08/20/2026
Happy World Photography Day! 📸
Photography saved my life.
That's right. Photography saved my life.
I've met a lot of new people recently, and as my story has inevitably come up, I've received a lot of the same reactions. Astonishment. Shock. Bewilderment, even. So today feels like the right day to share it.
Trigger warning: su***de, depression, affair
I started my photography business in 2020, not thinking it would ever amount to much. But I wanted to humor the little kid in me who always dreamed of being a photographer. My business was slow growing at first, but once I started figuring my stuff out, honing in my editing style, and gaining confidence, things started to take off.
Then, in 2022, my world radically changed.
My daughter was born in August. Going into labor, I already knew I had no intentions of returning to my utility forester job. My photography business had picked up enough that my husband and I were comfortable with the idea of living off my photography income plus his income. I was so excited.
Six weeks later, I found out he was having an affair with my best friend at the time. I had suffered with severe PPD after my son was born, so I remember thinking there was absolutely no way I was going to mentally survive something like this so early in my postpartum journey. Boy, was I wrong.
We attempted to work things out. It wasn't great, but we were trying. Until we weren't. Two months later, my husband attempted su***de in a very traumatic way. I spent a few weeks basically living in his hospital room. He recovered, thank God, and eventually moved back to his hometown to be closer to his support system.
And I was left here. Alone with a 2.5 year old and a 4 month old, with my little photography income to live off of. I praise the Lord that he survived, and I will forever be grateful that I had such an incredible support system of family and friends around me.
But I was broken. I was lost. I dreamed about dying. I fantasized about escaping this world. Knowing my children needed me kept me here, but for a while, I was just a shell of a human. I recently went back through my camera roll from that time and realized how few memories I have of my daughter's infancy or my son's early toddler years. That breaks my heart.
But somewhere along the way, something started changing.
More and more people were booking shoots with me. Eventually I realized I was actually turning away photography work so I could go to my part-time job. (Forever grateful for you, Nick at Groundhog Equipment).
So I decided to take the plunge. I poured my heart and soul into photography. And somehow, while I was busy capturing everyone else's lives, I started finding my way back to mine. I was dead inside. But through the lens of my camera, I found my spark again. My happiness returned. My confidence returned. My love for everything that life is returned.
Today, I don't carry resentment for what happened. I've forgiven the people who hurt me, and I even have great relationships with them. I don't share this story looking for pity, to put anyone on blast, or to make anyone seem like a villain. They're not villains.
People make bad choices. People struggle. Mental health is real. Life is complicated. Be kind to people.
I'm sharing this because if you're somewhere in your own dark chapter right now, I want you to know that a dark chapter doesn't have to be the end of your story. It probably won't get better today. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not even next month. But keep going.
Keep looking for the little things that make you feel alive and hold onto them. For me, that little thing was a camera. And if you have ever stepped in front of my camera, referred someone to me, shared my work, or simply hit the like button on one of my photos… Thank you. You helped save my life.
Happy World Photography Day.
Photography truly saved my life.
Photos are from 2023 and 2026 — not long after my separation, and now.
