Answers to my most frequently asked questions — from followers and clients alike. Have a question that’s not on the list? Leave a comment below, and I’ll add it!
do you do this full-time?
Yes! Last year I left my full-time job as a restaurant reporter at Eater to focus on growing my travel blog and Instagram. I now make the bulk of my income through freelance work, brand collaborations on Instagram and content creation/photography work. I plan on focusing on those three revenue streams (as well well as digital products — coming soon!) while I work on making my blog profitable.
Learn everything you need to know about working with brands on Instagram here.
How much did your trip around the world cost?
My 10-month backpacking trip through Europe, South America and Southeast Asia cost a total of $18,559. See a full break down in this post: True Cost of Backpacking Around The World.
What’s your favorite destination?
I get this questions a lot, and my answer is always the same: Bali, Indonesia. I fell deeply in love with Bali when traveling through Southeast Asia, so much so that one of my goals is to live there for a while.
Runner-ups include Italy, Colombia, Thailand and New York City.
what camera do you shoot with?
As soon as I quit my job last year I invested in the Sony a7 III mirrorless camera — and it is hands down the best business investment I have ever made. I also purchased a wide angle lens (Sony’s 24 mm f 1.4 lens) that I absolutely love. All of my photos in the past 6 months have been taken with this setup.
I know there are a lot of influencers and bloggers who say that you can create great photos with whatever gear you have, and that’s true! But if you’re serious about travel photography and care about creating the highest quality content possible, I 100 percent recommend investing in your camera gear.
Investing in a new camera that had the potential to capture the kind of images I had been dreaming of creating inspired me to start shooting on a daily basis. That helped me grow tremendously as a photographer. I can’t recommend this camera enough!
>> Read a full post about it: What’s in my camera bag?
how do you edit your photos?
I edit all of my photos on the desktop version of Adobe Lightroom using my travel presets.
It’s taken me a long, long time to nail down my own editing style. I’ve created dozens of my own presets over the past three years — but it wasn’t until a couple of months ago that I finally found a style I love.
Shop my very first preset collection — The Dreamer Pack — here!
how long have you lived in nyc?
I moved to New York City in August 2018, two months after returning from my backpacking tip around the world!