A little over two years ago, I found my then-10-year-old Canon Rebel in the back of my closet. I had just recently gotten married and was working as a full-time math teacher at a high school, dying for another creative outlet. (Teaching math for 8 hours a day will do that to a creative mind!) It wasn’t long until I started messing around with this ancient piece of equipment; taking photos of my dogs, decorations, and flowers.

See, photos have always played an important part of my life. I used to love looking through our family photo albums, asking about which Italian aunt had which beehive hairstyle. My digital camera was permanently attached to my hand in the early 2000s.. you know, what you had to use before cell phones had cameras. At every sleepover, party, or event I went to, I was there… taking photos. Scrapbooking and creating collages in Photoshop were hobbies of mine. When I was in high school, I joined the yearbook solely to take photos and design spreads. My senior year, my mom bought me a fancy DSLR camera – a Canon Rebel – to take better yearbook photos with. I was immediately hooked. Did I know how to use that thing? Not at all. Did I love it? You betcha.

When I moved to Georgia to attend UGA, I brought my camera along with me. I took it out once or twice to take some photos of the dance department… but then it quickly became another thing I stored at the back of my closet. College and relationships and life got in the way of my little hobby.

So stumbling upon that old Canon Rebel ignited a spark within me. I signed up for a photography class with Andy Carter at the 567 Center for Renewal where I learned how to actually shoot in manual mode. My dad bought me a 50mm 1.4 prime lens for my birthday and I was excited to put it to use. I watched every free video that Amy and Jordan Demos and Katelyn James offered. I signed up for their online courses. I started taking photos of my family and of seniors. It wasn’t until I took my family’s beach photos in 2018 that I thought I could actually make this hobby into a real business!

I second shot. I devoured education. I read and listened to podcasts and studied. I messed around. I messed up. I learned. I took a sales course (thank you, Mom). I implemented it. And each time I photographed a wedding or an engagement session, I fell a little bit more in love with my craft.

All of this growth had to happen before school, on the drive to school, during my lunch break, and after school. I got up at 5am to work on my business, taught all day, occasionally taught dance at night, and continued to work on my business after school hours. It was exhausting. All this hustle took a toll on my marriage and my heath. I knew I was burning my candle at both ends. Finally, my husband told me that something had to give.

So give, it did.

Drumroll please…

I am so excited to announce that I have officially put in my notice and I will be leaving education this year to pursue photography full time! I could not have done this without the support of my husband, family, and absolutely amazing clients. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you’ve sacrificed for me and the trust you’ve placed in me. I am forever grateful!

So, May 22nd will be my last day in my classroom. And the first day of this crazy adventure! Trusting in the Lord in all of this!!!

Cheers!

xo, Stephanie

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