How does one start their first blog post? I suppose I will assume you've read the about me page so I'll skip an introduction as to who I am, and I'll just start with what brought me to where I am today.
Almost two years ago now, my now sister-in-law asked if I would take first birthday photos for their son. Before I go on, let me give a little back story here. I've been interested in photography pretty much for as long as I can remember. I feel like I always knew deep down that it's what I wanted to do, but for various reasons, didn't think I could make a living at doing it. I thought the only way I could do that was doing portraits, and at that time, I had never posed anyone before and didn't think I would like trying to direct someone, so I never pursued it. I of course enjoyed taking candid shots of my friends and family, but that was the extent of my photography involving people.
Ok, now back to my now nephew's first birthday photos. Even though I wasn't entirely sure about it, I agreed to take the photos. I had no idea how that one session would eventually change my life.
The session was fun and I got what I thought were some really great shots, and while editing I discovered what I thought was my style. I was so happy with the results, and it was so incredibly rewarding to me--my family photos are sooo very important to me, and it meant so much to me to capture other families portraits and memories for them. I started to think, "Hey, what if I could make a living doing this after all?" While it was going to be one of the busiest times for me (I'd also just gotten engaged a month prior), I decided to start my own business, and out of that, Whimsical Fox Photography was born!
Over the next year and a half, I tried to work full time and pursue photography on the side (as well as plan a wedding, get married, honeymoon, and eventually move and sell our house as well). With everything else going on in life, there just wasn't much time left to focus on growing my business like I really wanted to. I had so much to learn about marketing and the business side of things, not to mention I want to always be growing and learning as a photographer, learning a new editing software (Lightroom wasn't something we learned back in high school).
My husband (Bob) and I talked about my finding a part time job so that I would have more time to focus on photography. We talked about it a lot. After a year and a half of not being able to pursue what I truly felt was why I am here on this planet, it started to really wear on me mentally and emotionally. I was becoming very unhappy.
Ideally I would have had a part time job lined up already, but one morning, after our most recent talk, Bob stopped me as I was getting ready for work. He told me he wanted me to go in to work that day, and quit my job so that I could pursue my dreams. He didn't care about the money I would lose quitting my job or how long it would be before I got a part time job. He just wanted me to be happy.
You guys.
I can't even put into words what that felt like.
My husband was now not only supportive of me following my dreams, but encouraging me to do it whether I felt ready or not! I immediately felt a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. And I wasn't even sure I was going to do what he said. It felt like a snap decision, even though I'd been thinking about it before. I still didn't feel prepared. I felt I needed more time to really consider the consequences of quitting my job.
I thought about it all morning. I texted my friends to tell them the news. Everyone was so excited for me and encouraged me to take the opportunity to chase my dreams. So, I did it. I put in my notice that day. It wasn't easy for me, and I am still very sad not to be working there anymore (I worked there for almost 14 years, and I loved the people I worked with), but I have been so, so very happy.
The first day at home from work was hard. Really hard. Since then I have slowly found a routine that seems to be working for me. I have been focusing so much of my time and energy while at home learning everything I can and doing everything I can for my business. I have even started working with studio lights, which I never thought I would like (turns out I do!). I thought after being home a few weeks I might start to question my life choices, but that's not the case at all. Even if photography doesn't work out for me, I feel like I made the right call. It was time.
I am so thankful for my husband's support and encouragement. If it weren't for him, I might not have ever made it to this point! I probably would have stayed at my full time job trying to make photography work on the side and continued to be frustrated and sad at how slow things were moving. So, thank you to my wonderful, amazing husband Bob, and thank you to my wonderful in-laws for the session that started it all. <3