FamilyTales Photography : A Marietta Photography Studio

When I started my photography journey I was newly divorced and living in a townhouse with my three children.  I had always been good at photography, but I was most definitely a hobbyist.  Then I realized I needed to make a living.  I needed to support my children, but I also didn’t want to give up the privilege of staying home with my young children.  So, I started shadowing Stephanie Byers of Digital Party Pros when she photographed weddings.  I really never thought I would EVER find people who would want me to photography their big day and I SURELY didn’t think they would pay me money to do so.  But, as the years went by I got more and more confident and more comfortable in my new role as a DPP wedding photographer.   We worked a lot in the Williamsport area because that is where DPP was based.  But it wasn’t long before we started booking weddings in Lancaster, PA.

It wasn’t long before I decided to try my hand at some family photography.  After all, I photographed my children’s every move so it seemed like a natural transition to adding family photography to my resume.  And I LOVED working with families.  I still do.  There is just something about capturing the interactions between mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters.  It is all so intimate.  And no two families look the same.

All of my work was on location because, as I said, I was living in a townhouse and I had no space in my home for a studio nor did I have the money in my budget to rent one.  A studio for me has always been nothing more than a dream.

In 2012 I purchased a home for my children in Marietta, PA.  That in itself was an amazing thing.  I went from a stay-at-home-mom with no credit and no job to a self-employed photographer who owned a home!  I truly couldn’t believe it for months afterward.  I kept thinking someone was going to realize they made a mistake and take back my home.

In this new home was a large sunroom.  I had a vision for this beautiful space.  It was going to be a…..well, a sunroom.  A place to relax.  An electronics-free zone.  And for two years it was a storage room.  Anything I didn’t have a home for got plopped in the sunroom.  I couldn’t make a decision on furniture for the space so I ignored it.  What a waste.  (The picture below was taken before the previous owners moved out….THEY were decisive about furniture!)

In 2012 I also went into business for myself.  As much consideration I decided to open my own photography business.  FamilyTales Photography was born.  In 2014 I started seeing a business mentor named Jerry.  And soon after I started visiting with him HE found a use for my sunroom…..as a studio.  The goal was to have it completely set-up and ready to go by September of 2014.  Instead of setting up a studio I hung a new ceiling throughout my home.  Then I painted my house…..the WHOLE house.  Then I ran out of things to paint or fix.  And Jerry kept pushing me.  So, on March 1st, 2015 I opened a Marietta photography studio in my home.  The sunroom was the perfect location for my studio.  I can work without leaving my home.  It has a private entrance and SO much natural light.  It is MY photography studio.  It isn’t perfect.  There is a lot of organization that needs to happen, but it is mine.  Mine.  I own a home!  And in that home is MY Marietta photography studio!!  How crazy is that?  Pretty crazy.  But everything in my life seems to be falling into place….it’s funny how that happens <3