TruYou Photography & Design Blog – Marion and Cedar Rapids, Iowa's newborn, baby, child, senior and family photography

Wow. Things got a little crazy the last few years!!

Dec. 31st, 2019 was my last day working at my regular full-time job. I had been there 16+ years and they no longer needed me, so time to move on to bigger and better things.

It was now time to delve into photography full-time! (I’ve been working at it part-time since 2011).

I was marketing, planning, photographing, calling past clients, etc. – and then the Coronavirus snuck it’s way into our lives and wreaked havoc!

What a change from our regular lives; and for so many — serious heartbreak and loss. I’ve suffered some devastating loss in the last few years and understand how losing someone who means so much to you can feel like your heart has literally been ripped apart. Not being able to be with them at the hospital, hold their hands and grieve properly with family and friends, has got to be almost unbearable for so many this past year. I am so sad about the pain this virus has caused.

From March until the end of June — I was photographing zero clients (although my dog and cats got some extra time in front of the camera) and hanging out at my house with nowhere to go and nothing to do. But we were healthy and happy and we counted our blessings every day.

To combat the boredom and to keep my business in the minds of my clients I started posting to Instagram every day. I posted images from long ago past sessions and that was actually a blast. Digging through old archives and discovering images I had forgotten about or hadn’t shared before was very nostalgic and quite healing for me. But of course it made me miss photographing my clients even more. But it also made me appreciate photography even more. And ESPECIALLY appreciate my clients!

I started photographing again when restrictions were lifted (end of June I believe) and oh how I had missed it!!!

I’m so appreciative to past clients who found me again – and who also sent new clients my way. I had more referrals last year than any past year and I want to thank you all!!!

I was back in the full swing of things when in August we were hit with a Derecho (a term I had NEVER heard before). We were much luckier than many of our neighbors (who ended up with holes in their roofs!). We had a few broken windows, some serious dings and discoloration in our siding, and lots of damage to our trees (this made me so sad). The city even decided to chop down our beloved Maple tree in our front yard (deemed too damaged to recover).

Most of all though, we were grateful. Grateful to have had some amazing neighbors who helped with cleanup, grateful to have family and friends volunteer to help, grateful that our family was safe. We were without electricity for 10 days and as long as I can remember being alive I had never been without electricity for that long before, but we were safe and secure.

Our internet was down for two months. It’s a little crazy how much being without internet can be so upsetting!

During all of the turmoil of last year I continued to have people call/email/message me to set up session times and I just want to say how incredibly thankful I am that amidst all of the chaos of last year so many of you understood how important portraits are, and chose me to be the one to deliver those portraits to you.

Here are just a few images taken in 2020. Thank you all!