2020 ~ Oh What a Year!

My Annual Session Favorites

I can’t believe we are finally here, at the end of 2020. This has most definitely, for sure, absolutely, been the strangest year of my lifetime.

Looking back, I would not have believed it if someone had told me that this is how our year would have unfolded, and in many respects, I am glad that I didn’t. The only way I made it through with any sort of sanity was by realizing that I had zero control over this past year’s circumstances. My best plan of action was to love people and do my best by being flexible. As someone who has struggled with control, this has been a trial. The whole year felt like a trial of waiting and unknowns.

Now, I am only left with feelings of gratitude. Gratitude that I was able to keep on working for the most part. Although I missed out on many births because of the hospital restrictions and financial burdens the pandemic has placed on families, I have also had more opportunities to give back to my community. I accommodated high school seniors who had their year hijacked and photographed those sweet babies and their families when it was safe to do so, as well as more space for families this past fall.

One of my favorite ways of putting things in perspective is by going back through my year in images both professionally and personally. Each year I pick one favorite image from each session (it is pretty hard, trust me) and put them together in a collection. It’s so funny because often my favorites change throughout the year.

So, without further ado, here are my 2020 client favorites. There are a small number of clients who preferred their images not to be posted online, and I always honor that!

Be sure to stay up to date on my plans for 2021, I will be sharing them at the end of this post. There will be some changes, and I am excited about it all!

In 2020, I was able to document 6 births.

That is less than half the number of births I was able to document in 2019. This was by far, the biggest challenge in my business and the most difficult obstacle to overcome. As a photographer specializing in birth, this was incredibly tough to navigate. The most difficult and heart-wrenching part was really for my clients. Most of the year was spent hoping and praying that things would look better and restrictions would lift. I was able to document a small percentage of my hospital clients during the downward trends in the dual photographer/doula role, as I am currently working on my doula certification.

I am a birth photographer because I believe that documenting your birth is so important on many levels. It is a moment in time that cannot be redone. It is the reason I have been in the birth industry for over 20 years (19 of them as an L&D nurse). It is, in my opinion, the most life-changing and emotional time of our lives. You are able to finally see your baby for the first time, hear those first cries, and experience those tender and powerful moments of birth, they are all so important. I also happen to believe that documenting your birth can be emotionally healing and help in the processing of your birth whether it is a traumatic or easy one.

I will be a part of the birth industry as long as that passion continues, and I can’t see it ever fading. As I mentioned above, I am currently working on certification as a doula as another option for my birth clients. I will take a select few clients in this role in the upcoming year.

I captured two Fresh 48 sessions

8 Maternity Sessions

19 Newborn Sessions

Many of my newborn sessions were birth clients that we ended up having to roll into newborn sessions because I was unable to attend their births. I still captured so much sweetness!

I photographed 13 families

6 first year milestone sessions.

These sessions are reserved only for my birth and newborn clients within the first year of life. I just love watching babies grow and change that first year and love seeing how much the family as a whole evolves and changes and settles into their own unique family personality!

5 high school senior sessions.

I don’t photograph high school senior sessions too often anymore, although I do love them. Specializing in birth leaves little room for scheduling other types of sessions. It was fun to shoot a few more this year, and was a fun way of giving back to seniors!

I documented 6 passion projects.

These types of sessions are a way of me giving back to the community and telling the stories of individuals, families, and causes. I typically shoot two of these a year, this year I added just a few more.

2 head shot sessions

2 creative sessions

And, lastly, 1 branding session

If you’ve stayed with me this long, thank you so much! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for trusting me with your memories, being flexible, and for supporting my small business. I am still here because of you!

Moving forward in 2021

For 2021 I am back to my birth clients holding the large majority of my sessions. Because of the periods of time, it requires to be on call for my birth clients 24/7 (oftentimes up to 4 weeks at a time), I need to once again scale down on all other types of sessions in order to manage my schedule and give my clients the best custom experience I can.

My schedule is already full from January through May with 1 or 2 spots for birth clients. I have availability for one birth client in March, and 1 in late May.

I will be blocking off September for fall family sessions and will fill first with returning clients. Please reach out to me in advance if you would like to reserve your spot for September.

Here is looking forward with anticipation of what 2021 will bring! Have a blessed New Year!