Hello friends! Bekah here! You guys may know me as Lightbox’s Creative Coordinator, but I’m also a full time photographer! I own Illuminate Photography here in Springfield!

I’ve been taking photos since middle school and started Illuminate when I graduated high school back in 2013! I’ve always been really drawn to natural light and all things outdoors so when I first got the opportunity to work at Lightbox I was excited but also SUPER intimidated to start photographing my clients indoors!

Before Lightbox opened, I stuck to outdoor photo session with natural light 99% of the time. I remember having a PIT in my stomach every time I had to photograph an indoor wedding reception and only occasionally did portraits in local coffee shops with natural light. Basically, I was in the “fake it ‘til you make it” stage of my relationship with indoor photo sessions. I think one of the biggest things I have learned in the past several years of being a photographer is that I began to see changes in my work when I stopped being scared of the “what ifs” and just dove in. I’m a very hands on learner and thrive most when I’m submersed into whatever I’m working on, which is why I’ve loved that I’ve been able to use the studio so much over the last year!

What I love most about Lightbox is that this space is so easy to work with. I may be biased, but even from my very first photo session in the space (which happened to be on a RIDICULOUSLY cloudy and dark day) my photos have turned out well and I’ve been so pleasantly surprised with the lighting.

I’ve shot in The Loft in bright sunlight, cloud covered rainy days and pitch black with only the ring light (which I wrote a whole blog about here.) I’ve been able to use The Lower Studio in all of it’s set changes over the last year and I’ve even shot in The Edison during our Galentine’s Day Event! The studios are so easy to make your own and every session I’ve had has looked SO different. I’ve done everything from newborns & families to product photos & a dog calendar, to creative portraits & shoot-outs - The space is SO transformative!

I’ve photographed at every photographer’s shoot-out Lightbox has hosted as well! For our first photographer’s shoot-out I was able to come and enjoy it as a participant. Hannah ( Lightbox’s AWESOME owner) organized an amazing experience with 2 fantastic models and florals from Queen City Blooms. This was SUCH a fun event to experiment at and I was thrilled with the photos I got! I felt like this event was a huge shift for me in creative posing and using the studio to it’s full potential. For our next two photographer shoot-out events I got to take the reins and plan them out alongside Hannah and both The Pantone Shoot- Out and The Upcycled Shoot-Out were unlike anything I had ever photographed before. Both had incredibly unique sets and participating in them added a lot of diversity to my portfolio. Photographer’s Shoot-Outs have been such a cool experience that I feel have made me grow as a photographer and they’ve genuinely opened doors for me to be able to do more creative work for my clients!

I’ve been so thrilled with the growth I have seen in my work over the last year. I have gained SO much confidence in my abilities and feel like my clients are getting a much better experience and quality out of their photo sessions than I was able to offer a year ago.

I’m SO excited to continue using Lightbox in all of it’s changes that are to come!

If you’re reading this and have been considering using the studio but are experiencing the same nervousness I had a year ago, I encourage you to give it a try! I would love to see our photographer community continue to grow and flourish!

If we haven’t had the opportunity to meet yet, drop a message my way and introduce yourself!

I would love to follow along on your journey of growth and thank you for taking the time to read a little bit about mine!

Say hi!

Written by Bekah Schooler

Lightbox Creative Coordinator and Studio Assistant.