It’s been a while!…
It’s still January so that means it’s still the beginning of the year! I must admit, redoing my website has seemed like the most daunting task to complete in my entire life. I pushed this off for a year but I have finally completed it and I am so happy to share this with you all! I’d first like to thank you!! Thank you sooo much for supporting Hailey Photography LLC as I enter my tenth year shooting, and sixth year in business. Time flies when you’re having fun! And also when you’re learning, struggling, making mistakes and the endless tasks that comes with running a business. There’s a lot to note, but mainly I am extremely grateful that I, my business and you reading made it through Covid. What a time to be alive isn’t it! My experience the last three years has been quite a journey. 2019 was the busiest and most profitable year I had and I was very much looking forward to 2020! So much so that my husband and I decided end of 2019 that we wanted to build our family, and ending that year I found out we were pregnant! I was excited, nervous but felt as prepared as I think I could’ve been at the time. End of 2019 right before Christmas we experienced a miscarriage that honestly surprised me and made me feel, a lot during that week. After healing from that loss my husband and I still decided we’d move forward and just let nature take it’s course with no pressure. Well, kicking off 2020, and on the same day the late great Kobe Bryant died, we found out we were pregnant again! To be 100% honest, I didn’t believe it until I saw my baby on the ultrasound machine. “Ok, well, this was a lot sooner than I thought this would happen, but here we go!” I thought. If only we all knew what was going to happen a short 2 months later. Imagine how scary! Newly pregnant, NO work in sight, at all, the entire world shut down, away from my mom who was only able to experience my pregnancy through FaceTime…. Needless to say it was depressing! It truly was. I wasn’t sure if I’d now be able to comfortably afford my growing child, stuck at home away from friends and family, OH and morning sickness that had me feeling miserable my entire 1st trimester.
I am sharing all of this because I almost gave up on my career. There are tons of photographers, literally no one is doing ANYTHING right now, I feel too sick to even work. What am I going to do? I’m not sure what your religious/faith stance is but I knew I needed to pray, and be prayed for. Those close to me kept me encouraged, namely my mom and husband and I am forever indebted to them for that. I am SO happy I didn’t give up, so happy I kept my small seed of faith, so happy I still saw the light, even though it was extremely dull at times.
I secured my first studio in 2021. This has been a dream of mine since I started working in my mentor’s studio. After many situations quickly falling apart, I remained resilient until I found what I wanted. One late night full of extreme insomnia, I remember feeling sad again and just praying that God would show me the direction, ANY direction, that would bring me my own slice of Philadelphia, my own studio, and that night I found it.
My daughter is now two, my husband and I recently celebrated 5 years of marriage and are now on the hunt to find a home, and my mother relocated from Boston right after her 70th birthday to be near us to help with the baby and be the best grandmother possible. I’ve learned a lot, business and personally and overall know that you should never give up, and always stand up for yourself, even if it means lost relationships. Those and that which is meant to be will be. As I approach 35 this summer, I feel like my puzzle pieces are finally settling into what they should and I am deeply grateful to all forces and energies that have brought me to where I am today.
If you ever hired me, counseled me, offered advice, mentored me, referred me, I thank you so so much!! I am so excited for this year, and cannot wait to create beautiful images with you!
-Talya