Last week, I began a new series called “Trusting God” that is going to follow the journey of the many statements in my life that go like this: “If you had told me 10 years ago that I was going to _______, I never would have believe you!”.  I am so excited about sharing these because these stories details so many parts of my faith and what role it plays in my life.  Very few things have turned out exactly as I planned- and I think that’s how most people feel! And I am SO thankful for it!

The first statement I am sharing about is “If you had told me 10 years ago that I was going to become a photographer, I never would have believed you!”.  I shared until I got into my classroom, and everything was as it should be, I was in the career I was called for.  A few years passed, my husband and I fell in love (that story is coming to this series soon!), and we began a family.  Shortly after we had our boy, we started talking about buying a nice camera.  We had always been interested, through all of our travels, in investing in something nice- we just didn’t feel like we had the excuse quite yet, until Michael realized how much I was going to want to be spending every couple MONTHS on professional pictures! I was NEVER the type who thought I would just pick up a camera and suddenly take great pictures- that isn’t reality at all! But I figured maybe we could combine our knowledge and interests enough to take care of the MONTHLY images I would want, and then still get professional images taken each year.

I had taken the entire year off teaching to stay home with our baby, and he was a GREAT sleeper, which gave me a LOT of time to research and learn.  And what was meant to be a hobby very quickly turned into passion- the camera was around at all times for both of us! I just could not get enough of learning how to change and adjust my settings and environment to improve the capturing of what we were experiencing and I loved every moment of it.  The next part of the story is what you would hear from many photographers- shortly after, some friends started asking me if I would be interested in taking some pictures for their families and I was thrilled- I didn’t feel worthy of it, but wanted to give them something they couldn’t do themselves (not all that different from teaching music, really!).  And very shortly after, Michael and I started discussing owning a small business, and whether that was the right path moving forward. I NEVER would have thought of myself as a business woman (and am only starting to now as I am fully grasping how MUCH business and marketing is a part of being a photographer vs JUST the creative side!), and never dreamed that this would be a part of our story.

Until it was, and similar to teaching, it felt like it was always a part of my life.  It seemed natural for us as soon as we got moving- Michael takes some smaller tasks in the business, and second shoots with me, and I run the rest. This is something I NEVER would have guessed for my life (and even when it began, I never guessed weddings until I photographed a few and was immediately swept up- you can read about that in one of my FIRST blog posts here– ignore my old branding colors!!).  But it was such a good fit for us- Michael is a strong graphic designer and helped a lot with all of the initial branding and logo work, and of course the financial side, and it just WORKED.  But I never would have dreamed that God would have another use for my love of people and creativity other than teaching music.  A use for it that allows me to be home with my kids during the days instead of not getting that time with them or having them at daycare, but still contribute to our income.  A use that brings the excited energy of directing a show that I LOVE to the forefront every weekend at a wedding.  And a use that lights up my heart, after every session, knowing what the couple or family will have for generations as a result of it.

God has worked so much in my story in small ways with endless surprises, and becoming a photographer is definitely one of my favorite ways! Thank you so much for being a part of that surprise, whether it is just as a reader, a supporter, a past or future JGP senior or bride or couple or family or baby.  I am so grateful!

I thought this a fitting image for this post- it was one of the first pictures I took on our first DSLR that I really loved, and I am so feeling it with all of the fall weather lately!!

View the first post in this series here: Trusting God Part I