Despite a secret yen to be a real-estate developer, Alice Gao was made for life behind the lens. The seasoned travel and still-life photographer—who’s shot for The New York Times T Magazine, Kinfolk, and Tiffany & Co. among many others—and style aesthete behind the blog Lingered Upon (and a gorgeous feed) operates by the following maxim: “If a job scares the heck out of you, it’s probably worth doing.” —Jennifer Henderson

Her beauty history: “In sixth grade, I gave myself barely there brows and it may be one of my biggest beauty regrets. I swear my brows never quite recovered. My parents flipped; meanwhile I thought I was the bomb. Don’t you hate it when your parents are right?”

Her epiphany: “I never considered a career in photography until I was at my second day job. I was bored and spending more time on my blog. A friend said, ‘Why don’t you just save up enough money and quit?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, why don’t I?’ It just took someone to say it out loud.”

Her work ethic: “I can certainly be very lazy sometimes. But overall, I’m the happiest when I’m actively creating. I have a ‘work hard, play a little and feel guilty, work hard’ mentality.”

Her personal style: “I would say it’s fairly refined, unfussy, and slightly boyish. I like to accessorize with a good bag, and I have more shoes than my apartment can fit. For work, I like high-waist jeans, a good tee, and Common Projects sneakers. For play, high-waist culottes, a crop top, and a sensible, chunky heel; I’m a bit of a granny.”

Her must-haves: “My home coffee setup. TSA Pre and Global Entry. A good book. Drunk Elephant skincare products. Snapchat. Investment-piece outerwear. Szechuan food. Cat videos.”

Her happy place: “Behind the camera, for one. But also Paris. I went six times between May and November last year and don’t think I will ever tire of its beauty.”

Her beauty: “I think beauty can be found almost anywhere if I look for it. It’s about isolating an element until whatever it is moves me in a certain way. It’s not something I can put into words.”

Her social skew: “My friend, Shini’s, blog is always inspiring to me. For style and editorial direction I like Stylish Gambino. Anything The Line. And I love the aesthetic of .”

Her inspiration: “I mostly get inspired by just watching the light move throughout a space during a day. It’s completely different based on the season, and knowing how to wield that light is something I’m constantly trying to finesse.”

Her words to live by: “You’re not defined by what you consume, but by what you create and produce. Also, stay humble.”

Her next step: “I hope to launch a print shop soon. I also have more work travels coming up, which is always exciting. I’ve flown about 69,000 miles already this year. It’s been aggressive so if all else fails, I’ll get my real-estate license and start over.”