What. A. Year.
Am I right?
This was Else Bartee Photography's first full calendar year in business and it was a wild ride. There was the obvious worldwide pandemic and I was also pregnant. I was so thankful to shoot up until 10 days before we had Sophia but then took 6 weeks off after to soak in life as a new mom and embrace our new life as a family of three. While 2020 brought major challenges for small business owners, I am so thankful for all of you and your support which allowed this business of mine to not only survive but grow more than I could have expected this year!
This blog post was originally intended to just highlight my favorite images from 2020 but as I went through countless images from this year, the main thing I noticed was growth. During my maternity leave I spent so much time snuggling our little girl but I also had a lot of downtime to daydream about what I wanted this business to turn into, do some planning, and take some education courses. I thought when I returned to work I would ease back into things but instead hit the ground running. Becoming a mom has taught me love in ways I could never have imagined and has only increased my passion for being able to capture love between my clients whether they are between family members or couples. I finally nailed down that vintage/film vibe in my work that gives me that reminds me of sitting upstairs in my parents house looking at film photos that are stored in shoe boxes and feel like I have been able to bring that feeling to life in my own work for my families and couples as well as that natural experience for them in front of the lens where they can focus on each other and I take care of the rest!
To everyone who supported me through booking me, sharing, liking, or commenting on my work, thank you all for a great 2020, I can't wait to see where 2021 takes us!
January- I started off the year flying out to Palm Springs, California to photograph a conference in January! I hadn't been back to California since I moved to Virginia when I was 3 years old. This was a little outside of my normal as I was taking headshots for attendees but I learned so much and im so glad I did this!
February- I did a sweet mother/daughter shoot and started booking up for the Spring!
Spring/ Beginning of Summer- Once our beaches opened back up, I was able to start booking again before going on maternity leave at the end of July!
Fall- I opened back up exactly 6 weeks postpartum and was sooo excited to get back to capturing memories for my couples and families! I feel like this is where you can see the biggest jump in my work into the winter!
Winter- Christmas minis were so fun this year! I was able to shoot both in Florida and in my little hometown in Virginia! Getting to shoot in Virginia was so special for me as I was able to photograph my sweet friends with their family, husbands, fiances, and boyfriends!