On Re-Opening my Photography Business
It started with a text this time last year.
A former client reached out to refer me to a friend and asked, “Are you still shooting?” I didn’t hesitate. I said yes immediately, which in hindsight tells you everything. I had been in a quieter, in-between phase—thinking about photography again, circling it, but not fully stepping back in. I’m also a psychologist, and for a long time, I carried this subtle belief that that was the only thing I was supposed to be doing. But the second that message came through, something in me lit up. It was a very clear yes.
I took the session, and it was deeply fulfilling. Being with the family, documenting them, paying attention to the small interactions and the way the evening unfolded—it reminded me how much I genuinely love photographing people. When I went through the gallery afterward, I loved how it turned out. Not in a perfectionistic way, just in a grounded, this feels like me kind of way. The day after I delivered their images, I started working on my site again.
Photography didn’t begin as a business for me. It really did happen by accident. I was a relatively new mom at the time and had invested in a camera mostly to take photos of my own baby. We had just moved to the beach, I wasn’t working in a traditional sense, and I always had my camera with me. It became part of how I moved through the day—just noticing things, documenting what was around me. And then the flamingos. A group passed through, I photographed them, and those images went viral. Suddenly people were reaching out asking if I could photograph their families. I said yes, because I loved taking photos, but I didn’t actually know how to run a photography business. I was learning everything in real time.
Over time, I had built something that depended heavily on conditions I couldn’t control—weather, beach access, seasons. Then those conditions shifted. We had severe storms, a full season of red tide, people canceling trips, and then COVID with beaches closing entirely. Everything started to feel unstable, and that instability, more than anything, started to affect my creativity. It’s hard to create freely when things feel uncertain—when you’re constantly rescheduling, adjusting, questioning. It changes your relationship to the work.
So I pulled back. I stopped advertising and stopped putting it out there that I was available. From the outside, it probably looked like I had stepped away completely. But I didn’t stop shooting. I just stopped performing it.
During that time, I kept creating quietly. I experimented more, worked with different cameras, and was drawn more deeply into film. I paid closer attention to what I actually liked and what I was naturally pulled toward, instead of what I thought I needed to offer. I spent more time with printed work, with texture, with process. Without trying to, I became a better artist. That time wasn’t a detour. It was necessary.
I also don’t want to pretend that I had it all figured out during that season. There were—and honestly still are—moments where I’ve questioned why the hell I took that professional pause, and stepped away. At one point, I really did have something beautiful building, and rebuilding something like that isn’t easy…
But at the same time, I can see so clearly that I needed that space to become the artist and business owner I am now. I’m more confident in my work, I understand the business side of things in a way I didn’t before, and I know how important this is to me. So while it hasn’t been a perfectly linear path, it’s one I trust.
Looking back on one full year back in business, and I want to say thank you—genuinely… To the clients who came back and trusted me again, to the families and couples I’ve worked with, to the people who have purchased prints or my book, to the brands and small businesses who have reached out, and to the people who have supported my work in quieter ways—likes, messages, comments, resharing, encouragement.
It all matters more than you probably realize. Thank you again.
Right now, I’m keeping the work simple and intentional. I offer family sessions, couples, lifestyle and personal portraits (including women’s portrait work), and select brand and small business shoots. I especially enjoy working with local brands—creating images on location, including product and still life work that feels natural and connected to the environment. Everything is a mix of film and digital, with an emphasis on natural light, movement, and capturing something real rather than overly constructed.
I also have a curated image licensing gallery available, featuring work from the past several years, both film and digital, and I’ll continue adding to it throughout the year. For those interested in collecting artwork for their homes, prints remain a meaningful part of what I offer.
As for availability, I currently have space for one to two sessions before the end of April, with additional openings in late May, June, and early July. I’ll also be booking for fall. I keep my schedule limited so the work stays aligned and I can be fully present for each shoot.
If you’ve been thinking about working together—whether for a session, a brand project, or licensing—you can reach out through my contact page.
This version of photography feels different. It’s more grounded, more sustainable, and more honest. I think a big part of that is realizing there really isn’t such a thing as full stability—at least not in the way I once thought. What I do have now is trust. I trust my eye, I trust my process, and I trust my ability to adapt when things shift, because they always will.
I’ve also come to understand how much I genuinely love having a creative business—the freedom of it, the responsibility of it, even the parts that feel uncertain at times. That uncertainty doesn’t scare me the way it used to. I feel more comfortable in it now. I know I can figure things out.
So no, I’m not going anywhere. This is something I plan to keep building—slowly, intentionally, and in a way that continues to feel like me.
If you’ve been following along, or if any part of this resonates with you, I’d love to work together. Whether that’s documenting your family, creating something for your brand, or something more personal—this work means a lot to me, and I’m genuinely excited to keep doing it.