So, today marks a very important occasion in my life, which is the founding of my photography business, Moria' Photography! Today makes 5 years that I have been in business and I couldn't be more excited! These years have been the most fun and rewarding years of my life, and have shown me where my true passion lies. I know how absolutely blessed I am to be able to say that I'm EXCITED to go to work the next day. I get so much joy and fulfillment out of every photo shoot, event, wedding, and everything else that comes with running my photography business. I'll be honest, at some points during this journey, I have altogether forgotten to collect a fee because I get SO into my job. I could do this every day for the rest of my life, and it would not bother me at all. I love seeing new faces, trying new ideas, and meeting fellow creative souls that share my passion. I've grown so much as a photographer and a person over the past 5 years, and I can't imagine doing anything else at this point. I've made some amazing relationships with some people I will truly never forget, and I can't thank everyone enough for supporting me throughout this time.

Because of this occasion, I want to share some of my earliest photos with you, and show you the kind of growth I have experienced throughout my time as a photographer. Please bear with me, and see the advancement, rather than the point I started. I think this is important for me to review, and to show other potential photographers that they can't compare their chapter 1 to someone else's chapter 5! Everyone starts somewhere, but it is so important that you can see where you came from to where you are now.

First, let's talk logos/watermarks. Many people don't know this, but I started as Photos By Samantha Lucas, before I changed to Moria' Photography. The reasoning behind the change is that I was going to be married soon, and didn't want to change to Samantha Reynolds Photography too early, and also didn't want to stay Photos by Samantha Lucas when I officially named my business. Thus, my middle name, Moria' was a middle ground. My aunt Glenna and cousin Bailey were both very excited about the name, because their middle names are also Moria'! It was a meaningful event for my family.

This was my original logo, photo was from spring 2012.
The progression led to the next logo, which was in my own handwriting. Photo taken October 2012.

Finally, I asked for help from another local photographer, Kendra Knapp, and together, we came up with the following logo!


Moving on to newborns:

The photo below was my first newborn session taken in February of 2012. This is my little cousin, taken at my grandparents' house in Whitesburg, Kentucky.


And below is her little brother, taken in February of 2015, I made his little outfit and hat from each of these photos. The babies are adorable, but I see a large progression in the photos.

This photo was taken of these gorgeous twins in September 2015.





This photo below is from my most recent newborn session, unrelated to the photos above, taken in September of 2016 in the client's home. I no longer do studio newborn work, but I still offer in-home sessions, though newborns are not my primary focus. I still wanted to show some progression in my work in the category, though!



Next, we have seniors:

I believe Paige was my first ever senior session, and I was more excited for this than I had been any other type of session before. We got up at literally the crack of dawn to do her session because I couldn't wait, and I knew the lighting would be spot-on.


I briefly did senior representatives for 2014, and here is a shot from a session with one of my reps!


Some more recent seniors, circa 2015.



And more recent seniors, taken 2016.

Taken February 2017:


Families!:

I have had the pleasure of working with so many beautiful families over the years and it has been such an amazing experience to hear all their stories and watch their little ones grow! Many of the families and I have kept up with one another on social media throughout the years, and I smile every time I see a new milestone their child has reached. Here are some photos from some past family sessions.

Taken April 2012:





Taken November 2013:
Taken April 2014:





Taken October 2014:

Taken May 2015: Taken May 2016:



Taken July 2016:
Fall 2016:

Child/Toddler Portraiture:

Photo taken February 2012
 

Taken March 2012:

Taken February 2013:

Taken August 2013:

Taken August 2014:

;

Taken October 2014:

Taken April 2015

Taken June 2015


Some 2016 Work:



And some 2017:

Engagements & Couples:


My very first engagement session, taken March 2012:



Photo taken September 2013

Photo of my best friend and her husband-to-be! Taken January 2014. Fun fact: I get to be a bridesmaid in their wedding in a little over a month!


 

Taken June 2014:




Taken October 2015: 


Some 2016 work:

And some 2017:



Moving on to weddings:

The first wedding I ever took photos for was my cousin's wedding. I wasn't a hired photographer, I just wanted to take a few snaps for the family. Taken June 2012.

Next, I did a few weddings where I only shot parts, not ready yet to take on a full wedding myself.





My first solo wedding was in August of 2013.


I progressively learned more about lighting, poses, and so much more, and realized weddings were my passion.


And the one day.. something just CLICKED. I had a big change and I'm not sure exactly what to credit it to, but I'm positive something changed and after a while, I started to catch on to everything I wanted to know. These are some from my late 2015-2016 weddings below.


I want to thank everyone for all the support and for trusting me with your memories over the years! I hope I can continue to grow and be able to provide you with the best photography services I can! I hope you see as much progress as I do, because every day is a learning experience, and you can only get better when you work on your craft and strive to perfect it.


 

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