As a new contributor for Dear Photographer, I thought it only fitting that my first blog be a little about how I came to find my passion, and become a professional photographer.

There are moments in life that can stop you in your tracks. Several years ago, during a difficult season of life, I had one of these moments. All my brother-in-law did was ask a simple question. I can still vividly remember sitting in his big blue truck, chatting, while my sister ran into the store. He asked me what I was passionate about. The question threw me for a loop. I didn’t know how to answer it. I couldn’t answer it, because I didn’t know what my passion was. At the time, I was in school for interior design at the time, but that wasn’t it. In fact, I couldn’t think of a single thing that I genuinely got excited about.

Fast forward a little to the next season of life… That question still stuck in the back of my head. During this time, I discovered a lot about myself. I discovered I really love to travel- this from a girl who had barely left her home state of Tennessee, and when she did it was just to the closest beach. But I fell in love with traveling, and road trips, and visiting national parks, and seeing all the unique and beautiful landscapes that God has created. I discovered yoga and how much I love to cook and bake. I even at one point took some cake decorating lessons and toyed with the idea of culinary school or possibly becoming a yoga instructor. But most important to my story is when I started borrowing my friend’s DSLR to take pictures. She let me take it on a road trip out west and after that I was hooked! I wanted to learn to capture all of these stunning places I was visiting better.  So I decided I needed my own camera!

The following Christmas I asked for my first camera, a Canon T3i, and promptly enroll into an intro to photography night class. My teacher was hard. He pushed us and expected us to learn quickly. The only way to do well in the class was to show understanding and growth each week. I worked my butt off and at the end of the class I just wanted to learn more! What started off as a desire to take travel and landscape photos quickly shifted with the birth of my nephew, Ev. I took photos when he was born, and then every month after for about a year.

Soon, other people were noticing and asking me about shoots for their family. I was working as a full time nanny then and as a kind of natural extension of my love for kids, I quickly discovered how much I love capturing children and families! Not long after this I met my future husband, Josh, whose own passion inspired me so much. With his and other’s encouragement, I decided to officially start my own photography business, Rachel K Photo! It is beautiful, and it is hard, but I have finally found what I’m passionate about!

We moved to Virginia in August last year for Josh’s job, and got married in January earlier this year. I am now in a place where I am starting my business afresh in a new city and state. It is again hard, but it is wonderful and it is worth the struggle. Why? Because it’s truly what I am passionate about. I specialize in maternity, newborn and families, because that’s where my heart is. I believe that every family has a unique and beautiful story to share, a story that can be passed down for generations. And it’s my honor to capture these stories.

Website. https://www.facebook.com/RachelKPhotoKnox. https://www.instagram.com/rachelkphoto/.