2022 is OFFICIALLY behind us, and what a whirlwind year it truly was. 2022 was arguably the biggest year of growth for my career as a wedding photographer, in the most exciting way!
On the personal side of things, we found out we were pregnant with our rainbow baby in late January. Excitement quickly turned into severe illness. From mid-February until late May, I was almost completely out of commission. As a wife, mother, friend, sister – you name it, I wasn’t able to be whatever title people needed from me. After a few emergency room visits, I was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum. HG is a diagnoses that sends shivers down the spines of women who know what it is and have experienced it. I was violently ill with debilitating nausea, and worse – vomiting. I could vomit up to 20 times a day which lead to dehydration. Luckily, I have the most incredible husband who truly stepped up and became mom AND dad, and husband of the year while I was spending 23 out of 24 hours in bed.
Come late May, or early June, some of the nausea/vomiting started to lessen a bit. I was finally able to get up and try to push through the work I needed to push through and be some semblance of a mother and wife. It was challenging, but we made it work.
In May, I attended a workshop in Charleston with Arielle Peters. This workshop is what I credit with pushing me to take the plunge into film photography. I knew I had been missing something in my work, and that something was film. Film has truly allowed me to stretch my creative wings. I feel reinvigorated in my work, and more importantly, inspired.
Last year, I shot almost 20 weddings and began incorporating film here and there into those weddings, and even some of my engagement sessions. I messed up a LOT but also received back some really rewarding images. Getting your scans back from the lab is like waking up on Christmas morning.
Mid-September came and our precious baby girl Hayden was finally born. The first moments of her life were some of the most precious and emotional moments I’ve ever experienced. Holding her, hearing her tiny little cry, and knowing our family was complete truly filled my heart. Immediately upon her arrival, my body felt so much better. I felt like I could run a marathon, and take over the world.
Once I got back to shooting weddings after Hayden came, I really tried to push myself creatively, and incorporate even more film into my weddings and sessions. Even though some scans came back really disappointing, I never lost hope that this was going to be a really amazing journey and future for my business.
I rounded out the year with a wedding at Scottish Rite Cathedral in late December. It was the perfect last wedding for 2022.
Grateful doesn’t adequately describe how I feel for each and every couple and family I photographed last year. Thank you for allowing me into your lives, and trusting me to document your memories. Thank you for being patient with me as I navigated being so ill while growing our precious baby, and trying to stay true to my commitment to serving each couple with the same level of love that you all deserved.
I’ve put together my favorite film images from the year. I really love the “perfectly imperfect” images – maybe my focus was off, or there was some unintentional motion blur – whatever it was, these images feel real.
This will probably be the only “2022 wrap up” post I do, so the vendors that I worked with and deserve so much credit and praise for their hard work, are below!
Here’s to an amazing 2023.
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