Friends&Family

Dear FRiend

I want to start by saying thank you; your support, be it as a previous client or as a member of my personal community has greatly shaped this journey that has led to where I am in my career. A place that I feel unbelievably lucky to be existing in. To have spent the last 6 years living and creating as an artist has been an absolute gift, and to now not just be in a space where I’m surviving, but to actually be overwhelmingly thriving, feels surreal. I don’t think it was until this last year when I had the full grasp of the community I have built one photo at a time.

That being said, this last year led me to a place that I was blind (and maybe a little ignorant) to the reality of. A place where I always thought “that can’t, or won’t be me”. I burnt way out. I burnt out on all of the things that I love about this role; the deep connections i’m able to make with each and every one of my clients, the joys of travel and new experiences, the creativity and art of being inspired from individuals’ stories. The commitment and depth I put into each and every one of my jobs were dwindling, and my personal and mental health was at an all-time low.

I spent the winter of 2021 hibernating, editing, and reflecting. And now looking forward to 2022 (and beyond) I finally, with some great changes, feel a sense of how I can approach my work-personal-creative life (for me, they truly are all one <3).

I feel incredibly lucky to say that my community is extensive. I am constantly meeting new people through work that very quickly feel like friends or even family. I also consider myself personally very social, with enough wonderful friends celebrating something in their life to fill my schedule for an entire year. This being said, after navigating the course of “working with friends” I knew it was finally time to create a set of “guides” for my loved ones, that could hopefully encourage some peace in the process.

I hope you can understand, and I hope that I still am gifted the opportunity to serve and shoot with you.

Weddings

I have recently made the decision to no longer shoot friends’ weddings. It has been the highest honor to share some of the most important moments of my close ones lives, however I feel confident in saying it’s the time where I let go of the role of “photographer”, and fully embrace getting to experience these times as a guest, or celebrate you from afar. Of course, there will be exceptions, but as a general rule of my business I am going to (with so much love) pass along tried and trusted photographer friends names. I will be here as a resource with referrals, tips, and love, every step of the way.

As a general note, I am also moving into a space of only shooting 6 weekend jobs per year, which I am reserving primarily for “full wedding weekends” that include travel and multi-day coverage. I am focusing the majority of my energy into weekday elopements with 10 or less guests. This is not just a stylistic or “brand” decision, but a personal revamp of my scheduling and capacity. To be home, spending saturdays and sundays with my loved ones, and of course, Sapa boi, are some of the times i’m looking forward to most. I feel beyond lucky that I can limit my offerings so greatly, and still meet my income goal.

Portrait Sessions

With this change in my wedding availability, I would still love to share my love language of photography with you in a portrait session. I am limiting my schedule to 4 sessions a month, (in addition to my elopement and wedding jobs) which hopefully means I can take on F&F jobs in addition to that number, but as a mental rule of thumb, am hoping to limit that number to no more than 2 a month. In peak season, oftentimes when I’m already fully booked or over capacity, I will have as many as 6 or more F&F or past clients wanting to work together (a privilege that I don’t mean to take for granted, but that is truly just too much for me to take on and still be in balance). These are the times that it is most difficult for me to say no, so I ask you to please look at my updated schedule below, and let me know if it will work for you. There is absolutely no pressure, as I know you are all busy individuals with lives and needs, I have many talented friends I would love to pass along. If you are comfortable with everything I’ve shared, and the pricing below, please reach out here to help me keep my system and schedule organized. I want to treat you with all of the respect and intention I treat my normal clients, and that starts with gathering information in the same way.

2022 F&F Availability Remaining:

April: 0, May: 0, June: 1, July: 1, August: 1, September: 1, October: 1, November: 2, December: 2

My pricing for sessions is as follows:

Portraits: within Seattle

Standard: $1200, F&F: $800

Portraits: Adventure Session

Standard: $1600, F&F: $1000

A Note on Mini Sessions

I know that mini-sessions probably seem like a way for us to work together in a “lesser” capacity, however from my role as photographer, they are about the same as far as pre/post work, scheduling, and overall availability. My offering for these in 2020 was with the intention of booking more local work when I lost so much event work, however they are not something I have continued to offer, which I realize people often don’t know. While they are a bit less “in-person” time, they are about the same in regards to everything else, and while you might think you don’t need as much “shoot time” it doesn’t really lighten my overall load as a photographer. Additionally, they tend to be a lot less involved of an experience, and I feel the pressure to deliver something “quick and efficient”, but the meaning in my work comes from creating experiences that are “deep and meaningful”. Additionally, hey we’re already friends, and the in-person time is probably the time I’ll enjoy the most, because we get to hang out. <3

Family SEssions

Family sessions are not something I am offering to the general public, I made the decision this year that I will exclusively offer family sessions to past clients and friends, this is such a meaningful way for us to continue our journey together, and has given me the freedom to totally embrace them as a creative form. Pricing for family sessions will be the same as my F&F offerings above. <3

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Thank you so much for taking the time to read through this, and even more for giving me the space for me to include boundaries with you. I am beyond grateful to have been given the opportunity to share my passion with you.