How I Left Meetings With Agendas That Could’ve Been Emails for Tiny Toes and Big Feels
Let’s talk about life on the other side. The post-corporate, chasing-light, editing-at-midnight, yes-I’ll-work-weekends life of a motherhood and family photographer.
People often ask: “Do you miss your old job?”
Cue: hollow laugh and distant flashbacks to standing in an “urgent” two-hour sync wondering if I’d left the kettle on, my soul slowly slipping out of my body while someone said “let’s circle back” for the fifth time.
So…no. Not really.
Let’s break it down, shall we?
What I Don’t Miss: The Corporate Greatest Hits
1. Meetings That Could’ve Been Literally Anything Else
Do I need to be here?
What’s the agenda?
Why is this recurring?
Why are we workshopping a document nobody read?
2. Gossip, Politics, and Performative Slack Enthusiasm
“Let’s give Justin a big virtual round of applause 👏👏👏”
Justin just updated a spreadsheet, Sharon. Please relax.
3. Constant Disengagement and ‘Fine’ Energy
You know that background hum of corporate malaise? Everyone half-checked out, staring at their second monitor, debating if they can start dinner at 4:47 p.m.? It’s like being in a never-ending episode of The Office, except nobody’s funny and we’re all just tired.
4. Owing Something to Everyone, All the Time
Deadlines. Expectations. Your boss’s boss’s random comment from Q2 that somehow derailed your whole project plan. No thanks.
What I Do Miss: Okay, Fine, a Few Things
1. A Steady Paycheck and Health Insurance
Yeah. That was cute.
2. Structure
There, I said it.
3. My team
I loved being a leader. I cared about my people, and nothing beat seeing someone grow into their confidence. It’s probably my mom side - always cheering, always wanting others to thrive. Being the “energy giver” was exhausting at times (introvert here ), but it was also one of the most rewarding parts of corporate life.
What I Love Now: The Photographer Perks
1. Meaning
Clients smiling because I caught a moment they never want to forget.
One of my favorites: “You made us all feel so at ease. Good energy is contagious - thank you for yours.”
I’ve always been a carer, a giver. In corporate, that felt like a superpower nobody valued. Now? It’s the thing people remember most.
2. Flexibility - Real, Actual Flexibility
Midday run? Yes.
Grocery run at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday? Also yes.
Editing in PJs while watching Chef’s Table reruns? Extremely yes.
Dropping off the kids without panic. Picking one up early just because I can.
3. Meeting the Community I Didn’t Know I Was Missing
Stepping away from Zoom marathons, I rediscovered… people! Real, kind, messy, beautiful people. New parents, giggly toddlers, grandparents visiting from abroad. Families who let me step into their lives for just an hour, right in the middle of their most tender moments. And beyond the sessions? I’ve made actual friends. We go on walks, share stories, and cheer each other on through our different phases of life. One of the Moms I photographed told me that she first connected with me through my blog posts - the ones I honestly thought nobody was reading. One even said those posts were what made her choose me as her photographer, because they felt raw, real and relatable.
4. Bringing Light Into Isolating Moments
Those first weeks with a newborn? Magical and brutal. Beautiful and isolating. Overwhelming in ways you don’t see on Instagram.
Sometimes I’m the only adult my clients speak to that day. Sometimes I get to remind a mom: you’re doing a good job. I know how much that matters - I've been there. I've been that Mom who just needed validation to keep going (especially having had kids during COVID).
5. Biking to Work, Baby
I show up to sessions with wind in my hair and gear on my back, feeling like a one-woman creative courier. Technically, I could have biked to the office back in my corporate days, but rushing through midtown traffic? Hard pass. Now I prioritize shoots in my own neighborhood - frantic commute, just me, my bike, and a much gentler pace.
6. Creating Joy, Not Decks
Nobody ever cried happy tears over a Q4 KPI deck. But they do cry when they see the first photo of their baby’s eyes open, or when they see themselves - exhausted, but so in love - captured as a family.
The Lows (Because I Keep It Real)
1. The Uncertainty
Will I finally get a booking next month, or should I have stayed in that cushy job with the pension plan and the fancy ergonomic mouse?
Clients: “We’d love to book a session!” - also clients: vanishes into the mist the moment the contract hits their inbox.
2. Imposter Syndrome
Who let me be a professional? Why are people paying me real money? Should I Google “how to be a photographer” again, just in case?
3. No Safety Net
When you’re sick, you’re still self-employed. No HR. No backup. Just cold medicine, soft lighting, and editing from bed. Thankfully, my partner is still a corporate warrior but raising two kids in NYC can feel financially daunting. Yes, we have to adapt a bit our lifestyle. But it's worth it for the freedom and meaning this path brings.
TD LR
I left the steady world of corporate because I wanted something more alive. More intentional. More human.
Now I show up to the beautiful chaos of real families. I capture the giggles, the tears, the crooked onesies, the uncertain new-dad-hold. And yes, I spiral before every session. I sweat. I overthink.
But I show up - with a camera and a heart wide open. And when I hit that shutter - when the baby yawns or the toddler hugs their mama for no reason - I know I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.
Here’s the thing: may be I'm too naive here but corporate will always be there. If I want to go back to quarterly reviews, the door is open.
But this? I feel like I have one shot. One window where it’s scary, exciting, and possible.
And the truth is: I didn’t leave the skills behind. They came with me - discipline, excellence, project management, resilience. Now they power the way I run my one-woman business.
So yes, it’s uncertain. Yes, I spiral. But man - I get to do work that feels alive. And for now? It’s worth everything.
Warmly,
Agathe
