2023, the year that gave us a true home. This year was a big one for me as a photographer, but also in my personal life.
After trying to run my business in 7 different places as a military spouse, we’re finally settling down in Raleigh, and we couldn’t be more excited to be here. Raleigh has a community of artists who challenge each other, and strive to be excellent.
It’s also a place for families. And while this post is about my photography year, my two young boys easily eclipse almost everything else in my life. Ken does beach, I do photography and mom. And that’s all I could handle this year. So Raleigh has been giving what it needed to give.
Moves that brought us to here:
- Huntsville, Alabama
- Nashville, TN – 4 years
- Pensacola, FL – 1.5 years
- Sneads Ferry, NC – 5 months
- Oahu, Hawaii – 5 years
- Springfield, Virginia – 11 months
- Raleigh, North Carolina!
Some of these moves were brutal (short stints where I felt completely defeated with no time to build) and some were magical (the island will always call), but all of them were stops on a journey that feels like lead us to this next chapter.
✨What is Photography to me after all this time? ✨
When I move, I am new to everyone around me, but incredibly old in my creative soul. I became a photographer half of my life ago, 16 years, and discovered how to not let the passion die over time, but instead intertwine it into my veins.
So what is it to me now? An art medium. A business. A way to torture myself as an artist who is never good enough for me.
A way to provide for my family. A creative outlet that I absolutely must have or I am not myself.
A lens into the absolute beauty of humanity. The challenge that brings out the best in me, always striving to be better. Fuel for my workaholic nature. An escape from the mundane.
A job that is deemed “not necessary”. A job that feels absolutely needed for the human experience.
What did I work on anyway?
I got better this year. I created a new brand, new website, new systems, tried a LOT of new things, failed big time, succeeded with goals I didn’t know were possible so quickly, and stopped feeling comfortable. I wasn’t comfortable this year. I’d hit the biggest success of my career in Hawaii and was just letting it churn, then, well, a move will really pull the blanket off your comfortable bed. There was a lot of change for my family and for my new market.
I put myself out there more than ever. I had some really low moments. I didn’t want to go inside alone. I felt on top of the world. I felt completely stunned by opportunities that came my way because I showed up. I learned a lot of new lessons. I learned a lot about myself. I really liked the Barbie movie.
And just at the end of this year, I found an upgraded style direction that I’m not sure anyone will even notice for a while. Because that’s just it, so much of being an artist is about the journey that WE ourselves are on that no one else is even going to see. That’s the true and secret beauty of it. What it brings for… yourself.
And we in turn gift that passion and love to anyone we are interacting with.
My thoughts on success as a photographer and business owner:
After doing this for half of my life (16 years), here’s what I’d say the secrets to success are in as few words as possible.
✨ The secret to success as an artist…
always finding a way to continue your passion for growing and creating. Nothing else will keep you going more than pure passion.
✨The secret to success as a business owner…
taking yourself seriously, staying true to your word, and taking care of people.
(Oh, and hiring an accountant).
My DMs are always open for artists and people who are dreaming big. Don’t be afraid to say hello and chat with me. Next year I’m hoping to create some more avenues for teaching and being a part of other’s journeys as well.
A LOOK BACK ON 2023 IN A PHOTOGRAPHER’S LIFE
Rae Marshall is a Wedding and Portrait Photographer in Raleigh, North Carolina. She specializes in weddings, engagements, family, senior portraits, branding and commercial and more.
I GOTTA SEE MORE, GET ME TO THE HOMEPAGE >>>
Happy Holidays <3
