About Me
Welcome to my website and thank you for your interest into my world and my passion, photography. I have always been in love with what I use to call, taking pictures. As far back as 6th grade I started carrying a camera to school and taking pictures of my friends at school. I valued my friendships & teachers, never wanting to forget any of the good times we were having. I photographed me & all of my friends after school events (my mom encouraged it & bought film & developed them for me). Being a part of many groups & activities, there were many memories I felt I needed to keep alive. I soon began hoarding pictures....LOL!!! My friends quickly started depending on me having my camera & it became a joke at times.
I met my husband in college and we now have 3 awesome kiddos. We have been married 11 years now. I worked at the University of Mississippi Medical Center a total of 8 years. I started out as a File Clerk and was offered several promotions during those years until I was the Administrative Assistant for the Associated Director of the hospital's Cancer Institute. I loved my career & was great at what I did. I was confident, dependable, assertive, & very meticulous. We went from a small administrative department of four to now having to hire a Director, a full faculty unit (over 12 scientists), all of the scientists' staff members, relocating their families & relocating their laboratories. Since I was the ONLY Administrative Assistant, guess who was given the task of completing all of these tasks???? BINGO!!!!! For nearly 2 1/2 years my life was consumed with these tasks. I had to learn so many processes & soon carried several notepads around with me all day everyday. I also slept with a notepad next to my bed, just in case I needed to notate things I needed to do the next day. Soon this job was taken over my life even when I was off the clock. If I was home sick, I was still working from home, responding to emails & making calls. What took the cake, I had a planned 1 week vacation for Disney World scheduled with my husband and kids (which we did annually anyway). I was the only person capable of completing all hiring of international applicants & regular hires also. During this vacation I was contacted by HR while we were in Disney World advising me I needed to submit some files before 5 pm on that day to finish processing a hire. We had to leave Disney early & go back to the hotel so I could complete a hire. I wasn't angry because I loved my job but things never got better. The more people I hired the higher the stress level went. I BURNED OUT!! I JUST BURNED OUT!! It was time for a serious change, so I began to pray harder.
My hair was falling out, my health began to fail & my poor sanity was cracking. I had a full-time job with UMC, a part-time managing our communities' water billing system from home, part-time photography, went to school at night & came home to my beautiful babies. I was led to pick up my camera & make movies with my images. My best friend was getting married and at her shower I presented her with a disc showing all of the pictures I had of her from our younger days leading up to current date. Shortly after that I made the decision to pour my energy into photography. I really feel I was mentally pushed away from UMC for a greater purpose. I was pushed into doing what I love, not photography, but into being with my kiddos full-time and then into photography. Hubby & I discussed me leaving & I turned in my 30 day notice!! I was offered another position to stay but it was too late in my mind. FREEDOM!! FREEDOM!
While doing photography my health has improved tremendously. I have freedom to create amazing images & help others be happy. My kids have me in their lives without mommy being grumpy.
I jumped into photography at full speed. I found myself shooting daycare pictures during the week and events & weddings every weekend. I stayed booked for 2 1/2 years straight until I decided to step up and find a studio. Events and weddings required a lot of hard work. I linked up with other local photographers and began receiving proper training on the art of photography. I had no idea how technical photography really was. It wasn't just pushing a button on your camera. It required a lot of studying. I realized I didn't know anything about photography yet, but I loved it. I networked with local and out of town photographers, trained online and completed courses, then I practiced by photographing anyone who would allow it. I needed to figure out what style of photography I wanted to aim for. The challenge began.
The worst thing I could do is listen to the naysayers, well I didn't. I opened my own studio. Who would have thunk it? LOL! It was great, since I was the only studio in town. Business was good and bad. The bad part was me living 30 minutes away and some customers were "No Shows". I grew tired of the commutes and the frequent "No Show". Prayed on this dilemma and I found the solution. I was paying lease at my current studio so why not own my own space? Leading me to make the best decision of my life. We purchased a large metal building and it is currently my studio space. Now I'm steps away from my studio. My kids no longer have to go to a sitter, they can stay home while I'm working right outside. I have a baby monitor in the studio to monitor my little ones while I'm with clients. God is good all the time!!
This is my story of why I was led to photography. Now you know soooo much about me. I would love to meet you and know more about you.
I met my husband in college and we now have 3 awesome kiddos. We have been married 11 years now. I worked at the University of Mississippi Medical Center a total of 8 years. I started out as a File Clerk and was offered several promotions during those years until I was the Administrative Assistant for the Associated Director of the hospital's Cancer Institute. I loved my career & was great at what I did. I was confident, dependable, assertive, & very meticulous. We went from a small administrative department of four to now having to hire a Director, a full faculty unit (over 12 scientists), all of the scientists' staff members, relocating their families & relocating their laboratories. Since I was the ONLY Administrative Assistant, guess who was given the task of completing all of these tasks???? BINGO!!!!! For nearly 2 1/2 years my life was consumed with these tasks. I had to learn so many processes & soon carried several notepads around with me all day everyday. I also slept with a notepad next to my bed, just in case I needed to notate things I needed to do the next day. Soon this job was taken over my life even when I was off the clock. If I was home sick, I was still working from home, responding to emails & making calls. What took the cake, I had a planned 1 week vacation for Disney World scheduled with my husband and kids (which we did annually anyway). I was the only person capable of completing all hiring of international applicants & regular hires also. During this vacation I was contacted by HR while we were in Disney World advising me I needed to submit some files before 5 pm on that day to finish processing a hire. We had to leave Disney early & go back to the hotel so I could complete a hire. I wasn't angry because I loved my job but things never got better. The more people I hired the higher the stress level went. I BURNED OUT!! I JUST BURNED OUT!! It was time for a serious change, so I began to pray harder.
My hair was falling out, my health began to fail & my poor sanity was cracking. I had a full-time job with UMC, a part-time managing our communities' water billing system from home, part-time photography, went to school at night & came home to my beautiful babies. I was led to pick up my camera & make movies with my images. My best friend was getting married and at her shower I presented her with a disc showing all of the pictures I had of her from our younger days leading up to current date. Shortly after that I made the decision to pour my energy into photography. I really feel I was mentally pushed away from UMC for a greater purpose. I was pushed into doing what I love, not photography, but into being with my kiddos full-time and then into photography. Hubby & I discussed me leaving & I turned in my 30 day notice!! I was offered another position to stay but it was too late in my mind. FREEDOM!! FREEDOM!
While doing photography my health has improved tremendously. I have freedom to create amazing images & help others be happy. My kids have me in their lives without mommy being grumpy.
I jumped into photography at full speed. I found myself shooting daycare pictures during the week and events & weddings every weekend. I stayed booked for 2 1/2 years straight until I decided to step up and find a studio. Events and weddings required a lot of hard work. I linked up with other local photographers and began receiving proper training on the art of photography. I had no idea how technical photography really was. It wasn't just pushing a button on your camera. It required a lot of studying. I realized I didn't know anything about photography yet, but I loved it. I networked with local and out of town photographers, trained online and completed courses, then I practiced by photographing anyone who would allow it. I needed to figure out what style of photography I wanted to aim for. The challenge began.
The worst thing I could do is listen to the naysayers, well I didn't. I opened my own studio. Who would have thunk it? LOL! It was great, since I was the only studio in town. Business was good and bad. The bad part was me living 30 minutes away and some customers were "No Shows". I grew tired of the commutes and the frequent "No Show". Prayed on this dilemma and I found the solution. I was paying lease at my current studio so why not own my own space? Leading me to make the best decision of my life. We purchased a large metal building and it is currently my studio space. Now I'm steps away from my studio. My kids no longer have to go to a sitter, they can stay home while I'm working right outside. I have a baby monitor in the studio to monitor my little ones while I'm with clients. God is good all the time!!
This is my story of why I was led to photography. Now you know soooo much about me. I would love to meet you and know more about you.