Anyone who has followed me long enough knows that I have become quite an open book in this 4th decade of my life. No gatekeeping, no more lying (to myself mostly), and no more people-pleasing. I didn’t just stumble upon authenticity or haphazardly walk into it, I ran.
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This session was born out of a dream. No, really!
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Meet Megan. Holly brought her long-time friend into the studio and asked if they could get a few photos together for a one-of- a-kind collaboration coming soon to the Simmons Cancer Institute at SIU Medicine. Megan was diagnosed with Triple Negative Invasive Ductal Carcinoma in Stage 2 shortly after having her third baby. She found a lump in her breast and followed her gut instincts.
Read MoreWhat if the most powerful, the most courageous thing you ever did was to allow yourself to be seen? What would that mean to you? What would that mean for you? What would that mean to the people you are closest to? What would that mean to the strangers who are yet to know you, but are now empowered to be seen simply because you bravely made that choice to share and to be open? What would that mean to your kid, your niece, your nephew, or any small child who looks up to you… “I learned THAT from my mom!”
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I believe in printing your photographs with my whole heart. It is a soapbox I will stand on until the end of my time. Picking out companies who created products I fell in love with took time, and I was more than willing to go through the ringer to find them. Every time an order is placed on my front steps, I get excited to peel back the packaging as fast as possible, and if the excitement over my creation is that palpable for me, imagine how you will feel when it is someone you love looking back at you through that image! I will always want to give the best I have to the people I serve, and for me, that means celebrating you through exceptional printed products.
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Let's talk headshots, because visual imagery sells and tells your story long before a potential customer or client speaks directly to you. Is it really THAT important to have a professional headshot? You bet your bottom dollar!
Read MoreYou will never regret pouring into them in this way, because it always goes by way too fast, and it will give them all the confidence they need to see themselves as the incredible human being you raised them to be! Way to be amazing mom!
Read MoreIf you scream into the trees that you are ready, prepare for an answer.
Read MoreBuckle up! 80’s Glamour Shots and Diet Culture. Go ahead and grab a seat right down in front of my soapbox, and let’s talk about it, shall we?
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Sometimes being a soloprenuer can be so very lonely. Man, it’s in the name even. I don’t think I was adequately prepared to leave a career of being the person that 500 students relied on for everything to this new life where most of my time is spent behind the scenes and on my own. It took a toll this winter, and I swear January and February were here for 9,000 days long.
Read MoreThis is a long and deeply personal post all about a profound experience I recently had. In honor of World Health Day and Child Abuse Prevention Month, I plan to share it with you in an effort to break generational habits of secrets and hidden truths buried beneath a blanket of self-shame. I will never again subscribe to ‘what happens in the house, stays in this house’. Instead, I invite you in. Pull up a chair, get comfortable, and thank you for being here as always.
Read MoreIt has been 5 years since I ran a Senior Team for Studio Bliss, and we are bringing it back baby! This round is going to be better than ever with individual senior session experiences, 5 opportunities for group sessions, team bonding, and a chance for one team member to win a $500 scholarship. So what are you waiting for?!?
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It has always baffled me. Where do all of my tween-aged clients go? Is it because sports and activities pick-up and families are just trying to breathe through the crazy schedules we keep? Is it because your teenagers start bargaining with their life not to show up in pictures, like EVER. Ever. Again! Or does it run deeper?
Read MoreKids tell the most amazing stories. They need no prompting. It’s all unicorns and brain sucking aliens, jellyfish that talk and valiant knights in shining armor. They will beg you to get on the floor with them and race cars or pose like a mermaid sunning herself on a rock. Then, when you start asking them questions about their life, you find out their substitute teacher is like…um…probably 170 or something and you know way more about their best friend’s home life than you should in under two minutes flat. It’s all expression, and it is all fun! But they aren’t the only ones who love a good tale.
Read MoreIf you have been following along with my Wednesday video check-ins, then you have probably heard me talk about my absolute obsession with journaling this year. I have journals of every shape, size, and color in a huge stack next to my bed and they all have a different purpose. You may be asking what in the world this has to do with my photography business, and the short answer is- EVERYTHING!
Read MoreI just wrapped up my very last vacation for the year, and as much as I love new experiences, I am glad to be back home. School is in full swing and the kids’ schedules keep us running hard right on through Winter Break, which means the house is a bit quieter during the day. I have always prioritized printing photographs from our summer excursions to hang on the fridge and on our travel walls. Most phones carry thousands of photographs, but I can’t begin to count the number of clients who have confessed that they never print them, sometimes forget to back them up, and many of them have been a victim to losing them in an unfortunate phone accident. Here is your gentle, friendly reminder to get those babies backed-up and printed off!
Read More2024. It’s a new year, and for me, that means reassessing where I am headed, reflecting on where I’ve been, making goals for the new year, envisioning my joy-filled future life, and creating various vision boards around my house to keep me on track and aligned all year long.
Read More“Give them permission to love themselves.”
This blog post has been a long time coming! One of the most incredible experiences of my lifetime happened a month ago, and since then, I have been processing all of the good that was flowing towards me at a very fast rate. It’s time to share just a very small fraction of this life changing event with you.
Read MoreThe Studio Soul Session Podcast has come out with a second episode, and it is full of joy! In this episode, Elizabeth Bailey sits down to talk with Katey Kratz, owner of On A Good Note. Katey is in the business of happiness coaching, which fits in perfectly with the mission behind Studio Bliss. Both women have learned the value of creating the life they were meant to lead by reframing and refocusing with intent.
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Finding joy. Elizabeth Bailey is an award-winning photographer from Springfield, Illinois who has fought adversity and found joy behind her camera lens. She is on a mission to reflect beauty, a sense of belonging and self-worth back to her clients through the portrait experience and now by podcasting. The Soul Session Podcast delves deep into our innate human need for creating connections with one another through storytelling and imagery.
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