Explore how YOU can creatively connect and grow in your own hometown. It’s as simple as writing a love letter – or three… (Photographs by STEVEN WALLACE)
“Why Photography” featuring Atlanta-based ShootProof pros SOPHIA BARRETT, KALEEN ENKE, and DAVID MURRAY
Everyone loves a love letter. Whether it’s from a high school sweetheart, a lifelong partner, or your mom, a love letter is something special. It’s also one of the simplest ways to focus on what matters most: relationships.
Relationships have inspired some of the most powerful photographs ever made. And at ShootProof, we believe the best relationships start at home.
That’s why we wrote this love letter to our hometown, Atlanta; and we hope you’ll do the same for your own community. Expand your network, strengthen your connections, and build a better business – one love letter at a time.
A Love Letter To Celebration
Photos by STEVEN WALLACE
We Heart Atlanta Celebrates Photography
As the largest annual community-oriented photo festival in the United States, Atlanta Celebrates Photography is making Atlanta a hub for the world’s fastest growing art form. Every Fall, hundreds of galleries and businesses showcase the work of photographers both known and new.
A highlight is the lecture series, where acclaimed photographers like Pete Souza, Dan Winters, Annie Leibovitz, Zanele Muholi and Zack Arias share their work and life experiences.
There’s also a photo book fair, a film series, and workshops for professional photographers. Basically, ACP brings the world of photography to our doorstep – for an entire month!
PRO TIP: Celebrate Your Own Passion
What opportunities does your city offer for creative connection? If you’re drawing a blank, build your own photo project around an event or feature that makes your community unique. Get inspired by Leeta Harding’s “The Young Women of Hertford County” or Bill Hayes’ “How New York Breaks Your Heart.”
A Love Letter To Storytelling
Photo by STEVEN WALLACE
We Heart Atlanta Photo Night
What happens when you combine communion and an old-fashioned slide show? You get the unicorn that is Atlanta Photo Night, a free talk hosted every other month at Atlanta startup-hub Switchyards.
The events are more like fellowship – photographers openly show their images, explore their creative process and share stories.
In the words of the founders, APN is “run by artists, for artists.”
PRO TIP: Lists That Soothe the Soul
Community is about belonging, rootedness, and connection. If you’re longing to feel more connected and less isolated:
- create a list of colleagues you admire or lean on when you need advice, and send them a love letter
- list the venues, parks, and places that inspire you, and craft a blog post highlighting those locales
A Love Letter To Learning
Photos by STEVEN WALLACE
We Heart Atlanta School of Photography
Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been running a photo business for years, Atlanta School of Photography is the place to learn to be a better photographer.
Upcoming workshops range from Mastering Your DSLR to Boudoir Photography. There’s truly something for everyone.
From its inception, ASOP had one clear goal, “to bring Atlanta together through the power of photography!”
PRO TIP: Atypical Job, Atypical Education
If excellent education opportunities don’t abound in your area, take advantage of online learning through CreativeLive, Coles Classroom and (of course) the ShootProof blog.
A Love Letter To Purpose
Photos by STEVEN WALLACE
We Heart Atlanta Photography Group
Want to pursue print sales, explore gallery representation, and receive image critiques from professional photo editors and curators?
Atlanta Photography Group is a fantastic place to connect with fellow creatives and enjoy myriad educational opportunities.
Workshops focus on a wide range of topics, from writing an artist’s statement, to techniques for promoting, pricing, and framing photographs.
PRO TIP: Reach Out & Make An Impact
- Put pen to paper, and compose kind notes you’ll send spontaneously to local photographers you’d like to meet.
- Keep track of local meet-ups, arts festivals, and photography workshops you’re interested in attending.
- Commit to going to at least one creatives’ event every quarter. If one doesn’t exist, create one!
A Love Letter To Home
Photo by STEVEN WALLACE
We all come from somewhere. Atlanta is our somewhere, the place we call home. It’s the unofficial capital of the South, the cradle of the Civil Rights movement, and the headquarters of global giants like Coca-Cola and The Home Depot.
Atlanta is where a growing number of small businesses and software startups are launched – including ShootProof! (Y’all come visit!)
But no matter how far you travel, take time to reconnect with the comfort, wonder, and relationships only home can provide. And expand your community by reaching out, showing up, and maybe writing a love letter or two.
Written by RACHEL LACOUR NIESEN | Photographs by STEVEN WALLACE | Video featuring SOPHIA BARRETT, KALEEN ENKE, and DAVID MURRAY | Special thanks to ATLANTA CELEBRATES PHOTOGRAPHY, ATLANTA PHOTO NIGHT, ATLANTA SCHOOL OF PHOTOGRAPHY, and ATLANTA PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP
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