Well, after a lot of prayer, I've made a big decision for my business!
This year I have decided to take a break from senior sessions and focus exclusively on Motherhood & Family Photography. I've thought long and hard about this decision, and I've prayed about it for months. It was a hard one. I truly love meeting and working with seniors! Graduation is such a fun, exciting milestone, and I'm so thankful for all of my clients with whom I've been able to share that excitement! I've met some of the sweetest, intelligent, talented girls (and a few guys!) both through sessions and my senior rep program!
Being busy is a blessing. This business has and continues to bless our family both financially and with the relationships that have formed over the years. I believe that there are seasons of necessary busyness and seasons of rest. Last year I really started to notice how much time I was spending away from home. I had a lot of senior sessions, and while they were great, they were full afternoons/evenings away from home. Now that little Jack has joined our family, I want to make family time a priority. I have really struggled with work/life balance since I started my business three and a half years ago, and while I love my clients, I know in my heart that what I need to do is to be home more often with Robert, Jack, and Ellie Mae.
I won't bore you with the nitty gritty details ;), but because of how motherhood & family sessions are structured & scheduled, they require much less time away from home.
One more reason for this transition is that I've been feeling a 'nudge' to do this for a while now. I ignored it for a while (months, actually), but during maternity leave, I really started to listen and pray about this stirring in my heart. Photographing mothers, babies, and families brings me more joy than I would have thought possible, and I feel most 'at home' when I'm doing motherhood & family work. I believe that God calls us and leads us to do things...and that those things can change through different seasons of life. In this season of our lives, I have an overwhelming sense of peace that this is the right decision...both for me as a business owner and for our family.
So for 2018, I'm going to finish out the senior sessions that are already on my calendar, but I will not be taking on any more senior clients. If you were hoping to book a senior session sometime this year, I would love to put you in touch with one of my local photographer friends who photographs seniors! Please send me an email at ashleypowellphoto@gmail.com if you're interested :)
To my past clients and my future clients, thank you from the bottom of my heart for trusting me to capture special memories for you! And for those of you who follow along with our life and offer us words of encouragement and support, we're so thankful for you, too! I have been blessed to get to know so many wonderful people because of this little business, and I'm looking forward to seeing what God has in store for APP in the upcoming years!