Growth

One of the things I've always loved about my job is how my clients become like family to me. I meet couples, photograph their wedding and throughout the process we get to know each other and the day of it's like I can't even imagine not being there with them. We cut up, tell stories, and they have complete trust in me to make the day run seamlessly. I'm lucky that they come back to me and ask me to photograph their growing families. I take so much pride in this. They get to know me as well, ask about my girls and how I've been. Ask about crossfit, because lets face it, they all know how much I love it. Summer has come and gone and the girls and I spent a lot of time together. We took a beach trip with my family and one of the highlights was probably our day trip to the US Whitewater Center. I love that my girls are pretty fearless. I take on less work in the summer to be able to do more with them and now that fall is here it is kicking into high gear. So life, lately, is a bit insane and in all this I've been a bit closed off with you, my clients.

This year has been a defining year for me. It has been one of the greatest and most difficult years of my life. I've learned that things come in twos. Or at least they have for me. It has been a year of incredible love and unimaginable loss. The kind that breaks your heart. It has been one of life and death. Pain and joy. Health scares. I have questioned my faith more this year than I ever have in my life. That's not an easy thing to admit.  I've learned that grief never really goes away and time most certainly does not heal everything. But I've also learned that vulnerability is the right choice because it is easy to be cold in a world that makes it so very difficult to remain soft. I can take what has been dealt to me this year and let it make me hard. Let it steal my joy. But I refuse. Instead I choose to accept that life isn't a fantasy. Things sometimes don't turn out how you maybe always imagined they would. There is no one 'right way' and what works for someone else maybe isn't what works for me. Personally and professionally. But you know what? Maybe they'll be even better. You have to leap. Blindly, if you have to.  But you move forward. And with the right people by your side, you can really do and be anything. I choose to be happy. I choose to be patient and believe that good things happen to good people. 

With that being said, I made a big change about a month ago and moved into a larger studio space. One that will allow me to grow professionally. It is something I have been wanting to do for quite a while but was scared. But I finally hit a point where I could not continue going at the pace I was going and stay in the same space. I'm really excited to be in a beautiful studio at Revolution Mill in Greensboro! This change was exactly what I needed and I'm excited to see just what I can make it do for me. Thank you to those that offered encouragement and the support I needed.

I'm looking forward to all the people I will get to work with in the coming months and close out 2017 with a bang!

Getting A Little Personal

This portrait and wedding season has been both incredible and exhausting. I know that come October I'm going to be slammed as it's always when families want portraits and when weddings dates are in demand. My business is seasonal to a degree. I carefully plan out the month, schedule sessions while trying to balance my girls' activities and having somewhat of a life. 4 weddings, 28 sessions and 50,000 images captured. I survived. Barely. I've always done this on my own. Everything. Consultations, shooting, editing, sales, bookkeeping, etc. It's become too much. Which really, is a great thing! My business is doing better than it ever has. I invested a lot in my education this year and I believe it has really shown in my work. But, it has left me with more work than ever before. Good problem to have. But I cannot continue at this pace. I have to have balance. I have to take the next step. Expand. Hire help. It's scary. To trust someone else to do something the way you would. I'm not a control freak by a long shot but when it comes to your name and reputation you want it done right. Right? So here I am, taking a leap. It's the only way to grow. I can't wait to see what 2017 has in store.

I hit a milestone this year. I photographed my 100th wedding. It came on my last one of the year and it was perfect. The bride, Taylor, I've known since she was 7 years old. In my senior year of high school I worked at a preschool. In the afternoon, Taylor and her mom would come in to pick up her younger sister, Katelyn from my classroom. I've known the family ever since. Fast forward. When I was 20 I volunteered to coach basketball at the same program that I grew up playing in. Basketball was my life from middle through high school and to coach had always been something I wanted to do. Taylor was put on my team. It was pretty cool to see her all grown up. I went on to photograph her senior portraits and then when I saw she had gotten engaged I crossed my fingers she would ask me to photograph her wedding. Well, here we are. My 100th was just that much sweeter with this girl. We celebrated with a little champagne. She and her entire family were so good to me. Her wedding will be featured soon!

I am so grateful to every single person who has been there for me over the last several years. From clients, to my family and especially my girls. I do this for them. To show them that if they work hard, they can have their dreams too.  I love my job. Some days I get burnt out and it becomes a 'job' but for the most part it's rewarding and truly makes me happy. I get to be a part of the best days of peoples lives, see their families grow and give them priceless memories. Sometimes its hard. Last week I was called early one morning to come to the hospital. I was asked to photograph a baby girl and her family. She was stillborn in the middle of the night. I immediately agreed. I didn't know them. I didn't know their story. All I knew was they had a few hours with her before she would be taken and they wanted to remember her. As the morning went on and it came closer to time to go, I became nervous. My stomach was in knots. I felt sick. What would I say? I've had 2 early miscarriages and while I was devastated at the time, I could not relate to what this mother and father were going through. I didn't know what it was like to deliver a baby and know that I wouldn't be taking her home. I walked in, and was greeted by the father who thanked me for coming. I spoke with him for a moment about what they wanted. I photographed their sweet baby. Her features. Her nose, lips, feet, and little fingers. I photographed her mother holding her, tightly in her arms as she sang to her. I watched their tears flow as I fought to hold back my own. I finished and offered them both my sympathies and the mom hugged me and she didn't let go. I got out to my car and lost it. How did I just get through that? I sat for a minute and let it all sink in. I let myself feel it. I went on to the gym to clear my head and went about my day. But I kept thinking about them and how life can change so quickly. I've had other things in my life teach me that lesson and I think its why I tend to live in the moment, say what I'm thinking or feeling and love hard. Tomorrow isn't promised to anyone. I received a letter this week from that mother, thanking me again for what I did for them and told me that I would never know how priceless those photos were to her. While I don't feel as though I did much at all, to her and her husband I gave them everything. I am both humbled and honored and incredibly grateful for my gift that I am able to do things like this for people like that.