georgia World Congress Center. There were a number of good speakers, but the one who captured my complete attention was Sue Bryce, who had recently been named 2011 AIPP Australian Portrait Photographer of the Year.
Sue’s work is a unique take on Glamour photography, a genre that had a huge rise in popularity then a fall from favor in the late 1980s. Leaving the traditional methods behind, she went out on her own and built a portrait studio from the ground up. “I’m not a trust fund baby or a rich wife,” she told the audience, “but I built a successful portrait studio with my bare hands. I took my business from zero to $20,000 per week in the first four months, and exceeded every idea and dream I had.” The key, she said, is simplicity: “Create a brand, simplify your product, add a large amount of marketing and apply with great gusto.”
It was not only Sue’s images, but her passion and humility and VISION for what she does that spoke to me so strongly. I immediately looked up her site, pouring over each image in her gallery, and began following her blog. Several months later I discovered Sue was teaching a workshop on an online Live classroom environment called Creative Live. That workshop simply blew my mind, not only due to the wealth of knowledge about creating beautiful images but also by the reactions I saw from women as they saw the pictures Sue had created. Shock, tears, stunned pleasure, and feelings of acceptance of themselves many had not felt in quite some time. The idea of giving that gift to women in my community was incredibly appealing. After the workshop I watched the videos multiple times, studying posing and direction.
By the end of the summer I was ready to start with practice sessions, and then found out Sue was teaching another workshop on Creative Live. After the additional instruction from the second workshop I was eager to get started and began lining up portfolio building sessions. Even in those early sessions when I was nervous and unsure of myself the collaboration with the girls and the reaction to the work was very exciting. Without question the style and the work will continue to develop but I’m beyond excited to begin creating feminine, flattering portraits of friends, previous clients, and basically any woman in Atlanta.
My Goal: I want to photograph ANY woman who has ever looked in the mirror at any point in her life and not felt good enough about herself.
