This isn’t the easiest story to tell. 

Actually, it really hurt.

But since I am a positive and optimistic person and don’t want to ruin your day, I’ll give you a spoiler and let you know that its a story that ends well! So keep reading.

By all standards I was doing really well in the corporate world. I was working in Mental Health (a passion of mine), and playing what I thought was a pretty significant role at the company I worked in. I was in the leadership team, helping call the shots, getting amazing opportunities to make real differences in people’s lives. 

I gave everything of myself to that job. I worked on the train into the city, I worked way way overtime, then would take my laptop home and continue to work late into the night (oops old habits die hard ha). I knew every part of that company. I thought my job was the very definition of ‘secure’, when they announced a restructure I thought ‘there’s no way they could continue without me,’ but I guess I was wrong…

A little bit of extra, relevant information. I was on Maternity leave after just having had my daughter only a few months prior. Fresh into motherhood, learning and adjusting, experiencing sleepless nights and all the hormones and changes postpartum has to offer us. And I had to reapply for roles at my company, and eventually found out that I was being made redundant. I was guttered.

I spent exactly one day drowning in my sorrows. Before I picked up my socks and decided I would take my career and future into my own hands.

When I had my daughter I knew that I would be wanting to document every moment I possibly could on the camera I had, my Canon EOS 500D.

One of my friends asked me to model for her photography business, and in return she offered me our first professional photos! The experience was amazing. Aside from my wedding, I hadn’t experience professional photography before. I went in feeling so nervous but Kelsea Midson made me feel so comfortable and at ease. And boy oh booyyyyy, I can’t even describe the feeling I experienced when I received those photos back.

I decided that I wanted to create that same feeling that I had with Kelsea, for others. Seeing their beautiful families through my lens in photographic form!

And so, the very next day from when I had been made redundant, I announced I was launching a photography business. Did I have any idea what I was doing? NO! I couldn’t even shoot in manual yet. But I had a passion and nothing was going to get in my way.

My friend mentored me through learning to shoot in manual which was probably the biggest learning curve to help me feel confident enough to photograph other families. She took me down to the beach, and let me borrow her Canon 5D mkiii (Isn’t that the sweetest) and we took photos of my baby girl together. She showed me how to find the best lighting, and how to set my manual settings. We also sat down at her computer and she showed me her editing workflow. I had a very basic understanding of lightroom but she showed me through culling, applying presets, cropping, exposing, correcting light balance, and a whole bunch of other things!! Want to see some of the photos we played around with, and she walked me through editing?

The rest, as they say, is history! I launched my Photography business at the height of Covid. Which went surprisingly well. And I was able to connect with my creative side through portrait photography and bring something I really loved to other local families.

A few years on now, and I am excited to offer Mentoring and Workshops through Mamastalgia, to help other mamas document their little ones as they grow.

To get started on your Photography journey, and put that fancy camera to use, get in touch!