NEW 2018 BOOKING INFORMATION:
As many of you may have heard I am taking a much needed sabbatical from birth this summer. It’s been a long time coming. Since specializing in birth nearly 4 years ago, I’ve never had an extended time away. I felt this break was needed, and necessary to truly avoid a burnout from something I love so dearly. I desperately needed some self care time as well. There are surgeries I’ve put off that need to be addressed, and I’m SO looking forward to turning my phone off and living presently and spontaneously with my family. Needless to say, I’m pumped to start this time away.
BUT I am not leaving the birth industry. I think there has been some confusion, and rumblings around town and the internet that I’m done shooting births. That is not the case at all. A sabbatical simply means a break. I have booked a handful of births this Fall after my summer break, and plan on taking more on in 2018.
I’m writing this blog as moms are now finding out they are pregnant for 2018, and I’m getting questions and inquiries so I thought a blog post to clear the air of any confusion would be best.
My approach moving forward, to avoid burnout of on-call life, will be to have seasons of On-Call time. The taking two a month scenario, well, it never really seemed to be two a month. And the longer I do this, the more repeat clients I gain. Between April-May I had 8 moms in 8 weeks. 7 of those were repeat clients. That’s double what I “say” I will take on in a month. Not to mention the 3 I took on in March, one of which wasn’t even a client of mine, but rather me backing up another birth photographer. So the two a month is great in theory, but I often found myself overbooked.
So moving forward these will be my On-Call months, with a priority given to previous clients first:
February (2 slots available)
March (2 slots available)
April (2 slots available)
May (1 slot available)
June – August: OFF-CALL
September: (2 slots available)
October: (2 slots available)
November – January: OFF-CALL
If you find yourself expecting during my Off-Call time, it will be up to my discretion as to whether or not I will choose to take the session. Again, priority consideration will be given to past clients first.
During my Off-Call months I will be taking on Family Documentary Sessions, and Mentoring Sessions, with the possibility of quarterly mini-sessions.
I hope that this will allow a more healthy balance of On-Call life and family life. And I hope you all will stay along for the journey! Thank you to everyone for your love and support, and prayers as I’ve navigated this difficult journey of finding peace and balance as a wife, mother, and business owner!
