UNITED | new friends, mucho inspiration, and BIG questions!

I just got back from UNITED by Showit in Santa Barbara, and WOW, was it great. UNITED is a photography conference hosted by Showit, bringing together ‘Showiteers’ from all over the world to connect, grow, share…and hug (A LOT). We did all of that and so much more. I recently became a Showit user (AKA Showiteer) when I launched my new website. I didn’t know what I was getting into when I purchased my ticket, I was just EXCITED when my friends Amy Rizzuto and Caroline Frost told me about it! Excited to become a part of a community I heard so much about. Excited to learn and grow. And just a wee bit excited to go to California and escape this NYC cold (can I get an Amen from my East Coasters for warm weather in February?). I packed my bags, boarded my flight, and arrived at LAX to make my way to the Four Seasons in Santa Barbara.

I should have known it was going to be pretty awesome from the first two hours in. I traveled to Santa Barbara serendipitously with the lovely Lauren Wakefield of Chicago. This girl? She is amazing. Easily one of the coolest people I have met in a long time. You know when you meet someone, and they just make you excited to listen and talk to them, and they really impress you, and then you develop a little crush on them (in a non-creepy way of course)? That is how I felt about Lauren. Read her blog and you will see – AMAZING.

Honestly, I did so much learning, laughing, happy-crying, and shooting that it was kind of daunting to think about what I would write in a post. I wanted to find the perfect words to sum up all the heart-filling goodness I experienced. So…I decided I am going to break it down into several posts, because I want to share as much as I can, and I want to transfer this incredible surge of inspiration I garnered from UNITED.  Somewhere between listening to Katelyn James, Zach and Jody Gray, Mike Larson, Kevin Hull, Justin and Mary, Karen and Isaac Stott, Trevor Daley, and so many other insightful photographers, my heart became full. I knew I was among a group of really caring and special people.

At UNITED I gained a whole new appreciation for putting systems into place within one’s business (I need another Amen for this). For opening up and really sharing who I am on my blog (even though this feels kind of scary for  me). I saw that the Showit community is based on the idea of SERVING others and the word Genshai, which means never treating another person in a manner that would make them feel small. (I REALLY, REALLY loved this, as it is truly how I try to live my life every day). Another one of my biggest takeaways was the notion of asking the big questions of yourself. Sometimes these questions can seem so obvious when listed out, but it’s the asking that really provokes some of the most important introspection. It’s knowing WHY you are doing what you are doing, the PURPOSE behind it all, and then building your business upon these values that is so important.

So…I can’t wait to do just that in the coming weeks! But for now, I will leave you with a few of my favorite images from several shoots at UNITED, followed by some pretty Santa Barbara beauty! I can’t wait to share all the beautiful images from the styled shoots organized by Josh Newton, Stacy Childers, Chad DiBlasio, and Christianne Taylor!

Aren’t Santa Barbara and the Four Seasons Biltmore gorgeous?!!??

My sweet and pretty roommate, Cherie Murashigie!