You read the title right! I am quitting my day job, & going full time as a business owner!!! (*Cue the confetti cannons & let’s toast with a mimosa!*) Deciding to go full time with my business is quite a scary thing, but I’ve been nurturing this little business for a while so it made it less scary, & more exciting!

This has been such a long time coming, and I’ll tell you a little bit of my journey going from quitting my day job to the entreprenuer life.

In the beginning:

So what you may not realize is, I have been a practicing photographer since my freshman year in college (2006) I haven’t been a business owner for that long, but I fell in love with photography around that time.

It was around that time I had found Jasmine Star, & Jamie Delaine in a photography forum (that forum was ran by David Jay at the time, and from there he created ShowIt, the website platform I use to this day. How awesome is that???). 

I fell in love with their work, and soaked up every little piece of information that I could. Information that I would store up, and use later when I really started to make photography more of a business. I knew for sometime that I wanted photography to be a career path because nothing ever made me feel like how photography did (except for singing, but I didn’t want to pursue that professionally).

(The photo on the left is where I started. I knew nothing about lighting at all. The right is what I’ve learned over the years & perfected my light, bright, & bold style)

So day by day, and little by little I built up what is now known as Hope Ann Photos. (I’ve had a couple more names before deciding it was best to go with my own name.)

Why Make Photography A Business?

I wanted to make this little side hustle a business, because I love the feeling of purpose it gave me. It’s such a special honor to be someone’s wedding photographer, and get a front row seat to the start of a marriage. And that’s really what it’s all about.

It’s about being apart of something much bigger than myself. I believe that marriage is holy, and sacred, and should be cherished. It shouldn’t be looked at as some ritual you HAVE to do, it should be looked at as, you GET to marry this person you love.

And I’ve had such strong role models in this area of my life, my parents.  I’ve seen them work through the toughest of times together. I’ve seen them go through the best of times together, & no matter what has happened in their life, it’s just made them stronger in their marriage.

So to be able to be there & capture those beginnings, I consider that a high honor.

So Now What?

Now is when the work really ramps up from here. There are styled wedding shoots to plan, community events to attend (ones that when I had a day job they prevented me from going), in-depth marketing work, etc. etc.

And of course I will always be practicing my skills. No matter how experienced you are in this industy, there is always room for growth & improvement. 🙂

So come along for the journey…….

I hope that you will continue to join me in my journey here, & on Instagram.

Other Posts You Might Enjoy:

Best of Hope Ann Photos Behind the Scenes

My Top 5 Must Haves on Wedding Days

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