Every single day, we are blown away by the talent at Unraveled Academy– we are a small community, but the talent here is bursting at the seams. Every week we feature beautiful works of art from the talented artists who call Unraveled home and in 2022– our goal is to not just share art, but also the incredible humans who create them. These people are more than just our Artists of the Year– they are family, and their work covers every inch of our walls… and their hearts can be felt in every corner of this home we call, Unraveled.

Meet: Emily Hodge.

Simple Blessings Photography
2022 Unraveled Artist of the Year

Emily Hodge, New Castle Colorado
website / instagram / facebook

“What’s your go-to gear?”

Canon R5 and canon 35mm 1.4 and sometimes my 50mm 1.2

"How long have you been doing photography?"

5 years! I started in 2017

"What do you primarily shoot?"

My business consists of mostly newborns and families, but shoot my own kids and do a lot of personal projects in between clients.

"Who is a photographer that inspires you?"

There are SO MANY I could name that are so inspiring, and I know you're probably looking for just one answer but I'm giving you a few because we break the rules at unraveled ;) Stormy Solis, Mari Trancoso, Elle May Watson, 1924us, The Kitcheners, Jesse Salter, Megan Scott

"Outside of photography... who are you?"

I'm a registered nurse (I left my nursing job this summer to pursue photography full time), mama of 2 wild kids (Noah, 8 and Selah, 7), former rock climber (nothing hardcore, I was proud of myself if I climbed a 5.10 but it was fun), highliner (since you probably have no idea what I'm talking about it's walking across 1'' dynamic climbers webbing in between cliffs) and wife to my husband that I started dating when I was 15. I love living in the mountains of Colorado and all the adventure that living here brings. I always feel like a huge dork and am really quite socially awkward. I grew up extremely shy and still get super anxious with a lot of things.

"What pushed you to pick up a camera in the first place?"

I hate that this is a cliché answer but it's for me it's the truth, and that is to photograph my kids. I wanted to be able to capture the essence of their childhood. Not just the once a year stressful family photos of us all dressed up and frolicking on some hillside. I wanted to capture the dirty feet, the messy hair, the gritty, raw moments.

"Tell us about a time you failed... and what you learned from it!"

I literally fail all the freakin time, but it doesn't stop me from trying or moving on. I feel like the majority of anything creative I try is just trial and error and probably somewhere around 80% of everything I make is never seen because I would consider it a failure. But I feel like I have determination if I want to do something. If I don't know how to do something and want to learn, I keep trying until I figure it out, I'll check out different courses and tutorials. I feel like too many people give up too easily if it isn't a quick and easy answer. A lot of the things that I create take a lot of work, time and problem solving. Anyway, I guess I didn't really answer the question, but my encouragement is we all fail, but it's the people who persevere and keep going that come out through it.

"Has there ever been a time when you wanted to quit photography?"

There have been and still are times when I want to quit the "running a business" part of photography and taking paying clients. I don't think I have ever wanted to or will ever stop taking pictures. It's such a part of who I am now! I don't know what I would do with myself without my camera. It's kind of sad, in a sense, because my kids tell me they'll make sure to bury me with my camera and computer when I die lol.

"Proudest you've been of yourself as a photographer?"

Without a doubt when my favorite photographer Stormy Solis booked her own family session with me. I cried. It was such a surreal and full circle moment for me. She was the first in-person workshop I invested in. At the time I felt like I really invested everything (because back then I was charging $150/session so I had to do like 10 sessions to pay for it lol) but it really changed how I saw things and what was possible. But never in a million years would I think she would trust me to photograph her family.

"Describe to us your dream shoot!"

A vintage inspired couple in the highlands of Scotland on a moody, misty morning with the wind blowing 10 miles per hour but somehow it's miraculously warm and they are passionately in love with each other and don't even need direction, they just freakin go for it. Either that, or you could just drop me off in a rural village in the middle of Africa and let me photograph the everyday life of the families there. The kids running down red dirt roads in ragged clothes with holes in it in their bare feet while hitting a rock with a stick as they go to the town well with the biggest smiles on their faces, while their mom is bathing their little sister in a shallow metal tub outside in the sunshine with the rooster crowing and dogs barking.

"One piece of advice you would give to every photographer?"

Just be yourself! You are unique in the way that you see beauty and art and the world needs YOU. Also, girl you don't need all those presets or all those dresses.