A year and a half later, I decided to move to Nashville, Tennessee. I had fallen in love with the community culture and arts scene of the city during a few visits and knew I needed to live there. It had mountains and coffee shops and music shows every night of the week. What more could I ask for?! I felt ready to shift into full-time photography, and I loved the idea of getting to work with bands and artists. This was my new calling!

Nashville is where I grew into an adult and grew my first business. I made friends, worked with lots of other creative people, and even met my husband, Collin, over the course of the next few years. Eventually we got married and welcomed our first daughter into the world. She truly changed my perspective on life forever. Suddenly, my desire and gratitude for shooting weddings and newborn portraits was stronger than ever before. My baby girl would grow, change and develop so much in just one day, showing me how important it was to capture every moment together.

We grew our lives together as a family of 3, then in the fall of 2022 we were given an opportunity we never saw coming: an invitation to move to Jacksonville, Florida. Collin’s job at the time wanted to take a season to grow him in that market, and I had always wanted to live near a beach, so we took the plunge! Not before finding out we were expecting our second child, though. Yes, we are a little bit crazy, but we love a good adventure!

While we live in Jacksonville, we are determined to make the most of it! I love that we’ve added a city on the beach to my list of areas I can serve with photography. And my favorite way to spend a slow morning is with a takeout coffee and croissant on the soft, Florida sand, watching the waves crash in front of us. Even though we’re currently based here, I love getting to travel back to any of our homes and keep up with my clients in those locations. Whether you’re in DC, Nashville, Dallas, or right here in Jacksonville, I am there, camera in hand, ready to capture a once-in-a-lifetime moment for you to cherish forever.

as early as I can remember...

...I loved to make beautiful things. I drew pictures of the flowers in my mom’s gardens, I practiced writing my name over and over again so that it could be as pretty to read as possible, and I took photos of e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g with the disposable film cameras I would get for every birthday and Christmas.

My interest in photography grew over time until I discovered that my Poppop had been a professional photographer earlier in his career. Why didn’t I know this before?! I immediately asked him to help me learn more about how to use my camera and came to him with all my technical questions. Before I knew it, he had taught me how to make calculated artistic decisions with my camera. It was so exciting for me to learn how to use photography as an artistic medium with him!

Throughout the next few years, I was actually pursuing a career in classical ballet, but always kept photography up as a hobby. It was during that time that I started shooting portrait sessions for my friends, “just for fun!”

As I approached my 20’s, I started to doubt that life as a professional dancer was the right path for me. As I thought through what I wanted my life to look like, I found an internship in User Experience Design. I decided to apply, and was offered the position! So, I spent my days that summer learning all about how to design websites and apps that were both beautiful to look at and easy to use. That internship turned into a full-time job, an experience I am so grateful to have had.

About six months into my new job, I realized I still wasn’t settled into a career I wanted to pursue long-term. I knew I enjoyed certain aspects of design work, but tI spent so much time daydreaming of building my own business. And, somewhat to my surprise, the business I dreamed about was a photography business.  

Upon that realization, I acted quickly. I asked a local photographer to mentor me and teach me about running my own small business in photography. I continued to work my design job during the week, while shooting weddings and newborn portraits with my her on the weekends.