I got into photography in high school and loved it, which was probably about 80 years ago now, hahaha, but didn't take is as a serious business endeavor until I got pregnant with my first set of twins in 2013. I realized that I couldn't afford to pay for childcare for my twin newborns on a teacher salary even with two bachelors degrees and a masters degree so I shadowed with another photographer and essentially taught myself the ropes. I started with weddings, which when other photographers hear that they think "oh my god" because it can be really stressful but it was a great way to learn by doing really quickly but ALOT of mistakes were made along the way to really being able to call myself a professional photographer. I started heading to workshops and educational retreats in late 2015 after my third son was born because at that point I realized how others were able to make a living wage off of their passion. It wasn't until 2018 that I really hit a milestone as I began to make more than my husband and I was killing it, making six figures a year and it was amazing. Then 2020 hit and I got to a point where I had no income for months, couldn't pay my mortgage, no hope for my business baby that I'd built from nothing, and felt like it was all over. But I pushed through and kept working, kept creating, and in 2021 my business took off again thankfully! Now in 2023 I can say this will be my most profitable year to date as I have two studios now and consistent flow of new clients as well as repeat clientele.