Baby Academy with Ana Brandt - Living Your Journey | Seattle Newborn Photographer
My journey as a newborn photographer has been quite the ride over the last 10-12 years. It has come with a great deal of hard work, a few bumps along the way and an opportunity to meet some amazing people throughout this journey. My desire to provide my clients with the best portraiture experience is very important to me. It is the reason why I have invested back into my business over the years by participating in educational opportunities. This has included several in-person workshops with some amazing newborn photographers. I am thankful for all that I have learned over the years from these experiences.
Ana Brandt Baby Academy
This past month I attended the Ana Brandt Baby Academy in Southern CA. Ana is the “rock star” of newborn photographers. She is internationally known, teaches all over the world, photographer to the stars and is an amazing business women (she founded and owns several successful businesses that support our industry). She is also an amazing women and mother. She is someone I followed from afar for several years and recently started taking her online educational classes and joined a few of her webinars. I really love how down to earth she is and I connected with her teaching style. Ana offers an intensive (4) day baby academy a few times during the year. I came across the information and saw there was one being held at her studio in Tustin CA, which is a short plane ride for me from Seattle. Not one to let a good idea get away, I signed up right away! The decision to attend this academy was one of the best decisions I made, not only for my business but for myself personally.
The first morning of the academy I was a bit nervous. I was going to be learning from Ana Brandt after all and I was heading into her studio! There was also going to be seven other women whom I had never met before. I am a bit out of my comfort zone in these types of settings, however I know stepping out of my comfort zone is how I continue to grow personally and professionally. The group of women that I had the pleasure of getting to know over the four day academy were all amazing. We all came from such an array of different backgrounds and experiences. We were a very diverse group and we were the perfect group for each other.
The academy itself was intensive! It was four days completely jammed packed. Each day we were in early, meeting in the morning, shooting most of the day and then gathering together to discuss business and marketing and how to run a successful business. We worked hard but had alot of fun. Each night I would return to the hotel, completely exhausted but excited to complete my “homework” Ana had assigned. We had the opportunity to shop as well and I had to carefully arrange my suitcase to make sure I could fit all of the goodies I picked up from her Belly Baby Wear shop and those items we picked up during our fun little field trip to the Shinoda Design store (think of Hobby Lobby on steroids). It was an amazing four days but a lot of hard work!
“Ana encouraged us to think outside the box and explore our own fears”
Ana is as genuine as they come. Her willingness to to share all of her knowledge is simply who she is. She truly wants to pass on her legacy in the industry for others to carry on. Ana is candid and direct but in an encouraging way. She pushed us to be a little uncomfortable at times and explore our own fears. She encouraged us to think outside the box. She also taught us skills that we could use to take our business to the next level with hard work and perseverance if that is what we chose to do. Ana shared her own personal stories and vulnerabilities. Ana was real. It was such a blessing to not only learn from her but to get the opportunity to know her on a personal level. She is truly one of a kind and I look forward to other opportunities to learn from her.
The ladies in my group were special. We all came from different walks of life. We were all at different spots in our journey. There was a lot of laughter (you never know what is going to come out of Yee’s mouth), there were tears and there was friendships built. It is amazing how connected we were at the end of the workshop. I learned something from every individual that attended. I consider each of them a friend and can’t wait to see some of those dreams discussed over our four days become realities. Baby Academy 8 - the best yet!
After the academy, I came home with a new sense of excitement and confidence not only about my business but personally as well. Although I am currently a part time photographer, the academy opened my mind to other possibilities (renting a studio space outside our home and possibly retiring a few years early and taking up photography full time). Ana armed me with the tools and I have the confidence to know that whatever I dream can become a reality if I put in the work.
Your life is your journey. Put your fears aside and live it. Thank you Ana and my fellow academy attendees for the inspiration and confidence.
(all images shared in this post were taken by me during the academy)
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I’m Torri Howard, a professional, award-winning newborn, maternity, and family photographer serving Seattle and surrounding areas including Bothell, Tacoma, Kirkland, Bellevue, Puyallup, Renton, and Woodinville, WA. Please stay a while and take a moment to look around.
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