Today, July 16th, was supposed to be my first day back to work after a blissful year-long maternity leave. For six years I have been passionate about early childhood education and have been blessed to work with many sweet little people in a childcare setting. Early Childhood and Inclusive Education is what I went to school to study. I've always known that when I grow up, I wanted to work with young children. My passion for photography has always been there too, ever since I inherited my first film camera in first grade and brought it out during recess to snap photos of my friends (I still have those photos!). I've always had a camera in my bag and my friends would always roll their eyes at me when I pulled it out to "capture the moment". These two passions of mine have evolved hand in hand, with one becoming more prominent in my personal life (photography) and the other becoming my career (early childhood education). When I started Raw Footage Photography in 2010, it became a second career, an on the side business that I grew more and more passionate about as the weeks and months went on. I continued to dive deeper and deeper into photography, educating myself through any means possible and taking lots of photos. Looking back through the photos taken over the past two years, I can see that my skills have improved and that I've started to define my style, and while I have much to learn, it feels good to know that I've come a long way.
When my daughter Neve Adele was born in July 2011, my whole world was rocked. Having children has always been my biggest ambition. Hands down. It's been my biggest dream, my deepest hope. I feel so blessed to be where I am today, lucky mama to a beautiful, healthy little girl who just had her first birthday. I'm at an interesting crossroad in my life, where big changes are taking place, and things are shifting. I've decided not to return to my work in early childhood education at this time, as I feel that I have my own little person to care for, play with and enjoy right now. My passion for children is still there, but it has shifted from my career to my personal life, and I am investing every last bit of enthusiasm for play and motivation to teach and knowledge of child development into my own baby right now. At the same time, my passion for photography continues to grow everyday and is now taking its place as my main career focus.
I am so giddy about both these changes. To have a career that I am so incredibly passionate about that simultaneously serves as a creative outlet and allows me to stay home with my girl is a huge blessing. I do not take it for granted. I am so thankful to God for blessing me with such amazing opportunities, to my husband for working so hard to make this possible and thankful for all of you, my loyal and AMAZING clients and friends and fellow photographers who are a source of inspiration and encouragement for me. I am excited for what the future holds, both for my family and for Raw Footage Photography.
A glimpse at things to come - a COMPLETELY new website, new branding, new packages, a giveaway and lots more. Lots to look forward to! :)
Stay tuned, friends!