A Surreal Early Career Assignment for TLC
A Surreal Early Career Assignment for TLC
As my commercial photography business turns 15, I’ve been reflecting on the projects that shaped my journey. One of the wildest? In 2009, I landed a dream assignment with The Discovery Channel/TLC, shooting a documentary-style branded photography library for Toddlers and Tiaras.
I was still early in my career when a TLC photo editor reached out with an unexpected opportunity: Would I travel to Charleston, WV, to cover a national pageant and capture thousands of images for the show’s marketing and advertising photography? I couldn’t say yes fast enough.
So, in the middle of a snowstorm, I drove from D.C. to Charleston and found myself in a world of bedazzled toddlers, spray tans, and high-stakes competition. It was colorful, chaotic, and completely overwhelming. There were tears, talent contests, nap breaks, and parents who were all too eager to be photographed once they heard I was shooting for TLC.
As a storytelling photographer, I immersed myself in the energy of it all—capturing the joy, the nerves, and the sheer spectacle. I wasn’t a parent at the time, which probably made it easier to embrace the mania of a daycare-turned-pageant explosion. It was exhilarating, exhausting, and, at times, completely surreal.
Driving home, I felt a mix of emotions—bewilderment, excitement, and gratitude. The assignment was a whirlwind, but it was also a huge milestone. Delivering thousands of final images to TLC’s team felt like a major step forward.
Years later, Toddlers and Tiaras remains a cultural reference point, for better or worse. My images are still used to illustrate its impact, and while the show and pageant culture have faced plenty of scrutiny, I’m grateful to have played a role in documenting that moment in time. That experience reinforced a lesson that still guides me today: my job isn’t to judge—it’s to capture real stories with honesty, depth, and curiosity.