Often times when I tell people what I do for a living their eyes light up with curiosity. “So you work for a photography company?”, they ask. To which I reply, “Actually, I AM the photography company.”

So how did I become a small business owner/wedding photographer here in the buzzing city of Detroit, Michigan? Well… let me tell you all about it.

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When I was young warthooog… haha just kidding I just went to go see The Lion King!

For me, building a career as a wedding photographer really comes down to one thing - freedom. Freedom to create, freedom to enrich peoples lives with beautiful photographs, freedom to explore new ideas, freedom to fail and try again, but most importantly, freedom to dream big and pave a path for other creatives to do the same.

Granted I’m still working on that last part but Rome wasn’t built in a day amiright?

My interest in photography was sparked at a young age when my sweet Papa gifted me his Kodax 35mm film camera for my freshman year photography class. Little did I know that in that moment… Papa was handing me the gift of the rest of my life.

I spent every waking moment in that darkroom. Like, #obsessed. I started where any Photography 101 student does… taking pictures of street signs and graffiti, but soon found my way into the world of portraiture. Fast forward a few years to my college life at Michigan State University where I was originally working toward a Bachelor of Science (I wanted to be a veterinarian because you can’t make money as a photographer right?). I spent a few college years studying in Ecuador, Galapagos, Rome, and London looking for my calling - but found that everything simply pointed back to me and my camera.

So when I came back to the homelands of East Lansing, I dropped my Bachelor of Science and went full steam ahead into a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography. So there I was… a curious 23 year old with a fresh photography degree and cup full of uncertainty.

Then on Saturday May 17, 2014 I was hired as the assistant photographer for my very first wedding gig. This experience awakened a fire inside me I didn’t even know was there. The dresses, the flowers, the joy, the buzzing of family and friends, and the love between a bride and a groom! I felt most alive and in sync with myself and my camera that very moment. It truly changed my life and lit a fire in my heart that still burns today!

So, I hustled, I saved, I stumbled, I learned, but most importantly… I believed. The following wedding season I worked as a second photographer, absorbing knowledge and skill from my fellow photographer, networking ferociously… and in 2015 gave life to my very own wedding photography business, Light Garden Photography - personable, nature inspired wedding photography for outdoorsy couples.

And that’s that friends! The intimate details of how I came to stand where I am today - a wedding photographer, small business owner, and creative crusader.