I love my job. I mean, I genuinely enjoy my profession. More than I can explain to you...

Often I'm asked the usual questions as a photographer...

"What do you offer? What do you charge? How many photos? What's the experience like?"

But it's very rare that one of my clients does ask, "Why are you a photographer?" As in, why do I do what I do. Why do I love photography?

Well, today I'm going to answer that question. I feel like as a small business owner you all deserve to know why my heart is completely in the field of photography!

Rewind to almost 15 years ago...

I'm showing my age a bit here, and I almost didn't add this photo into this blog post. But I am all about being transparent with all of you... and this IS where it started... so check this out. As a teenager, I took my digital camera EVERYWHERE. I mean everywhere. The mall, friend's houses, restaurants, high school... you name it. I was obsessed with photos. I could refer to myself as a photo hoarder.. I took too many photos and never deleted any. I felt like I was on cloud 9 carrying around a digital camera or my 99 cents camera phone. I just couldn't NOT capture the moments of my life and other's, because I didn't want to forget anything.

Fast forward a few years...

After graduating high school, I was still taking photos constantly, but I went to college for early childhood education. I worked in child care for 7+years, and I genuinely loved it. I've always felt a love for caring for children, and educating children at that. All the while, I stayed with photography as a hobby. As time went on, it became more apparent that I wanted photography to be more than a hobby. I pursued more practice, mentoring, and education in the area of photography. I've connected with so many wonderful, talented professionals in this business... I've been taught a lot, explored so much, and I'm excited to meet more people as I go. Learning more about photography, it didn't take long for me to discover that it was truly a passion of mine. I felt so much purpose being a photographer for so many amazing families. I knew it was where I was meant to be.

Take a glance at this before and after...

So why do I find a passion in photography?

Back to the main purpose of this blog... why am I a photographer?

I've always believed that photography is art. I felt a pull to any kind of art since I was a little girl.

Photography gives a photographer freedom to express their creativity through someone's biggest life moments.

Photography gives the subject a true heirloom, a beautiful product from the most important parts of their lives.

Life has taught me to do what you love, go where you want to, and do what you're good at. God has never steered me in the wrong direction in life, and I trust His path for me.

I have had the real honor of being present for so many significant memories in others' lives. There's nothing I enjoy more or take more pride in... it's such a surreal feeling that I can hardly even describe. I can't tell you the number of times I have cried out in pure joy because of the level of emotion I've felt through my work.

Graduates. Maternity. Birthdays. Engagements. Proposals. Birth. Families. Headshots. Newborns. Weddings.

The list could be endless... so many amazing, special milestones I have been lucky enough to capture for so many. I became a photographer so that you, my clients, would never have to forget any moment. Or regret not capturing it. I became a photography so that you could relive the biggest parts of your lives in the most special way possible.

Have you ever felt like you wanted to relive a big moment?

Photography gives us the chance to feel the parts of our lives that we dream about. Looking at a photo, it's like transporting back to that moment in time. I want to capture and produce images that you can really feel and reminisce in at any point in life. A timeless photo.

My heart burns so very bright for photography.

I feel so much passion in the moments of your life. The story of your lives. I truly desire to tell a story in my work. Believe it or not, photography has its own personal language.

Becoming a mother only made my love for photography and others grow immensely, and I'm still overly obsessed with capturing every moment of my own child's life!

After many months of prayer, faith, and support from so many, I made the switch into full time photography. The day came sooner than I expected it would and I was beyond thankful. Thankful isn't a large enough word to describe the amount of gratitude I felt and still feel today. I can't believe I'm blessed enough to live the life I do!

I feel a role and a purpose in photography, and I can only imagine how much that feeling is going to grow over time in this career. There has been an insurmountable amount of growth in the last few years, and I can't wait to see where else this business takes me.