My name is Brittany Rosenmiller and I am an award winning and published wedding and portrait photographer from St. Charles, Missouri. I have been a passionate hobbyist for over ten years but I officially opened my business on January 1, 2019 after two years of steadily photographing small events and families.
For me, 2018 was a life-changing year and it led me straight to where I am today. That January, my mother passed away unexpectedly. The entire year was difficult as I navigated a lot of firsts without my mom such as holidays, birthdays, and the like but in the midst of all of this, I was buzzing on the inside with all of my photography goals. I had always known and recognized that life is short but losing my mother so suddenly showed me just how quickly things can change and it molded a new perspective of the world around me.
That September I had my first art show in Kansas City, immediately followed by what was supposed to be my last wedding. I remember having an extensive conversation with the couple that day about how I was switching focus and just going to keep photography as a hobby and how I was really excited to get on a new path for my career.
But then the wedding day unfolded.
There were many moments throughout the day where I felt my soul mourning this last wedding – the ceremony, the first kiss, the dancing at the reception. With all of the love I felt for these families and all of the happy tears being shed, it didn’t feel right to stop but I was set on it and I just brushed it off to the wedding day magic.
When I got home that night and began backing up all of the images, I sat down in my office and cried. I’ll never forget it because it genuinely felt like grief all over again and in that moment, I knew that quitting wasn’t an option. One day, these images will be all that these families have left and I knew this personally because all I had left of my mother was photos. And this isn’t just an average day – this is a wedding!
It was in that moment that it clicked for me: I am meant to do this for people because I understand what these photos mean to them today, tomorrow, next year, and even in 50 years. I knew how important all of the small moments were, I knew how special all of the photos would be now and that they only increase in sentimental value as time passes. Even though losing my mother was the most painful thing I have experienced so far, her loss is truly what helped me understand the real value of photography and that it has nothing at all to do with money.
I have to say – now that I am on this path, I feel like this is where I am supposed to be. I have been maintaining my education and working with amazing clients and things have been absolutely wonderful! I believe that my understanding of the value of my work is what pulled me back to photography because I was ready to move on but there was definitely a bigger plan for me, even if I wasn’t in on it yet.
Any business venture can be a little scary, especially when it comes to investing in yourself and making life changing decisions but overall, the path I am on feels so right that these moments don’t affect me in a negative way. There are times when I worry about my security within the industry itself but my heart and soul is so deeply invested in what I do and what I provide for my clients and their families that those worries dissolve quickly.
For me, it feels like I was fighting the calling hard enough – it was time to answer it! I toyed with cameras for years and I always enjoyed photographing anything and everything unfolding in front of me, making mistakes and learning from them along the way. I played with different lenses, lighting, subjects – you name it, I probably tried it. Photography has always brought me immense joy but I never thought I would pursue it as a full time career because even to me, that sounded like I would be living a life of worry and financial crisis. Now, though, I think that all of the joy it brought me was because I was growing myself into the person I needed to be to fulfill my love for photographing people.
The most miraculous part of all of this is that I have been able to not only do what I love, but make a living off of it. For me, that is the ultimate definition of success and while getting here was painful and a bit scary, there has always been something assuring me that if I push, I will get through.
If you’d like to see my latest work, posts where I gush about my clients, and behind the scenes photos and videos, you can find me here:
Website: BrittanyLynnImagery.com
Instagram: @brittanylynnimagery
Facebook: BrittanyLynnImageryMo
I am also on Youtube and Pinterest as Brittany Lynn Imagery where I love sharing what I’m working on, tips for decorating your home and personal spaces with imagery, inspiration for photo sessions, and much more!