Nashville Corporate Event Photography | Book Release Party — Hutton Hotel Analog

May 6

Nashville corporate event photography — author dancing with her daughter at book launch party at Hutton Hotel Analog

A STORY THAT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE

This wasn't just a book launch. It was a celebration of someone who survived lung cancer and wrote a book to help others survive it too.

I've had the privilege working with Shira Boehler and her family for over the past few years, so when she asked me to photograph the release party for her book One Scan Saved My Life at Hutton Hotel Analog, I showed up with a full heart and a camera ready for everything. And there was a lot to document.

Stacks of One Scan Saved My Life books available for purchase at Hutton Hotel Analog book launch party

Wide overview of guests gathered at book release party at Hutton Hotel Analog, Nashville TN

Author with the doctors who saved her life on the step-and-repeat at One Scan Saved My Life book launch

A ROOM THAT UNDERSTOOD WHAT IT WAS REALLY CELEBRATING

Shira was 43, a daily runner, a nonsmoker, when a full-body MRI flagged a spot on her lung. She was told it was nothing to worry about. She pushed back, got a low-dose CT scan, and that's when they found it: stage I lung cancer. Surgery removed it cleanly. Her book, One Scan Saved My Life, tells that story and makes the case for expanding early detection access to everyone — not just those who meet the current screening guidelines. Proceeds go to her nonprofit, Cancer Doesn't Care, which funds lung CT screenings for people who fall outside the system. 

Like any good corporate event, there was an open bar, great food, a speaker, and a performer. The difference was what the room was actually celebrating — a book release and a life continued. Grammy-winning songwriter Chris DeStefano, who has penned over 15 number one hits for artists like Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Dan + Shay, took the stage as a close friend of Shira's. Family and guests joined her on stage to dance. They took pictures at the step-and-repeat. She signed books. The room was full of people who love her, and I was honored to get to document that. 

The morning after, she was on Good Morning America. The book is out in the world now. As a Nashville corporate event photographer, I love when a project has this kind of weight to it. This was one of those nights.