This mission trip was so awesome that I can't even begin to tell you the story in one blog.... so I'm gonna split it up into a few! This trip was way too short but it was super emotional. I can't wait to go back, and next time I'm going to make it a longer trip!Read More
I got caught trying to run my business without God centered in the middle of it. Once I finally let Him in I saw confidence in myself, the stress went away, and God gave me a gift that I could have never imagined He would give me!Read More
Sometimes having faith in God seems to be a little tough. Other times you can feel your faith in Him growingRead More
This couple has been so unbelievably supportive of me and my business. Of course, they are my sister and brother in law so they kinda have to. Not only are they amazing models but they are amazing role models. This christian couple has helped shape me to who I am today.
They have bought a house and now they are on their way to adopting a baby from Nicaragua. They are the reason why I love missions, they are the reason why I have a love for Nicaragua. They are the reason why I sponsor a child in Nicaragua.
Working with them is always so easy and so much fun. If you haven't already been following their story make sure you visit her website to hear more about the adoption process and to also check out her art!
Lifestyle sessions capture the real interactions with your loved ones. I love documenting people who are important to me. Natural interactions always make for the best pictures!Read More
God has a plan for my future. Right now I don't know what it is but I have faith in Him. I believe that right now God wants me to rest and be with Him.Read More
I was born with the love of photography!
When I was about 8 years old I was at a church sleep over and I took a group photo of my friends and leaders and one of the women told me "you're just like your mom! You're going to be a photographer!" That statement has always stuck with me.
I've always had an eye for photography. When I drive back roads or I'm hanging out with friends my eyes are always looking for the perfect photograph. For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to be a photographer and since I was not handed a $2,000 camera I have had to work to build my brand.
At times (like today) I feel discouraged when I see people take awesome pictures and start a photography career with a blink of an eye! I have to remind myself that I have 2 jobs and I'm a full time student. Sometimes launching a business and building your brand doesn't happen over night.
For everyone who feels discouraged when comparing themselves to others in their field I want to give you some advice. STOP looking at competition. START looking at inspiration.
I also want to encourage you. It's awesome if you can start a business with ease and no stress, but it's also awesome when you have to work for it! It feels so much more rewarding when you book your sessions and even more amazing when you book up a whole month!
Most people have to work for their careers and passions, and others have it handed to them. It's such a blessing if it is handed to you and I'm not bashing you if that is your situation! I just want to encourage everyone who is struggling to get there. It's normal! Most people have to work their booties off to get to the top! I'm right here with you!
Just remember, stay strong. You got this. Keep working and don't lose sight of your goal.
Mothers day is just around the corner! Are you ready?
Do you have a gift in mind? How are you going to show your mom how much you love her?
What about with a family portrait session?
Get all dressed up and get your picture taken with mom! We will have an awesome dance party, lots of laughing, and plenty of moving around!
Already have a little gift for her? Well this is a great way to add a little something to your gift! Maybe a photo session, flowers and a nice dinner is just what she needs!
Maybe take a day trip to Charleston, the greatest city on the planet, and we can do a lifestyle photo session while you go on an adventure in the city!
Photo sessions can be in the comfort of your home, or in your favorite ice cream shop or pizza joint! Lifestyle sessions are perfect for a much more relaxed and natural photo sessions! We can start off the session in your matching jammies and end it in your stylish outfits of the day!
I can't wait to hear how YOU want to celebrate Mother's Day!
I absolutely loved spending time with these two! I also love that I get to call them the Kinders now! I still can't believe that they are married! When I told my boyfriend that I was going to do a shoot with them his first words were "Oh good! They are a really photogenic couple". He is so right! This couple is gorgeous!
When someone suggested that I should do couple sessions with friends and family to build my portfolio and gain practice I knew I should ask these gorgeous people! I knew they would give me real smiles and genuine laughs! They love to make each other laugh and I had so many opportunities to see the real love!
The sun kept hiding behind the clouds and every time it came back out Jonnie would shush me and Beth so that we could get back to work! I had so much fun talking with them and catching up that we would get distracted and pause from the photoshoot. They are such amazing models and people!
This newly wed couple is so awesomely awesome! They both finally had two days off the first time in forever and they chose to spend part of it with me! This couple is so generous and sweet. I had such a blast doing this photo session with them. Not only did they agree to this session so that I could build my portfolio but they also donated to the Doors to Freedom fundraiser!
I'm so thankful to have amazing friends and family with such amazing hearts! When I announced that a group of us were going to Nicaragua everyone was so supportive!
While we are in Nicaragua we will be:
- 2-3 construction days (usually working on a house or church in the local community around the farm)
- A VBS outreach for kids in the local churches held at the farm one morning
- A hospital visit, praying bedside with patients in a poor public hospital in Managua
- Observe and or participate in our teaching English classes
- Possible ministry outreach at our local elementary school
- Home visits (we make home visits with a bucket of food supplies to families in need per recommendation of their pastor)
I will also be documenting the people that we meet and the relationships that we build together and with Christ. My dream is to be a photojournalist that travels the world sharing the Lord's Word and this is an amazing way for me to start my dream! I'm so blessed to have this opportunity!
Ways that you can support our trip is by joining us in prayer over:
- Our safety as we travel
- Our faith as we rush to raise the money and get plane tickets
- Our words that we speak and the relationships that we build during our trip
- The ability to see through eyes like Jesus and to have a heart like Him
We are in full fundraising mode now! Tucker (my brother) and I have posted our Go Fund Me page and would appreciate it if you would share it with others! Soon we will also be selling awesome T-shirts as a fundraiser!
Other ways that I will be fundraising:
- Photoshoots (Rates can be discussed)
- Possibly bracelets? (Based off of the response I get from this post I may sell some super cool/cheaper bracelets that I've seen other people do for fundraisers)
My boyfriend, Link Hunter, and my good friend, David Wildman, are also from Columbia and are joining us on this trip. Please keep them in your prayers and if you have any manual labor that you would like the boys to do in exchange of a donation that would be greatly appreciated! ;)
Your support will not go unnoticed! Power in prayer, especially groups of prayer, is absolutely amazing! Thank y'all for everything! Please contact me if you have any questions about the fundraisers or our trip!
I've been talking about our Doors to Freedom fundraiser for a while now. Sadly I only have two people who have emailed me about signing up. I'm praying that God will provide the people and that this fundraiser will be successful! My original goal was to raise $200, but I felt like that was low balling it and it played down God's ability to provide for this organization. Now I'm jumping in with full fledge faith here!
My goal is $800. Which means that we need to fill up every spot! If every single person donates about $45 we can reach that goal!
For those of you who missed my previous blogs, videos, posts about the fundraiser let me tell you about it:
- God blessed me with the gift of giving and the talent of photography.
- In January I started really searching for a way to give to God's people here in the low country while using photography.
- Long story short because of the Passion Conference, my heart was set on human trafficking. I did some research and I found Doors to Freedom here in Summerville.
- I started announcing that I was offering the sessions at the end of January and I got a few responses but no commits.
- Then I contacted Doors to Freedom to let them know I was doing this fundraiser and they asked if we could partner up, and I said YES!
We are all very excited to be doing this and it makes my heart leap with joy that I get to help make a difference! Sadly, my heart stops leaping when I look at the sign up sheet...
These women need a home to help them transition out of slavery. They need someone who is going to take care of them and make them feel safe. They need medical attention and someone to help them get through this nightmare. Doors to Freedom provides those things. It brings me to tears every time I try to write about these women. It makes me so angry that we have people in this world that would harm these beautiful souls.
Will you help change the world? Will you help build them a home? Will you help them see that the whole world is not evil? Will you help them see the light at the end of that dark tunnel?
Thank you for reading this. I pray that this will motivate people to sign up. To learn more about this organization and these women go to Doors to Freedom website.
Please click below to check out the times, then contact me and I will sign you up.
Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. -Romans 12:13
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. -Luke 6:38
To all the people who are too scared to embrace the gift that God gave you, too scared to show who you really are, too scared to be bold, God gave you a talent on purpose. Use it, embrace it, love it!
I'm so thankful for my new friend Reagan! Without her no one else would have pushed me to photograph what I love!
For the past 2 years I have been photographing what I thought my professor would like. She would constantly tell me to do nature photography because my subjects "didn't work well with me". Because of her I never put my heart into my work so my images were never very strong. Today Reagan reminded me that school is suppose to be a time for us to learn who we are as artist and photographers! For spring break I'm going to fully embrace the style that I love! I've mentioned before that I'll be traveling and sharing the Gospel during break, and I'm going to use that as my final project.
I'm excited to get rid of this fear of photographing strangers. I'm also really excited to be sharing His amazing Word! So what if my professor doesn't like my concept? This is where my heart is. I think my love for sharing His word and enjoying time with His people will show in my photographs.
I hope I motivate some of you to go out there and share the Gospel or to conquer a fear that you have. I pray that this helps someone embrace who they really are and to not let someone else control you.
Hey friends! I'm so excited to be going to Nicaragua! Not only am I excited to be doing amazing things in the name of Jesus but I'm also excited to see the Lathrops! I'm so stoked to serve God along side Tucker and Mika!
I can not wait to get there but I have to raise the money first! I have so many different ideas for fundraising and I can't wait to do them all! I'll come out with some more information about them soon, but in the mean time let me tell you what I'm planning!
- Selling super soft, super cool T-shirts
- Fundraiser night (location: ?)
- Photo sessions (money going to trip)
- Garage sale (not super successful, but I have stuff I don't need and it makes a little money!)
- Babysitting (money going to trip)
- Bracelets (I always buy cool bracelets for fundraisers so I think it's a good idea!)
Those are all my ideas for fundraising and I'm really excited to do them! Keep your eyes peeled for the amounts needed, our goal dates, our fundraiser and garage sale dates, and for the awesome T-shirts that we will be selling!
We ask that everyone prays that we will raise the money for this trip and that we will have faith that God will provide the money for us! Please pray that everyone will be able to go on this trip and that jobs or school will not keep us from going and spreading the good news!
Thank you friends for supporting us and for praying for us!
God is just placing one exciting adventure in front of me after the next! It's truly amazing to see what happens when you are faithful to the King of Kings!
3 things come to my mind during this exciting time
#1 "Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4
-I have delighted in the Lord and he has given me the desires of my heart, which is to share His love with the world while using my talent, photography.
#2 "let God be your focal point and He will guide you."
-Boy oh boy has He guided me!
#3 "A dream comes when there are many cares." - Ecclesiastes 5:3
-Man alive! My dreams are totally coming true!
My dreams of using photography to share His word are coming true as we speak!
First, I started a fundraiser with Doors to Freedom, where I am using my talent of photography and my love for giving to raise money for the organization. Second, I get to give AGAIN to Doors to Freedom by putting a photography session in their silent auction in April. Third, I get to go to Nicaragua in July!
God has given me the gift of giving and I absolutely love it! And I am so thankful that he has blessed me with the talent of photography because now I get to capture the amazing stories of God's children in Nicaragua!
I can't believe that I get to take my little brother, my boyfriend, one of my best friends from high school, and my amazingly talented friend to Nicaragua with me!
I can't wait to tell y'all more about this trip and the awesome ways that you can help us get there! Keep your eyes peeled for more info!