It has been a long day coming, and I am so thrilled that it is finally here!! This is a fresh look, a fresh start, and a fresh appreciation for this job I love so much. Welcome to the brand new blog!!

After working with a blogsite ( a website and blog all in one ) for a couple years, I decided that I wanted to go back to two different homes on the web. I wanted to begin blogging more frequently again, and I knew that for me that meant a separate website was a better fit for my brand.

To take a look back, especially if you’re new here, in the Fall of 2012, I launched my new photography brand under my personal name and it completely revolved around this concept of “Connection Portraits”. Building a niche for myself was one of my most fulfilling moves in business. I created a path for myself that required an undaunted level of commitment. Over the past year in particular, I began to grow into my shoes a bit. I gained more experience. I photographed the most sessions I ever have. And I learned a lot about myself and what truly fires me up.

One of the most important lessons I learned about specializing over last few years, is that the fulfillment wasn’t about choosing one type of “session”, but rather about choosing one type of “client”. And I have found that my clients are mothers. Curating a focus in my work is no longer about a given name or term to what I am doing, but it has been about learning who my client is, and in turn learning a great deal about myself and who I AM as a photographer and artist.

The past year has so much been about the bravery of trying new things. Challenging myself as I invested time and resources into learning the medium of photographing with traditional film. Stepping out in teaching, hosting workshops, and mentoring other photographers in new ways. It wasn’t that I was no longer afraid of failing at something, it was just that I got tired of letting that doubt hold my business back from potential growth and new identity. I made the resolve to be willing to try new things, even if they didn’t work or stick in the long run.

I knew that moving from Connecticut to Maine was going to be a good move for me last year. I knew it was the direction the Lord was giving me. What I didn’t see coming was just how much I would find myself in this new home. I saw that it began to shape my perspective, my values, my vision, my relationships, and ultimately my work.

I travel far and wide for clients, but finding home on the coastline of Maine has really grounded me in my business. My home is a great place of inspiration for what I create, and I knew that when I launched my new website and refreshed brand- that this idea of finding home on this coastline needed to be a center focus of the design elements and feel. (Of course the families that I work with get to see the REALLY good stuff, because you all know that I am ALL about the tangible client experience!! Beautiful additions in store for 2016!!)

So over the past year, I began blogging less and less. There were a lot of reasons behind this change, but mostly I just needed to know that it was really fitting to MY business- and not do it just because so many other photographers blogged consistently. The break was well needed as I began to learn that I truly valued it, and started to believe that I did have words to fill it with.

I’ll now be frequently sharing personal posts, my recent portrait work, travel adventures, and a behind the scenes look at running a creative business. Goodness, I’m so pumped, and I hope you are too!

Image By Rylee Hitchner

If you haven’t yet, be sure you subscribe to the brand new newsletter! I have listened to your feedback on what you value in an email newsletter, and have some really great things in store. A fresh start and a clean slate was needed, so even if you have subscribed in the past, pretty please take two seconds and join this one.

Also, a huge thank you to the incredible artists I worked with in this refreshed look, Abany Bauer of Brown Linen Design, and Jessica Aitken for my logo and design elements. I will be sharing a bit more in detail about why I chose to work with them and how incredible they are in a post to come! Happy launch day!