If you follow me anywhere then you definitely would have seen all of our posts and excitement over our first Born to Shine Conference in January. This diverse boutique conference for photographers was put on by myself and Ariel Perry at the White Avenue Studio in Nashville, Tennessee!

When Ari first came to me with the idea of a conference I knew it was something we had to do and it was hands down one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Welcome Party

We kicked off the weekend with a welcome party Friday night where everyone had a blast dancing, drinking our signature cocktails, “The Pink Sunshine and Level Up Whiskey,” and mingling with one another. We wrapped up the evening with podcast host and fellow branding photographer Natarsha Wright of the Purpose to Create Podcast; where we spoke about how Born to Shine came to be and how Ari and I got our start in photography.

The Speakers

Saturday we saw an incredible line up of speakers. Sydney Duarte pushed us past our comfort zones and had each of us connect with one another on a deeper level. Hope Taylor gave us some incredible advice on how to market our businesses. Amber Robinson had us rethinking the way we do business and what we can automate to make our lives a little easier. Amber Crudup challenged us to reevaluate our limiting beliefs to see what kind of unique marketing spin they give us to attract our ideal clients. Natasha Hemmingway encouraged us to take a hard look at our pricing and gave us actionable tips on how to close sales. Nesha Pai convinced all of us that we’re not going to jail for tax fraud. Finally, Darryl Bellamy brought the house down ensuring that when we stepped out of the conference ready to conquer our fears and tackle our goals.

By this point we had so much incredible energy it was palpable and it carried us into the VIP dinner at Sinema. The VIP attendees enjoyed a lovely family-style dinner with our speakers, emcee, and hosts. This time was priceless and so much fun.

Styled Shoots

Sunday, our final day at the conference, began early with a styled shoot at sunrise with Patrick McAllister with models JJ and Zoey. Then we moved into rotation for the other styled shoots.

Hope Taylor led the wedding styled shoot with models Iris Caldwell and Courtney Johnson .

I led the branding styled shoot with Amber Crudup as the model.

And none other than Ariel Perry led our Seniors styled shoot with Page Harris, Alex Magill, and Miranda Blevins.

Wrap Up

The entire weekend was unforgettable and I am so excited to say that we are already planning the next one. If you’re bummed you missed out sign-up for our newsletter here. If you want to see what we’re up to on social follow us here.