United was an incredible experience in every way. It gave me a chance to cry (a lot), dress up fancy, and create a really strong friendship with Meghan. Back in February when Meghan and I bought the tickets that would take us to Arizona, I honestly didn’t know what to expect from this conference. I knew that paying the money to go there was an investment in my business and that there would be ideas, tools, and new knowledge to help me grow my business, I just wasn’t sure what all of those things would be. When Meghan picked me up, we started to catch up on life. We scratched the surface details of our lives and kept it pretty basic. We checking into the hotel and made ourselves at home by hanging up our clothes and unpacking our bags. Our shoots started at different times and when I walked out of the room, Meghan called out, “Good luck,” as I walked out the door. Not sure what it was, but I felt lucky to be in that group for a styled shoot. An old friend was in that group and I really enjoyed catching up with her since her move to Texas. From there, she introduced me to some more friends. We had such a great time talking as we went to the shoot and continued talking through the shoot as we learned from Field & Karie Denny from Ace and Whim. They shared with us tips on how to capture more of a fine art look and feel in our photographs and it was in a beautiful setting! More of that shoot will be coming to the blog soon! Getting back from the shoot and meeting up with Meghan, we compared thoughts and ideas from our shoots and introduced ourselves to more people. When we finally got back to the room, we had time to talk more about lives again. This time though, it wasn’t just the surface details. We started digging deeper into each other’s lives and it was then that I knew, this conference wasn’t just about investing in my business, it was investing in my life. I was filling my life with good people. People who wanted to be involved and supportive of me.

Each day there were speakers and break out sessions. Each one of them shared incredible thoughts, stories, and advice that helped me have ideas on what to do to better my business and my life. These were some of my favorite lines that I wrote down from them-

“Stories change stories” -Mary Marantz

“Spread kindness – Lukas & Suzy VanDyke

“You’ll never get published if you never submit” -Natalie Franke

“SHOW UP” -Katelyn James

“Throw your stone- throw it well” -Amy & Jordan

One night we had a fancy gala dinner where everyone was dressed up. Our hotel room was full of friends, music, and laughing as we all got ready together. Other than prom and my wedding, this we definitely the fanciest I have ever felt. We finished off the dinner with some dancing and a trip to Target that took Meghan and I in circles trying to find it. What memories were made! I wrapped up the conference with a styled shoot on shooting details with Natalie Franke and Lauren Swann. I couldn’t have love that more!! There are so many things I wish I could put into words about what happened at United, but I’m not sure how. I’m not sure what or when it happened, but I know that I gained one of the truest and supportive friends there in Meghan. I gained a greater drive and desire to really make our dreams come true. And I gained a greater purpose that is much more than creating pretty pictures. United was exactly what I needed and when I needed it. It was an investment that I will always be grateful I made!

Sounds silly, but at this photography conference, I hardly took any pictures other than at the shoots. I was really trying to soak a lot of things in and not be so busy trying to take pictures and be on Instagram. So enjoy a few iPhone pictures and a sneak peek of the first styled shoot for now!

Field & Karie are so sweet together! Jordan & Amy

One of my favorite pictures from the conference. After gala we took off our fancy clothes and had real, true heart to heart talks… and laughing… late into the night