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A Shift in Mindset

March 19, 2018 by Lylah Wolff

The sticky August nights leading up to Opening Weekend at Bowling Green State University were made sweatier by filling up old shoeboxes with knick-knacks from my childhood. One by one, I sorted through notes from my best friends that were once passed in secrecy, jewelry that belonged to my mother, toys that had collected dust, photographs that stamped a moment in time onto 4 x 6 glossy paper from Walgreens. Into the boxes they went, as if my bringing these objects with me to college meant I could take my home with me while I was being flung into this new universe I knew nothing about. As the days grew closer to that fateful weekend, I scanned my room for any missing pieces. Did I remember the friendship bracelet from 8th grade? What about my Prom Shoes? I’ll definitely wear those heels out on the weekends. I made eye contact with my camera, a Nikon D90 bought years’ prior, its one eye glossy and skeptical of my decision to leave it at home. I looked away and carried on.

I spent the first two months of my freshman year of college trying to convince myself that art wasn’t what I wanted to do. Marketing or economics, I thought, was the way in. There was no way I could study and pursue art as my major, much less my future career. It wasn’t until I felt like there was a part of me that was physically missing that lead me to driving home one weekend, picking up that camera, wiping off any dust that had settled on it, and bringing it back to school with me. From then on, I embraced photography – generally photographing my friends and myself, as I was far too nervous to ever reach out to strangers. I met and worked with incredible photographers as professors, and felt my passion outweigh any fear that I had that it wasn’t going to work for me. 

Portrait of my dad

Portrait of my dad

Portrait of bed with light

Portrait of bed with light

During the winter months of my sophomore year of college, I came to the realization that I wanted nothing more than to go home to Cleveland. With a phone call to my parents in the parking lot of Bowling Green’s campus Dunkin Donuts, I explained that I needed some time back at home and that was that. This was the beginning of my knowledge of Instagram and the equally wonderful and terrifying world of social media as a creative. I began a photography Instagram account and posted black-and-white iPhone shots, as both an ode to my love for analog photography and a pure reflection of my emotional state at that time. Within days of posting, I became obsessed with the followers and the engagement my posts were receiving. I also began noticing the huge community of photographers in Cleveland. I was overwhelmed by the amount of talented creators just miles away from me – their creativity, poise, and amount of followers making me feel alone, not inspired. That first photography account was deleted a little while later, as my insecurities grew larger and my motivation trickled off.

a self portrait I took in 2012, around when I fell in love with texture and portraiture as a form of expression

a self portrait I took in 2012, around when I fell in love with texture and portraiture as a form of expression

I finished college a few months ago with a new mindset. During my senior year of school, I transitioned from a Canon AE-1 to an old Yashica 635 that belonged to my uncle. I found that people were my thing; I loved the purity of photographing friends, family, and strangers, each silver-gelatin print a little reminder of the moments they spent with me, allowing me in. I struggled with motivation, as we all do from time to time, but I knew that I wanted to focus on photographing humans. As confrontational and quiet as my academic work was, I also reveled in the world of photographing styled shoots filled with smiles and genuine laughter. I began to pursue portrait and event photography, and I made a new photography account for that stuff, which is probably where you found this post. I began reaching out to people, and with that, I became friends with clients, sharing little memories of where we got coffee and how we made each other feel comfortable and truly okay with being ourselves.

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One of the greatest moments in my career as a photographer was when I photographed a client that told me that I made her feel comfortable. Prior to our session, she explained her disdain for having her portrait taken, and I was determined to lessen that anxiety for her. At the end of the hour, she expressed her happiness with the session – how she felt comfortable in her own skin because of me. That was a turning point, as I realized that maybe I could do this for a living. Maybe art was something I could consider a career, if only because the joy of documenting real laughter, real smiles, real tears -- the evidence of human existence --  is incomparable to any other feeling.

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From that moment on, I’ve discovered the beauty in reaching out to other people. I’ve met so many peers that feel the same way about their art, that want to document a day or a moment or a human in their happiest form, and I’ve turned that fear of talent into inspiration fuel. Every time I meet with a new artist or client (or both!), I’m reminded that there’s room for all of us; all of our insecurities, all of our imperfections that we try so hard to erase using Facetune or the delete button on Instagram stories, all of our quirks and the stuff that you don’t see until you meet face-to-face. I’m reminded of the beauty of the art world when I open up Instagram or talk to a future client that values honesty and integrity in their pictures. And while there are days that I still compare myself to those that have thousands of followers and more equipment than me, and I still feel like I'm being flung into this universe I know nothing about, I find solace in the fact that we're all in on the adventure together. 

This blog post was made in an effort to become more transparent with all of you, and if you made it this far, thanks for listening.

- Lylah 

March 19, 2018 /Lylah Wolff
personal, blog post
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Let's be friends! Follow me on instagram @lylahrosewolff 

This is what happens when you tell Christine to make a straight face and it is incredible. I had a blast hanging out and drinking beer and photographing Christine + Zak, who drove from Columbus to Cleveland for this session. Thankful for this job that doesn’t feel like a job at all. Swipe 👉🏼 to see more of these beautiful humans! thinking about the joy of meeting lovely human beings while taking pictures. @erinfrazee is just one of many of my favorite people i’ve met through this little job of mine; her warmth + sharpness is instant and gratifying. her talent + grit is to be inspired by. her style is her own, authentic and honest and bad ass. •

i’m continuously thankful for this job. for the ability to meet people via this platform and stamp down a moment of time in their lives, and, in many ways, my own. i’ve said it a million times and now it’s a million & 1: i’m grateful. when the reception’s at 7 but the mixtape drops at midnight 🔥 soooo it’s been a while since i’ve posted on here. hello again 👋🏼 i decided to take a little break from this account as i recognized that there’s a direct correlation between anxiety + social media and i want to talk a bit about it. -

i never understood the concept of social media anxiety, and i think that’s because for the entirety of my life i wasn’t trying to sell my work and *myself* online. when i started posting on here, i was taking pictures and loving the work and loving the community that i could talk to with just the tap of my finger (and let’s be real, i still love photographing and meeting people through art and all of that). -

slowly but surely, though, i became overwhelmed by the sheer amount of humans doing the same thing as me - trying to stick out, make their voices heard through captions and emojis and instagram stories. i was overwhelmed by “needing to post to stay relevant,” and hoping my theme was consistent to my brand and desperately trying to make money while pretending like i had it all figured out. and let me be clear: all of these things were self-constructed. no one told me any rules, no one yelled at me for not posting. i put this pressure on myself. so, i stopped posting. i rarely got on this account and i loved it. -

but on my drive home last night i realized another thing i love: taking photos. documenting. being honest. these things will never leave me; they are as part of me as i am a part of them and i feel tied to these concepts in ways that i’m tied to my loved ones. so i guess i’m back, but in a new light - in the sense that i am me and this is my work and these are people and their stories. no schedules, no crazy attention to numbers, just photos. here’s a portrait of harrison, the first groom i ever photographed. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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wedding season is upon us in full swing and what better way to celebrate that than by posting one of my MANY favorite things to photograph on such a day: groom portraits! don’t get me wrong; i love me a beautiful bridal portrait & cute couple pics, but i feel like grooms can be overlooked on weddings. i can’t tell you how exciting and heart-eye-inducing it is to hear a groom talk about how pumped they are to be married to their partner & best friend. can’t WAIT to shoot more of these wonderful humans this season! •
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#visuallife #clevelandportraitphotographer #clevelandportraits #portraitphotographer #makeportraits #clevelandweddingphotographer #clevelandgram #clevelandohio #buildandbloom #communityovercompetition #thatsdarling #lifestyleblogger #lifestylephotographer #filmfeature #thisiscleveland #lylahrosewolff #lylahrosewolffphotography #style #styleoftheday #portraitpage #gramkilla #portraitgames #creativebabes bear hugs 4 life. •
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#visuallife #clevelandportraitphotographer #clevelandportraits #portraitphotographer #makeportraits #clevelandweddingphotographer #clevelandgram #clevelandohio #buildandbloom #communityovercompetition #thatsdarling #lifestyleblogger #lifestylephotographer #filmfeature #thisiscleveland #lylahrosewolff #lylahrosewolffphotography #style #styleoftheday #portraitpage #gramkilla #portraitgames #creativebabes #clevelandvibes the botanical gardens is of my favorite spots to take pictures, and this is one of my favorite sessions 🌿 •
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#visuallife #clevelandportraitphotographer #clevelandportraits #portraitphotographer #makeportraits #clevelandweddingphotographer #clevelandgram #clevelandohio #buildandbloom #communityovercompetition #thatsdarling #lifestyleblogger #lifestylephotographer #filmfeature #thisiscleveland #lylahrosewolff #lylahrosewolffphotography #style #styleoftheday #portraitpage #gramkilla #portraitgames #creativebabes i’m thinking of listing “taking pictures of families at the museum” in my list of favorite things in the world. parker, courtney + baby emmeline are truly the cutest family in the world. •
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#visuallife #clevelandportraitphotographer #clevelandportraits #portraitphotographer #makeportraits #clevelandweddingphotographer #clevelandgram #clevelandohio #buildandbloom #communityovercompetition #thatsdarling #lifestyleblogger #lifestylephotographer #filmfeature #thisiscleveland #lylahrosewolff #lylahrosewolffphotography #style #styleoftheday #portraitpage #gramkilla #portraitgames #creativebabes #clevelandvibes can’t WAIT for more golden hour shoots like this one ✨ i literally have an app on my phone with a golden hour countdown because i’m in love with those long shadows and harsh light and the way the sun makes everything look so magical. it’s probably the sole reason that spring & summer are my favorite seasons. what’s yours? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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model: the beautiful @kscarlettoneill 🌿 •
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#visuallife #clevelandportraitphotographer #clevelandportraits #portraitphotographer #makeportraits #clevelandweddingphotographer #clevelandgram #clevelandohio #buildandbloom #communityovercompetition #thatsdarling #lifestyleblogger #lifestylephotographer #filmfeature #thisiscleveland #lylahrosewolff #lylahrosewolffphotography #style #styleoftheday #portraitpage #gramkilla #portraitgames #creativebabes #clevelandvibes one of my favorite bridal portraits i’ve ever made. it was in a dimly lit room and i snagged it while carly was looking in the mirror. it’s shaky and blurry and imperfect and i love it. •
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#visuallife #clevelandportraitphotographer #clevelandportraits #portraitphotographer #makeportraits #clevelandweddingphotographer #clevelandgram #clevelandohio #buildandbloom #communityovercompetition #thatsdarling #lifestyleblogger #lifestylephotographer #filmfeature #thisiscleveland #lylahrosewolff #lylahrosewolffphotography #style #styleoftheday #portraitpage #gramkilla #portraitgames #creativebabes #clevelandvibes

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