Jul 8, 2018
In this episode, Sara talks
with Judy Lee about her journey from research and program
evaluation at a university to transformative women's portrait
photography. After agonizing struggles with fertility, pregnancy
loss and parenting a grief-stricken adopted son, Judy felt
heartbroken and numb. Then, she encountered a woman's
portrait photographer, and that experience changed the trajectory
of her life. Now, Judy helps women see beyond the critical voices
in their heads to their true essence and beauty—both inside and
out. Judy opened a portrait studio in the Ballard
neighborhood of Seattle, Washington in late March
of 2018.
Sara and Judy
discuss:
- How they know each other
- Sara's interview with Chelsea Behrens in Episode 002
- Chelsea's Rise to the Occasion Facebook Group
- Sara's interview with Michelle Wong in Episode 014
- WomanSpeak
- Judy studying race & class inequality and statistics in graduate school
- Planning to become a university professor
- Leaving school
- Working at a university on teacher and student education in mathematics and science for under-performing schools
- Getting too comfortable in her role
- Struggling with infertility and pregnancy loss
- Adopting and becoming a stay-at-home mom
- Getting too comfortable again
- Adopting her second son and the profound grief he experienced, post-adoption
- Feeling broken
- Discovering her eye for photography
- Starting a family photography business because people asked her to
- Suffering from impostor syndrome
- A compelling question from a good friend
- Meeting a women's portrait photographer, Sue Bryce, at a convention
- Seeing Sue's photographs and recognizing immediately that's what she was meant to do
- Something awakening in her
- Setting up a home studio and taking classes
- Women's responses to her photographs of them
- Capturing a woman's true essence
- Being terrified to talk about her business
- Her calling being stronger than her fear
- Separating the essential self from the stories we tell ourselves about who we are
- Our emotional armor, fear and scarcity thinking
- Judy giving her clients permission to be vulnerable through her own vulnerability
- How she recognized her true "calling" vs. something else she was temporarily interested in
- Going with her gut and following her intuition
- Embracing the unknown
- The belief that everyone has a purpose
- Seeing one's own value and worth
- The idea of traditional "success"
- Judy's advice for others who think it's too late in life to make a big change
- The danger of rigidly defining who we we are and what we're "supposed" to do
- The illusive feeling of being "ready" for change
- Opening her studio
- Continuing to push herself
- Messages she got about career from her very traditional Korean family
- How her old career prepared her for her new one
- Recources:
- Brené Brown
- Eckhart Tolle
- Jen Sincero's "You Are a Badass at Making Money" book
- Oprah's Super Soul Conversations podcast
- Gretchen Rubin's Happier podcast
- Judy's advice for those worried about finances during career transition
- Her unique process of transformative women's portrait
photography:
- Each woman choosing to be seen
- Receiving mentoring with Judy
- Pre-photo shoot interview on video
- Simple makeup, clothing and backdrops
- The photo shoot (where the magic happens!)
- "Reveal Day"
- Post-photo shoot interview and reflections on video
- Archival photos that will last 200 years
- Even the most "traditionally beautiful" women disliking photos of themselves
- The power of vulnerability
- Judy's regular "Coffee with Intention" events at her studio
Judy's full
bio:
Judy Lee is
a transformative portrait photographer who shows women
their true selves so they can live with more authenticity,
intention and purpose. She's spent most of her life struggling with
self-worth and the feeling of "not enough." She always held on to
the stories and beliefs she told herself about being shy, not smart
enough and having no voice. While her career trajectory started in
research and program evaluation at the university level, motherhood
led her to discover she had an eye for photography, which evolved
into a family photography business. While she enjoyed it, she
struggled with impostor syndrome and never took her business
seriously. Then, she adopted her second son as a toddler, and he
cried with grief for over two years. This left her feeling
completely lost and broken, feeling numb to herself and the
world. Everything changed when she discovered women's
portraiture. She realized it was her calling, and it stirred
something in her. Her calling became stronger than her fear and it
sent her on a journey to reconnect with herself. She took off all
her emotional armor, shed her old beliefs and found her voice. She
was finally able to see herself for the woman she truly is. Her
personal journey helped her realize her purpose was to empower
other women to do the same. She wants women to see
themselves—their true selves—and realize the
woman they aspire to be is already in them, just as she did for
herself. She had to first learn to value herself and know her
inherent self-worth, and that had to come from within. Judy
opened a portrait studio in the Ballard neighborhood of
Seattle, Washington in late March of 2018.
Connect with
Judy:
Website: www.judyleephotography.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/judyleephotography
Instagram: www.instagram.com/judyleephotography