so I moved to Los Angeles in 1995
... and promptly met my husband in a bar that was owned by Jack Nicholson
Louisiana Girl
I was born and raised in rural South Louisiana, so you can imagine how star struck I was when I landed in La La Land! The last thing I planned for was meeting my soon to be husband and subsequently staying in Los Angeles. But that's exactly what happened and 25 years and 3 kids later ... I'm still here!
It's been a wild ride .. being married to an actor/director is NOT for the faint of heart. But I wouldn't change it for anything. We've built a beautiful crazy life and now that my kids are grown, I have more time to dive back into my first love - helping people.
In addition to being a professional photographer for 15 years, I have a BA in Psychology from LSU (Geaux Tigers!) and I'm certified in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Life Coaching and Hypnotherapy.
I'm obsessive about self-development and believe whole-heartedly that we can manifest anything we desire.
I can show you how!
you might find these interesting...
How I Got Here
I did not have a real "plan" for moving to Los Angeles; I just wanted to get out and live. So after moving here, I became a certified massage therapist because I was fascinated with the mind/body connection. We ended up starting our family a LOT earlier than we had planned to and before I knew it, I had 3 kids under the age of 2 ... and my oldest son was diagnosed with Autism. I knew I needed to create a career that would enable me to be home way more than working for someone else would.
Yep, I'm Self-Taught
I've never taken a formal photography class and I do not have a degree in Art. I grew up around photography and always valued it, but I never thought I could make it a career. I literally fell into it because I was constantly chasing my son around with a camera - I needed to know what was going on in his brain (he was nonverbal until he was five). People saw the images and asked me to shoot their kids ... and a business was born.
In 2008, I decided I wanted to specialize in Senior Portraits because nobody was shooting them in the way I wanted to here in Santa Clarita. My biz took OFF very quickly but I had absolutely no idea how to price myself for profit, how to create an efficient workflow, how to do anything really ... I had to teach myself. There were no resources back then for any of this, so I was pretty much on my own and it was HARD. It took me way longer than I wanted it to, but eventually I did find mentors and workshops - and I found my groove.
My business has grown exponentially and I'm the highest priced Senior Photographer in my area. I only shoot about 40-50 seniors per school year and I average $3500 per client. I don't say this to brag ... I want you know that what I teach is real and that I have the profits to back it up.
