Best of 2020 | Chester County Family and Newborn Photographer

2020 was certainly a year to remember. I know for a lot of us, this year was difficult for many different reasons. The pandemic presented all sorts of challenges mentally, physically and financially for so many people. For the first time in my business, I was forced by the state to close my doors for three months back in the spring. I truly was questioning what the future would bring for the photography industry. Would people value photography? Would people have the income to pay for photography? Would people want to have me close to them during a session? Do I need to consider closing up shop and looking for a job that has more stability? A ton of questions started swirling around in my head during those months off. You would think I would have had more time to do things like blog past sessions (this is my first blog since this time last year…ha!) but instead I focused on enjoying that time off with my kids. I wanted to enjoy every minute with them because who knew what the future had in store for us.

I had just opened up my new home studio early in the year and then I wasn’t allowed to shoot indoors for months after that. I won’t lie…..it was hard to look at my empty studio day after day during the spring and early summer. Thankfully in early June, photographers in Chester County were allowed to open back up again for outdoor sessions. I breathed a huge sigh of relief as I was once again able to become a Chester county family and newborn photographer. It started off a little slow as people began leaving their homes again. Sure enough, business really picked up by summer. In fact, I think I had my busiest summer ever this year. I shot the most beach sessions than I ever had in my career.

That reminds me…..I cannot wait to shoot more of them this coming summer so please don’t hesitate to reach out. I already have several beach sessions books for this summer!

Then, my business was faced with another hurdle for the fall – online school. My kids’ school district was starting the year fully virtual with talks of not returning in person until November! This meant that all of the hours I used to spend during the day banging out editing would not be there since my kids would be home with me. I knew I would have to dedicate more of my time each day to assist them with their schooling which meant I needed to scale way back from my normal insanely busy fall season. I barely scheduled marathon mini days this year. I also had to cancel my beloved Santa minis due to the pandemic. Through it all, I still had a busy fall season but it wasn’t insanely hectic like it has been in years past. I was actually able to attend my kids’ activities this fall and it was amazing! I wasn’t shooting or editing all weekend long like before. I was present in their lives this fall. I was even more of a wife this fall too and able to spend time at night with my husband. I was even able to cook real meals this fall too instead of making quick meals like pasta and mac n cheese or just getting take out. The busy fall season didn’t bury me like it has in the past and for that, I am in a strange way thankful for the pandemic and how things changed this year. I will always have a busy fall season but I never want to go back my fall seasons from the past. I find that there are silver linings from a lot of the changes that had to be made this year due to the pandemic.

For each year, I like to pull together an album of my favorite images from my sessions. It’s really hard to include images from every single session so if you don’t see your session here, please don’t be too upset. Trust me. I still loved working with you!

Knowing how difficult this past year was for so many people, I am reminded even more as to why this job is so important. Families and the love we share for our family is truly special. It deserves to be preserved for years to come. Thank you so much to each and every one of you for trusting me as your photographer in 2020. Here are some of the highlights from 2020……families, newborns, maternity….even a few branding sessions: