I’m a firm believer that people come in and out of each other’s lives for a reason. For me, my journey into wedding photography began when I emailed a mass of wedding photographers in the area to see how they got their start, and only one person gave me an answer that was more than the “follow your dreams” type of fluff. His name is Mike Lesnick, and he ended up mentoring me for my first year or two in the industry. If it weren’t for Mike, I don’t think I’d be doing what I do today. I also met Terra Dawn at that first wedding I shot with Mike, and found in her another mentor- Terra was the biggest artistic influence in my first couple of years, and Mike was the go-to for all things technical. I was SO incredibly lucky to be able to call Mike & Terra my friends, mentors, and eventual wedding photographers at Matt & I’s big day.

Having my experiences with Mike & Terra in mind, I knew from the beginning of my career that I was going to want to pour into somebody in the same way that my mentors invested in me. Teaching workshops was definitely a goal, but I wanted to find ONE person to push, to learn with, and to watch grow. I’ve known Kaitlyn since… well, I think we first met when I was in 3rd grade at Reston Conservatory Ballet, and then we re-met when Kaitlyn started at Radford and joined CRU. I’ve been watching her passion and talent grow over the past year or two, and at some point this year we started on Skype dates every month or so to talk about her business and find ways to help her grow and mature as a photographer.

This girl is TALENTED. I am SO proud of how far Kaitlyn’s come over the past year- her work has grown leaps and bounds! I was down in Radford last week to present to a Communication class so Kaitlyn & I scheduled some time for new headshots for her website. We started with both Kaitlyn & her husband David so we could talk about posing as well, and then dove into some solo portraits of just Kaitlyn.

I love how trendy they are. Hanging out with David & Kaitlyn gave me an insatiable urge to go out and get a Harry Potter tattoo. But then I remember I have needle phobia so that plan was scrapped.

Kaitlyn, your ice-blue eyes are crazy gorgeous, and you have the world’s cutest smile!

You can check out Kaitlyn’s blog HERE and stay up to date with her Facebook page HERE! Happy Wednesday!