I Moved!

Well, this is long overdue, but after finishing my degree at Pittsburg State University in May of 2018, I decided to start a new journey in Joplin, Missouri later that December.

I lived in Carl Junction, Missouri for a few years back in the day. So I’m not completely out of sorts here. I made the big decision to leave my hometown of Goodland, Kansas back in December, because I felt like I needed to expand my horizons a bit. Don’t get me wrong - I love my small, simple farm town in Western Kansas, but I wanted more opportunities to make new friends, grow more of a diverse portfolio, explore new locations, and learn more about my industry in a larger community.

Back in Goodland, I knew pretty much everyone. I grew up there, my parents (& their parents) grew up there. It wasn’t hard to get my name out there, and it wasn’t difficult to showcase my work. A lot of my clients were family friends, friends of friends, etc. Of course, all of them were amazing, and I am so grateful to have gained such a following there, and hope to continue working with all of them. However, I felt like I reached a limit - there’s only so many people in Northwest Kansas, and the drive to literally anywhere outside of Goodland with a population over 2,000 takes a hot minute to get to.

Honestly, I felt like I had peaked!

I didn’t have a lot of motivation after coming home from college, my marketing and advertising was not paying off, I was shoving discounts in people’s faces, my creativity and self-confidence was at an all-time-low. I just thought I could really do more than what I was able to do at the time.

Could have just been that I’m impatient, too. I tend to get too ahead of myself.

Anyways, I wanted clients that hired me specifically because they loved my work! Not because of my prices, not because they know my family, or that there weren’t “very many options”. I wanted to prove myself worthy of couples and families that have never heard of my name before. I wanted to really show what I was capable of on a larger scale.

Now, Joplin isn’t a huge step in terms of city-life, or diversity, but it is for someone coming from a farm town with 4,000 people. And it’s a huge step for me, to try new things, meet new people, and learn from other creative people.

I’ve already become friends with some incredible photographers in this area, and I’ve got some weddings I am photographing for some amazing couples coming up here in Joplin. It’s been difficult to gain traction, I must say though. There’s several well-known, experienced and extremely talented photographers here! It’s refreshing to see all the different styles and perspectives from other artists - it’s inspiring, motivating, and exciting to be in a city that is more involved and supportive of the arts (also how I feel about PSU!)

With all of this being said, I know that with some hard work and dedication to my craft, I feel like I will be where I want to be in time. I just wanted to give you guys a small glimpse into my life, and why I decided to take my leap of faith after I graduated. For now, I’m having fun learning new things, seeing from new perspectives, and giving the awesome clients that I do have an authentic and memorable experience with me.