During WPPI 2022’s Honors of Excellence Awards Ceremony held on March 2 at The Mirage in Las Vegas, photographer Michelle Harris was named Rangefinder’s Creator of the Year. As Harris approached the stage, you could see it was a complete surprise—and a really great one! (She was told by show organizers a few weeks before that she would be presenting an award to someone else!)

“I was so excited to see my girl Caroline Tran up there, speaking from the stage, so I was paying close attention to what she was saying about her being named Creator of the Year at the 2020 show,” Harris told me after the awards ceremony. “I was so proud of what she accomplished and I was excited to see who the next person to receive her award was going to be. Then she said ‘she’s a mom of 3’ and my jaw dropped. I was in so much shock!!”

How does Rangefinder decide on who it names as Creator of the Year? “We choose photographers and creators who are not only incredibly hard working and talented but who also create opportunities for up-and-coming photographers, and lifts up the photo community with education,” says editor-in-chief Jacqueline Tobin.

[Read: 10 Questions: Wedding Photographer Michelle Harris on Rapid Growth]

Harris, a Washington, D.C.-based destination wedding photographer, checks all the boxes and then some. She bought her first camera at 17 with a loan from her mom and built her photo empire in just seven years. The sought-after speaker and educator is also the first black female Sigma ambassador. In 2017, she built an associate team of photographers and opened another studio, Laila Chanel (named for her eldest daughter) so she could serve more wedding couples’ than she was able to fit into her existing schedule. In 2018, she launched the Hustle in Heels photo conference to help guide and inspire other hard-working women photographers. All this is just a sliver of everything Harris has done and continues to do in and for the industry. “Community over Competition” has always been her guiding force and philosophy.

“Being named Creator of the Year means the world to me,” Harris exclaimed after the show. “When I started my career, my ultimate goal was to attend WPPI one day. Then when I became an expert in my craft and began teaching, it became my goal to teach here. I worked my way up from a photo walk to a platform class and made the connection with Sigma to eventually become the first Black Female Ambassador for them right here on the trade show floor. This is the highest honor I could imagine receiving at this conference, as it’s literally a dream come true!”

[Read: Caroline Tran’s Tips to Building a Recognizable Photography Brand]

Before leaving for the airport this morning, Harris sent me one more thought she wanted to leave us all with. “My favorite part of WPPI is the incredible connections I form with people each and every year. I also love that I can see how big the world photography really is and how much of an impact we all have in this world.“

Scott Stockton is a wedding photographer based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. He is also a one of Rangefinder’s 30 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography nominees from 2020. He loves love and he loves watching the Hallmark Channel. In his spare time he writes for Rangefinder. Check out his recent review of the Tamron here.