Starting a new business is challenging in a lot of ways. At least in my experience, it has been. There’s been the challenge of learning how to build a website, Mark Zuckerburg I am not. There’s been the challenge of finding pockets of time between raising an energetic nine month old, a full time teaching career, and consulting for Rodan + Fields, all while still trying to find time to relax and be the partner my husband deserves. But the biggest challenge of all has been the voice inside my own head. You know the voice. We all have it. The voice telling you it will never work. Quit now. Stay in your comfort zone. Don’t put yourself out there.

Luckily, there were some voices around me that were louder. And those were the voices of the first few families who took a chance on me from the very beginning. Before you even knew I was
thinking of going into business, I will never forget those of you who asked me to photograph your families just based on my own Mammarazzi Facebook feed. Little did I know the tendency to overshare tons of pictures of my baby would lead me down such an unexpected, but exciting path. Now sharing the pictures of Hudson dressed up like a baby burrito on Cinco de Mayo seems just a little less crazy.

Slowly the voice inside my head started to shift. Now it was saying what if? Go for it. Put yourself out there. Follow this crazy idea. Take a chance. Why not?

To the Wards, the Fitzgeralds, the Etamaldis, the Jins, the Goodmans, the Rodgers, the Reays, and the Piotrowskis: Thank you for being the voices that told me I could. I will forever be grateful to all of you. As my first clients, you were the first ones to help make this dream a reality. To thank you again here are some of my favorite shots from the very first shoots I did with your families. I hope I can keep photographing you and your families for years to come.