Creative Currency: Balancing Photography and Content Creation

I picked up a camera when I was eleven years old. Back then, it was birds, animals, landscapes — whatever I could find that felt interesting or alive. By the time I reached my senior year of high school, I was photographing all my friends’ graduation pictures and starting to dip into weddings.

But around that same time, something else started happening:
brands began reaching out.

Ring companies, clothing companies, lifestyle products — all because of the photos I was taking of myself. Somewhere in the mix of learning photography, I had also developed an eye for aesthetic and visual storytelling. Suddenly, I wasn’t just behind the camera anymore. I was in front of it, too.

This is where the balancing act began.

Even now, I feel this pull between wanting to capture life as beautifully as possible and wanting to exist in those same moments — to be part of the frame instead of just behind it. It's a dilemma that’s followed me throughout my entire creative life.

Today, I like to say I don’t have a niche. I’m not just a wedding photographer, not just a content creator, not just a model. I do real estate gigs, weddings, fashion shoots, UGC content, and collaborations with everything from high-end underwear brands to adaptogen mocktail companies to Australian clothing labels.

And honestly? I love that.

One week I’m shooting an elopement in Utah.
The next I’m creating content for BronzeSnake.
The next I’m modeling for Francis Wintour in New York.

During NYFW, my photos for Brooks Marks were featured at an event — while at the same time I was also modeling, shooting, and creating brand content. Trips like that remind me that my creative identity isn’t linear. It’s layered.

Photos on the streets of NYC featuring some of the clothing sent to me by Bronze Snake - an Australian brand I regularly partner with. Loved making this trip a multitasking media endeavor.

But with all of that comes the question:

How do you balance it?

For me, it comes down to something I call creative currency — the idea that your creativity is a resource. You spend it, you earn it back, you reinvest it. And like any currency, it needs to be managed.

Some days, my creative currency goes toward a client shoot.
Some days, it goes toward editing.
Some days, it goes toward a brand deal that’s due tomorrow.
Some days, I spend it learning something new (like when I sat in a Seattle coffee shop practicing Lightroom techniques).
And some days, it needs to be saved — which usually means journaling, resting, or stepping away from the screen.

The key is learning to prioritize:
What needs attention today?
What can wait?
What requires inspiration?
What requires discipline?
What is draining me?
What is fueling me?

Being both a photographer and a content creator means constantly shifting gears. But it also means allowing yourself to exist in multiple creative identities without forcing yourself into a box.

Sneak peak (just a screenshot, waiting on the digitals) of my time modeling for a high end photographer in NYC.

The balance isn’t perfect — and it’s not supposed to be.
It’s a practice. A rhythm. A relationship with your own creativity.

And at the end of the day, the goal isn’t to do everything flawlessly.
It’s to honor your creative currency — and spend it where it matters most.