09/29/2026
🩷 CELEBRATING 5 YEARS 🥰
Five years ago, I gave my photography business a new name. I don't think I realized how much I would change along with it.
At the time, I thought I was giving my business a makeover.
I wanted a brand that felt more like me, reflected the direction my photography was going, and gave me room to create the kind of business I could see in my head.
Five years later, I can look back and see that it became so much more than a rebrand.
But my journey with photography started long before Avenue 9 Photography.
I first fell in love with photography in the darkroom through junior high yearbook. Years later, that love for photography became Desired Photo, a little part-time business that I eventually decided to pursue full time.
Along the way, I created Avenue 9 Bo***ir as the sexy, edgier side of my photography.
As my business continued to grow and change, I found myself photographing more kids, seniors, and businesses, and eventually realized that Desired Photo didn't feel like me anymore.
Funny enough, the names almost felt backwards. Desired Photo sounded more like the bo***ir side, while Avenue 9 felt like it had room to grow with everything else I wanted to create.
So on September 29, 2021, Desired Photo became Avenue 9 Photography.
Avenue represented celebrating you at whatever avenue of life you're in.
And the 9? Well... you may not be a 10, but you're as close as you can be. 😂
What I didn't realize then was just how much room that name would give me to grow.
Over the last five years, my photography has continued to evolve, with a deeper focus on tweens, athletes, and branding.
At the same time, photography and my 20+ years of coaching started coming together in ways I never expected.
That combination led me to create EmpowerME, where photography and confidence-building come together for tweens.
I also began teaching and mentoring other photographers through workshops and online education, which eventually grew into The Photo Lounge and Accountability Avenue.
And through all of it, four words have become increasingly important to what I create:
✨Confidence. Authenticity. Connection. Growth.✨
The last five years haven't been a perfectly straight line. I've tried things, changed things, built things that worked and things that didn't, questioned myself, learned, pivoted, started over, and probably created 47 new ideas while I was supposed to be finishing one. 😂
But I've kept building.
And none of this story exists without the people who have trusted me along the way.
Whether you knew me as Desired Photo or have come to know me as Avenue 9 Photography, thank you.
Thank you for trusting me with your families, your kids, your milestones, your businesses, and your stories. Thank you to the clients who have returned year after year, referred friends, supported my ideas, and allowed me to watch your families grow.
I truly value the relationships I've built through this business, and so many of you have become friends I care about like family.
Five years ago, I chose Avenue 9 because I wanted to celebrate others at whatever avenue of life they were in. I just didn't realize how many avenues I would travel along the way.
We've both grown a lot. And we're not done yet.
🩷 Happy 5 years, Avenue 9 Photography!
