2/25/2026

9 years ago I woke up with a start, adrenaline already pumping for the afternoon’s activity: I was going to photograph someone.

On paper, it was no different than what I’d been doing with my friends. The someone was a 5th grader, and my mom would drop us both off at the neighborhood stormwater pond. But this time there was something on the line — $10 and a proof of concept: that I, at 12, could make my hobby a business.

By the end of that year, I had photographed my first wedding, first high school senior, and was booked to the brim with holiday sessions for classmates’ families. I giggle when I look at photos on my first website; it was really 2017 — side parts, skinny jeans and all — and I was just a teenager, finding my voice as I drafted Instagram captions, tinkering around with my style, and figuring out what version of myself I wanted to be.

The 5th grader is a sophomore in college now and I’m graduating in two months.

With some time and distance I’ve come to appreciate the passion I had to build what I have here, and how natural it felt. I wasn’t strategic when I was 12 — I had Google, YouTube, teachers who let me answer emails in class, and parents who drove me to photoshoots. Having had many coffee chats these past few years, I know how much anyone’s trajectory is shaped by luck. I have that and much more to thank.
 

​

​