10/27/2026
🤎 A LITTLE HEART-TO-HEART FROM THE GIRL BEHIND THE CAMERA. 🤎
I don’t usually make posts like this, but lately I’ve felt the need to remind everyone that behind Chasidy Shae Photography LLC is a real person. A person with a family, responsibilities, feelings, struggles, and a life outside of photography.
And that person is just me.
I’m a wife. I’m a daughter. I’m a friend. I’m a dog mama. I’m someone who loves her family deeply, treasures the little moments, and is trying to navigate life while living with multiple chronic illnesses.
And somewhere in the middle of all of that, I’m also a small business owner running an entire photography business completely on my own.
When I say I run this business by myself, I genuinely mean it.
I answer every message, email, and inquiry. I handle every booking, contract, invoice, payment, and scheduling request. I photograph every session, sort through thousands upon thousands of images, hand-edit every gallery, upload every photograph, and deliver every client’s memories.
I create the advertisements, plan the mini sessions, purchase the props, prepare the studio, maintain the equipment, manage the website, handle the bookkeeping, and take care of all the little things most people never see.
There isn’t a team behind the scenes answering messages while I’m photographing a wedding. There isn’t someone editing galleries while I’m sleeping. There isn’t an assistant handling my schedule when I’m overwhelmed.
It’s me. Just one person wearing about 20 different hats.
And I absolutely LOVE what I do.
I love watching your families grow. I love seeing babies I photographed as newborns come back for their milestones. I love watching couples become husbands and wives, then parents. I love seeing familiar faces year after year and meeting new families who eventually become friends.
I love that you trust ME to capture moments you can never get back.
But there’s another part of my life that most people don’t see.
I’m also chronically ill.
I live with illnesses that don’t take a day off just because I have a full calendar, a wedding to photograph, or galleries waiting to be delivered.
There are mornings when I wake up already exhausted. Days when my body hurts before my feet even touch the floor. Days when the nausea, migraines, fatigue, and pain are so overwhelming that even the simplest tasks feel impossible.
There are days when I’m sitting at my computer editing your beautiful memories while fighting through symptoms that nobody on the other side of the screen would ever know about.
There have been hospital stays, surgeries, unexpected setbacks, medications, and recoveries that have completely changed what my body is capable of doing.
And one of the hardest things about being chronically ill while owning a business is that my mind still wants to do everything my body physically cannot.
I WANT to answer your messages immediately.
I WANT to finish every gallery ahead of schedule.
I WANT to accommodate every request, squeeze in every last-minute session, and make everyone’s schedule work.
I WANT to be the photographer who never has to cancel, reschedule, or ask anyone to wait.
But sometimes, no matter how badly I want those things, my body simply won’t allow it.
And if I’m being completely transparent, that comes with an incredible amount of guilt.
Guilt when I have to reschedule a session because I’m sick.
Guilt when I need another day to finish editing.
Guilt when I see messages waiting for a response but physically need to rest.
Guilt when I have to tell someone I don’t have availability.
And sometimes, guilt for simply being a wife or daughter who wants to spend an evening with her family without feeling like she should be working instead.
Because the truth is, when you own a small business, it can feel like you’re never truly off the clock.
There’s always another message, another gallery, another contract, another email, another task that needs your attention.
And when you’re chronically ill, you’re constantly trying to decide whether to use the little energy you have left to work, take care of your home, spend time with the people you love, or simply take care of yourself.
I don’t think people always realize how difficult that balance can be.
I also don’t think everyone realizes just how much work goes into a photography session beyond the 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or hour spent in front of my camera.
That short session can turn into hours of work behind the scenes.
And while I may photograph multiple families in one day, every single one of those families deserves the same attention, care, and quality that I put my name on.
I don’t rush through your memories just to check another gallery off my list.
Every image is hand-edited with intention because I want you to have photographs you’ll treasure for generations.
But I need to remind everyone of something important: I’m human, too.
I have always tried to be incredibly understanding and flexible with my clients.
If your child is having a hard day, we’ll take our time.
If you’re nervous in front of the camera, I’ll guide you.
If you need help choosing outfits, I’m happy to help.
If your baby needs extra snuggles during a newborn session, we’ll follow their lead.
If something unexpected happens in your life, I will do my best to work with you.
And if I’m photographing your wedding, chances are I’ll do far more than just take pictures. I’ll straighten your dress, fix your hair, help with your timeline, calm your nerves, and do whatever I reasonably can to make your day easier.
Because that’s the kind of photographer I want to be.
I don’t care whether you booked a discounted mini session or an entire wedding package. Your memories matter to me, and so do you.
But somewhere along the way, I’ve realized that in constantly trying to give everyone else grace, I’ve forgotten to give that same grace to myself.
I’ve pushed through pain when I should have been resting.
I’ve worked late into the night when my body desperately needed sleep.
I’ve answered messages from hospital beds.
I’ve worried about galleries and scheduling while recovering from surgery.
I’ve put an enormous amount of pressure on myself because the last thing I ever want to do is disappoint someone who trusted me with their memories.
And this year especially, my health has reminded me that I cannot continue pushing my body beyond its limits and expect there not to be consequences.
So moving forward, I’m learning that boundaries aren’t a lack of dedication. They’re necessary for me to continue doing what I love.
That means there may be times when messages aren’t answered immediately.
There may be days when I am completely unavailable because I’m photographing sessions, editing, attending medical appointments, recovering, or spending much-needed time with my family.
There may be occasions when I have to say no to an additional booking or last-minute request.
And yes, there may be times when an unexpected health situation requires adjustments to my schedule.
I will always do my best to communicate, honor my commitments, and provide the experience my clients deserve.
But I also need understanding in return.
Please understand that sending multiple messages doesn’t always mean I can respond any faster.
Please understand that just because you see me posting on social media doesn’t mean I’m physically feeling well enough to sit at my computer for hours.
Please understand that when I have to rest, it isn’t because your photographs aren’t important to me.
And please understand that my business is incredibly important, but my health and my family have to matter, too.
I am a photographer, but photography is not the only thing I am.
I’m a wife who wants to be present in her marriage.
I’m a daughter who wants to make time for her family.
I’m a woman who has fought through more medically than I ever imagined I would have to.
I’m someone who has dreams, responsibilities, good days, difficult days, and a body that doesn’t always cooperate with the plans I’ve made.
And I’m still the same girl who started this business with a camera, a dream, and a whole lot of faith.
That part of me hasn’t changed.
If anything, everything I’ve been through has made me appreciate this business and the people who support it even more.
Because there have been seasons when I genuinely didn’t know what my health would look like from one week to the next.
And yet, God has continued to provide.
He’s given me opportunities to do something I love, clients who have become friends, and a community that has shown me kindness during some of the hardest seasons of my life.
To the clients who have stayed, prayed, encouraged me, checked on me, patiently waited, and continued trusting me with your memories — THANK YOU.
To those who have booked with me year after year, recommended my business, shared my posts, purchased sessions during sales, or simply sent an encouraging message when I needed it most, you have no idea how much those things mean to me.
You aren’t just supporting a photography business.
You’re supporting a woman who is working incredibly hard to keep doing something she loves while fighting battles you may never see.
And I will never take that support for granted.
I know the overwhelming majority of my clients are wonderful, understanding people, and I don’t ever want this post to take away from how grateful I am for every single one of you.
I simply hope it serves as a gentle reminder that small businesses are often powered by real people carrying real-life struggles behind the scenes.
I’m not a large company.
I’m not a team of employees.
I’m not available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
I’m just one woman, doing her absolute best, with a camera in her hands, a whole lot of love in her heart, and a body that sometimes needs more grace than she’s willing to give it.
I still have big dreams for Chasidy Shae Photography. I still get excited about every new booking, every growing family, every newborn, and every beautiful wedding.
I have absolutely no intention of changing the love, care, or dedication I put into this business.
But I am learning that taking care of myself doesn’t mean I care any less about my clients.
It means I’m trying to make sure I can continue showing up for them for years to come.
And if there’s one thing my health journey has taught me, it’s that life is incredibly precious. Time with the people we love is something we never get back.
That’s the very reason I became so passionate about photography in the first place.
So please continue to give small business owners kindness, patience, and grace. You never know what someone is carrying while they’re working so hard to serve you.
Thank you for allowing me to be part of your stories, your milestones, and your most treasured memories.
And thank you for remembering that there’s a real person behind the camera, too.
With so much love and gratitude,
Chasidy 🤎
Chasidy Shae Photography LLC
“He has made everything beautiful in its time.” — Ecclesiastes 3:11 🤍
