Each photograph that is taken is a creative masterpiece of your story. Portraits are a window to who you are and where you come from.  But what if I don’t know who I am or where I come from? How is an image going to show me all that I desire to see?

There is a divine calling that pulls me to a direction that may not be considered part of the norm in Portrait Photography. Yes, I love Outdoor Photography, Studio Photography, Creative Art Photography, Underwater Photography and Videography.  My long time goal is to have my images look like paintings. But here’s the catch…..

I want to be a motivational speaker and use my photography work to share powerful messages. I use to be afraid and insecure to chime into conversations and share what I do professionally if the topic was talked about.  When someone was talking about how much they didn’t like their hairdresser or how their last photography experience was, I hesitated to chime in the conversation and tell people that ” I’m a professional hairdresser and photographer and I would be happy to serve you.” 

Those words were always at the tip of my tongue, but I could never express it out loud. I convinced myself that if I told people what my profession is, I was bragging. I didn’t want to come across stuck up, little miss know it all, so I kept silent at times, until someone asked; “What do you do for a living?” I would  take a deep breath of relief that they asked and tell them that I’m a professional hairdresser and photographer. I didn’t understand why I felt this way, especially because I love connecting and meeting new people.

Weird right? Was I afraid of rejection, being told “No thank you.” My mind wandered and created scenarios that didn’t even happen.

This was a huge block for me. Did I have some insecurities? Was I worried about being judged? Not liked?

 Absolutely Yes.

 But I felt like I was riding the brakes, I was trying to move forward but hesitant in my approach.

Where is Brene Brown when you need her? This is a moment where I’m sure she would say; “Britney, Just Dare to Lead! Gosh, there are times where I just want to be bold like her, and not care what people think. 

I strive to be a motivational speaker. I started a podcast in 2020 called Sassy Mama and Her Life. I took my personal Instagram Page  name and thought I would create a podcast about MY LIFE!  My podcast filled my cup, it gave me excitement and something to look forward to sharing the next big topic. I felt like I was serving my listeners with relatable life experiences, and that in of itself made me so happy. 

Everything fell into place and my podcast took off.   

But I stopped.

I recognized that I was taking time out of my photography education to create my podcast., and I wanted to grown in my photography first. I think going through many self value lessons in my photography class has opened me up more to not care what people think. I was overcoming the thick cloud of confusion and daily worries of “what should I post?” ” Will they like this?” ” What if people don’t share this?”  I felt like I was over coming my mental blocks through my photography self value classes, and as I was over coming that hurdle, my desire to speak started to burn within me. 

 I just don’t care what others think of me anymore; well I do care, but not for all the drama and made up thoughts that I was creating for myself. I want to be a motivational speaker and I want to inspire others through my photography work, and my words. My desire is to stand on stage and impact people through my words and share my story through my images that I have taken from the past, present and what I want to create in the future. 

Brene Brown said; ” With an adventurous heart, and the right maps we can travel anywhere and never fear losing ourselves, even when we don’t know where we are.” 

Deep down inside we all have some type of an adventurous heart. We are searching for our ” right maps” that we can use to travel anywhere and never fear of losing ourselves. We should ask ourselves; “Do we know who we are ? And furthermore do we know where we are?” 

Has that thought ever crossed your mind to have a connection with yourself?  I mean truly understanding who you are, what you want, and how you can achieve big dreams? These are a few questions to think about if you have a connection with yourself. When we truly find and connect with ourselves, we are seeing how God see’s us. 

Are you struggling to find that connection? Take a moment and think about that  Supreme being you could connect with. He knows you better than you know yourself.

Have you ever thought of connecting and having a relationship with God? Maybe you already do, and that’s fantastic,  and if you don’t, it is never too late to start. Maybe in order to connect with yourself, you need to build a relationship and connect with the Lord. In the end, we become stronger and understand ourselves more, which then fills our cup and we have more to give and strive to connect more intentionally with others around us. 

I stopped my podcast and didn’t realize how much I loved doing it. And when I started to focus more on photography, I felt a little tongue tide. I assumed that in order to grow in my business, I could ONLY talk about photography and nothing else. So there I was, riding the breaks but for a different reason.

I came to a screeching stop and thought; “Who said I can only  talk about photography?” I placed my own made up restrictions in who I SHOULD be instead of who I NEEDED to be.  When I realized God not only gave me the gift of doing hair and photography, he also gave me the gift of speaking. Not just speaking about photography, but speaking and CONNECTING with my audience.

Though I am not perfect in speech, I do love speaking. It’s my outlet to getting to know people and what their stories are. When I can add a bit of glam with hair and makeup and snap a few shots (or maybe a 100 ) of my client to share their stories, I am overcome with joy in what I have just given to someone that they can cherish for a lifetime. 

When I started to understand on how I can incorporate all of these gifts together, I will be honest, I was excited and terrified all at the same time. I am always having conversations in my head with God on what I could do better, guide me through my decisions, etc. 

“Through Faith, all things are possible.” It may feel scary and uneasy, but sometimes we need to just JUMP, EXPERIENCE OUR JOURNEY, FAIL, and TRY AGAIN! 

I’m going to ask you to stop for a moment and look in the Mirror. Look at that individual staring at you on the other side. Hold still, capture this image in your mind, as if a photographer just took a picture of you.

Stare at this image of yourself. Who do you see? Who have you become? Do you like what you see?

 Let me tell you something; You’re the women that God foresaw. He see’s who you are in the mirror. Let go of all the hard judgement you have on yourself, and be free. Do what speaks to you. Share what comes to your heart. Live life to its fullest.  

As a photographer I desire to take powerful images of women to show them what God foresaw in them. A woman of Strength, A woman of Courage, A woman of Endearment, A woman of Faith, A woman of Virtue and Knowledge, A woman of Leadership, A woman of Love, and A woman of Value.  This is my purpose. This is what gives me Joy; to serve me clients whole heartedly through my work. The journey of life is messy, but I’m going through the mess and experiences to achieve what I desire and love to do; Connect through Photography, and Speak from the heart.

Hugs To you my Friend Love- Britney