in 1995, I moved to Los Angeles
... 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 17 years, I have a BA in Psychology from LSU (Geaux Tigers!) and I'm certified in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Life Coaching, Braintraining through Amen University, Neuro-encoding and Hypnotherapy.
I'm obsessive about self-development and believe whole-heartedly that we can manifest anything we desire.
some of my work as a photographer
I believe that senior photography is the most rewarding niche to be in because we have the unique opportunity to deeply affect the confidence of our teen clients. I do not take this lightly, trust me. Posing is a natural extension of my client ... I do not create elaborate images; rather, I feel there is a quiet beauty in letting the process unfold naturally. My goal is to tell the story of who my client is - at this moment in their lives. Visit my photography site for more.
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.
bite sized photography goodies in the store:
Yep, I'm Self-Taught
I've never taken a formal photography class and I do not have a degree in Art. Maybe you can relate to this? One of the things that makes me insane is how some photographers shame others and throw that momtog word around like it's a bad thing! If you are struggling with self-worth because of this, please use me as an example of how success (& money!) can still be achieved.
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 beautiful autistic 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 $4000 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.
