Personal | 2024 in Review: a year of validating victories and sobering defeats

WeddingFeature

Jan 6

In 2024 I photographed twenty-three weddings; twenty-three couples trusted me to document their most important day. From sand dunes to baroque ballroom’s it’s always a joy to capture each couple’s unique story. Early in the year, I was honored as one of Rangefinder’s Thirty Rising Stars of Wedding Photography, which was a massive boost in confidence. Everyone struggles with imposter syndrome, but receiving that win really made me feel as though I’m supposed to be here, and am doing my due diligence in challenging traditional notions of wedding photography.

Throughout the year, I assisted in the production of three massive editorials from the ground up, one of which was published in Rock N Roll Bride. Getting in one of Rock N Roll Bride’s print issues has been a long time goal of mine, plus it was a huge two page spread! I feel like so many places only publish online now, so to actually get to hold it and look at it was unreal. I also tried to really think outside the box and preplan certain shots for each shoot, which really paid off. I’ve made a distinct effort to return to my roots in documentary photography this year. While I’ll always have an editorial/documentary hybrid style, it was nice to structure my shoots more as narratives to create those more organic moments, allowing for play and spontaneity.

Personally speaking, two major moves dominated the first half of the year. My mom made the initial move to Kansas City in January, followed by the closing and clearing out of her house in Oklahoma in June. Michael and I also bought a new home in March, and now live much further south and closer to my mom. The last half of the year was dominated by vacations; Yellowstone in August, Glacier in September, and Disney World in December. Prior to Disney World, as an early birthday present Michael bought me a 110 film camera, and I began shooting consumer grade photos at weddings. I tried shooting on manual vintage cameras back in 2023 and I just couldn’t do it. It was so time consuming. Shooting on a tiny plastic 35mm, in addition to the new 110 made incorporating film back into my practice far simpler. The photos aren’t meant to challenge the quality of my digital images, but instead serve more as “sketches” or impressions of moments rather than highly precise replications. Eventually, I may get more into professional grade film cameras, but until then these guys are working quite well for me.

Alright we’ve been through the ‘validating victories’ aspect of the year let’s more to the ‘sobering defeats.’ You know the phrase “two steps forward, three steps back”? I feel like that’s a good indicator of how this year went for my business. Early in the year it became apparent there was a huge industry wide lull in bookings. The entire market has been very slow and unstable. I’m a niche photographer so I was hit quite hard. When thousands of couples aren’t getting married that means my client base is cut even smaller than your average wedding photographer. While I could afford to take the hit, it was disquieting because what if I wasn’t prepared for that stand still?

By September I made the decision that I was going to use the lull to update my branding and work more on the business side of things. I’ve been silently working on building a new website ever since. It’s like chipping away at a mountain. I’m a chronic over thinker so updating something as deeply personal and outwardly public as branding is very difficult for me. Recently, I began a huge market research project and realized a lot of things I won’t disclose publicly; however, I will say it was quite the sobering realization to understand as a business owner I may be spinning my wheels, and for reasons that are absolutely my own doing and are totally within my control. Moving into 2025 I hope to create a more personal and higher end experience for my clients, while also cultivating more sustainable business practices for myself. All of this while continuing to produce the same high quality, artistic imagery that I have for so many years!

Weddings & Elopements

Couples

Lifestyle

Editorial

Personal Project: Strange Company,
as seen in Rock N Roll Bride, Issue 59

Personal Project: A Tortured Reputation
on 35mm

Personal

Hollywood Studios, Disney World
35mm film

Trail of the Cedars, Glacier National Park

Mammoth Terrace Springs, Yellowstone National Park

Calcite Springs, Yellowstone National Park

Going to the Sun Road, Glacier National Park

Expired Film

As a special bonus I want to share with you a few select images from my childhood. My mother and I began a personal project mid year where we began developing old film. Much of the film had been kept in a large metal cannister for about 20 years and experienced many different extreme temperatures. Some of it was so damaged it barely turned out, but what did turn out was beautiful. It was so interesting to look back at the photos I took long before taking photos was ever ‘my thing.’ I’ve been taking pictures since I was about 6 years old, but most of the following images were shot between ages 11 and 14. Photos shot by anyone other than myself have been noted.