September 1.
Let’s take a big, fat, TIME OUT — a giant intermission on this 1/2 way point in my shooting season. Fall is nearly here, but I am up to my ears in summer photos and feeling more grateful than ever for my clients, my friends, my family, my little girl, and my steady relationship with God to whom I give the credit for all of it.
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I have had the privilege of photographing 5 weddings, 34 families, 7 newborns, and 1 senior this summer. Tens of thousands of images…
THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME BE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER.
It was the busiest summer I have ever had…not by the # of jobs I had, but by everything else that filled my calendar in addition to my shooting schedule: working at the dealership which I LOVE, training for another marathon, indulging in some much needed sunshine & friend time, a quick trip to South Dakota to hang with my family and of course, loving, raising, and mothering this little honey bun:
I have been blessed with a good life. A great life. I’ve had some tough days and periodically waiver in fully trusting God to navigate this life of mine, but the majority of my hours are spent being so humbled by the goodness that surrounds me. I have a healthy & inquisitive daughter, a supportive, tight-knit family, and amazing friends that I don’t even deserve. In addition to that, I live in a region so beautiful, so popular, that tens of thousands VACATION here every summer. I get to call this place home, and I count my lucky stars.
Here’s a bit of my real life these past 3 months…
The following is one of my favorite photos from the summer. It wasn’t set up, I just snapped it one night when we were sitting down for dinner in June. What I see in this picture are the very things that make me want to just weep at how fortunate I am. I see Clara and summertime, my own house, eating outside, an awesome craigslist patio set, healthy flowers and the American Flag. If that’s not enough to make one’s life great, I don’t know what else is…
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I am so eager for the upcoming weddings on my schedule. Oh, there will be some beautiful venues and even more beautiful brides in my future. I get nervous before every. single. wedding. I’m not even fun to be around the hours leading up to a wedding…ha ha ha 😉 I am nervous and ornery and focused and have this urgent feeling that I just need to GET THERE and start shooting. Once I’m there —- ahhhh, all is right in the world. I have been reading some forums lately about people bowing out of the wedding photography industry. “The stress is too much”, “the industry has changed”, “everyone has their own camera”…. I’m not even close to tired of wedding photography. I say, “bring it on.” I love photographing weddings more than ever. 2016 is looking mighty fine and it’s this job security that has me grateful to all the folks who grant me their trust to document their day.
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So fall is nearly upon us & after a lot of thought and prayerful consideration, I have decided to take a limited number of fall portrait sessions. I will be the first to admit I bit off WAY more than I could chew over the past 3 months. I am behind, I am behind, I am behind. I love this business WITH ALL MY HEART. Besides Clara, this business is MY. LIFE. But I need to pull back, catch up, and take a deep breath. I will still be taking sessions and loving every minute of posing families against Minnesota’s gorgeous fall colors, but I will be careful not to over-extend myself to the point that I blink and the snow is falling. I will work to find a balance between now and December.
I look at this little 3 year old and realize I am guaranteed nothing. The days are fleeting, tomorrow isn’t promised. She is growing and I don’t want to miss so much. Rather than a full day of preschool and an evening with a babysitter, I long for fall evenings picking pumpkins with her, baking apple crisp, jumping in piles of leaves, or walking to the park in sweatshirts and jeans.
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So, farewell, summer, it’s been nice. Greetings, fall. I’m so happy you’re here – Let’s do this.
