kadi and laura

i have never felt so protective over a set of images the way i feel over these. i have this urge to keep them safe and tucked away where no judgement or criticism can ever take away from the complete joy of the process. but i guess that's what attempting art feels like sometimes.

 i am not one to exaggerate, or make things sound great when they weren't. so please know that these hours; the 4 am wakeup, the morning we spent shooting, and the breakfast and conversation we had together after was the most beautiful creative experience, and probably one of the most beautiful human experiences i have ever had.

it felt bigger than all of us.

some recent work

i don't teach people how to  succeed. i teach them how to fail beautifully and keep going. if you are interested in getting comfortable in your OWN skin faster by acquiring this skill, i have an upcoming workshops in washington dc  9/21/16, indianapolis 10/4/16 and will be announcing 2017 workshop dates very soon. sign up for DC or indianopolis here   

i will also be offering individual 4 week long mentorships beginning in january 2017. i want to follow your path and make you accountable. to get on the waitlist, email me at yan@yanpalmer.com. 

if you are  interested in doing a shoot with me, i will be in san francisco, los angeles, boise, slc, provo, indianapolis, seattle, washington D.C. and new york city all before november. please email me at yan@yanpalmer.com for specific dates.

from a recent client:

"There's no language for it, the way this morning was. It felt like we were finally, for the first time living and reaching for our truest truth. than you for giving us the space to fully be and thank you for listening to our stories so deeply and intently. Laura said afterwards, "today. today was our something good. the thing we prayed for. i haven't felt happy like this in years." IT was a really beautiful thing and the experience was infintely priceless to us. Thank you, thank you, for this morning of light."

i am so glad for what i can do, even when it feels small, its my best. thank you for trusting me.

all the secrets

i don't know why this image felt right, only that it did. stuck in my brain since i first saw it. this woman who lives in a tiny village in india isolated from most things i know as familiar, who felt and laughed in a way that i knew.

here it is. the thing i teach at my workshop. the thing that's fed my children, and made me thousands of dollars over the last few years. the thing i will continue to teach, for money or for free --- because i don't care about being the best---i care about helping. i care about others living their potential and feeling their inherent worth.

are you ready?

there are no rules. there is no right way. no one knows what they are doing and we are all just making it up as we go along. you want to have a voice? make it to "the top?" be decisive. be passionate. trust yourself. enjoy the process. the exact, and i mean EXACT thing you feel in making your images will be the primary thing people feel when viewing them. but don't listen to what they feel, do it for you. do it for something greater than you. for creation's sake--for the need, the instinctive urge in every single one of us to make something. to express. to shout into the void, hello! hello! hello! i am here! can anyone here me? i. exist. i. am. 

because you do. i promise you do. i promise your existence means something. i can't prove it. only you can do that,

by LIVING.

and the surest thing is that no one will hear you if you try to make your voice sound like everyone else's. how could they when it blends in so well? be ugly, be strange, be unpredictable and beautiful, be you!

i've seen them come and i've seen them go. 300 now. 300 people i've taught. who's work i've poured over individually, every single portfolio. who's hearts i've dug into with odd questions. each one, i asked, WHO ARE YOU? and i read their answers, every word.  i don't remember all their names. but i remember the thing that made or broke them;

confidence. 

not in the way we all think of it. as in confidence = you think you are awesome. but rather confidence as in acceptance. as in, okay, this is me. i'm not the best, but i'm here and i'm trying.  i will not hide from it any more. i will share....

so there you go. that's it. well, maybe one more thing, a favor really. will you look at  that spark? that one you don't understand, but can see its glimmer inside you somewhere? that's what i did writing this blog post. i listened to that red/orange flicker that rose up in me until i couldn't go about my life any more without honoring its burning insistence. remove any expectation, and just see where the light goes. i promise that's my final secret to never being disappointed.