In this episode of The Portrait System Podcast, host Nikki Closser speaks with Salt Lake City, Utah, portrait photographer Emily Drew about how her pursuit of manifesting her artistic vision led to her netting a rare Gold-awarded image in the recent round of The Portrait Masters Awards & Accreditation Competition.

Emily has been in love with photography ever since as a high schooler she picked up a copy of Vogue magazine featuring an Alice in Wonderland spread by Annie Leibovitz. It fully captured her imagination and kindled her own desire to create worlds that could draw others into that would make them feel emotionally connected. In college, she studied ballroom dance and theater with the intention to manifest her visions by constructing worlds with lighting, costume, and emotion. After taking a break from college to have children, and while working in retail and admin, Emily returned to college and completed her degree in dance photography. Subsequently, she encountered the teachings of Sue Bryce and began learning about the business of portrait photography through Bryce’s online education, The Portrait System. Her drive to become accredited led her to enter her images into The Portrait Masters competitions. She is currently accredited as a Master, has numerous silver awards, and this last round, she won a notoriously-difficult-to-achieve gold medal award for one of her images.

[Read: Goals That Can Lead to Photography Business Success]

Emily feels that portrait photography gives her the perfect arena in which to work with manifesting her creative vision. Entering competitions gives her the opportunity to expand her creativity through works that come directly from her imagination. She also finds that clients are drawn to her because of her awards, knowing that she can bring this same creative vision to play in their portraits.

Emily says, “I create a vision for [each client] specifically. All my sessions are very customized. . . I keep getting more and more of these clients who really want something unique. They want me to create wall art for them and are even on board for trying fine art concepts or more unique concepts, even if it’s just part of their shoot.”

Emily’s newest campaign, the Goddess Campaign, invites a select group of women to share their ideas of how the sacred feminine manifests in them. You can find out more about Emily Drew, her artistic vision and her latest campaign at Emily Pearl Photography, and you can view all the top images in The Portrait Masters competition in the Awards Gallery.

The Portrait System Podcast helps portrait photographers navigate the world of photography, business, money, and much more. Hosted by Nikki Closser, the podcast is powered by The Portrait System, a comprehensive, online educational platform that teaches all aspects of running a successful portrait photography studio.