Gratitude 2013 - Be Still My Heart - Year in Review

Where to even begin. This year. Wow. This year. Gratitude doesn't even feel like a big enough word to describe the overwhelming blessings that have made this year one of the most memorable, exciting, challenging, remarkable...every good word possible...of my entire life.

Whether it was the great honor I have as a photographer to experience the most intimate and special moments of people's lives, the calling I have claimed in my heart of hearts to affirm women in their unique beauty, my creative work with Orchestrated Stylized Shoots, or my new found partnership with The Studio Hampton Roads...both personally and professionally, this year takes the cake. In. Every. Single. Way.

I thank each and every one of you from the very bottom of my heart. And that doesn't even skim the surface of the love I have for each moment, each person, each memory. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Quick Picks: The Studio Hampton Roads Relaunch Party

Just a little hot shot quick pick in case you missed it! Here's something I'm super duper excited about!!! You all know that I joined my gal pal Somer at The Studio Hampton Roads and our partnership officially kicks off in January. So what do we do? Celebrate with beautiful women, amazing light, other photog creatives and some all around festivity!

Join us! 

Update!!! Here's a sneak peek at one of the amazingly beautiful women that will be joining us at 

the relaunch shoot! Email thestudiohr@gmail.com to secure your spot.

30 Things: My Dream Job

I haven't done one of these in awhile (holy holiday insanity!!), so I'm working to get back on track. I'll be really digging into this come January...I may or may not have a little idea cookin' that will be a better home for these particular posts (here's a hint).

In case you're just catching up, I've taken a bit of a personal tone with blog posts lately, because I'm in my quiet season (at least as far as photography is considered...I am burning the candle at both ends at The Studio Hampton Roads...2014 is going to be amazing!). Here is where the idea stemmed. And I'm on #7. My dream job.

I thought about this long and hard. I've had lots of jobs. And now I own my own business (two in fact!) and still work full time (at a company I love!). Are any of these my dream jobs? What does that look like? And then I realized just that...my dream job isn't a specific job. It's what that job, any job, might look like. Sure, secretly, I'd love to be a lawyer with spunk and killer instincts, or a brilliant writer with a huge following of groupies, or an internationally acclaimed wildlife photographer...but I want to keep this dream within reach. And I very firmly believe that you must love your job. You spend far too much time there to hate it.

My dream job is somewhere that:

1. Respects and welcomes my ideas. I'm a thinker and have endless energy for strategizing and streamlining workflow efficiency. I have lots to say and I need a safe place to say it. I might not always be right, and I certainly don't expect everyone to nod in agreement at every word. I just want to know that my voice matters.

2. Works hard, plays hard. I like to work. I like to be in my quiet little cave, head down, powering away. But then I also like to laugh. Take a break and recharge. A company that values its employees enough to encourage down time is a company that is going places. Happy employees work hard.

3. Cares. It's very important to me that my job is community minded. Working together to serve others in meaningful ways that give back means I stay grounded, conscious of others' needs and am contributing to something more important than myself or the corporate machine.

I guess my point here is that any company can encompass all three of these things. Whether you work for yourself, wait tables or serve as the CEO on a Fortune 500 company, all of these are attainable and worthy expectations. With these three platforms as your foundation, any job can be your dream job.

PS. Sometimes you just have to work to get by. It's not fun, you hate it, but it must be done. Do it and do it well. And keep your eye on the prize. Choose joy daily and be grateful always.

PPS. Here is an example of one of those companies that is doing things right. Awesomeness on every level.

Black Friday Sneak Peek! Boudoir Super Deal!

A little sneak peek for blog followers and Pinterest lovers! If you've been thinking about a boudoir session, now's your chance! Celebrate your unique beauty with a day of pampering. 
All sessions will be completed in 2014 at dates and times agreed upon by both parties. 
PS. Be sure to check out The Studio Hampton Roads on Facebook later tonight and tomorrow. An awesome Black Friday Super Deal is running for local photographers and small business owners! 

Quick Pick: The Studio Hampton Roads

Did you miss it? The great big announcement that I made last week? In case you did, here's the official blog version to keep you up to speed with all things Katy. Most of you have heard me talk about my fabulous second shooter, go-to gal pal Somer of Somer Anne Photography, and I've often referenced The Studio Hampton Roads in recent boudoir posts because the natural light is unparalleled and I'm in love with shooting there. 

So, when Somer expressed a desire to partner up with someone for extra creativity, business fine tuning and just another set of hands, I jumped! What a perfect fit. We already have a great partnership within my own KB Weddings, so coming on board as a partner in The Studio Hampton Roads is another extension of our combined efforts to encourage each other's creative and professional strengths. 

Beginning January 1, 2014, I'll be focusing a lot of my professional energy on helping to run The Studio, increase the awareness for the availability of a meeting and creative space for Hampton Roads artists and small business owners and continue to fine tune my own shooting volume alongside this business to take one step closer to supporting my family in a way that keeps me home and engaged. 

Be sure to follow The Studio Hampton Roads to keep up with some exciting new announcements, upgrades and events for 2014. If you're looking for a great spot to meet clients, shoot boudoir, newborn or other portrait sessions or just a warm versatile space to get together with other creatives to brainstorm and encourage, this is your place! I'm beyond thrilled to be on board and proud to call it my own. 

The Studio Hampton Roads

www.thestudiohr.com

508 N. Birdneck Road, Suite L

Virginia Beach, VA  23451   

757-828-7410

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Love to all! 

The Love Story of Adoption

Those of you who have followed me for awhile know a few things...One, that my own difficult past and ultimate miracle of my twin boys has carved a special place in my heart for those who long to be parents but find the road paved with painful challenges to overcome. Two, that I moved away from family sessions just over a year ago now to open my time for my own children and get back to my family.

With that said, I've been following Kim and Matt's story for a long time. They may look familiar to you, because they graced the Neon Chic Orchestrated Stylized Shoots event, and they are just beautiful people inside and out that captivate those who know them. Their love was evident at Orchestrated and even more so now. So when I learned that they finally had been matched for adoption, I celebrated their great blessing. They truly deserved it and I knew that baby had a world of love and light coming to him at the hands of two parents so truly hopeful and committed to all things good and pure and Godly. Their love was enough to inspire me to pick up my camera and capture their new family. I'm so happy for them, grateful to have shared in those special moments and blessed by their story.

Their story, of course, is best told through their eyes.

For my husband and I, adoption has always been so much more to us than simply getting a kid. Through years of infertility but with always having a heart for adoption, we’ve learned that becoming parents is not only a precious gift but a great responsibility. And as we entered into the domestic adoption process, our hearts knew we had the responsibility to love. To not only love our future child but to extend that love for his birth parents along the way. They have chosen life in an unplanned pregnancy and for that, we are so intimately grateful. It’s through a semi open adoption that we’ve had the absolute privilege to witness the brave love of our son’s birth mother. It’s through her decision that we’ve seen hope, healing and love unfold in not only her life but in ours and in an entire community around us. Through our semi open adoption, Matt and I are able to be a witness to our son’s birth mother of a marriage built on God. She is a witness to us of the sacrificial love of a parent that is an absolute reflection of God's love for us. How can anything but beauty come from choosing life and choosing adoption? We’ve been beyond blessed to be a part of such a beautiful thing.

This photo shoot meant more to us than capturing the tiny details of our son’s first weeks of life. It’s something, as a mother, you’ve always dreamed about getting to do one day. It was such a beautiful and joyful experience to capture the three of us for the first time...as family. It was so important for us to include pieces of our son’s birth mother in the first family photo shoot for our son to always take with him as a reminder of his birth mother’s love for him. We’re hoping, also, that these photos will forever be a reminder to our son’s birth mother that we will always cherish his life and that he will always know of the sacrificial love she has for him. Her faith and her love for her son only inspires me to be a mother that will love selflessly and that will cherish this precious little gift forever. To us, these photographs tell a beautiful story...the love story of adoption.