The Sandbar, Long Beach, Washington

I was nervous for this shoot, and I want to talk about that for a second.

The Sandbar was the first client that accepted my new pricing. When I first started doing hospitality photography I was undercharging severely, like, embarrassingly so. I was charging thousands of dollars for wedding work and then the second I pivoted into hospitality I completely lost my nerve and started pricing myself like I'd never held a camera before. It made no sense. I had been a photographer for over a decade. But it was new territory and my confidence just kind of... left the building.

Here's the thing nobody really tells you about photography: a huge part of it is just understanding light. Yeah there's rule of thirds and angles and all of that, but if you understand light, you can photograph basically anything. And food? Food is a dream client. It doesn't ask what kind of camera you use. It doesn't ask if you're just a friend of the couple. It definitely doesn't ask if you think you're getting good shots. (News flash: I am.)

So The Sandbar said yes to my actual pricing and I showed up and I photographed it and it was fine and I was good at it, because I am good at it, and sometimes you just need a client to say yes before you remember that.

The Sandbar itself is exactly the kind of place that's easy to love. Refined without being stiff, welcoming without trying too hard. The kind of spot that works for a casual drink or a full dinner and somehow you always end up staying longer than you planned. It fits Long Beach perfectly, which is to say it feels like it belongs there, not like it was dropped in from somewhere else.

Locals go back. Visitors are glad they found it. And now I have photos of it that I'm genuinely proud of, which felt like a win on multiple levels.

xoxo Chelsea