Imagine a career that fills your creative cup and gives you the freedom to be present in your children’s lives whenever you want to be, and whenever they need you.

There’s a few reasons why women join the Advanced Photography Course. Most join because they want to take amazing photos, they want to fill their creative cup, or they want something just for themselves (often they want all three!).

And some people join because they have a dream to become a professional photographer.

Emilie King is one of those students, and today I’m excited to introduce you to her. She’s shared her story where she talks about how the Advanced Photography Course taught her everything she needed to start a photography business right away!

Meet Emilie

I’m Emilie King, a full-time high school teacher, mom of two girls (aged 3 and 8), and photographer from Sonoma County, California.

I’m coming up on the one-year anniversary of starting my photography business. It went from one model call, to now 4-6 sessions a month, and I shot my first full wedding this summer. It’s been a blast!

My hope is to eventually do photography full time. I love that it gives me a creative outlet and the schedule to be more present in my kid’s lives.

Something Just For Me

Prior to taking the Advanced Photography Course, I had done the Enthusiast Photography Course, so I understood my camera and I was taking photos I liked.

Then I did my first photo session with someone other than my kids, and I absolutely loved it. It sparked a fire in me and made me want to get better. Plus, I was feeling stagnant in my career – being a mom of two was wonderful, but exhausting, and I needed something just for me.

So I signed up for the Advanced Photography Course because I wanted a challenge and I wanted to take my photos to the next level.

Confidence & Skills

My biggest goal upon joining was to expand my knowledge of manual mode and feel really confident using my camera.

I upgraded to a mirrorless about two weeks into the Advanced Course, and it was good timing to get some really good practice with it.

I also had a little dream of starting my own business. So since I was taking the course and wanted some new models, I started my business about halfway through the course. Mostly I was just doing free shoots and building my portfolio at first.

With what I learned from the Advanced Course I was able to build the confidence and skills to start charging and building my business even more.

The Creative Power of Beautiful Light

My biggest takeaway from the Advanced Course was that if I set my mind to something and put in the work, I can make it happen.

Often before this course I would start a hobby and then stop. But CLG made the material so easy, and the instructors were so encouraging and approachable, that it made me want to keep going and helped me really believe in myself and see my own talent.

My biggest takeaway was how to harness light in my photos.

I became so much more aware of the way light works and how to use it both to create soft beautiful images, and interesting creative images.

The lesson on studio light was actually one of my ah-ha moments because I was able to manually alter the lighting situations and see how it impacted the outcome. That helped a ton when I was shooting in natural light as well because I was able to start quickly analysing the best lighting sources and angles.

Why the Click Love Grow Courses Work

CLG is always a warm, inviting, and encouraging space. I have now taken practically every course offered, including the Biz Builders Course and the creative workshops, and all of them have provided a wealth of knowledge as well as a super supportive community.

When you come to the course groups and have a question or want to share your successes or even failures, there are always so many people who are there to help, support, or congratulate you. The community is so impactful in fueling creativity and feeling connected in what could otherwise be a very isolated field of work.

I also just love connecting with so many women all over the world.

Why You Should Do The Advanced Photography Course

Don’t even hesitate. Sign up!

It will take your photography to the next level and you will find a supportive and encouraging community unlike any other.

The Advanced Photography Course material is so well structured with engaging content, practical information, and hands on challenges to put into practice the skills taught. And just like the Enthusiast Course, each lesson comes with really helpful assignments that take you out of your comfort zone allowing you to grow.

The icing on the cake is the quick, positive, and encouraging feedback on all your images and you can submit unlimited images. 

They also guide you in analysing your own work and others, which trains your eye and pushes your art even further.

As cliche as it may sound, the Advanced Photography Course really did change my life.

Before & After

We love a before & after ste of images as a fantastic visual means to show how far a student has come since taking our courses. Check out this gorgeous set from Emilie.

Many thanks to Emilie for sharing your story and gorgeous photos! If you want to see more of her work you can find her here.

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