01/01/2026
📣📣 ICYMI 📣📣
I’ve typed and deleted this a hundred times, so I’m just going to say it:
As of today, Golden Ray Photography is closed.
This was never just sessions marked on a calendar. It was hundreds of days where I watched people come as strangers and leave feeling seen. It was dozens of weddings where I learned how to be the calm in the storm, how to catch the moment that happens for half a second, how to play “pseudo mom” to the bridal party for a day and how to hide in the shadows, capturing other people living the loudest, happiest day of their lives. I cried along with your families watching you first dance with your partners and parents. I cried when your dogs passed. I grieved along side you just as much as I laughed along side you, and it has truly changed me for the better.
And then my Golden Ray studio… that little 225sqft space carried more than just my backdrops and props. It carried nervous laughter and deep breaths before “alright just one more,” kids spinning in circles, young women finding themselves and their confidence, and love. So so much love.
Some of you booked me once in 2020 for $40 and came back again and again still to this day. Some of you trusted me with chapters of your life you can’t redo. Some of you started as clients and became the kind of real friendships that stuck. You didn’t just let me take your photos, you invited me witness your life firsthand and capture my vision of it. And along the way, you taught me so much about the world: what matters, what lasts, what love looks like when it’s not for show.
I also need to say this honestly: my mental health matters, and I’ve choosen to protect it. After everything I’ve been through in the last 2 years, I want away from individuals that are inauthentic and I want a certain level of privacy you can’t achieve with a business that relies on social media for advertisement.
If you’re waiting on a gallery, I want you to know I haven’t forgotten you and I’m not disappearing on you. I’m getting galleries out as I can, in a way that keeps me steady AND healthy. In 2025 I worked the equivalent of just under 4,000 hours between both my jobs, the typical full time position is 2,080. I’m asking for patience and I’m saying thank you for it at the same time, because I know it’s not small and you’ve already been waiting as is.. I am human and have put everyone before me for the last 5 years, please give me grace while I find a balance. Weddings must take priority for obvious reasons, and I will be following chronological order the best I can.
This hobby, turned business gave me more than I ever expected. It gave me purpose during a time I didn’t have and needed one. It taught me lessons I needed taught. It gave me stories and knowledge I’ll carry forever and people I’ll always care about.
So, thank you. For trusting me, for coming back, for recommending me. For letting me make something meaningful out of your memories. For meeting me as a photographer and leaving me as a friend. This has been the wildest ride and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
This isn’t goodbye to you, it’s goodbye to this chapter! If you want to keep in touch, please add me on my personal profile! I’ll link it in the comments. I’d love to stay connected and keep cheering you on in 2026, even if I’m doing it from the other side of the camera now!
Happy New Year with all my love,
Bailey 📷🔆
