Hi, Reader!

“How am I defining myself now?”

I asked myself that question this month while staring at a blinking cursor, trying to find the motivation to write an updated About page bio.

A lot has changed since I became a mom 2.5 years ago, and I was finding it hard to put everything into words.

Before Essie was born, I worked full-time as a brand photographer, building a steady client base and making educational resources. My days had structure, my role was clear, and I got a lot of self-worth from my work.

After she arrived, everything shifted. I gave myself permission to ease into this new phase of life, without pretending I had it all figured out (still don’t!). I knew I still wanted to work in some capacity, while being primarily at home with her.

Over time, I've let go of most of my brand photography work and only take on projects with my favorite clients: artists, designers, and paper goods brands. It’s been a relief to focus on the work that excites me most, while still helping non-photographers and photographers everywhere plan better shoots through my online resources.

And with the (tiny bit 😅) of extra space, I revisited some of the everyday-life blog content I’d created during the pandemic (and didn’t have time to post once the world reopened). When I looked back at the most popular content from that time, I realized something surprising and validating: the content I created about documenting life and organizing photos was, by far, the most popular. We’re talking thousands more views and clicks than anything else.

That got me excited. Memory keeping is in my DNA. I’ll be documenting life, organizing and sharing memories, and writing whether or not it’s “content” or if anyone’s reading. The idea of building my work around something that comes so naturally just feels right.

I still love brand photography for so many reasons: working with women business owners, planning shoots, and creating ideas. But at the same time, being a photographer is hard on my body and takes a lot of brain power that I don’t have as much of these days 😅. It’s more than I can realistically give right now.

So, who am I now? My new About page bio begins with: “I’m a photographer by training, but a life documenter first…” You can read the rest here.

Have you ever found yourself in a similar in-between season? Hit reply and let me know how you navigated it. I’d love to hear from you!