This past weekend Sam and I drove to Adelaide so I could attend Katelyn James‘ wedding photography workshop! When I first heard that Katelyn was coming to Australia, it was a no-brainer to attend her 2 day workshop. I’ve been following her blog for over 4 years! I’ve always admired Katelyn’s dedication to her business and the amount of passion she brings to everything she does. Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to meet her and learn from this gorgeous redhead!

Katelyn is exactly the same as how she is comes across on the blog. When we arrived at the beautiful modern beach front home in Adelaide, she greeted everyone with huge hugs and exuded warmth. Everyone immediately felt comfortable around her, and her teaching style was easily relatable and conversational. I LOVED her sweet southern accent, and could listen to her for days! One of the first things Katelyn emphasised was that she was an open book, nothing is a secret and she doesn’t believe in competition within the photography industry. I couldn’t agree more.

While it’s true Katelyn is running a super successful business, one of the biggest things that stood out to me during the workshop was that success doesn’t drive or motivate her. Faith, her commitment to family and relationships form the foundation and purpose of her business. She emphasised that her business doesn’t define her. Impacting clients lives to form real, lasting relationships is what matters to Katelyn. I’ve always strived to have a business that is based on serving others in the best ways I can, so it was encouraging and inspiring to hear this.

My head is kind of exploding with all that I have learnt in the past few days. I’m so grateful to have had this opportunity, and I can’t wait to share some gorgeous images from our Australian beach shoot that the talented stylist Gabrielle Walsh created soon!

Thank you so much to Michael and Katelyn for taking the leap and coming to Australia! We absolutely loved you guys, you need to come back to NZ next time! xx