December 2017 - It was just about three years ago when I started to become seriously interested in photography. I was teaching English, so I had a couple weeks off for Christmas break, and I began obsessing over all things photography, stalking photographers, watching free webinars and YouTube videos, reading, learning what it meant to shoot in manual mode, staying up late after Kris had fallen asleep just to learn a little more.
January 2018 - Bought my first camera - a Canon Rebel T6i
January-March 2018 - Started doing free sessions for people I love over the next few months, in fact, Facebook reminded me that 3 years ago TODAY I posted these pictures from my first "session" with one of my besties.
April 2018 - By the spring, I had been asked to do a couple paid sessions (which is hard to explain how exciting those moments are when you’re just starting out). I used to do a little squeal giggle thing, and Kris knew exactly what that sound meant - a new inquiry had come our way.
May 2018 - I started an Instagram account for photography (@bethanywildermedia) and slowly began getting asked to do more and more, all while continuing to learn with every shoot I took on.
August 2018 - Shot my first real wedding (I say "real" wedding because technically I somehow got the opportunity to take pictures for a sweet Haitian couple's wedding in March of 2018. They were actually already married but wanted to have a very small formal ceremony. They probably wouldn't have had a photographer at all if I wouldn't have done it, so it was very chill and a perfect way to start shooting weddings).
October 2018 - The Bethany Wilder Media brand came alive with a logo, website, and more direction in my business (that wasn’t actually a business quite yet).
Don’t forget I was still learning with every new step - photography and business (which, believe it or not, I actually enjoy both, aside from crunching numbers and such. I’ll leave that to Kris).
I continued growing by doing more sessions and weddings, listening to podcasts, reading, and watching others, in the evenings and on weekends (still had that full-time job). I even invested in myself and purchased an online business course for photographers!
July 2019 - Officially became a business (as in, legally), and that’s when everything changed. I now felt like I could run with this thing and really go all in if I wanted.
December 2019 - I found out I was pregnant, and the thought of editing photos made me sick to my stomach🤢 But we made it through that short season and got a beautiful baby girl out of it.
*record scratch* 2020
Ha just kidding. I know 2020 has been extremely hard on some, but it truly hasn’t been all that bad for me. I’ve enjoyed my time at home getting to know my new baby. I loved being quarantined with my husband for the first two months of my baby’s life...I mean, who gets that in a normal year?! To me, 2020 has flown. How is my baby 6 months already?
As I lie in bed reflecting on all these things, I just wanted to let you in on some of my journey. It started with a hobby and turned into one of the biggest parts of my life, and I’m so incredibly thankful I’m able to be here and do this.
This isn’t the point of this post, but I have to throw it in: if you find yourself in a similar place that I was in 3 years ago, passionate and excited but not sure where to start or what to do, just start somewhere. Take a chance on the creative outlet if you truly enjoy it. You probably already have ideas of where to start, so just start there.
And whatever brings you here, whether you’re a client, a photographer, or you’re just someone who likes seeing a good clothing haul or Christmas tree fiasco every once in a while, thank you for following along and supporting my business by doing so. I don’t take you for granted. Happy 2021! Let’s do this.