It was a chapter of my life I thought I was done with for good. But then in November I felt the Lord nudge me to pick up my camera again and start creating memories for others again like the old days. These past few months have been such a beautiful reminder of how God instills gifts in each of us and though sometimes we might need a break from using those gifts, when we embrace them again, there is so much more beauty yet to come from allowing the Lord to work through our uniquely designed gifts.
To all my returning clients and new clients who have hired me in this new chapter of Scarlett Lillian Photography, thank you for supporting my gift and choosing me to preserve these precious memories for your family.
I invite everyone to visit my new website launch at http://scarlettlillianphotography.com and share it with any friends you know of that might need a portrait photographer! 🥰
And just like that… you made me a photographer again.
In case you missed it, in a previous blog post, I announced that I was dusting off my camera again after 4 years of not being a photographer. When I hung up my camera back then after a decade long career, I really thought it was the end of my photography days, and had no intention of ever jumping back into it. But in true 2021 fashion, everything is getting a reboot, and when I kept getting photoshoot requests after 4 years off, I couldn’t help but wonder… am I supposed to reboot Scarlett Lillian Photography too?
Ultimately, I let you determine that. After diving into prayer, I took a step of faith and put it out there that I was accepting photoshoots again. And the response was… overwhelmingly beautiful. Old clients were quick to book me, people who had always hoped to have me photograph them but didn’t get a chance before I retired, booked me. You shared this news with your friends, and they booked me. And before I knew it, my November and December got filled up and I was simply taken aback with so much… gratitude.
As an artist, I honestly forgot how much my artwork meant to all of you. I also took for granted, in the years I took off, how much I missed celebrating life with you and all your important milestones in front of my camera. And now, I feel like a bad friend who just needs to backtrack and explain “It wasn’t you, it was me.” Burned out… overly exhausted from new mom life… and needing room to breathe and try new things in those in between years.
But just like how it goes with true friends, seeing you again in front of my camera feels like no time has passed at all. However, with new seasons, come new changes. Now as I find my new groove juggling motherhood and homeschooling and running a photography business all over again, I’m not sure what blogging will look like moving forward. Back in the day, I loved blogging all my sessions when I had more time to blog, but in this season of busy mom life, my priority is getting client’s their photo galleries to enjoy. And if I’m able to, I will try to pop in from time to time to blog a few sessions as well for you to enjoy. Otherwise, you can keep up with highlights I’m sharing from shoots over on my Instagram.
It’s been so wonderful reuniting with families who I photographed in the past and new families (and their adorable pups too!) in this busy time of Christmas Card season, so here’s a photodump of a few favorite shots from some of those sessions over the past month!
To everyone who has hired me for this new rebooted season…. thank you from the bottom of my heart for continuing to love what I create for you!
When I stepped away from photography for 4 years, the one thing I regret is that I let my burn out stop me from photographing my own children. While we still hired other photographers to document our family photos, I never once picked up my own professional camera just for fun to document all the “blink and you’ll miss it” details of my children the past 4 years. While sure, I had my iPhone for a quick fix, nothing replaces the beauty that only a professional camera (and artistic photographer) can capture.
Now that I’m accepting new photoshoots again, to warm back up to my craft, this past weekend, I asked my daughter, Bara Faith, to model for me around our farmhouse, so I could test out all my gear again since it had been so long. But, editing these photos, the mom in me had tears in my eyes looking at who she is, now, at age 5, wishing I had just picked up my camera in the previous years and not waited so long. It’s the little things like her little freckles that my iPhone never captured, that makes me want to just blow up a huge canvas of one of these photos so I can remember the sweetness of her 5-year-old freckles.
Even if you don’t hire me… HIRE. A. PHOTOGRAPHER. AT. LEAST. ONCE. A YEAR. Because what they say about “don’t blink” is happening in front of my eyes and I just want to rewind time.
But even though it took me 5 years to get my professional camera on her, it’s significant to me on a deeper level because it was 5 years that I waited on her and prayed for her by name after God gave me a promise in 2011 that He was going to create a baby girl for me, and I was to call her Bara Faith. She arrived into my world in 2016 through the miracle of adoption, and though she is not my blood, she is the girliest girl and God couldn’t have designed a more perfect daughter for my heart. There’s so much more to our miracle story, that I even wrote a book called “The Ugly Cry” about my prayer journey to motherhood that was published earlier this year. If you are someone in a waiting season, or know someone who is, I invite you to check out my book over at theuglycrybook.com.
For now… cry along with me at these photos of my promised child.
If there’s anything I’ve learned in my 40 years of life, it’s to never say never.
4 years ago I was burned out on my decade long photography career, and shut the door for good. Or so I thought.
I’ve used the past 4 years to explore other interests and career opportunities, focus on (finally!) becoming a mom after a long journey to motherhood, (finally!) publish my book, and just take a breather to explore who Scarlett Lillian was without being Scarlett Lillian the Photographer.
Yet… you’ve been so faithful. You’ve continued to reach out over the years and ask if I would make exceptions and still take on your photoshoots. And it’s crushed me each time I’ve said no. But, I promise, it wasn’t you, it was me. As a creative soul, I just needed that break to step back and regroup and embrace the new seasons God was carrying me into.
As I was nearing the end of that season, I remember one client telling me “You might surprise yourself and find your way back once the kids get older.” And kind of like Sarah in the Bible when she was told something that felt impossible, inside I laughed. “Nope, I’m done for good,” I thought. And I zipped up my camera bag and didn’t look back.
But then recently another past client posted a photo and when I saw it in my feed, my heart skipped a beat remembering that thrill of creating art. Wait… what just happened… was that excitement I just felt in my bones again? And within hours, another person privately messaged me about taking on their shoot. And routinely, I instantly said no. But then I stopped… and started thinking… what if I said yes? What if all of this is God’s way of telling me I’m not done using the gifts He has planted in me as a photographer? What if… there’s another chapter of Scarlett Lillian Photography still waiting for me to create memories for… you?
So I put a poll out on my Instagram to see if anyone would even be interested… and the response from you was overwhelming. I woke up the next day in tears at all the beautiful messages telling me to say YES to this new possibility stirring inside of me. You were way more excited than I truly expected. Some of you even privately messaged me to tell me you were waiting for this moment and willing to travel just so I could photograph you. (Anddddddd cue the tears…)
After spending time in prayer last week, I kept coming back to, how could I not say yes to all of this? Yet, I feel like I’m standing in front of this impossible mountain to climb. “But…” came my tidal wave of doubts… “if I open this door again, how in the world will I juggle this AND mom life? It’s all I can do to keep up with laundry most days on top of homeschooling on top of thinking about how I’m now going to make time for running a business again and doing photoshoots again.” (And cue the overwhelmed mom life sigh…)
But you… and all your humbling kind words about this forgotten gift of mine, you give me courage to take this leap of faith and start saying yes again and keep letting God make a way each step of the way where it feels impossible to try to do it all myself.
On Friday, I teased on Instagram that I was planning to make an announcement for TODAY about a pop up family portrait mini session day for you, but before I could release the sign up link today, behind the scenes, my DMs got flooded and the event SOLD OUT over the weekend before I could even make the full announcement today, along with more of you booking full sessions snatching up for my other weekends in November and early December! I’ve been so touched by the warm welcome back and all of your excitement, and just truly honored that after all this time, you still want me to photograph you and those who you love the most.
::Hold on while I wipe my tears, sniff sniff::
I am still squeezing in a few remaining full sessions now until the end of the year, so if you weren’t able to jump on something this past weekend, please feel free to reach out and we’ll figure out a new date to book your family’s photo session!
I look forward to seeing you again on the other side of my lens documenting the love and laughter that your family shares!
P.S. Also, for now, I’m not taking on weddings… but again… never say never… wink wink.
