Isn't it ironic?
It's certainly true that most young couples begin to plan for their future when they get married. Bryan and I were no different. You start to think about the big stuff (for us this started in college, so there were more decisions) - what firms will we work at? when will we buy a home? where should we travel to? when should we have kids? how should we set up our finances?
Of course nothing ever goes as planned, but I've certainly learned a big lesson: "Never Say Never". Anyone else singing Justin Bieber now? No, just me? Ok. Our first big mistake: We decided that we wouldn't buy a "fancy camera" until we had kids. Well, that didn't stick, because we planned an awesome trip to Italy after one year of being married and it just didn't seem right to not have a good camera. So we bought our first DSLR. Then, we decided it was fun to take pictures, but it would probably just stay a very low key kind of hobby. No extra lenses, etc. Wrong again. Bryan needed more zoom, so why not buy the big fancy lens so that you don't have to have two lenses? Because why would you ever want to carry around more than one lens. Wrong again. After the zoom lens, then we needed the indoor lens. After the indoor lens we needed the upgraded DSLR that was almost professional grade and could shoot video. Do you follow where I'm going with this? We were wrong a lot. We were so wrong that we not only bought a camera before we had a kid, but we have now also decided to start a photography business. That's right - I would like to present to you Stillwagon Photography.
It was actually a really easy decision to take this leap of faith. Shortly after we got back from Paris, it was evident that Bryan's pictures were powerful. Not only to us because they reminded us of what a great time we had, but others also told us how much the pictures evoked emotions with them. It seemed like a true waste of talent to not do more. It was also apparent that Bryan would prefer to spend his freetime either outdoors or shooting photography. So why not combine those two things?? (Pretty genius if you ask me.) There's never a "right time" to do something like this, so, here we are!
Before you jump to any conclusions - no one is quiting their job. This is a purely weekend related adventure. Bryan is the photographer extroidinarie, CEO, and the brains behind the whole machine and I am the CFO/on-site assistant/Director of Design. :) (I give myself a new title on a weekly basis. Hey, with two people there are a lot of roles to fill....) We are both so excited for this new journey!! The feedback we've gotten thus far has been incredibly encouraging.
I've always been proud of my hubby, but with the launch of this business I have to say I couldn't possibly be more proud of him. This guy has spent almost every evening and weekend since Christmas researching, designing, practicing, and talking about this business. It is rare to see someone with so much passion for something! I am so happy that he now has a fun outlet for his talent.
Obviously, we haven't gotten here without a little bit ton of help from our friends, and I would like to specifically thank the Watsons and the Andersons for tirelessly helping us in this new venture. Rusty and Kirsten have not only driven around Atlanta photo scouting with us, but they have also poured over website ideas, editing tips, and given us constant feedback on things we desperately needed another set of eyes on. Also, we credit much of the graphic appeal of the website and the facebook design to Alex. He designed the logo, came up with the colors/textures, as well as helped Bryan on numerous occasions with design questions. Without you guys, we'd still be a few months behind our scheduled launch date of March 1. We cannot thank you enough, and to anyone reading this: if you ever need graphic design assitance - Alex is your man, and Rusty is your go-to person for any type of video needs. Check them out!
So what are you waiting for?? Go check out the website, twitter, and facebook pages! And tell all your friends b/c we have a March referral reward (click on the "Specials" tab)!
