Aaron Jay Young is a Palm Springs and Los Angeles, California-based photographer who has taken himself through incredible transformations with dedicated focus on healing and mindset. Young went from working in a gym in small-town Pennsylvania to working on the set of RuPaul’s Drag Race and developing a thriving photography business specializing in editorial and portraits. To get there, Young focused heavily on personal development, exploring modes of therapy to help him heal past trauma and overcome fear so that he could fully put himself and his skills out in the world and confidently charge what his services are worth.

Young’s new book, Queen, also celebrates those who regularly make incredible transformations. It contains over 125 images of drag artists at RuPaul’s DragCon. He hopes it will make a positive impact on how people view drag performance in these times when there are political efforts being made to limit drag performance. You can learn more about Young’s new book, which will be available on December 8 and is available for preorder now, here: Long Live the Queens: Aaron Jay Young Photo Book Q&A. A portion of the presale proceeds go to the ACLU Drag Defense Fund. 

Aaron Jay Young talks more about his path of overcoming limiting beliefs on his recent Portrait System Podcast appearance: Increase Your Sales Average by Transforming Your Mindset, and in the Q&A below.

What has been your biggest breakthrough in business?  

The biggest breakthrough in my business has been changing my perspective on money, doing the work to believe that I deserve to charge more and that what I do is very valuable. As I’ve grown in this area, I’ve been able to charge more, which has transformed not only my business, but my entire life.  

How did you push past fear when building your business?  

Fear is something that is ongoing; it’s part of the human experience. We can grow and no longer fear things that once scared us, and then new things will show up in our life that freak us out. Pushing past fear, for me, looks like making the decision to always keep moving forward, which can look different at different times. There were times when I had a rough day filled with tons of fear and overwhelm, and there were times when it lasted weeks, AND I kept moving forward despite the fear. Things that have helped and continue to help are different forms of therapy – EMDR, hypnotherapy, talk therapy. Other things that have helped are learning the EFT tapping technique, reading books on fear and self-development, and learning to have compassion for myself in moments when I’m scared.  

Making a connection with your subject is one of the most important parts of a great portrait. How do you make lasting connections with your clients?  

Connection is EVERYTHING when it comes to portraiture. Without it, for me, an image falls flat 100% of the time. How do I establish a connection with my subjects? By working for pretty much my entire adult life to unblock all the things (created by trauma and past experiences) that stand in the way of connecting with myself and with another human. You wanna take more impactful portraits? Work on yourself. Get in touch with your own well of sorrow and feel that pain we all carry around. Develop a relationship with your inner child. Learn to connect to yourself and accept yourself. Then the whole process becomes much easier when connecting with your clients. I also use my sensitivity and intuition to sense into my subject’s energy so that I know when there is a moment of true connected authenticity to capture.  

For someone starting out on their photography journey what advice would you have for them?  

Only choose this path of being a portrait photographer if you are deeply passionate about it and you believe it is your purpose. That deep sense of knowing you are doing what you were put on this planet to do is what will carry you through the challenging times. And it’s ok to be scared AND still take action. If you are learning lighting, for example, set up a light and start trying things right now. Don’t wait. I still take bad photos. It’s ok. It’s a journey. Give yourself the gift of embracing that journey.