Some of the best advice I’ve heard from other small-business owners is that your personality is your biggest asset.

I would fall under the category of people that prefer to not be the center of attention. Unfortunately, that means that putting myself and my life out there in order to help my business is something that is a constant tug-of-war battle. There are things I love to share, but there is also self doubt and hesitancy in how to post about it because I don’t want to be judged. I decided that people are going to judge regardless of what I do, and that fear isn’t a good enough reason, so here I am. Here is a little more about me and where I came from:

I am fueled by quality time, country music, popcorn, time with Jesus, and never less than 9 hours of sleep. The people closest to me would describe me as passionate and independent. When I was a kid, I would go through each disposable picture I took and write the names of those in it and the context of the photo. I was so attached to the memories and people that I never wanted to forget them. I grew up loving the Jonas Brothers (OG fan since 2005!), Florida State football, and my 13 year gymnastics career. As the youngest of three, I’ve always felt like the younger sister in social situations, but knowing that about myself, I am constantly looking for wisdom and advice from people who are in different stages of life.

I got my first “real” camera in 2008. From taking hundreds of pictures at concerts to random pictures of my niece, I decided I really liked what was happening. I officially started my business on Facebook in 2011 and it has been a slow and steady journey of growth ever since. I would say the first year I was really serious about photography was 2014, when I booked my first college seniors.

In 2015, two weeks after graduating from the University of Oklahoma, I moved to Nashville for a video production job at a PR agency. Every day was something new and something fast. I had some incredible opportunities in the year and a half I was there, but I knew that my heart had found its home when I was in Norman. I moved back in the fall of 2016 and haven’t doubted the decision once. There’s something so invigorating and life-giving about Nashville, but it was not sustainable for me and I am so thrilled to have my roots planted here in OKC.

Most days you can find me running social media for OU Admissions & Recruitment, working out at Koda Crossfit Norman, or grabbing Chipotle on Campus Corner. I am extremely proud of the growth I’ve fought for and where I am today, but finding ways to share my work and my life in a way that others will care as much as I do is consistently a struggle and source of insecurity. I find that I am most alive when I get to have one on one conversation with clients about their lives and their dreams, and then again when I get to perfect their images in the post-process. It gives me LIFE to have the opportunity to encourage people in following their passions through my photography business.

Thank you for your support and for joining me in celebrating people and their stories. It matters, and I adore you for it.

If you’d like to follow along with my latest work, check out my Instagram page.