Celebrating 8 Years of Business: A Look Back at Then & Now

People told me that running a business would be hard.

That most businesses fail within the first two years. And if not by then, they definitely do in the first five.

And here I am celebrating turning eight tomorrow (scroll below for some fun, then & now pictures!).

I can’t pretend to have claimed “success” in how a lot of the world would define it.
I would have had my first 6 figure year in 2020. And then the world fell apart with the pandemic and to an extent, so did I. 

But I can confidently say that I’ve tasted the joys of “success” in how I define it:

• Flexibility in schedule.
• The ability to make money creating art & connecting with people’s stories.
• A continued hunger for learning & becoming better and better.
• The opportunity to come alongside couples and preserve their legacy for future generations.
• To do & create work that matters.

I think back through the years and how it all started after losing my dream job and having mentors who, at the time, let me down in a big way. And how, through that pain, I had the courage to find a new path & a new destination.

I’ll never forget those days of waitressing to pay rent & starting my business in a small bedroom in Richmond, Virginia.

I’ll never forget quitting a desk job I hated to go road trip across the country to build my portfolio as a photographer.
By myself. In a car without cruise control.
The same summer my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and I was falling in love with Stephen.

I’ll never forget the first clients who took a chance on me.
And the first friend who hired me & paid in full.
Or the friend who was the hater that made me stronger & better in the end.

I could make a mountain out of the mistakes I made.
But I am so proud & grateful to say each one of them made me better.

More capable. More prepared. More seasoned.

I find myself, this year, humbled in the stretching “will this ever be right?” kind of ways and equally in the OH MY GOSH, wow-is-this-real-life ways too:

• Currently, I am in the middle of a large refresh on my branding & website presence – a project that has taken months longer than anticipated with a map that looks more like switchbacks & scribbles than an upward pointing arrow on a graph. *cringe smile*
• I am seeing the fruit of having invested in an opportunity to be coached and now, starting this fall, to become a coach within that very program for fellow photographers & event professionals. *puppy eyes smile*

A lot can change in a year. And I’m giddy with excitement to consider what this next year might bring professionally here in Southern California & beyond.

Thanks for being part of the journey & to each and every client, friend, follower, & family member who has been there throughout. Because of you, I can pursue this dream & create art that makes an impact on the world one photograph at a time.

Now, for a little look at the past & where it all started (*circa 2014 – 2018) with my first engagement session, wedding & self-portraits (ha)!

Then I discovered Lightroom editing presets & prime lenses and I *immediately* considered myself a professional. Ha!

Discovered the “dark & moody” & “adventure” side of the wedding industry and went along with that trail for a good 3.5 years before reassessing if it’s where I really felt like my true love for “fine art” would shine through (or obviously not at all). But that journey had a lot of incredible couples, George Washington mascots, wedding llamas and airplanes that were truly epic experiences that I’ll treasure forever! Around late 2018 I realized I wanted to create more fine art and adjust my editing to reflect more of what inspired me: Italy & Monet paintings. Slowly, over the course of the following year – and while still maintaining integrity with what already booked clients had come to expect of my style – I began tweaking each new session or wedding booking until I could fully phase out of “dark & moody” and into my deep-down-love for the “true to life,” style of editing & photographing.

This change challenged me to photograph better in-camera, master my settings and lighting and focus more on the relational connection with my couples.

I also wanted to go more to my roots of love for classical, fine art & European culture as much as possible through my photography expression.

2020 was the year, as previously mentioned, had all the trajectories for a wildly fulfilling year. And then the pandemic came, lockdown hit the wedding industry hard, rescheduling started happening and I also needed to consult legal help with a few really rough contract circumstances as a result.

It was also the year when Stephen and I – who had by that time been a husband and wife duo team for 4 years – decided it would be best for me to continue on with the photography solo as he pursued other passions & goals. It was a decision that was the right one for us, but the initial emotional toll was devastating. I needed that year to recover & reconnect with who I am as an artist & entrepreneur, without him on the front-facing team.

I am so, so grateful for those hard decisions because of how far it’s brought me to now: living in SoCal shooting & rebranding as a luxury destination wedding photographer for all the hopeless romantics out there.

The best is truly yet to come!

Thanks for enjoying memory lane with me & celebrating these 8 years along the way. Now off to Paso Robles for some much needed R&R with my love! I’m raising a glass of Austin Hope in your honor!

To view recent work & love stories, you might be interested in checking out:

• A Sunset Palos Verdes Engagement Session – Mariah & Raul
• Finding Love in the Desert – A Joshua Tree National Park Couple’s Session
• From LA to NYC – A Destination Tented Wedding in Long Island New York
• Intimate Wedding Editorial at Avensole Winery in Temecula, California

Always,

–Tara M

TARA IS AN AWARD-WINNING PHOTOGRAPHER SERVING LUXURY WEDDINGS & COUPLES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA & WANDERLUST DESTINATIONS.

Now Booking 2023 & 2024 weddings & couples: Inquire here for details.