Photography That Amplifies Your Joy and Community
Sometimes that’s a headshot that helps somebody land a job. Sometimes it’s event photos that move a person to support a nonprofit, or a portrait that finally makes a founder confident enough to go out and tell her story. Those things help people build relationships with one another, and relationships are how a community grows.However, it was a long road before I landed behind a camera. Scroll through to learn a bit of my story.
My Father Is My Hero
Three Circles Studio wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for my parents. Picture a 16 year old arriving alone in the USA… with nothing. A refugee from Vietnam and both the youngest of nine children, almost everything they earned went back home to bring their family over and offer them better opportunities. My parents were the first people to teach me that success is not only about building a life for yourself. It’s about building a community around you, and if one person succeeds then all of us succeed.
Teaching
During my thirteen years in the classroom I genuinely loved helping people discover what they were capable of. I started in Seoul in 2007, and returned to the United States in 2012. I graduated with a Master’s in Teaching in ESL in 2017 but felt teaching wasn’t where my heart was anymore. I began teaching marketing and business courses to international students as the long term sub for a teacher on maternity leave, learning from dozens of books and talking to dozens of entrepreneurs in greater Boston. This is what I really wanted.
The Pandemic as a Reset
The pandemic hit, there were no more flights, no more international students to teach, and like many, I got laid off. We found out we would soon have a son. What is my role in a dying industry with no job and a baby on the way? Summer I locked in to incorporate every business skill that I learned. I joined a national movement to photograph headshots for 10,000 people also out of work help others and that lit up my soul again. I had found what I had been looking for.
What I Learned from Teaching
Almost everyone opens with some version of “I’m awkward,” or “I’m not photogenic.” I learned the real skill is not the camera at all. A startup mentor told me to draw from my strengths. It’s getting to know somebody in seconds, understanding what matters to them, making them laugh a little, and building a room where they don’t have to perform.
