In March of this year, unfortunately I had to temporarily shut down my photography business due to COVID-19. I was faced with a multitude of feelings including panic, fear, anxiety, depression and uncertainty. As many of you know, I am also a pediatric nurse practitioner at the local pediatric hospital… and honestly, I was worried for my family and myself. I got to the point where I had to stop watching the news because it only contributed to my anxiety. I’m sure many of you share the same feelings. The absolute hardest part about putting my photography business on the back burner was knowing that I could not do my newborn sessions. The newborn period is so fleeting, and it broke my heart into a million pieces knowing that I had to tell so many new parents that I would be unable to host their newborn session. At the time, even though so hard, I knew it was the best way to keep my most vulnerable newborn clients safe.

This sweet family had booked me for a newborn session, and I was so excited to meet them, however, Covid had different plans.   My heart hurt knowing that I had to tell this brand-new Mama that I couldn’t do her newborn session.  She was so gracious, and she also knew that this was the best decision to keep everyone safe.   Fast forward 3 months later and I got to meet this precious little red head that I fell in love with. It stung a little more knowing how adorable his red hair would have been in newborn photos! He really is the cutest!

We did their family photo session in Trussville and it was a blazing hot Alabama summer day. Mom and Dad made this session so easy though. They were such good sports and we had so much fun during the session. I can’t wait to photograph this family again!

During quarantine, since I couldn’t photograph my clients, I took a lot more photos of my children! We were outside playing for 8 hours a day, so I had lots of time to take candid shots!  I spent a lot of time studying and educating myself on the business side of photography, learned a lot from various photography groups ,and focused on learning new photoshop skills. I participated in a front door photography project and my friend and I started a charity called Heroes 2 Heroes where we raised almost $9,000 to help feed healthcare workers and support staff all over Alabama. It was such a wonderful time to focus on helping others. Once the quarantine was lifted, I did my very first outdoor newborn family session. A few photos from that outdoor newborn session were even shared on a blog post by The Kindred Path !

I know that we are not alone. We are all in this together, learning and finding our path through a pandemic. With a little faith and a lot of prayer and kindness for each other, I know we can get through. Grace is there for the taking… for all of us. Yall stay safe out there!!