At the start of my career as a wedding photographer in the competitive Washington, DC area, I was taught a valuable lesson very early on — don’t take every wedding that comes your way. This may seem counterintuitive as someone who is trying to build a business from the ground up, but that person explained that the quickest way to grow in the direction you WANT to continue for the rest of your career is to only work with clients who are a good fit. This a two way street that is beneficial for both parties — when you share a vision and style preference, you are more likely to meet their needs, ensuring a happy customer who loves their photos! And what could be better than that as someone trying to grow a business?! New photographers often ask me the key to success in this industry and I often point to this little nugget of information. Word of mouth is the only way I’ve grown my business and without those happy clients, that would not have been possible.

Why I am I sharing all of this on a post about an adorable newborn named Jaxon!? Because you’re looking at two of those clients, Brittany & Stephen, who helped build my business up in the early years. If your new around here, let me give a small refresher…

Brittany and Stephen were married in the fall of 2016 at the stunning Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond followed by a reception celebration at the Omni Hotel. A year later, I got to document their first anniversary portraits at the Legare Waring House in Charleston, SC and then earlier in 2019 they reached out about their baby announcement! After finding out they were having a little boy, they asked me to also document their newborn photos upon his arrival. Had these two been unhappy wedding clients, I would’ve never been able to establish this wonderful, years long relationship we developed since they first reached out in 2015. Or had I simply filled my schedule with the first customer that came my way, I may have already been booked and missed out on the opportunity to serve this amazing couple.

So to B & S, thank you for allowing me to document this beautiful time in your lives as first-time-parents — it goes as quickly as everyone says it does, so enjoy it!