HEY, HELLO, AND WELCOME!
Updated: Oct 17
Omg my first blog post. What?! Writing a blog has been on my business to do list for years. YEARS! I'm finally getting to it so here we are. As I always like to say, it's better late than never, right? Just agree with me to make me feel better ;)
For my first post I thought I should dive into letting you all know a bit more about myself and how I got here. You're here because you want to get into my brain a little bit, right? If not, well then maybe you can just skip this post all together. Maybe you're here because you found me via Instagram and you're on the hunt for a new photographer. If that's the case then I say kudos to you for researching to make sure we would be a good fit. It's SO important to make sure you mesh well with your photographer before investing your time and energy. But that is a whole other blog post for another day. Let's dive into my story a bit!
My love of photography started when I was really young and one of my favourite things to do was get into my parent's family albums. You can read more on that on my "About" page on the site but I'll leave the link here for you too https://www.ericalo.ca/about-5
I grew up in the 80's in Winnipeg, Manitoba in the northwest end of the city. Back then technology was miniscule, the internet wasn't even invented yet and the only cell phones available were the gigantic box ones that you needed another bag to carry them around in with you (and of course only accessible to the wealthy). Holy crap I make myself sound old. But as my kids would ask, "Mom, were you born in the 1900's?" Cue my unimpressed look as I tell them, yes boys, yes I was. I personally think growing up in the 80's and 90's was the best. Our generation got to experience technology come to life. Floppy disks, dial up internet, ICQ chats and LiveJournal entries. Ahh the good old days.
Anyway, let's fast forward a few decades. I became a Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) in my early twenties and I've been practicing ever since. I've been self employed since I was 22 and ran my own business since 2006. I focus on women and children's health and I teach parents about infant massage (yes it's a thing, and its benefits are backed by many evidence based research studies). In fact, if you want to read more about it I encourage you to find my RMT link on the website ;) I married my husband David in 2009 and we have 2 amazing boys together. When my youngest was born in 2015 I opened up my second business making teething accessories for babies. It was called Tiny Inspirations and it was open for 6.5 years before I closed it to focus on photography. Tiny Inspirations showed me a whole new side of business and connected me with some pretty wonderful people that I will be forever friends with. It was a magnificent chapter in my life that I will never regret. The business was successful and thriving, but I knew my passion laid within photography.
I got my first DSLR camera in 2017 and I dived right into it. I took some courses and watched a ton of YouTube videos, signed up for countless workshops and took photos of everything before I launched this business in late 2018. Like many photographers starting out, I wasn't sure what my niche was. I took photos of everything; events, brands, family, maternity, babies...It was when I had my very first Fresh 48 session back in 2019 that it clicked for me and I knew where I wanted to take this business of mine. I never wanted to work in hospitals. When I think of spending time in hospitals it always made me sad. I mean, they're the place people go to when they're sick or dying. Fresh48 sessions turned that mindset around completely for me. When you give birth to your child it is a time of complete CHAOS but also JOY. So much joy and so much love. We forget these moments. They fade. Your baby changes and grow so much in those first few days. I love that I can help capture those fading moments and give you beautiful memories to look back on.
So it brings us to today. I work mostly full time on my photography business and part time with my massage therapy business. I love them both. Being self employed definitely has its pros and cons, but I like to focus on the pros, and that's definitely my time management. When you get to my age (being born in the 1900's!) you learn that your time is invaluable. Moments you get from the time you make to spend with your loved ones is never a waste.
So this is my story. My business story. I'd love to tell you more about my life journey too. But that's for another post. If you've read this entire blog post, holy cow (a 1900s term), thank you so much. If you decide to stick around for more after this, you're the bomb (you guessed it, another slang term from the 1900s). Peace out (1960's, BEFORE my time, thank you very much!).
Erica
ps - when I searched the origins of those terms, they all fell under "slang words no one uses anymore." I beg to differ, internet, I beg to differ.