The Good News that I Didn’t Share

Wow, what a bad mood this blog has been in this week!  I’m very happy to report that just a few hours was all I needed to get over the house.  Once we knew it wasn’t ours, I realized that it was definitely not in our dream area and it had been built-up a little big in our minds.  Was it our dream first house?  Yes, of course.  But, are there other dream first houses out there waiting for us to buy one day?  Definitely, and they are in our dream location.  We are still going to wait until the summer or fall (or even later) to look again, but we are not discouraged any more.

Now, two days of discouragement and bad news calls for some good news, right?

Last week was just a huge whirlwind of emotions.  I cried some of the most happy tears I’ve ever cried in my life and also cried in sadness, however all of it was meant to be and has me feeling completely humbled and blessed right now.



Do you remember this little photography business I started last year?  Yeah, I almost forgot about it too because nothing was really happening with it.  Last fall was CRAZY with finishing up my last semester before student teaching (that I start in less than a week – scary – let me know if you want updates on that as well), so I really had no time to put into the business.  However, I was still thinking about it a lot, practicing my photog skills, thinking about logos and branding, and researching as much about small businesses as possible.

Now I’ve had all of January to prepare for student teaching and to get my business on track.  I have an engagement session lined up with one of my best friends, Tiffany, but other than that, I had no plans.  I had asked some photographers I know and really respect for some help (like to allow me to second shoot some weddings for free or to sit down and chat with me), but I did not have much good feedback.  Mostly, they were too busy to be able to commit time to help me, which is completely understandable.  However, I became extremely discouraged that I would never be able to make this dream a reality.

Then, last Wednesday came and I was struck to post an ad on Craigslist asking for someone (anyone) to help me gain experience.  I then decided to put the rest in God’s hands because I felt called by Him in the first place to jump into the photography business in the first place.



Literally, an hour after I prayed about it and let it go, I received an email from a local woman (I’ll share her identity once I know everything is going to happen before and once I sit down with her) who is newer in the business and has five weddings coming up starting April.  She is not charging a lot because is new, so she can’t afford a second shooter, but she told me that she really likes my style and would love to give me the opportunity to work as her second shooter.

PLUS, she told me I could use the photos I shot on my website (which is usually never done with second shooters because the lead photographer normally owns the rights to the photos) meaning I can show others that I have experience and hopefully gain my own clients.

I emailed her right away with exclamation marks after every sentence because I was just. so. darn. excited.  I wouldn’t let the fear overtake me that normally does when I get close to doing something big and scary.  I told her that if my excitement didn’t scare her away, I would love to second shoot with her.  She told me she was just as excited and we got to planning!

I literally sat in our living room, laptop on my lap, listening to this song that I talked about last week, and sobbed.  Bawled.  I don’t even think there is a good word that describes the crying.  I have never cried such happy tears, except perhaps when Mr. Converse Sneakers proposed to me.  Mr. CS wasn’t home, so when he called me mid-tear flood to tell me he was on his way home, he thought something was tragically wrong. 

“What’s wrong?  What happened?!” he asked.

“I’m second shooting FIVE weddings,” I blurted out through tears.

“WHAT happened????” He could not understand my muffled words.

“I’M SECOND SHOOTING FIVE WEDDINGS,” I yelled, hoping that would make the words more clear.

And then, after understanding that my parent’s dog Stewart Wallace hadn't died and I hadn’t gotten into a  horrible car accident (which were just a couple of the thoughts that were running through his mind when he heard me crying), he got extremely excited and joined in the joyful celebration, sans tears, of course.

THEN (I know, I ramble a lot), I got an email from another photographer saying she is shooting a wedding on a lake in February and would be willing for me to tag along to practice.  Six weddings!

Six weddings, people!  You know how much I am going to learn after second shooting SIX weddings?

Plus, another photographer I know is getting back from networking in another state in March and is willing to sit down with me as well.  By the end of the summer, I should be able to branch out and start shooting weddings on my own.

I can’t wait!  If you take anything from this completely way too long post, take with you that the Lord is completely wonderful and has unbelievable plans for each one of us, that fear should never stand in the way of you and your dreams (it just shows that you really care about your dreams), and that discouragement should feed action.

I can’t wait to update you on more photography adventures!