2019 Year in Review
2019 Stats
Lifestyle Sessions: 35
Weddings: 10
Seniors: 14
Boudoir: 5
Event + Commercial + Headshots: 31
2019 brought so many changes to my life. I had major career shift. Helped my parents in closing the family business. Rebuilt my website. Upped my social media game. Hired the best photography coach. Welcomed a new fur baby into our family. Learned what SEO is. Created a passion project to help the LGBTQ+ community. Said no once or twice. Shot for a magazine and had two cover images. Created a community for photographers to get together on a monthly basis. Laughed a whole bunch (maybe even snorted a time or two). Traveled for some pretty gorgeous weddings. Cried a little too. Went on some adventures with the husband. Settled into a new way of life. Let some things go. Made some friends. Figured out off camera flash. Went to an OU football game. Created just for me. Started a photobooth. Traveled to Mexico to help photograph a beach proposal with @rachelwaters.co. Created a Workshop to give a voice to diversity and help other photographers find their voice. Realized I’m a workaholic. Fully un-closeted myself.
All in all it was a pretty momentous year. I’d been struggling with feeling like I wasn’t able to share my voice fully. The classroom had a lot of influence. My last two years of teaching were brutal. It was an integral part of me making the decision to leave the classroom behind and put all my energy into photography. I miss getting to share my love of music. Seeing that spark when a kid “gets it”. I miss being around music on the daily — BUT —I don’t miss the amount of hours I spent away from my family. I don’t miss the less than desirable monetary compensation. I don’t miss dealing with classroom situations that NO teacher should EVER have to deal with. — HOWEVER — I love being able to create my own schedule (although I overbook myself). I love being able to give my clients a voice visually. I love HAVING a voice and an opinion. I love being able to CREATE a space for other LGBTQ+ people to flourish and LOVE whoever they want to love and telling their story. I love empowering people to own their body and give them confidence they didn’t know they had.
Thanks 2019 for all the lessons.
—AJ
