2017.

The year that will forever go down in memory as the year my business turned.

The year that it all started to flow and that I believed this was actually going to work for the long term.

The year I realized I had taken on way too much and had to say ‘no’ more than I was.

The year I finally admitted that I needed so much more help than I thought I did. Thank you, thank you, family and friends who have been there to help me and listen through the tough times, and the biggest thank you to my Mom who took over my accounting which released such a huge weight off my shoulders (you should have seen the mess it was before her!).

The year I quit my corporate part-time job that I’d had for the past 8 years to pursue photography full time.

The year I decided it was ok to expand my horizons, which led to launching EMERGE Intimates.

The year that my gut spoke louder than my head and that I actually listened to it. Turns out my gut knows what it’s doing most of the time.

My 2017 in numbers:

• 38 family, newborn + emerge sessions
• 3310 km driven
• 46 blog posts published
• 1 Facebook business page and personal profile deleted
• 4 notebooks filled
• 291 Instagram posts
• 23 newsletters sent to subscribers
• 4205 edited images
• 1 wedding
• 6 Becoming photo sessions
• 2 pairs of Toms worn so much that my toes peeked through
• 26 slideshows made
• 1 daytimer completely trashed from heavy use
• A heck of a lot of Starbucks drinks picked up and delivered to clients
• 1 new camera (a second D750) and 1 new lens (Nikon 24mm 1.8) purchased
• 352GB of new SD cards added to my collection
• 31,004 minutes of Spotify music played

One of my very favourite things to do at the end of the year is to go back through my archives and relive each session. It reminds me what wonderful people this business has brought into my life and how grateful I feel to be invited into their most sacred spaces. I’d lie if I said I didn’t cry just a bit while I put together a year’s worth of work into just under 2 minutes. Happy tears.

This was 2017.