We had the good fortune of connecting with Ebony Ellis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ebony, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Last year, I started taking photography seriously and it was one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. But in the beginning of my career, I had the mindset of “team no sleep,” since editing for me took forever along with my full time job. I had no time for rest and believed in order to achieve success, I had to sacrifice my sleep. And let’s be honest, not sleeping on a consistent basis is not good. I believe the hype and overbooked myself which led to less sleep. By the end of the year, I was exhausted and did not know how to function properly.

This year, I had to prioritize my full time job, my photography on the side, along with my bills, church, eating etc. I no longer believe in team no sleep ( though I still believe in hard work ), I now believe in having timelines and boundaries of balancing life and work. I found it easier to set boundaries ( when to start/finish editing ), rather than just winging it with no intention and no discipline.

It’s important to know your limits and set parameters around your workflow. Everyone’s capacity is different, but for me in order to balance my personal life and work, I had to set boundaries.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m originally a Graphic Designer and what I’m most proud of being is being able to express my creativity in a new form which is in photography. This is something I found to enjoy as of last year, and didn’t realize I had the knack for!

Honestly, because my full time job consist of taking photos of houses. I started to become interested in portraits of people. That was new for me. Houses don’t move, but people, that changed everything. Every chance I had to take photos of people, I took it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Austin! I actually just came back from Austin, TX a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing! This was my itinerary for Saturday. I’m not making this up lol.

Morning:

– Walk Zilker Metro Park (8:45am)
– Cota Karting / $35 ( Go Karts)

Afternoon:
– The Domain (Mall)
– Sweet Paris ( Crepes)
– Sleep / shower

Evening:

– Dinner / Loro Eats

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Davetta McKinney & Sayma Waleh have been an huge influence to me in my journey of photography. They’re both black photographers who were in the game before me, and I definitely asked questions when I didn’t understand what I was doing.. They’re both great at what they do!

Website: ebonyellis.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/iam_ebs?igshid=1unxaqezw60zs

Image Credits
Photo by Ebony Ellis Or Photo by @iam_ebs

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