Shireen, Arni, Tristan and I had an awesome family photoshoot together this past week! I just love when my clients are just simply having fun during their session, where I can just capture those genuine moments. Hanging out at Coronado Beach, while chasing the most adorable 2 year old, Tristan definitely made for a better Monday for me :)

Tristan, like any other toddler was way more interested in running around and exploring the beach. This was actually his first time at the beach and running toward the water without being scared and I was so glad I was there to capture it! After Shireen and Arni were chasing Tristan toward the water, naturally they just ended up in the water, which made for some great shots! 

Do you ever have moments where you just sit there and ask yourself “How did I get here?” and “Why am I doing this?”  

As I sit here at my desk, trying to think of an interesting blog post, I found myself asking these questions and I realized how important it is to remind myself why I started in the first place. Why did I start this journey of running my own photography business?

To try to answer this question as simply as I can -- I want the photos that I capture to bring more happiness to the people in my photos, as well as to those I reach by sharing them (thank you internet)!

I knew that the decision I made to start a photography business would challenge me in more ways than I could imagine. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I went for it and just started.

To give you a little insight on how I started this journey, let me back up for a second. It was February of 2015, my full time graphic design job suddenly became part time, I felt unmotivated to continue pursuing another design job at the time and I knew I was ready for a big change.

With more time on my hands, I made it a point to really think about what I really wanted. I was very honest with myself and listed the top 3 things I wanted to focus on at that very moment - traveling, photography and saving.

I was determined and ready. Six months later (August 2015), after a lot of research, self reflection and a plan in place, I was headed to South Korea to teach English for one year. This opportunity would allow me to focus on all the things I wanted - traveling, photography and saving.  
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I stayed true to my plan, which was to save money to not only travel but also to give myself the financial freedom to focus my time on my photography business once I returned home to San Diego after one year.

Now as I sit at my desk 2 years later, writing this blog post for my photography business, I can’t help but think about the beginning of my journey and how I got here today. I realize even more now how important is to remind myself why I started.

So, if you are just starting out your photography business (or even going through a major life change) and find yourself asking the questions “How did I get here?” and “Why am I doing this?”, just remember why you started in the first place.

I hope hearing a little bit about my story helps keep you focused on whatever it is you’re trying to achieve that’s important to you and that it doesn’t matter where you start as long as you make that decision to just start :)