ABSTRACT
In a world where so many people are told to do what is practical, I was raised by parents who taught me that happiness is the greatest achievement one can hope for, and that to do what gives you passion is the only thing worth pursuing. My parents are my greatest cheerleaders, and my mom has been anticipating this book release since I was about 6 years old. My sister, who has always been and remains the “artistic sister,” shows me every day how proud she is, and with that encouragement I gain the courage to pursue my dreams. My whole family, and especially Aunt Debbie, have given me pep talks along the way, and for that I am grateful. My loyal, passionate, and exceptionally talented models and friends who I work with on a regular basis and who are featured in this book have supported me since my earliest photography days and have made sure that my energy and inspiration never run dry; thank you to Olivia Clemens, Katie Johnson, Sonalii Castillo, Christopher Hills, and KD Stapleton. To my husband, who is not only my unfailingly honest voice of reason and aid in photography, but also my greatest love . . . I thank him endlessly for supporting what I do and for transforming the 16-year-old me into an art-loving weirdo. To Kelly McGrady, who deals with my long phone calls and is constantly willing to go on strange adventures with me, and who has been there for me for the last ten years. To my amazing editors Tara Gallagher and Natalia Price-Cabrera at Ilex, and the rest of the team, I cannot thank them enough for cleaning up the massive text that I sent them and sending words of encouragement. When I was approached by Ilex, and specifically Adam Juniper, to write a how-to book, I immediately sent him an email saying “no,” because my passion was elsewhere. The greatest lesson that I learned is that sometimes saying “no” is one of the best ways to get the “yes” that you want. A million thanks to Adam for agreeing to publish the book of my dreams, for which I sent in a proposal in a leap of faith. And finally, thanks to all of the artists that I admire, both photographic and otherwise. To Miss Aniela, who was my first inspiration; Lindsay Adler, who makes me want to achieve greater heights; and Christine Heidel, who makes me believe in myself: thank you for being you.
