Why Problem Solving Is at the Heart of My Photography Mentorship and Business Coaching Approach
One of the reasons problem solving and brainstorming is fun for me, is because it reminds me of being a kid. I would seek out opportunities to figure things out; gardening with my Grandfather and see how we could make raking the leaves more efficient, finding discarded planks of wood in the garage and ask my Dad for his tools so I could build something, but not before drawing up a sketch, of course and solving the Great Apple Conundrum.
At 7 years old, we had too many apples growing on our apple tree. It was a beautiful season but our garden was covered with fallen, but perfect, cooking apples. I was told to ‘throw them away’, but plucky ol’ me had a much better idea. I sat right there on the curb with two FULL boxes of perfect apples (I quality checked them, can’t be giving out imperfect produce, are you kidding me?), a bunch of plastic shopping bags, and waited for passersby and offered them a bag filled to the brim with the ‘juiciest, yummiest cooking apples that go great in pies and crumbles’. I waited there for perhaps over an hour, and solved the damn Fallen Apple Gate of 2000.
Fallen Apple Gate - SOLVED
You wanna tell this kid that she can’t solve a damn problem like too many apples? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
This is exactly how I still work.
Even then, I just wanted to solve the problem because the issue was fun for me. I simply couldn’t accept a “throw them away” answer when the apples were clearly fine. What I see now, years later, is that this is exactly how I still work. I look at the chaos, the creative blocks, the systems that don’t feel right, and I ask, what could this become?
I love finding solutions.
I get a wonderful buzz from taking something that feels messy or overwhelming and gently untangling it until it makes sense, and if it doesn’t, that’s just another exciting puzzle to play with. I love seeing when it makes sense to you and your business. That same energy I had while sitting on the curb with my boxes of apples, feeling thoughtful, hopeful and determined, is exactly what I bring into my work today. Whether it’s navigating a creative block, figuring out a smoother way to run your business, or just finding clarity in the middle of chaos, I’m right there with you.
I’ve been mentoring photographers and creatives for over six years now, and I still get excited by every new idea, every stuck moment we shift through, every lightbulb that flickers back on.
There are so many ways we can work together.
The Outpost Course is great if you like self-paced learning with depth and heart. Workshops are hands-on and community-focused. Shoot-a-long sessions give you the space to build your portfolio and brain with confidence. And one-to-one mentoring is always available if you’re looking for something more personal. Whatever pace or format suits you, there’s room for you here.
