Respect: The Real Currency in the Room

In the freelance game, you meet a spectrum of people. Before you show up on set, there’s always a bit of online back-and-forth—some planning, some creative banter—but at the end of the day, you never truly know what you’re walking into.

People come with moods, nerves, egos, expectations. As much as we’re making art, this is still a service-based business. You’re not just showing up to press a shutter or perform your skill—you’re working with people. Their quirks, their anxieties, their energy.

I learned a hard lesson about respect in my first year of owning my studio. I’d taken on an apparel shoot for a brand owned by someone I knew. She had sourced her models and creative team online—no real vetting of personalities, no feel for energy or chemistry.

I showed up as the photographer, not advertising that I also owned the studio we were shooting in. I didn’t see the need. I wore casual slacks, a plain tee, hair up, no makeup. That’s me. I don’t dress for optics—I dress for function, especially when I’m about to sweat for a shoot.

From the beginning, the energy was off. The models gave backhanded responses, ignored direction and made snide remarks like I wasn’t even in the room. Still, I instructed with kindness for hours. I kept the focus on the work, even though I was silently counting down to when we could wrap up and leave.

Then, toward the end of the shoot, something shifted. They overheard in a side conversation that I owned the studio. Suddenly, they were all smiles. One even apologized. The tone flipped, like someone had turned on the charm tap. It was five minutes of “respect” that honestly meant nothing to me.

Because here’s the thing—I don’t respect that. I think it’s so damn silly. Makeup or none, blue tick or not, studio owner or freelancer, your respect for someone shouldn’t hinge on their appearance, clout, or title. It should be mutual. It should be given freely.

Because you never know who you’re in the room with—or more importantly, what you might learn if you actually see people.

Nobody is winning in every single area of life. You might be hot, but someone else is building an empire. You’re building an empire, but someone else has the love you crave. You’ve found love, but someone else is raising conscious, grounded kids. They’re nailing parenthood, while your discipline with your diet is elite. We’re all carrying different strengths, different shadows and different stories.

Respect everyone in the room. Why? Because you are equal.

You don’t know what battles they’ve fought, what talents they hold, what wisdom they carry & thinking you’re the most interesting person in any room? That’s the dumbest thing you could believe.

So, yeah—I chose to be the bigger person that day. I finished the job. I smiled. I left. And I never worked with that team again.

Because I want to build in spaces where respect doesn’t arrive with a résumé.