This was easily one of the most unique weeks of work I’ve ever experienced, and is a perfect case study of all the reasons I LOVE BRAND PHOTOGRAPHY. But first, let me set the stage:

Cyndi is the CEO of Wanderlust Campus, the largest travel agency school in the US, and she’s an absolute powerhouse. Her team? Runs like a well-oiled machine. Offer suite and value ladders? Drilled down. Their marketing campaigns? So organized. I was brand new to Cyndi’s world when she first reached out, but it only took a few minutes of our first call to realize what an empire she’s running, and to get REALLY excited about creating for her!

We’d shot her first session in Austin and second in Orlando, and then she mentioned they were planning for their next Wander Beyond Retreat… this time, on Royal Caribbean’s newest ship, Utopia Of The Seas.

Four full days + nights on board, hours of classroom time, high-value hands-on help, content creation opportunities everywhere you look, and more. Sign. me. up. Because in addition to photographing the event itself, I also photographed the ship, head shots, and a bonus excursion to Coco Cay that ended up being an unexpected highlight of the trip! More on that below.

Cyndi, Stephani, Ryan, Kelly, JO, Mallory, Viel, Jamie & Russell- thank you for making me feel so welcome, and for making my job easy and oh so joyful. I could hang with your crew any day of the week, and already can’t WAIT for the next retreat in October!

Day 1 started with early boarding for retreat VIPs and an exclusive tour of some of the ship’s best cabins, upgraded lounge areas, and restaurants. I floated between sticking with the group and dashing off to grab shots of some of the untouched spots before everyone came aboard!

Then came check-in, swag pickup, and the opening session once we left port!

This was my first cruise experience and I had no idea what to expect- so waking up to this view outside our balcony was so joyful! We started Days 2 & 3 off with headshots of VIPs + Cyndi’s team (below!), which was a fun challenge to create as much variety as possible within each five-minute slot!

I loved the “think tank experts” sessions they built into the schedule, where attendees could come for help with a variety of questions (i.e. website troubleshooting, help with CRM software, assistance with Reels, etc).

The Wanderlust team planned coordinated outfits for each day and I died when I saw these custom Hawaiian shirts (complete with a photo of each team member on every shirt, including the ones I took of Cyndi in Austin)!

Ok, so on the morning of our last full day, Thursday, we’d woken up early to get out and photograph the ship before the crowds got out to the pools- I wanted as blank of a canvas as possible. The ship was docking at Coco Cay that day and I figured we’d end up missing the port day in order to capture on-ship photos, but we SPED through my shot list and right as we finished up, the loudspeakers announced the gangway was going down.

Dennah and I looked at each other, made a split second decision, then raced to the elevators to be one of the first ones off the ship, and then we literally RAN across the bridge to get to the island before beach chairs filled up.

OH MY GOSH I’m so glad we followed the impulse- these are some of my favorite images from the trip!!

Big, humongous thanks to Dennah for assisting me for this one- five nights together and she’s still my friend? You’re a true jewel, Dennah.

The final evening rounded out with an awards ceremony…

…and then a final shot with Cyndi’s amazing, obliging alumni who indulged my request for “just one more carousel ride” so I could get these. Truly the best last couple of photos to end their gallery with!