It’s So Nice to Meet You!

You know that feeling you get when you really find your purpose? I enjoy that on my drive home from each of my sessions. Whether it’s from getting the young unsure child to feel comfortable and play, or having the baby finally fall asleep. I love my job.

How did I start?

I took a photography class and a year book class my senior year in high school. I was hooked. I got my first slr film camera when I turned 18. I went to Westminster College for Music Therapy… but was worried about finding a real job until I had enough schooling to work in my field. I transferred to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh to pursue a degree in Graphic Design. I didn’t study photography because I wanted to be able to get a real job when I graduated. Meanwhile… I was working at JCPenney. I met a lovely girl who worked for the portrait studio and she urged me to apply. I did. A few weeks later I found myself in training to be a team member for their in store studio. I went on to work for the school division and Senior Portrait division of Lifetouch (the owners of JCP Portrait Studios). I graduated and decided to take on a role as a manager for their portrait studios.

Along the way, I met my husband and moved to Beaver Falls. We started trying to grow our family. After 5 years, we finally gave birth to our daughter, Adelei. This is when I took a break from shooting. I was still working full time and couldn’t find a work and life balance with photography.

Surprise! In October of 2018, I found out I was pregnant again. Thus began the biggest year of change in my life. 2019 opened with our family moving into my husband’s grandmother’s home in January. By March, our house in Beaver Falls was on the market. We accepted an offer in April and were scheduled to close in June just after I was scheduled to have our baby. With many trips to Triage at Magee and high blood pressure and gestational diabetes, we gave birth to our son, Torben on May 31.

I went back to work for a month. My husband was laid off from his job and started a new one in August. I gave my notice and worked my last day at my job on September 13. I started photographing full time on September 15 of 2019.

I had planned to play around with some product photography in the slow season that comes in early January. Everything went smoothly and I had some very good learning experiences until the world came to a halt in March of 2020. A few months inside with my kids 25/8 and I found that product photography gave me the much-needed mental stimulation and purpose. I could shoot on small scale sets inside my home, on my time. This was exactly what I needed to get through the rest of the quiet year of isolation.

As the world opened back up, I started taking on more small business work with models and resumed the family and single subject sessions. I intend to continue doing a little bit of anything because it keeps my brain stimulated. I love a challenge.

TLDR? I love pictures. I have 2 kids and a husband. Pick me to photograph your family or business!