I was born in Illinois. My life story involves a lot of survival, hard work, and determination.

By sixteen years old, I was a business owner. Maybe not like I am now, but it all started with a trip to Kenya. I had a once in a lifetime chance to work as a documentary photographer for our government. My task was to document rural Kenyan water sources and the conditions of classrooms. 

This trip was a formative event in my life because it informed me on my career path incredibly. After witnessing the world, I was addicted to the feeling of being surrounded by a different culture.

As a thirty two year old, my days are now spent enhancing my business experiences and offerings. I'm trying to travel more often for work, taking on commercial projects, and building my contact list. Life has slowed down from traveling the world every other week to now spending my time living my life. 

My current passions in life take me into advocacy spaces and survivor spaces. I'm determined to take my story and write my own ending. One that involves many adventurous people and weddings that make me feel alive. 

My photography is still the center of my life. I'm still being featured in publications and celebrated for my work on a global level. And every client I'm gifted gets to walk away with priceless artwork from me that they can keep until their memories start to fade. 

What I'm doing in my life is very meaningful, and each event is a challenge of my professionalism and skillsets. I'm not just a talented photographer, this work is lifelong for me. I don't see this as a stepping stone to something bigger. Just a cozy home for me to find peace and serve others.

In my career going forward from this trip, I was able to enter my artwork into contests on a local, state, and national level. By the time I graduated high school, I was well traveled and decorated with awards for my artwork. 

It only took me two years in college to realize I was not made for academia and my strength was in running my own business. I took what I'd learned from college and opened my doors to weddings full time by twenty one years old. 

The result? Twice the business experience of my peers. Twice the customer service experience. And a personal liability for anything going awry with my business. 

My name is Ezlan

My pronouns are they/them and I'm a queer photographer who serves all