I started my business in 2008 with mostly families and older children/babies.  In 2009, I started with newborns, and added maternity in 2012 🙂

I’d always been interested in photography.  But I suppose the event that launched it all was a quite sad one – the loss of my first pregnancy.  I was utterly devastated and needed something to funnel my energy into so that my mind could pivot in a more positive direction – and photography was it!  I soon discovered I ADORED everything about it (and had quite a knack with a camera!).  Almost ten years later, it is a massive part of my life.

I have two daughters – Delilah (aged 7) and Camille (aged 5).  My husband runs a mid-sized commercial construction company, so he is very busy in his own right.  Because of this, we have a part-time nanny for mid-week working hours (when they aren’t in school). When I travel alone, they continue with their normal schedule and my husband takes over in the evenings and weekends.  When my husband and I travel together (which we do at least twice a year, if not more), the girls go either to their grandparents in Sydney, or my parents (from Wisconsin) fly to Australia to stay with them.  Sometimes we take the girls with us when we travel, but usually only when I am teaching in the USA, as they stay with my American family.  We are very lucky to have such a wonderful and supportive family willing to drop everything so that we can flit around the world like butterflies!  

That (when I’m not shooting) I can work in my pyjamas with my cat asleep next to me 🙂 🙂 🙂 

The thing that helped me the most – particularly during the early years – was blog-sharing incentives.  I did a blog sneak peek for each client and then told them that they needed to share, and for every 15 comments, I would give them a 5×7 print.  It worked WONDERS!  

My grey stone bowl.  Found it at a furniture store closing down sale back in 2010 and it has served me so well over the years!

I would love to continue traveling, teaching, and sharing my knowledge with photographers around the world for as long as possible.  I truly am living my happiest life.  Eventually I see myself slowing down and moving down south (to our favourite wine region) for a quiet life of nature, gardens, chickens, maybe a goat and a horse, and other country charms…but I have too much energy and drive for that at this point!  🙂

Your business should always be your business.  It is not your life.  No matter how hard I work during the week, I completely shut down on the evenings and weekends and truly enjoy the time with my family.  I take holidays with my kids where I don’t even pick up my computer (even if I’m very behind with work!) and I always try to keep the attitude that ‘work can wait…family cannot’.  I think this is the hardest part of running a business, particularly one run primarily in the home.  But it’s something I am committed to working on wherever I can.

Yes!  That sometimes your plans and investments will utterly fail.  Believe me, I have been there.  Even the most successful businesses have endured massive failures somewhere along the road.  But it’s what you do afterward to ‘get back on the horse’ that counts.  🙂