One of the best parts of being a Photogragher is being able to meet new people, and seeing those clients who return to me year after year. When the portrait studio closed, I felt like I had no choice but to launch Crystalized Photography because there was no way that I could turn away and leave my clients who have become to mean so much to me.
When I first started Crystalized Photography all my indoor shoots were done in my dining room. I had wood floors, racks of my props and backgrounds, all behind my dining room table. I would use the natural light from my sliding door, and for each session I would move my table into my kitchen to make room for the sets. In the picture above is from the very first time that Lizbeth came to see me. She even submitted some of the images from that session to a monthly Cute kid contest and she won!
Over the years I have evolved and changed a few things. I stopped doing shoots in my dining room, I turned my basement into a studio and used it from newborns to small children. I was lucky enough to have clients who stayed with me over the years, including Lizbeth. I truly love my clients, but the ones who come to me year after year just hold a special spot in my heart! I grow a bond with every client on every session, so of course over the many sessions and years that bond grows stronger. One of the best parts of seeing return clients is watching their children grow up in front of my lens, watching their love story, and capturing the growth of their families.
I went through an awakening in late 2020 early 2021 and decided to make some changes. I wanted to be authentically me, do things that make my heart happy and fill my creative cup and not just with work but with my personal life as well. I felt like I was getting lost in the day to day work of everything and lost sight of what I was passionate about. I decided to focus on those things that light that fire inside of me. I started looking into education for photographers and met a few that changed everything for me!! Denise Birdsong and Alaynna Marr really opened my eyes and changed everything for me!
One of the hardest things for me when I decided to make changes, was knowing that I could not please everyone anymore. I knew that I would lose clients, even possibly those ones who have been clients for many years. It was the fear of losing those clients that held me back from being authentically me. I always want to please everyone, be what everyone wanted me to be, to be that photographer they seen on IG or Pintrest. I had to stay true to myself and needed to do what makes me happy as a person and a photographer.
Boudoir was what lit the fire again for me. My creative cup was over flowing and I was loving every second of it! I made a Millionaire robe, even though I had no experience with sewing. I also made the most beautiful goddess like wings. I was so happy when I got to use both of them on Lizbeth, because she looks like a million bucks and always looks like a goddess!!
Every single client means the world to me. There is no way that I could do what I love was not for each and every client who has blessed me with the opportunity to capture their moments and memories for them one picture at a time. Words cannot describe just how much clients like Lizbeth truly mean to me, for them to come back to me every year is the best blessing!
Since making the changes, I have noticed a few long time regular clients who have not returned to me this year, and it really hurts my heart. I know that I will no longer get to capture those memories for them, and watch their family grow in front of my lens any longer. But as sad as that makes me, It also makes me hopeful. Now I have the opportunity meet new clients, ones who resonate with me, love me for who I am, who Crystal is as a person and as a photographer.
I am thankful for each and every new and old client, they mean the world to me. I say to those who left, goodbye and thank you, and to the new clients I say, HEYYY GIRL HEYY!!
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