What a year it has been- personally, professionally and creatively. I started my photography business in the Fall of 2011 and since then I have felt so very lucky. Lucky to be a mother of three beautiful, healthy, and happy little girls, lucky to have an ever supportive and loving husband, lucky to have met clients who believe in me, and lucky to have watched my business grow from one booking in January to twenty in November.
So much has happened this past year. On the personal level, my girls turned one, three, and five, and my husband and I celebrated our 7 year wedding anniversary. Sophia started kindergarten, Vivian started preschool, and baby Audrey and I started parent & me. And I, of course, was a mom to my girls during the weekdays, was your photographer on the weekends, and lived at the computer at night. I feverishly would sort through images, tediously edit selected images, write blog posts, shop for unique newborn props and create what I see as my artwork while my crazy house was at peace and I could give everything to your pictures. Just as so many wonderful milestones occurred in my household, the same took place for my clients and I had the honor of being the one to document these memories.
Professionally, I took numerous online classes and workshops, engaged in sharing and critique through photography forums, and set many personal goals and challenges. I was approved for and granted membership to the National Association of Child Portrait Photographers and the Professional Photographers of America. Technically, I explored various modes of attaining optimal focus on my camera (back-button focus, toggling, manually focusing, etc..), experimented with achieving correct white balance straight out of camera (grey card, Expo disc, Kelvin settings) and have overcome my fear of using a high ISO (and even have come to embrace that grain). I have also upgraded two beloved lenses to "L" glass. This is a BIG deal!
I have met so many amazing people this past year- and each and every client holds a special place in my heart. I loved working for you, loved the moment when I sent over your gallery, and loved even more the moments when we talked, smiled, and giggled at your pictures. Every session is important to me- whether it be a 20 minute mini or a two hour maternity- and I pour my heart into creating photo memories for you and your family. I take my job very seriously and believe in delivering a one-of-a-kind experience and quality products. I wouldn't have it any other way. I know there are many great photographers out there, so I am truly grateful to my clients for deciding on me. I look forward to hopefully working with you all again in 2013!
Many new and wonderful things will be happening in the New Year. I will be traveling to Las Vegas in February to take a small group workshop from a renown newborn photographer. This will be a wonderful experience to work with and observe other photographers and directly learn from a great one. I hope to attend another workshop at some point in the year but I am still deciding on the best fit for me and my style. I will be changing and updating my collections to include digital images and eventually offer an all-inclusive digital package. I still plan to keep my focus on creating professional wall art and displays for your homes but I do understand the desire for digital images. In addition, I have some amazing mini-session ideas in store, so please continue to check my blog for scheduling and session information.
I look forward to my second year of business and welcome with open arms new clients, experiences, and challenges. Please take a moment to look at the images below- I tediously pulled a image or two from each session of 2012 along with personal snaphots to create a series of collages. Please enjoy and as always thank for for looking! Happy New Year!
Steph
In 2012...
And from my last session of 2012
Happy New Year!
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