It was November 5, 2010 and I sat at a Panera Bread in Oceanside, CA with Marissa and Heather. It had been well over a year since the three of us had been together in Vancouver, BC interning with Jamie Delaine and when Heather flew down to second shoot Shanna and Phil’s wedding with me we knew meeting up with Marissa was a must. We sat around a table and shared life with each other; the highs and lows, both personally and professionally, of the year that had gone by since we sat together around our laptops watching The Office in the basement.

In the middle of our catching up someone, I can’t remember who, posed the question: “Are weddings what you really want to focus on in your business?”

My answer was honest and vulnerable: Aren’t weddings the only way to really make it in this industry? What I’d really LOVE to do is shoot engagement sessions… or just portrait sessions. Every day. We laughed it off, knowing there was no way I’d be able to support myself, let alone sustain my business, shooting portrait sessions alone.

It’s funny how things change in a year. Last week I walked in to the principal’s office at Da Vinci and handed Steve flyers to give to the class of 2013, next year I have the opportunity to partner with the school and with the senior class and offer them non traditional, lifestyle, senior portraits. I am SO excited. It feels like after 4 years of struggling to find my way in this industry I’ve finally really found my dream job, and it’s quite fantastic.

The poster and flyers were designed by the AMAZINGLY talented Joanna, at Waterfall Creative. I am still completely blown away by how amazing they look! If you’re looking for a designer, get in touch with her!!

As a side note, I do have to say that that taking on senior portraits does NOT in any way mean I’m going to abandon weddings! There is nothing quite like the exhaustion of falling into your car after a 10 hour wedding day, I would miss that; and I’m SO excited for the weddings I’ve already booked for 2012, a few of them are destination weddings and traveling is my favorite!! But I will be drastically cutting back on the number of weddings I take per year to accommodate my sanity and my seniors. ;] So if you’re interested in one of the 6 spaces I have left definitely fill out the contact form above!