Goals…

Let’s chat about them. Who sets goals every year and come halfway through realizes they let them collect piles of dust and says, ehhhh I am just gonna ignore them? I am raising my hand because I am usually one of those people. Well Click Pro has been one of those goals for many years…many.

OK what the heck is a Click Pro?

I have been a member of The Click Community for years now, back when they were called Clickinmoms. At the very beginning of my photography journey I signed up with them and it has been an invaluable source of information for all things photography. Within The Click Community there are a bunch of other sister brands and one of those is Click Pro. At the start of 2020 (yep this post is LONG overdue lol), I set a big goal to apply to Click Pro. If you haven’t heard about who a Click Pro is then follow that link to read more about it. In a nutshell, I had to submit a portfolio of 150 images and those images are reviewed by Courtney Larson (Click Pro director) as well as a panelist of judges and get scored from 1-6 for a total of up to 42 points. Below is a list of the 7 categories that they go by.

Exposure Triangle
Color and White Balance
Use of Light
Composition and Posing
Processing Cohesion and Polish
Technical Basics
Creativity, Expression, and Intention

I have gone back and forth for a few years debating whether I was good enough to apply. I joined groups to help prepare me for the submission process but I always got overwhelmed by it and never applied. At the start of 2020 I actually wrote it down as a goal. Months went by and I still didn’t put my portfolio together. The Pandemic hit and I had plenty of time to go for it. I was just too nervous. August came and I finally took the leap. I already had most of my images that I wanted to submit tucked away in my Lightroom catalogue but I needed to fine tune. And then….submit. Not expecting much I went on with life. About two weeks later I started scrolling my emails. I saw an email from Courtney Larson and figured it was a newsletter email but when I clicked on it I saw the following words…

Congratulations! We LOVE your work!

Wait what?? Is this spam? I replied back to the email…to Courtney Larson the DIRECTOR of Click Pro saying, “Holy moly is this true??” lol. Still in denial, I figured it was spam and wouldn’t hear back. Sure enough she replied and confirmed it as true.

I reached my goal! The countless hours of learning a completely new industry after leaving a career I spent pretty much my whole adult life in from college up until I had my daughter. The online classes and constant practicing as well as becoming self employed was validated, in my eyes at least.

Community, Teaching, Projects, Published and More…

It doesn’t stop there with those congratulatory words. There is so much more than just validation. We get so many benefits and we become part of a community of women photographers who push you to do better in this very saturated industry, who make you feel included in a very lonely and isolated field of work. There are so many doors that can open with Click Pro if you choose to dive in completely. I am still figuring things out and trying not to get myself too overwhelmed too quick but I have already met (and by meet I mean online) so many amazing photographers who I probably would not have if I didn’t go ahead and apply. There are also opportunities to teach, write articles for the Click Magazine and blogs, become published, submit to the Daily Project, exclusive discounts throughout the brands and so, so much more.

Phew that was a mouthful but there is a lot to say about this amazing community. This is just a small taste of all the great things with Click Pro and The Click Community. I still have a lot to learn and this new platform is here to help me grow.

If you are interested to see the portfolio of images that I submitted to Click Pro you can check it out here. MY CLICK PRO PORTFOLIO

You can also click below if you are interested in learning more about The Click Community. It was so helpful to me when starting out in this industry.