For 6 months, I’ve had my dream camera picked out but have been waiting to be totally sure before I buy it. Even though I saved up enough for it this year, I was thinking I would wait until my birthday in November of this year to purchase it so that I could have my business certified, have another FULL year under my belt and be absolutely positive that I made the right choice. I did hours and hours of research and Xav finally convinced me to make the purchase on Christmas so that I can practice all winter and have it to work with for all my 2017 clients.

If you are one of the 35 clients from 2016, I just want to say THANK YOU! This year was mind blowing. When I started the year, my goal was to finish school in May and just see what the Lord had in store for me with photography. Because I work full time at a bank, I didn’t feel the need to stress about it or push it to extreme places, I just wanted to enjoy taking pictures as much as possible and I mostly wanted to try to be there for some repeat families. I had no weddings scheduled, no goals for booking, and no studio space.

Now, looking back, I am stunned by what God allowed me to capture and who I got to work with. I shot three amazing weddings, worked with some precious little newborns, set up a dream studio space, created a couples style guide (which has been a LONG time goal of mine) and I took part in an all day, back-to-back family session event put on by my dear friend (through which I got to meet several new families and took some of my favorite photos to date). This summer, I took a Katelyn James Posing Course for couples and found a renewed passion for couples photography and also went crazy with Christmas props so that I could fulfill another dream of mine this winter – helping people get photos for their Christmas cards. I got to play putt putt, eat ice cream and talk about fun planning details with my wedding couples. I second shot for my photography hero (Melissa Elaine Photography). I was a part of TWO surprise photo sessions. I got to work with one of my dad’s long time friends who helped me re-brand and establish a logo. I tracked every penny in and out. And to end the year I went to the courthouse, paid to have my business name registered and then sealed the deal and purchased the camera I’ve been thinking about for so long.

I can’t even understand why God gave me this passion and 35 clients that trusted me to capture a part of their lives this last year, but I am overwhelmed and so thankful! I also can’t understand why in the world Xavier is so kind, supportive and willingly involved in my business the way that he is. This year he practiced and got familiar with cameras enough to 2nd shoot for me when I need him to and to understand most of my nerdy gear moments. He encourages me to try new things, deal with rough situations using a level head and to keep going even when I get trapped into thinking “I can’t”. If he didn’t support this little business like he does, it wouldn’t continue.

The night my camera came, after waiting for two hours and 35 minutes for it to charge, I took just one photo with it right before bed. I won’t bore you with the why, but when I saw the image through the protective plastic (that I have yet to remove), my heart erupted into applause and my mind raced so fast. I keep thinking about how crazy talented this camera is and how I will be able to provide a new experience and quality that I wasn’t able to give to clients before. I am STOKED for 2017!