Why I Chose to Grow My Personal Blog into a Photography Business

This is a post I should have published six months ago. However, six months ago I did not know how to discuss what I was doing because I was not exactly sure what I was doing. I have grown to love the “trial and error” aspect of entrepreneurship. The “I am unsure if this idea will work, but I have to try something” aspect. Nothing feels better than finally reaching the outcome you were meant to achieve after months of trying different things. You feel… accomplished. 

I made it to a point over the last twelve months where I began to love my photographs. I mean really love them. 

Trust me. Photography and I have not always been on the same page. Some days I had blurry hands and overexposed lighting and terrible composition in my photographs. But, I kept practicing. I kept shooting. The more I practiced, the more I became comfortable with the camera. The more I became comfortable with the camera, the more I began to see images that I wanted to photograph. It was like the camera and I just clicked one day, and the photography process became natural afterwards. That opened the door for me to say yes to photography inquiries.

From there, I created a photography business around the holidays last year. In January, I set a goal to publish more of my photography on the blog and website. Since I had a personal website I figured I could utilize the space to market myself as a photographer in the Baton Rouge area.

Growing this space into something different left me with a ton of questions. Especially with blogging. 

How do I begin to incorporate my photography? How do I incorporate my personal posts? Should personal posts be published on a business site? Would I publish only posts related to photography? How many sessions do I need to shoot each month to fill my needs for blogging? So. Many. Unknowns. It took time to figure it out, which led me to one decision for sure. This space will always be a combination of both.

Of both personal words from my life and an area to showcase photography because I am passionate about both areas. I passionate about documenting life through written words because I believe there is a good story there. I am also passionate about displaying photographs because I believe there is a story in the photographs as well. And I love a good story.

Photographing for others led me to search for my photography style, which I am learning more and more about each day. So what does that mean? That means my goal is to hopefully shoot consistent photographs that look and feel and represent me. My hope is that my services will be something the market will love and need as well.

So, what is my photography style? Right now I know a few things…

I love love love honest images.

Honest images. To me that means capturing moments as they actually happen. Very natural poses and backgrounds.  Like the photograph above. I blogged their hospital session last week, and I want to talk about it again today because that is how much I enjoyed shooting for this family. This was taken at the hospital. Our session was scheduled around mom and baby, which meant I had to be ready at any given moment. So, the story behind this image. This image was one of the first five images that shot that day. I was testing the lighting and double checking my settings before we started. Baby Cohen began to cry a bit, and dad held him close to soothe him. And I began to click. One here. One there. And I love that I got to capture this moment before any one thought I was shooting because the affection that is portrayed is very natural. An honest image in my book.

I am obsessed with hands. I am not sure if I will always be like this or what, but it is where I am at today.

I am not sure why I love this photograph, but I do. I have noticed more and more in my work where I focus on the hands, which are always a favorite from a session. This happens to be my most recent photographed hand picture. This is from our family vacation two weeks ago. We boarded a boat to take us across the harbor to the beach. The boat was pulling away from the dock when my nephew placed his hand on my mom’s knee. She easily slid her hand on top of his so he could hold his balance after we pulled away. It is one of my favorites from our trip. Even though there are no faces in the image, there is still so much story to it. This is what I photograph for myself when I photograph for fun.

If I have the opportunity to photograph for you, I can promise this. You will walk away with beautiful black and white images. 

This session is not completely edited yet, but as I was reviewing the images this one caught my eye. This is from a recent in-home lifestyle session. As I pulled up to their home, it began to rain. I was nervous the lighting would be dark based on the amount of clouds and rain outside. Initially I started photographing in color, and the images were beautiful. But, I knew I wanted something a little different. So, I switched to black and white. What a difference it made. This was caught at the very end of our session. Sweet Amelia did amazing the entire shoot. By the end of our session, she was ready to be held. Dad picked her up and brought her to the window. I immediately grabbed my camera. One of my favorite images from their session. Her family and I were just sitting down watching it rain.

Once I realized that I had the opportunity to create beautiful images for families and give them an enjoyable experience, I knew I had to take advantage of the timing. Over the last year I have enjoyed working with some amazing families who have always been so patient and trusting with me. And hearing their gratitude when the images are delivered… It is very rewarding for me. When I realized the photography process left me fulfilled and excited and genuinely happy, I took the leap to change this space into something different.

And that is how this space went from personal to business over the last year.

XOXO – Ashley “AKA The Future Mrs. Hooker”

Last Few Words… I published two posts this week (YAY!!), which is my goal every week (even though that doesn’t always happen). THANK YOU for reading along and leaving comments over the last few posts! Your words motivated me last night to sit patiently in front of my laptop as I made the last few edits on these words before they were published. It is because of you my goal was accomplished this week! Woo hoo!