The Best Business Decision I Made this Year | Business

The Best Business Decision I Made this Year | Business

Before I even start, I’ll admit that I have mixed decisions about this topic. I referenced in this blog post that I wanted to be a photographer partly so I could do all my work while taking care of however many children we had with no issues. But when the rubber met the road and I actually had to do said work while taking care of said child, things changed.

For the first year, I made it through. At the beginning, while babies wake up at night, they also sleep during the day - and Willow has always been a great nap-taker. While I was tired and stretched, I was able to find time during the day to work. It also took a long time for Willow to crawl (7-8 months) and walk (14 months), and she was generally fairly content to play with toys. I still spent plenty of time with her, but I could also work while she was awake and took full advantage of this fact.

Right around 11 months old, though, things slowly started to change…

Williamsburg Family Portraits | Williamsburg Photographer | The Brady Family

Williamsburg Family Portraits | Williamsburg Photographer | The Brady Family

I’ve known about Matt, Heather, and their family for many years, through church and mutual friends, so I was delighted to finally meet them all in person on a gorgeous fall day in Colonial Williamsburg. We had already been through the disappointing experience of a rained-out and reschedule family session, so when the sun was shining and the air was crisp the morning of the new picture date, we were all thrilled.

For Emily, their youngest, it was an extra special day…

Outer Banks Family Photographer | Robinson Family

Outer Banks Family Photographer | Robinson Family

It’s not often that, nearly a decade after graduating, I still get to connect with college friends from Virginia Tech. Matt and I met through Baptist Collegiate Ministries there and weathered the perils of college and statistics class together. Somehow, with late nights and cookie logs (try one if you haven’t!), we both passed, graduated, got married…and each have a kid! It’s a little crazy to think about, but here we are, the adults we never thought we would become.

Every other year, Matt’s family rents a beach house in the Outer Banks to spend time together as part of their tradition. I got to meet them down there just a few days after Hurricane Florence and amazingly, the roads were open and the rain held off! I got to meet Sam, his one-year-old, and get re-acquainted with some of his family whom I met when I visited Hampton Roads years ago as Nathan’s girlfriend…