It’s not hard to guess why this session is one of my favorites. Unless you’re not a dog person. In that case, kindly exit out of this blog.
Just kidding, please stay! Make yourself comfy and pour yourself a hot cup of joe (or chilled pinot) because there are multiple reasons why this session is one of my faves and it goes beyond all the fur babes you’ll see here. First, a little backstory: Emily is one of my OG clients. She has been supporting my journey as a photographer since I picked up my first camera and had no idea what I was doing. Emily has been there when my images weren’t so stellar. She had enough faith in me to hire me for her wedding after I had only second-shot one other wedding perviously.
Listen, y’all – I LOVE this job and I’m so thankful this is the path the Lord is leading me down because I truly believe I was created to create. That being said, it can be really difficult. Especially in the beginning. South Carolina has a very saturated photography market so getting your name out there can be a challenge (though NOT impossible, if you’re a newbie reading this). That’s why friends like Emily are so encouraging and immensely valuable – They help you grow. I’m not just talking about more bookings, I’ve learned a lot about shooting and editing with Emily as my test subject.
As for why this session was so dear to me – It provided visible proof of my growth over the past couple of years. I’ll show ya what I mean:
The left is from Emily and CJ’s engagement session in 2018 and the right is from their lifestyle session this February of 2021.
I used to see photos like that of the right and WISH I was at that skill level. I would dream of taking photos like this and being able to edit them with a style that suited me. Now I’m here.
The thing is, this is just the beginning. The learning and growing is never going to stop, which makes this even more exciting. It just feels so rewarding to see that the self-educating, the late night editing (and re-editing), and the not giving up when I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere is paying off. This didn’t happen overnight. There was no secret from a guru that made my business successful. It’s been doing whatever I could to keep moving forward and trusting God to provide.
It’s not my intention to make this sound like a piece of cake. Especially the having faith part because the comparison game is VERY real and sometimes it feels like everyone is getting bookings except for me. Building a business is hard work and as the saying goes, “If it were easy, everyone would be doing it”.
The most underrated piece of advice, I think, you can be given is this: Never give up.
