Maybe you’ve already heard me tell the story from the very first wedding I ever photographed on my own. Where the father of the bride ended up hospitalized the morning of the wedding, and it wasn’t until months later when we was brought out of the medically induced coma, that he was able to see the photos from his daughter’s wedding. What a strong reminder I had in the VERY beginning of just how valuable my gift is. I’m blessed with the skills and passion to be able to capture memories for people and I’m so thankful that I have the opportunity to extend this to others.

But I will admit that over the course of last year, especially in the slow season, I started to forget that a little. In order to keep producing work, keep up with my skills, and stay inspired I did several styled shoots. There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing styled shoots, in fact they are a blast and allow creatives like myself to dream up and execute our most treasured ideas! But I began to loose sight of my purpose and I found myself simply wanting to create pretty images without putting much thought into the “why” of it all. Creating beautiful images is only half of it.

It wasn’t until I began working with Alex Meyer Events that I was reminded about my why. As soon as Alex opens her mouth and talks about her passion for her wedding planning business, it’s all about her why. Everything she does has purpose and meaning and I LOVE THAT. It was then that I looked in the mirror, horrified to realize that I had let my why slip a little. I knew I had to bring that back into clear focus. Otherwise, what am I doing this for?

I was reminded of this yet again when I attended a lovely styled shoot in Charleston, SC hosted by Live View Studios. It was unlike any styled shoot I’d ever been to. It was held at RiverOaks in Charleston, one of the most beautiful and intimate wedding venues I’ve seen. Marianne is the owner and she gave us a wonderful welcome talk and spoke about her philosophy at RiverOaks. I know God placed me in that moment at that time specifically just to hear those words. In fact, it was a last minute trip that I had to beg to join because the shoot was technically already “sold out” when I inquired. So really, I wasn’t even supposed to be there! But oh, I was.

Marianne spoke about serving her clients, using her business to bless others and glorify the Lord, and then she spoke about the why behind doing styled shoots. She clearly explained that it’s not about just taking a pretty picture. Even though it’s a styled shoot we should create a story and give it meaning. Y’all, it was like she was speaking directly to me because in that instant I searched my heart and found myself guilty of getting caught up in the chase of creating the next pretty picture, and nothing deeper.

I left RiverOaks that evening feeling more inspired than I ever have before. That was definitely a day of reflection for me and it was so good, so good, to be reminded of this. It’s easy to forget when we get caught up in trying to answer a zillion emails, need to do this week’s blog posts, try to figure out timelines for next month’s weddings, seek out locations for photo sessions, or come up with the next idea for a styled shoot… It’s easy to get lost in the next task on the never-ending to do list. But checking off all of these things are for not if I don’t have my why as the focus.

My Why. It is my desire to use my skills and business to bless others and glorify my Lord. It is my goal to deliver amazing photos to my clients but to also to give them an amazing experience by serving them in any way that I can. I want to reduce any stressors that I can foresee on their wedding day, surprise them with little gifts to remind them that I appreciate their trust, give them any advice I can to make their wedding planning go smoothly, work closely with their wedding planners to create seamless and excellent service on their wedding day, have a timely turnaround… And of course, I want to capture their story and document it in the most beautiful way so that they will have these memories forever.