She said to me, “Don’t ever lose that smile,”  and I smilingly said, “Ok, I won’t.” In truth for all of 5 seconds I thought nothing of it, but then the conversation continued and I fully understood. Not every one is blessed to enjoy their jobs, even wedding photographers some times slip into more of a business front while shooting and she spoke of seeing grumpy wedding photographers way to often. My heart felt a little sad, but I understood in a way, the road that can lead people to a place where their smile slips, gets replaced by a grimace, and the joy of their work starts to leave.

Sometimes when I wake up at 4AM to begin my day, when I sit surrounded by stacks of papers, forms, hard drives, DVD’s,  memory cards, deadlines, and some where in the middle of all of it, I still have to be a mom, a wife, a daughter, a friend, a companion to those who walk along with me in this life.

In truth, no one really wants to know how much work goes into producing the images that capture life. I know when I want to watch a movie, I never think about the months or years spent producing it, I think about the 2 hours I am watching it. So I get it. When I sit in the silent morning already working, my day starting while others slumber, in an attempt to stay on track, to give my clients the best, to be better this year than last year, this month than last, today over yesterday.

I can not claim perfection, simply because I will never see myself as perfect. I will always need improvement, because life is a forever changing roller coaster of events. Each day shaping us forever.

This year I am learning to say No. To stop when I am sick and just rest. To enjoy life more. To worry less. To stress less. That I shoot people, I make them beautiful and I capture details, not the other way around. That it is actually ok to say that out loud, despite the endless flow of wedding magazines and blogs that say “Via details, forever.”  No, to me the most beautiful part of the day will always be the people, the tears, laughter, the truth of the emotion felt there. Yes, after all this time, I suddenly feel free, because I found my truth. I capture the details, they are a huge part of the day, but my heart, my eye, my job, is the people, their story, their heart.

While these last few sentences may seem small to most, to me, it is what didn’t work last year. I pushed, I rushed, I overbooked myself, and set these unreal expectations. This year I focused, I stopped trying to do it all, and now I am doing it better, enjoying my life, loving my job, and at this rate, with honesty in my heart over my failures and successes, I feel, I can truthfully say, my happy smile is here to stay.

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I am a Wedding & Lifestyle photographer, Spider hater, hot tea drinker, sarcasm loving, mom of two boys, and center of my sexy hubby’s world. I truly believe there is no better job than to capture the memories of the most special times in a client’s life. I believe in passion, in love, in forever lasting romance, in hope, in joy, and in laughing until you almost pee yourself, because laughter heals the heart. I believe the glass is half full…and even if it really is half empty, I’d rather not know. I choose a smile over a frown, tears of joy over tears of sorrow, and I believe that brokenness makes your stronger, not weaker, so take the negative life may throw your way, and turn it into the stepping block you need to climb higher in life, always keep yourself at the higher level instead of lowering yourself down to the level of others.

I service all of Louisiana including, Lake Charles, Sulphur, Westlake, Carlyss, Eunice, Alexandria, Shreveport, Lafayette, New Orleans, Monroe, and  Natchitoches. Serving all of Texas including, Beaumont, Dallas, Huston, and Orange Texas. Serving Mississippi and Alabama. Destinations anywhere including, Florida, California, New York, Cancun, and other destinations abroad.  Check out my website here: http://suzygphotography.com

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