I think I found Yan on Instagram and fell in love with her work and the way she tells the story of families. I tried to make it work when she did her Yan Fam Way class in Maui but just couldn’t figure out a way to do it with my husband and kids’ schedules. I was bummed, a lot. I didn’t think I’d be able to justify it at a later date since it was just a one day workshop and a flight to the mainland for that didn’t make sense.
Our family planned a Disneyland trip in early November and I couldn’t believe it when I saw Yan had added a last-minute workshop in L.A. at the exact same time I was already going to be in the area. I knew it was meant to be and signed up (after convincing my friend to sign up with me. Everything is just better with a friend). She has us answer questions, goes through our work and then writes about what she thinks we need to work on. Her review made me cry, like literally cry, more than once. It was like she could see through me, to the real me. I knew I’d love her after that. Being seen as a human is such an important thing and Yan has an amazing gift at being able to see people. The class was amazing. I learned so much, but especially to trust myself. To not let my fear of doing things “wrong” get in the way of me doing anything, especially things that are meaningful. Perfectionism is such a nasty trait to have. I’m working on not letting it paralyze me anymore.
These are a few images I made at the workshop. I absolutely love shooing in client’s homes. There is something about shooting where people live and love everyday that adds an amazing dimension to the images.
Erin, these are amazing!!!! I’m so glad you made it to that workshop and it impacted you so much. You captured terrific emotion and connection with these!