Today I’m celebrating my EIGHTH year as a wedding photographer! It’s crazy how fast the time has flown by and how much life has changed over the years, but starting and growing my business has been one of the best things I’ve ever done! Before I became a photographer, I dreamt of creating a career for myself that could give me a life where I was free to make my own schedule and be my own boss but was also meaningful in some sort of way.

I’m lucky to say that this amazing job is both of those things…and so much more! I’m really grateful to be able to do things like marathon train or travel to visit friends across the country very easily because of the flexibility the business allows for. And I’m also so glad to be able to do something that contributes to people’s happiness…it truly does mean a lot to be asked to participate in one of the biggest days of my couples’ lives. I don’t take it for granted that it’s a gift to get to witness so many weddings and to be able to share photos that will be treasured by entire families for generations.

If you have supported me and my little business over the past 8 years, whether that meant hiring me to photograph you, passing my name along to someone you knew, or even just sharing and “liking” my posts on social media to help me beat the algorithms meant to keep small businesses in the dark, I appreciate you so much. You’ve helped someone (me!!) to get to pay the bills and put food (and cat kibbles) on the table and that means the world to me! I appreciate you!

In honor of my 8 year anniversary, I thought I would share a few of my favorite KNP “numbers” from the past 8 years. I tend to be a little bit of a sentimental freak, especially when it comes to statistics and numbers (which is funny, considering I’m horrible at math and I hate it…) so here are a few of my favorite KNP stats!!

BY THE NUMBERS:

168 – The number of weddings I’ve photographed in 8 years
25 – The average number of weddings I photographed each year in my first few years in business
10-15 – The average number of weddings I photograph these days
6 – The number of states I’ve photographed in
2 – The number of countries I’ve photographed weddings in (Mexico and the US)
4 – The number of times I’ve redone my website/blog
6.5 – The number of years since I’ve been doing photography full time!
2.5 – The average hour’s drive away from home most of my weddings are
1.5 – The number of energy drinks typically consumed on a normal wedding day
162,372 – The number of miles put on my car since I bought it (some of that wasn’t for work, but I’d say 70 percent was!)

6 – Number of times my work has been featured in print!
1 – The number of times I was a wedding videographer!
12 – The amount of couples I’ve photographed who at least one of the individuals is in the wedding industry…such an honor!
1 – The number of tornado warnings/basement hideouts during a wedding
102,200 – The number of hotel reward points accumulated staying overnight for weddings
50 1.2 – The focal length of my favorite and most used lens!
3 – The number of (sold-out!!) photography workshops I’ve hosted
1 – The number of bones broken during a wedding day (it was my big toe!!)
Countless – The amount of friends I’ve made through the business… photographers, other vendors, and former clients

Thank you for an amazing 8 years!! You helped make this possible and I’m grateful you were a part of my story!! Here’s to the next 8!