I’ve dreamed of building sand castles with these littles as long as I can remember. Life is beautiful, enjoy the little moments and go do crazy things. 🌊🥰 
I can’t even explain how at home this feels. 🌎🏝🐟🌊 I grew up with a pool, playing mermaids, always in the ocean... and after I moved- I swore I would live near the ocean again and jump in with the fish anytime I wanted. Took longer than expected- but here we are. This is our new home for the time being and we are so happy. The kids are loving it, (we’re all loving it), and it still doesn’t feel quite real. We dove with the fishies today, laughed with our kids in the sand, hung out with our amazing new friends, played, got some glorious sunshine, and all is well. Yesterday was a really scary day waiting on news from my dads heart surgery (he is doing well!)- but being in the water makes everything seem better somehow. It’s all going to be okay. Enjoy every day. Life is short. Pura Vida. ❤️🥰 
One week in Costa Rica down... countless to go. ❤️⠀ ⠀ Here's what we've learned so far:⠀ ⠀ - This was HARD, but 100% worth it. 🙏🏻⠀ ⠀ - You don't need as much as you think you do. 🤙🏻⠀ ⠀ - No matter how hard you try and pack- you'll pack some of the stupidest things and forget some really important things. Neither really matter. 😜⠀ ⠀ - We probably would have died without having @maddienicholephoto tag along and help us get here. Thank God for that beautiful soul. 😇⠀ ⠀ - Our kids will probably learn Spanish faster than we will. 🤯⠀ ⠀ - The vibe here really is different. Nobody is ever in a rush. I'm learning the art of CHILL and it's so necessary and amazing. 🏝⠀ ⠀ - There are a lot more bugs and scary animals than we thought- but I guess they get used to crocs, scorpions & snakes here just like we get used to moose, snakes & bears in Montana... you just try and stay away, and you can't live in fear. 🦂⠀ ⠀ - Doing something new and scary is invigorating and so exciting... we just decided to jump and figure it out later. It's working out great so far. 🤩⠀ ⠀ - Life really is too short to be scared... we hear that all the time, but actually DOING something about it makes you realize how many beautiful adventures and memories await if you would just take that leap of faith. Chase what sets your soul on fire. You'll never regret it. 🌎⠀ ⠀ Many more lessons to be learned, and memories to be shared... love you all! Thanks for being a part of this journey with us. ❤️ 
As you all know, @maddienicholephoto is taking over the senior tribe for this next class of girls (class of 2022) coming in! I have been asked if I am still shooting seniors and/or branding shoots and YES I AM! I have limited availability from July-September this year so reach out ASAP if you want a spot! So excited to come back and see you all when we return from Costa Rica! Soooo, back to Maddie and the tribe... I am sending out an invite for any current junior to be a part of it! It’s going to be AMAZING and these girls will have the best experience with her. She is an amazing human. She lives for boosting the self confidence of these young girls, giving them amazing adventures, and helping them build a solid community of friendships, positivity, volunteer work and insane amounts of fun. Shoot her a FB or Instagram message to jump in and RSVP to the the virtual zoom meeting tomorrow or Tuesday! In the meeting you’ll hear all about what she has planned, see if it’s a perfect fit, then sign up if you’re in! So excited for the lucky girls that get to be a part of this!!!! Share this post RIGHT NOW with any current junior you know in Billings and surrounding areas! Tag them or send this in a message. Thank you all for the love & support you’ve shown me and my business over the years. I would SO appreciate it if you showed that love & support to Maddie as she works her tail off to continue this business and help these amazing senior girls out! Have an amazing day everyone! Love you! 
I always tell others to be brave and live a life they love, but sometimes it's hard to take your own advice. 🤪⠀ ⠀ I saw this quote that said "If you dont like where you live, move... you're not a tree." 🌴⠀ ⠀ The thing is... I'm pretty sure i'm allergic to the cold. 😂 I just really don't enjoy it. Especially now that I’ve had this lovely back pain- cold just makes it so much worse. I would live in flip flops and tank tops if I could. So... after talking with Matt and the kiddos we decided none of us enjoy winters so why would we keep doing this to ourselves!? ⠀ ⠀ So... before you freak out about us moving- we’re not. However... we are going on an extended trip to Costa Rica to be in the sunshine this winter. We leave in 2 weeks. (Just pray the borders stay open for us!) ✈️⠀ ⠀ We’re packing, selling stuff, moving out of our house, starting fresh, and looking forward to doing something a little “crazy”. ⠀ ⠀ The thing is... when I think about this, it’s not crazy at all. What’s crazy to me is staying too “safe”, never exploring this incredible world, never leaving your comfort zone, and living a life you aren’t crazy passionate about because it’s the “easier” thing that you’re expected to do. 😬⠀ ⠀ On that note... I’ve also made the really hard choice to let go of my senior tribe in Billings this year. It’s been my life for over a decade, and I’m grateful for every second of it. I have had the most incredible adventures and shoots with these girls, but to be able to commit to my family and our dreams, I can’t commit to doing this if I can’t fully be in it. 😢⠀ ⠀ It would crush me to see it completely go away- so I’m extremely excited to be passing it onto @maddienicholephoto. I was 22 when I started it 12 years ago, and she is 22 as she takes it over. Such perfect timing. She is so perfect for this, loves these girls as much as I do, and is already planning the best year ever for the next crew. To every girl that’s been a part of it, I love you. I am so grateful for our memories, and I will miss this so much. ⠀ ⠀ As for me and my fam... we’ll be soaking up some Central American sunshine for the next 5/6 months as (continued in comments)... 
Merry Christmas, everyone. Hope you all had a wonderful day. I know Christmas looked a lot different for many of you this year, but I hope you found beauty, love and gratitude no matter where you were or who you were with. Sometimes it’s harder to see- but it surrounds us everyday. Love you all! 
Yeah, it’s been a tough one. Here’s 20 lessons I learned in 2020.⠀ ⠀ What a year it has been. 😱🧻🦠🐝💣⠀ ⠀ What is something you learned this year? Add to the list- I want to know! ⠀ ⠀ 1. Learn to surrender when plan A, B, and C don’t happen. Sometimes things don’t happen so we can learn some amazing lessons. 👏🏻⠀ 2. Slowing down by force instead of choice can actually be a huge blessing. Soak in the slow. It never lasts. 😌⠀ 3. When one door shuts, 100 more open. Go try something new- it’s fun! 🚪⠀ 4. Difficult times bring people together or tear them apart. Choose wisely. 🫂⠀ 5. Fear destroys so many relationships, dreams, and people... it’s okay to fear, but we need to learn to fight that fear with faith & courage. 🥷⠀ 6. Release resentment, forgive, and move on. ⌛⠀ 7. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow, so live fully today. 🌎⠀ 8. Kids grow up way too fast. Don’t miss their childhood because you’re so focused on the future. 👨👩👧👦⠀ 9. Happiness is up to you. It’s not what happens to us, it’s how we react to it. 🥰⠀ 10. You don’t need to be productive ALL the time. ✍🏻⠀ 11. Forget about the “norm”. Forget about what people say you “should do”. You know what you should do, (even if it sounds crazy) so just GO DO IT. 🤩⠀ 12. It’s way better to regret something you did. Awful to regret what you didn’t do. 🤔⠀ 13. Failure is a part of success. If you’re not failing sometimes, you’re being too safe. ⛑⠀ 14. The power of prayer is an amazing thing. 🙏⠀ 15. Things can be taken from you without warning, enjoy them while you have them. 💫⠀ 16. You don’t know what you got til it’s gone. 🥀⠀ 17. People go insane when they think toilet paper will run out. 🧻😱⠀ 18. People act rude, mean & strange when they’re scared, love them anyways. Everyone is struggling with their own battles. 😔⠀ 19. Other people will always have opinions. If they're not living a life you respect or want, be very cautious of taking those opinions seriously. 👋🏻 ⠀ ⠀ 20. Be optimistic even when the world seems like it’s falling apart. Don’t let yourself fall apart with it. Fight for what you believe in and when you have doubts about anything, remember that LOVE CONQUERS ALL. ❤️🌎✌🏻 
So you don’t know what your “niche” is?⠀ Imma help you out. 🤙🏻⠀ ⠀ First off... you need to know WHY finding your niche/specialty is so important. 🔥⠀ ⠀ When you are known for being an expert at something specific, people want you more. People value you more. You become the go to person for that niche, and competition fades. 👏🏻⠀ ⠀ The trick here is to find what you truly love. What sets your soul on fire. Where you feel passion and purpose. This is what you should be doing more of. 👈🏻⠀ ⠀ I know it seems scary to pick a niche, because you feel like you’ll either choose the wrong one, or you’ll lose other clients that aren’t in that niche. I get it... I felt the same way. 😅⠀ ⠀ But the moment I went all in and chose to shoot what I really loved... it became so much more fulfilling, so exciting, and so full of passion and purpose. After months of hard work at building a brand around my specialty, my business took off like I could never have imagined. ☀️⠀ ⠀ Here is a quick lesson on how to find your niche⬇️:⠀ ⠀ ⠀ 1️⃣ Make a list of your passions in life, and what you feel really strongly about. ⠀ 2️⃣ Make a list of your 5 favorite photo shoots you’ve ever had, and why.⠀ 3️⃣ Make a list of the least favorite 5 photo shoots you’ve had and why. ⠀ 4️⃣ Make a list of long term goals in your life. More travel? Help mentor teen girls? Help families bond? Make enough money to donate tons of money to your favorite charity? Be with your kids more? Whatever it is- write it down. ⠀ 5️⃣ Now go through # 2 & 3 and see WHY you liked and disliked these shoots. Are there patterns? Was it the location, the clients, the adventure, how you felt after... etc? ⠀ 6️⃣ Now write down 2 top ideas for what you think you would love to specialize in and make a good and bad column for each. This helped me choose seniors over weddings because the good lists were equal but the bad list on the wedding side made me realize I would be a lot more free and adventurous shooting seniors. ⠀ 7️⃣ Now start finding ideal clients (friends, family etc) and shoot them to get images you want to shoot in your portfolio. ⠀ 8️⃣ Last step: learn as you go, be confident, and own your niche. You got this. ❤ 
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I know it’s been a rough year... let’s just all try and be grateful for everything that we still have. 2020 can’t take it all. ❤️👏🏻 
Starting a new Friday trend... “FEAR FRIDAY” 😳⠀ ⠀ I want to talk about fear, and more importantly, how to *conquer* your fears. 👏🏻⠀ ⠀ Today’s fear... "WHAT WILL PEOPLE THINK?” 🥵⠀ ⠀ You are scared to jump into business because you fear judgement. You fear public failure. What if it doesn’t work? What if I look stupid? What if I put myself out there and it’s crickets? What will others think? 🤷🏼♀️⠀ ⠀ You might not be scared to post for your clients, most likely, you’re scared of other people’s judgments. You need to realize that these people, these other photographers you’re so concerned about, aren’t the ones with this dream... they aren't paying your bills. They aren’t filling your heart with joy. ❤️ Your business is… your dreams are, your clients are. That's what matters. Living the life you want, feeling freedom, peace & happiness. That’s what it all boils down to. ⠀ ⠀ So… the take away here...⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Chase your dreams, post what you want, and *forget* about the opinions of others. If you overthink it and wonder what other people will say or think… you’ll miss out on so much good. You’ll post out of fear (or won’t post because of fear)… and that isn’t fair to you and your dreams. 🚫 ⠀ ⠀ Someone will always have something to say. There is always going to be judgey mc-judgsters. Not everyone wants you to succeed. In their minds… your success means their failure. This simply just isn’t true. 🔆⠀ ⠀ The more I open up, act like my normal weird self, share my lessons & knowledge, and cheer on everyone around me, the happier I am, and the more my business succeeds. 🔥⠀ ⠀ Get after it. Post your heart out. Unfollow people that bring you down. Get away from the comparison game, it’s a dangerous & toxic place to be. ☄️⠀ ⠀ Share your dreams, your beautiful photos, your knowledge, and your success. ☀️⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Your people will cheer you on, and anyone else’s opinions are none of your business. 🙌🏻⠀ ⠀ “Fear stops a lot of people. Fear of failure, of the unknown, of risk. And it masks itself as procrastination.” - Lisa Anderson 👈🏻🔥⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Tag someone you respect and look up to because you know they are 100% themselves and have conquered this fear! ⬇️⬇️⬇️ 
Dear Wesley,⠀ ⠀ You are officially 5 years old. I don’t know how time flies so fast, but your amazing dad and I are so lucky to be your parents & watch you grow into an incredible little human. ❤️⠀ ⠀ You have the biggest heart and care so much for others. You’ve always been like this. Especially with animals. 🐴 ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ At a year old, you would ball if you saw a cartoon animal fall off a cliff, or get hit and have stars flying around their head. ✨ You were so worried they weren’t okay. 😢⠀ ⠀ Last week you told me you want to go to Costa Rica and help save all of the turtles after you watched a documentary about the ocean. 🐢⠀ ⠀ You are so artistic and spend hours painting, coloring, building things and perfecting the art of your (kid safe) hot glue gun. 🎨⠀ ⠀ You ask about space all the time and as we were watching videos of the space station last night you said, “Mom… it’s pretty cool that we live on earth which is in this huge solar system. I want to go to space so I can feel what it’s like without gravity, that would be SO COOL.” 🛰⠀ ⠀ You love your baby sis and take such good care of her. She's so lucky to have you protecting her. 🥰⠀ ⠀ You love monster trucks, legos, firetrucks, police cars, and planets. 🚔🚒🌎 ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ You love science and we’ve made the coolest messes with all of your experiments. 🧪🔬🧫⠀ ⠀ Thank you for making me a mom, thank you for teaching me so many valuable lessons, and thank you for being the kindest, cutest, most loving little guy on this crazy planet in this wild solar system. 🔭🌎🪐⠀ ⠀ You tell dad and I every night “I love you to Saturn.” 🪐❤️⠀ ⠀ I love you to infinity, Wes. Happy happy (late) birthday. 🎉🎂🥳 
This post has nothing to do with me getting my freaking brain swabbed with another terrible covid test (I'm negative btw) 🙌🏻 but I thought you might want to see just how far up these swabs go... so here we are… 🩺🦠⠀ ⠀ Anywho… 🤪⠀ ⠀ I am teaching a LIVE ONLINE free class tomorrow... if you’re a photographer who feels stuck and overwhelmed and wants to grow your business into a FUN, PROFITABLE, PASSION FILLED career… you should come.📷‼️⠀ ⠀ I've learned a LOT over the past 11 years building this business and I know how hard, overwhelming and lonely it can be. I also know how amazing, fun and profitable it can be... and I love showing photographers exactly how I built my business, and show them how they can too. ⠀ ⠀ Trust me... if I can do it, so can you. You just need passion, accountability and motivation. An exact road map also helps... that's why we built the FOCUS mastermind. 💛 It's intense, it's live weekly zoom calls, it's exactly what I wish I would have had when I started. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Tomorrow night, I'll spill so much knowledge and helpful tips your way, it’s going to blow your mind. Not in a covid swab hurt your actual brain kinda way… but in a OMG THIS IS AMAZING I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS AND I CAN DO THIS kinda way. (Haha… see?! I made the post relate to the video now!) 🤣👏🏻⠀ ⠀ The live, free, online class is tomorrow NOV 10th at 7pm (MST)! I’ll be teaching the 5 step FOCUS process I use that has already helped TONS of amazing photographer blow up their businesses and have a blast while doing it. It’s hard work… but it’s also simple. That may not make sense to you yet… but if you give this a shot… it will. 🤙🏻💻⠀ ⠀ Hope to see you there, link is in my bio to sing up. DM me with questions… let’s do this. Life is too short… do something brave and build an amazing business you love. One you’re passionate about, one that makes a difference, and one that makes an amazing income too. ❤️💲⠀ ⠀ It’s possible. I promise. I’m proof, and I’ll show you how you can do it too. See you there! 🎉