I was a small business owner before Zack sustained his injury. I ran a photography business and always enjoyed taking pictures. I was given my first film camera in the 2nd grade. I remember positioning my friends in certain poses to take their photographs in elementary school. By high school, I was the person my friends would look for to take pictures because I always had a camera (No cell phones back then). Photography was something that I naturally did. However, I never thought of doing it as a career.
It was the best thing; the owner was almost retired and allowed me to tag along at weddings. After a couple of months, I became the background photographer, capturing all the behind-the-scenes. I learned the ins & outs of running a business; the office staff taught me about film, development, sales, marketing and how to make beautiful wedding albums.
While pregnant for the 2nd time, I was asked to do a small backyard wedding for a couple on a budget. That was my first solo Wedding. It was exciting! I was nervous but put what I had learned into practice. I was doing fine initially but did not count on the pregnancy nausea to be so strong. I had to excuse myself multiple times, barely reaching the bathroom in time. Luckily, I was able to cover up what was happening. I got through the Wedding and even managed to make them extremely happy. Word of mouth is the best advertising there is. I was 24 years old, young enough to connect to the brides, and I developed a niche for capturing candid moments. This was my favorite type of photography. I built my business up and hired an assistant. I loved my job. I had weddings on the weekends and was able to be home with my children during the week.