The Blog is Baaaack…with The Barnetts!

I’m SOOO excited to be back on my dear old blog. It’s been over a year, and I have photographed so many beautiful families and sweet little babies. As many of you know, I was a full time third grade teacher last year (still teaching – second grade teacher this year ). Something had to give in order for me to keep my sanity…and that something ended up being my blog.

Last school year, I also decided to only accept shoots that I was comfortable with and that happened to be maternity, families, and children. I still found myself reading wedding blogs…….and sobbing. That love for documentation paired with me being a big ball of emotions is what drives me when it comes to photography. I decided to take a class on engagement shoots and weddings this summer. I wanted to challenge myself and really grow as a photographer. For my class, I had an assignment that required me to ~~simply~~ capture the happiness and love between two people. Soooo…I posted a model call. I was so happy with the response to the model call, but ONE response in particular left me soooo excited!

If you’ve ever asked me what drew me to photography or what inspired me to start a business..with no formal training – I probably mentioned The Barnetts. In fact, I wrote about them in my “meet the artist” page on this website (I should probably update that because it’s been a few years now – Hehe!). Christan was a classmate my freshmen year at ASU, and I always admired her. At the time, she was a single mom, and she was always so bubbly and encouraging. I literally didn’t think there was anything she couldn’t do with a smile and style. I watched her become engaged to a guy that she always spoke so highly of, married, and then pregnant with her second baby. Someone posted black and white photos of her newborn in the hospital, and I just sat at my computer crying my eyes out. I felt a bit silly after a while because we were juuuust classmates, but I felt so moved and so encouraged by her story and her faith. I thought about what a blessing and privilege it would be to freeze/document these MAJOR moments for beautiful families. I reached out to her photographer, and to my surprise she responded with a very detailed email suggesting lenses and several other starter tips. She also suggested shadowing with a photographer and that’s what made me reach out to Craig (the wedding photographer that I used to second shoot with).

Anyway, fast forward 8 or so years – Christan and David have been happily married, and they now have three beautiful children. Prior to their shoot, they had no idea how they inspired my business. Working with them made this shoot so special. It became much more than just an assignment – after all of these years – still in love, still inspiring… and in front of MY camera…finally. It was just what I needed to get back on this blog.

Enjoy! XO.