That Time I met Gwyneth Paltrow’s Wedding Photographer/4 Life Changing Lessons I Learned at Photo Native

“Is anyone sitting there?!” I said while balancing a plate of food and glass of wine.

He said “No, it’s all yours.”

And I cheered a silent ‘hoooray!’ because I was starving, and the wine was free. So far my day of solo travel had only occasionally been haunted by that painful kind of awkward. You know, the kind that almost always comes along with navigating new environments and experiences. And, dang, dare I say this was shaping up to be a good night.

I honestly can’t remember how the next bit went. But I quite quickly came to the realization that I had parked my clueless little self right beside the star of the show, John Dolan. I had mini-internal battle that went something like, ‘ding, ding, ding! Girl you picked the right chair!’ and ‘Dang, I really wish I had researched the speakers better. I’m gonna seem really ignorant when John realizes I don’t actually know anything about him or any of the other big names here’, and ‘Shit, I hope he doesn’t think I am a total weirdo for just making myself at home beside the keynote speaker.’ Cue internal panic, but like play it cool on the outside….

Fortunately for me, John Dolan seems to be somewhat of an expert when it comes to making people feel welcome. And, just like that, before the conference had even started I had learned LESSON #1: DON’T JUDGE. BE KIND. STAY OPEN. I spent the next several hours completely engrossed in a conversation with the man who had recently photographed Gwyneth Paltrow’s wedding and had spent the past 30 (THIRTY!) years working with most incredible people, brands and editorials. I experienced A-ha moments, soaked up much wisdom and watched as John effortlessly made everyone feel valued. By the end of the night, that little couch was filled and many others had pulled up chairs to hang out and chat. As the conference unfolded over the next few days I came to realize that literally all those people I sat around talking shop with were also instructors..….. So just call me a keener I guess LOL.

But this leads us perfectly to LESSON #2: THE POWER OF REAL LIFE CONNECTION. Don’t get me wrong, I love connecting online as much as the next person. I am a part of facebook groups that are genuinely empowering. And I have made the most wonderful friends through instagram. BUT, nothing, NOTHING, beats true conversation and connection. Some of my favourite moments from the conference did not happen in the classroom. But on the airplane, over coffee and during all those awkward in-between moments where it’s so easy to just stick a phone in front of our faces. Listen, friend. PUT THE PHONE DOWN. Smile at a stranger. Invite someone sitting alone to your table. There is so much to gain and much to lose when we choose to disconnect instead of engage with the people around us. This is something I am 100% going to be incorporating into my business this year. This includes getting my introvert butt out the door and (gulp) taking and making phone calls and maybe even hosting some shoots and events?! Who the heck knows! I just wanna see your beautiful faces IRL, ASAP!

And LESSON #3: THE ABSOLUTE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING INTUITIVE SYSTEMS IN PLACE. I get it, this isn’t my favourite part of the job either. But do you know what reoccurring pattern appeared with all my fav, successful photographers? Diligent, intuitive systems to ensure a stellar client experience. This is something I have worked on within my own portrait biz for a while now, but I have come home with SO MANY IDEAS on how to make it even better for my clients. And hopefully easier on me too! If you haven’t started creating workflows and automation sequences. Please, do yourself a favour and look into it! I use 17Hats, but there are lot’s of other options out there! (If you want to give 17Hats a try, you can use THIS LINK for 10% off!)

And lastly, LESSON #4: IT IS TIME TO START DOING. At the risk of sounding like a humble-brag, a common theme for me during the duration of Photo Native was deep validation. Validation that I am extremely capable, that I am on the right track and that each phase of life and business has equipped me with a unique set of skills. It is time to stop the second-guessing, to be brave and start putting into action what I already know. Fun fact: I am not the only person who struggles with these type of mindset barriers. And I don’t know who needs to hear this right now but see you, I really do feel you. I know how easy it is to dis-credit yourself. I know that stepping into your own potential is scary and uncomfortable. But I’m telling you, it is time to show up! Just show-up. Let’s do this together? Seriously!

Dang, there is so much more goodness that happened at Photo Native, I haven’t even told you about Yan Palmer, Caroline Tran or the dance party yet! And boy do I have some photos to share. But for now I’m just going to leave you with some iPhone shots and a virtual hug. Thanks for hanging out, I truly hope you learned something awesome and that you put it into action instead of just adding it to list of many things you already know. If you wanna chat more DM me on Insta, @karmenmeyerphotography or shoot me an Email, I genuinely adore connecting with you!

Warmly,

Karmen

P.S. Just a friendly reminder to myself (and you, if you need it) during a season of intense inspiration. You can do all this at your own pace. You can still live a life of slow intention and connection while passionately pursuing your dream job. Let’s call it the slow burn.