Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Thomas.
Hi Amy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Our story starts the way the best love stories do, in high school, in the Treasure Valley part of Idaho, where two kids from different corners of the same valley found each other and never looked back. Five days after I graduated, we got married. We were young, we were in love, and we had absolutely no idea what an adventure we were signing up for. What followed was 20 years of beautiful, chaotic, wonderful movement. We moved roughly 20 times across Utah, Colorado, Washington, California, and back again, chasing work, chasing life, raising kids along the way. A couple of years into our marriage our first child arrived, and eventually we became a family of seven. Five kids, countless towns, and a whole lot of memories made on the road. The seed for photography was planted in California, where we became friends with the first professional photographer we had ever known. I got to assist him a handful of times and something just lit up in me. I was already shooting, taking photos for Lorne’s band, doing stock photography, but I never saw myself as a professional. Not yet. Then about 15 years ago, after our third baby was born, we moved to Wyoming and I got my first full frame Canon. That was the moment everything shifted. I had the most willing little models in the world, my own kids, and I finally had the tool that matched the vision I had been carrying. I had already studied small business entrepreneurship in college, and something in me knew: I could not go back to a 9-5. I wanted to be present for my children AND build something of our own. It wasn’t always easy, but every hard hour I put into building our business was worth more to me than being away from my family. After two decades of wandering, we were ready to plant roots. Ten years ago we bought our first home and settled in Ontario, Oregon, Western Treasure Valley, right on the Oregon-Idaho border. Our older children graduated here. Our younger ones are growing up here. And Oregon? Oregon got us. We fell in love with it in a way we didn’t expect, especially Eastern Oregon, with its wide open spaces, hidden hot springs, and best kept secrets that feel like they belong to the people willing to go looking. After watching beloved spots back in Idaho get swallowed up by overcrowding, Eastern Oregon has felt like a gift. Our little slice of heaven. In 2026, Flow State of Mind Media is our latest and most intentional chapter yet. We’ve rebranded and rebuilt, and while it sometimes feels like starting from the ground up, the difference this time is everything we’re bringing with us: 15 years of experience, a stronger foundation, better tools, and the kind of clarity that only comes from having lived a full, layered life before you build the thing you were always meant to build. We’re still building. But for the first time, it genuinely feels like flow.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Smooth? Not even a little. And we wouldn’t trade any of it, because every bump in the road is part of what brought us here. The early years were a beautiful, messy juggling act. We were young, we were moving constantly, and I was still having babies while trying to build a business, I didn’t have a real expectation or idea of what that truly looked like.. Entrepreneurship and motherhood are each enormous on their own, and I was doing both at the same time, bumping into every wall, making every mistake, and figuring it out as I went. Every time I started to build real momentum, a big life event would pull us back. A new baby, new job, shift in economy, each one brought a new season of survival mode. For a long time I didn’t fully understand just how much you have to pour into each of those things separately, let alone together. Looking back, I give myself a lot more grace for that than I used to. And then the pandemic hit. In 2020 bookings dried up completely, events were canceled, clients we had worked hard to build relationships with disappeared, and the momentum we had worked so hard to create just stopped completely. When things slowly started back up, it genuinely felt like starting from scratch. New clients, new workflows and systems, and the long psychological climb back to believing in what we were building again. That recovery took years, and the ripple effects touched everything. Right now Lorne is working away from home to help us build the financial foundation we need to grow Flow State of Mind Media into its full potential. It’s its own kind of hard, being apart while building something together. But it’s also a testament to who we are as a team. We have always found a way to keep going, and this chapter is no different. The road has never been smooth. But it has always been ours.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At the heart of everything we do is one word: empowerment. We specialize in what we call empowerment photography, and that can look like a lot of different things depending on who is in front of our lens. It might be a boudoir session where someone sees themselves as beautiful and powerful for the first time. It might be a bold conceptual shoot with an artist or cosplayer bringing a vision to life. It might be brand imagery for a small business owner who is ready to show up with confidence, or live event coverage for a musician just finding their footing. The through line is always the same: we want every single person we photograph to walk away seeing their own capabilities more clearly than they did before.
We are also deeply proud of the retreat work. Over the years I have had the honor of co-hosting fourteen women’s retreats centered on healing and empowerment. Being part of those spaces is unlike anything else we do. Photography at a retreat can look like glamour, boudoir, or something crafted specifically for a small business or personal brand, but what it really is, at its core, is witnessing someone in a moment of transformation. Getting to document that is a privilege we never take lightly. What sets us apart is something that is harder to put into a portfolio: genuine human connection. Our clients are mostly referral based, which tells you everything. We take the time to make sure every client feels truly comfortable, and we are selective about the projects we take on because we believe the energy has to be right for everyone involved. We do not just show up and shoot. We show up as people who genuinely care about the human being in front of us, and that makes all the difference.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I have learned is simply this: don’t give up. Picking yourself up from the bottom is not a bad thing. It is an opportunity to reinvent yourself. I have rebranded and reinvented this business three times, and every single time it has come from a place of honesty, of looking at where I was and deciding to build something better. It is okay to slow down. It is okay to reevaluate. In fact, it is necessary. Burnout in photography and small business ownership is real, and the people who make it long term are not the ones who never struggle, they are the ones who recognize when something needs to shift and have the courage to make the change instead of pushing through until there is nothing left. Every reinvention has brought us closer to what Flow State of Mind Media is today, and I truly believe the best version of this business is the one we are building right now.
Pricing:
- The Glow Mini -$350
- The Alter Ego Experience – $975
- The Divine Goddess Experience – $1,750
- Available for hire as retreat photographer-custom pricing based on event length and scope
- Event Photography starting at $1000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.flowstateofmindmedia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flowstateofmindmedia/
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/flowstateofmindmedia
- Youtube: https://YouTube.com/@flowstateofmindmedia
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@flow.state.of.mind.media
