Dear Friends, Family, and Loyal Clients –
I love your faces. I love your smiles, your eyes, your
freckles. I love hearing your laughter and seeing looks of love exchanged
between you and your family. I love walking with you and getting to know you
while looking through the lens of my camera.
I love coming home and putting your pictures on my giant
monitor and dazzling you with perfect pictures. Well, the pictures aren’t
perfect, but in my experience, they feel perfect because they capture the ones
you love. And let’s be frank, I love it when you tell me how much you enjoy
your photographs.
There are so many things I love about being a
photographer.
As much as I love being a photographer, I love being a
parent more.
When I first started my photography business, I did so
with a point and shoot camera and a black sheet. I was nothing more than a lady
with a camera back then. Now, I’m a photographer. I do no advertising; I simply
rely on word of mouth and recommendations from you. And you’ve never let me
down. My appointment book fills more and more every year. In 2015, I had so
many sessions booked that I was turning people away. It killed me to do so, by
the way. Thank you for all you’ve done for me.
This year, as I look forward to the upcoming spring and
summer, and ultimately fall, I see a lot of summer nights and fall mornings
that I want to spend with my family. I have two children, and most of you may
or may not know that we struggled and ached and survived so much to get those
two beautiful souls into our family. We wanted more kids, but we’re infinitely
grateful for the ones we have.
Last summer my kids finally got to the point where we’d
get in the car and they’d ask who’s pictures I was taking, even if we were just
on our way to the store. And it wasn’t excitement that filled their voices. It
was resignation. They knew that after we scoped out the location, I’d be soon
on my way to take those pictures, followed by hours sitting at the computer.
Mommy sitting at the computer means a mommy who can’t play.
And as you know, kids are only little for so long. My
daughter starts school next year, in 2017. And then I’ll be home alone with no
voices to fill the halls. No running feet in the kitchen. No little hands
patting my cheeks. I don’t want to miss this time at home with my babies. You
know, my thirty and fifty pound babies. :)
When I take your pictures, I devote my time and energy to
your family. And I love doing it. But with the way my business is growing, just
as things are, “getting good,” as they say, I find myself having to make a
decision. A commitment. To my dwindling time with my kids or to my role as a
professional photographer.
So this is my official sabbatical notice. I’m taking a
break from professional photography. I’m not quitting. I love it too much to
quit forever. I don’t intend to give it up forever. I intend to smother my kids
until they’re both in school full time. When my home is empty during the school
days, I’ll fill it with the laughter and joy from your smiling faces.
Thank you for everything.
Deborah Andreasen
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