Happy New Year! We made it to another year, and though it is starting out with some virus uncertainty, I am hopeful things will improve. There’s a line from the Counting Crows song “Long December” that says “there’s reason to believe, maybe this year will be better than the last” running through my head, summing up my sentiment well. The good news is that the sun still rises, spring will come again, and the important connections in our lives will endure.

This year also marks the 10 year anniversary(!) of my photography business. I started down this path with a hope for a creative endeavor that would offer some flexibility in my work to spend more time with my growing family. While always interested in entrepreneurship, I had very modest goals and ventured out to see what would happen. Honestly, I don’t think I could have imagined then what would transpire. What started out as a simple trial with a few friends, led me to helping hundreds of families with portraits, capturing precious moments of babies growing into children and teens, weddings, newborns, special events, and eventually supporting fellow small business owners. I feel fortunate to have been supported by friends and family these last 10 years.

As with any business, my needs and goals continue to evolve. Though I have kept my pricing steady for most of the last decade, service industries like mine are also experiencing inflationary pressure. Web hosts, payment services, printing, and supplies have all increased in price making my costs go up in tandem. Rising costs on my end means small increases in my package prices going forward. As an experienced photographer, my pricing will still remain competitive in the marketplace but will be updated to reflect the current environment.

For the foreseeable future, I plan to continue to focus on outdoor sessions, with a hope that science will prevail and COVID will stop interfering with our plans :). Fall season will continue to be busy, so the best chance for session openings will continue to be Spring and Summer.

While I am not sure what the next decade holds, I do know that this journey has been worth it. Having the opportunity to meet and connect with so many wonderful people in the community, has been a real joy. Becoming a small business owner and growing my skills as a photographer along the way have been a wonderful experience and creative outlet that I will always treasure.

My sincere thanks to each of you for your support. I hope to see you in 2022!