Ann Landstrom on Starting Over in Your 50s

BY LA TRIBUNE EDITORIAL TEAM

As an award-winning master photographer with over 20 years in the photography industry, Ann Landstrom has photographed public figures and influencers such as international public speaker/author Lisa Nichols, Stedham Graham, Forbes Riley, and Les Brown.

Her passion started in 1967 back when she was 5 years old. She loved playing with Barbie, going into her mom’s closet and dressing up with her beautiful bras while stuffing them with her dad’s socks, and heading over to her jewelry chest and adding those must-have accessories. Ann would wear her mom’s clothes that were 5 sizes too big, put on her favorite purple suede and black lacquer stilettos, and walk around admiring herself in front of the mirror with her Barbie doll.

But the path to success is not always a straight line, and Ann is proof of this. After coming out of a verbally and mentally abusive marriage, she experienced being broke, broken, homeless, and having to start over with nothing at age 50.

Watching the movie “The Secret” changed her life, and she went on a journey of self-development while also studying the law of attraction. Fast forward to ten years later, and she has now become a big inspiration for a lot of people.

Ann shares her story with other women and men in the hopes that it will give them the courage and inspiration that they need to start over if the situation calls for it. She believes that people can overcome obstacles in life if they take the right steps. Everyone has the power within them to get out of the victim role and rescue themselves rather than waiting for someone else to come to their rescue.

She has since become a big proponent for women in building back self-esteem. Her objectives are focused on making them feel good and proud of themselves, no matter where they are in their life, regardless of age, size, or stage.

After becoming a professional photographer, Ann has transformed her passion into advocacy. She has helped women embody and appreciate their sensual essence by photographing them in lingerie or their desired wardrobe for their branding photography.

Through her photography journey, Ann has realized that the boudoir experience helps rebuild self-esteem and increase the sense of self-worth of women. Her clients now say that she brings out the essence and soul in the portraits that she captures of them, and these are the results of the hard work she has done on herself.

Ann started the AGELESS project a few years ago by photographing women over age 40 in lingerie. During the process, they also had to write a love letter to themselves, which turned out to be a very transformational experience for a lot of the women that participated.

Eventually, she published a magazine that had a compilation of all the women’s images and love letters. This was followed by the first AGELESS summit online in February 2022, over 100 women came together, speaking about and sharing their own journeys. The project raised enough money to put four women from a domestic abuse shelter into professional training to get back out in the workforce through the help of a non-profit organization called Leap To Success.

As a branding photographer, Ann sees a lot of solopreneurs and business owners struggling with their social media and marketing. After realizing that she has a lot of knowledge in the area, including what she has personally gone through while building her now six-figure business, she has decided to do what she can to help the community.

With an aim of inspiring entrepreneurs and business owners to show their full potential, Ann then launched an interactive branding course that teaches clients how they can “Brand Like A CEO”. The team was fueled by the mission of accelerating their clients’ marketing presence so they can serve their customers with confidence, expertise, and style. Through the course, clients will learn how to set up a photography studio on a budget either at home or in their office, create their own images, and produce stunning marketing for all their needs.

When asked how she was able to juggle multiple responsibilities, Ann responds “When you love what you do, you don’t work a day in your life. My passion is about bringing out the best version of each of my clients, to elevate their business and most importantly, their self-esteem and confidence.”

In focus:

Ann is an award-winning master branding photographer with over 20 years of experience in the photography industry, specializing in Branding, Boudoir, and Fine Art Portraits. During this time, she has photographed public figures and influencers and has been featured in magazines and numerous podcasts.

She is also a mentor, educator, and part of the largest online education for photographers called “The Portrait System”. You may check out her various programs at these websites: https://www.annphotography.com/ and https://www.brandingceo.com