ABOUT ME

My Story

How I Built a Career in Travel Photography

A Little About Me

Looking back, I probably should’ve seen this life coming.

I grew up in sunny Southern California, where weekends meant beach days, camping trips, Disneyland, and finding any excuse to be outside with family and friends. Adventure was simply part of everyday life, and I never realized those experiences were quietly shaping the career I’d eventually build.

I met my husband, Chris, during my senior year of college after we had both quit our corporate jobs to chase careers in travel photography. We spent about a year working assignments together as friends before we started dating in 2017. We got married in 2020, and nearly a decade later we’re still traveling the world together, cameras in hand. One of my favorite parts of this career is that neither of us grew up traveling internationally. Our families were more road trip and outdoor adventure people, which I’m incredibly grateful for because it taught me you don’t have to travel halfway around the world to have an adventure. But my first international trip outside of the USA wasn’t until I was 20 years old (more on that later!).

Somewhere along the way, I fell completely in love with international travel. There is nothing quite like stepping off a plane into a country you’ve never visited before, hearing a language you don’t understand, trying food you’ve never tasted, and immersing yourself in a culture completely different from your own. That feeling of wanderlust never gets old.

Today, we’ve been fortunate to explore more than 35 countries across all seven continents together, and I still get just as excited to board a plane as I did the very first time.

Building a Career in Travel

When I jumped into freelancing, I knew one thing: if I wanted this career, I had to create it.

So, we chased it. Every single day, we would pitch ten brands, hotels, tourism boards, or destinations that we genuinely wanted to work with.

Think about it. Do that for five days, and you’ve put yourself in front of fifty opportunities. You don’t need fifty yeses. Sometimes you only need one. That mindset completely changed both mine and Chris’s careers. 

The biggest “we’re really becoming full-time travel photographers” moment came in the fall of 2017, when Chris and I decided to spend eight weeks traveling through Europe. Our goal was simple, though wildly ambitious: partner with as many hotels, tourism companies, and experience providers as we possibly could.

We secured a partnership with Hertz that covered our rental cars for the entire trip—eight weeks, seven vehicles, and no rental expenses. Along the way, we also worked with 17 hotels across eight countries, building relationships with partners we are still in contact with today.

But the biggest takeaway was the portfolio we came home with. We photographed 52 sunrises and 53 sunsets—and yes, we genuinely did not miss a single one. Nine years later, we are still licensing and selling images from that trip. It gave us an enormous body of work, countless memories, and the confidence that this could become something much bigger than a dream.

One opportunity would keep leading to the next, then long-term partnerships, and rather quickly we round ourselves with a full-time business, built around commercial photography, visual storytelling, and travel writing. Over the last decade, we’ve had the privilege of working with luxury hotels, tourism boards, expedition companies, magazines, and travel brands around the world.

Over the past five years, my work has naturally evolved into the luxury travel space, and one of the biggest full-circle moments has been becoming a social contributor for Travel + Leisure. If you had told 21-year-old me that one day I’d be creating content for one of the world’s most recognized travel publications, I never would’ve believed you.

Where Am I Now?

For years, people have asked for my itineraries, photography advice, camera recommendations, and the stories behind the places you’ve seen on Instagram. This blog is where all of those conversations finally have a home.

You’ll find honest destination guides from real life experiences, luxury hotel reviews (what’s worth it, what might not be), photography tips, gear recommendations and nerdy, geeking out moments over new tech hitting the market, behind-the-scenes stories from working in the travel industry, and practical advice from trips I’ve taken over the last decade. I’ll share some of my favorite group travel experiences, far fetched places Chris and I always dreamed of reaching and finally did, and solo travel moments where I have gone on my own little adventures. My hope is that these stories and guides help you plan incredible adventures while giving you an authentic look at what it’s really like building a career around travel.

If the 2016 version of me, sitting behind a desk during my senior year of college wondering if photography could ever become a real career, could see what the next decade was about to look like, she’d absolutely be kicking her feet with excitement.

And I’m thrilled to finally be sharing all about it with you, wonderful readers and travellers! Let the adventure begin.

Let’s Stay Connected

Whether you’re planning your next adventure, building a creative career in travel, or simply looking for inspiration to explore somewhere new, I’m so glad you’re here. Follow along on Instagram for the adventures as they happen, or explore the blog for honest travel guides, photography tips, and stories from the road.

Represent a hotel, destination, or travel brand? I partner with select brands to create elevated photography, video, drone, editorial, and social content, and have a team behind me on larger productions as well. I’d love to hear what you’re working on and explore how we might bring it to life together.