Photographer Content Days and Why Creative Friendships Matter

Last week, I spent the day with two of my favorite creative friends for a much-needed photographer content day and it reminded me how powerful these kinds of connections really are.

I’m not someone who’s had a huge circle of friends.

When you move as often as I have over the past 20 years, friendships tend to be brief chapters: lovely, but short-lived. You learn to hold tight to the people who get you…even if they live a few states away.

Enter: Kelli and Sarah-Anne. Two of the most talented, creative, and truly real photographers I know and two of my absolute favorite humans.

Our Content Day (and Why It Was So Much More)

The plan was simple: a content day. Fresh headshots, updated video clips, new images for websites and social media, we all needed them. (Even photographers put it off!) But what we got instead was even better. A reminder of why these friendships matter so much. There was no posturing. No competition. No side-eyes or silent comparisons. Just support, jokes, lunch after, and “wait wait, don’t move!” The kind of day that leaves you with a happy heart.

Creative Work Can Be Lonely, But It Doesn’t Have to Be

Photography is a weirdly solo profession. You spend a lot of time behind the camera, behind a screen, behind the scenes. It can be isolating if you don’t have people who truly get what you do and why you care so much about doing it well. Kelli and Sarah-Anne are those people for me. They cheer louder than anyone. They get excited about the same things I do (for the most part, I mean Sarah-Anne is a Redskins fan). They send voice memos that start with “Okay girls, hear me out…” and end with a new idea I want to chase down immediately.

Not Community Over Competition…Just Real Friendship

I’m not going to toss around the phrase “community over competition” because that feels too small for what this really is. This isn’t just about business. It’s about feeling known. Feeling safe. Feeling like your weird ideas and your quiet doubts are welcome in the same space. It’s about sharing knowledge without keeping score. It’s about friendship that has nothing to do with algorithms.

Also? Fresh Content Matters

Between the laughter and the chaos and the “OMG, that light is gorgeous,” we all walked away with fresh images. Updated headshots, new branding photos, and content we can actually use. If you’re running a business (or just trying to show up with confidence online), updated images aren’t a luxury. They’re part of how you tell your story and how you stay visible.

And honestly? It’s so much more fun when you get to do it with your people.

If you haven’t planned a content day before, I highly recommend it. Even just a few hours with friends, cameras, and good lighting can be creatively energizing and a great excuse to update your own content (and then have lunch after).

Watch a recap of the day here.

A Note to Fellow Creatives

If you haven’t found your people yet, don’t panic. I didn’t have mine for a long time either. But when you do, you’ll know. It won’t be about the number of followers or who books the most shoots. It’ll be about who brings the styling tools, sends you reel ideas on the regular, and knows what it’s like to put your whole heart into your work. So here’s to the real ones. I’m lucky to have found mine.

Need a fresh headshot or personal branding session of your own? Let’s create something that feels like you…confident, polished, and totally on point. Get in touch here. And peek at my branding portfolio here.