053 - The Making of an Artist w/ Emilie White

This week Brad & Jen sit down with Emilie White, a French wedding and editorial photographer whose life has stretched across seven countries, two careers, and a constant pull toward something more than the photography itself.Before she ever picked up a camera professionally, Emilie spent 7 years in law, working in international law and intellectual property across Paris, Ireland, and the Middle East. When she and her husband left Oman, she traded a comfortable expat life for a shoebox apartment in the south of France, a newborn, and a leap into photography with no formal training and no safety net.What unfolds is an honest look at the long, winding road to becoming an artist: years of imposter syndrome, the slow work of finding her voice, and the grief that shaped her eye.Emilie opens up about losing her father at 15, the family hardships that pushed her work through darker and lighter seasons, and why she believes you have to feed your soul and then trust it to surface in your work when you least expect it.Together, we explore patience, preparation, curation, parenthood, and the discipline of holding your ego loosely while building a career the industry calls successful.We also explore:Trading a seven-year law career for photography with a newborn in towLiving across seven countries and how it taught her to read any roomThe accolades that signaled she was on the right path (and why she keeps them in perspective)Working under pressure when a portrait window shrinks to three minutesWhy preparation, not acceptance, is what makes the hard moments workUsing film cameras to spark curiosity and disarm a tough crowdBuilding teams around strengths and treating hires as investments, not expensesWhy curation is the hardest part, and the one thing she will not hand to AIMaking images that gain value with age, not just attentionHow motherhood reshaped what she shoots and how she protects her timeKeeping her ego in check while her work lands in Vogue, Harper's, and BridesConnect with EmilieWebsite: https://emiliewhite.com/ Instagram: @emiliewhitephotographyConnect with Us Join Purpose & Profit – A Roadmap to 10k Weddings Apply for the Mastermind Program - High level 1:1 creative coaching & community.Chapters(00:00) Welcome and a life across seven countries(08:32) From law school to photography(11:40) Imposter syndrome and owning the artist title(14:15) Shooting a designer's wedding and early validation(18:32) Finding her voice through editing and curation(24:15) Grief, dark seasons, and how life shapes the work(27:14) Patience, process, and time to be bored(30:43) Three-minute portraits and preparation over acceptance(39:46) Cameras as tools to read and disarm a room(44:51) Building teams around strengths(50:10) Why curation is the hardest part(59:00) Empathy in the edit: don't forget the elders(01:03:43) The couple behind the curation: Greer and Dimitri(01:06:16) Accolades, ego, and staying grounded(01:10:38) How motherhood reshaped her work(01:16:14) Movies, inspiration, and what's next