It’s time for my favorite (but also the one I dread because it takes FOREVER to write) blog of the year! Each year I love to reflect on what made it a good year, what I learned, what was my favorite and so much more. Buckle up for this year’s 2023 highlights as I transitioned from a multi focused Denver photographer to a personal brand photographer.

What New Thing I Tried

I can now add professional podcaster to my list of titles! This year I partnered with my new biz bestie and we put out a podcast for Christian business owners. We empower women to be the CEO of their business by offering encouragement and practical business advice from a kingdom perspective. It has been amazing, difficult, stretching, empowering and so much more. We did 58 episodes and have already planned out much of 2024. You can check it out here!

I also partnered with Highlands Ranch City Lifestyle Magazine and my photos appeared in 8 issues this year including 3 cover images (with more to come in 2024).

What Was My Favorite

Once again, my senior rep team was my favorite thing in 2024. It was a small but mighty team this year and I just loved spending time with them. We did 3 group sessions (including one in the pouring rain and included a paint fight). All of these girls I have been photographing (in some capacity) for a few years and it just makes me smile to see what beautiful, smart, caring young ladies they are growing up to be. I will be taking a break from my rep team next year and I am already sad just thinking about not having some fun, young ladies to do creative sessions with. I might bring it back at some point (more as a creative outlet for me than anything else). Let me know if your senior girl would want a fun, styled senior session and maybe I will plan one.

What I am Most Thankful For

This is a tough one. I am not sure I can boil it down to just ONE thing. So here are a few things that have me thanking God for.

• My Community. I have worked hard to foster a group of biz besties and small business owners to support each other. It is a joy to have mutually supportive people surrounding me.
• YOU! My faithful readers, clients and friends who support me and cheer me on. I can’t say thank you enough.
• A new purpose and direction. I have really stretched myself to figure out the next phase of my business. It has been a hard year of relentlessly pursuing what I am being called to and it is finally falling into place.
• Getting to do what I love. I am so blessed to be able to do what God has called me to do and what I love to do. I truly is a win/win and I am so grateful.

Where I Traveled

This year was a good one for travel! In March we took a family trip to Disneyland and while it rained quite a bit, it was SO MUCH FUN! Traveling with teenagers is amazing. In May, we went to Nashville to see my niece graduate from college/nursing school. June brought my sister and I to Aspen to do a fun, destination shoot for our kids who are seniors. In July, I co-hosted a retreat in the Colorado mountains for business owners. August took us on a quick family day-trip to the Great Sand Dunes in southern Colorado. In October, I went to Costa Rica to photograph a business retreat. It was amazing and full of adventure and FUN! In November, I traveled to Orlando to speak at a workshop about branding and your value as a business owner. For December, I co-hosted a business planning retreat. We also took multiple trips to our family cabin in the Rockies for some rest and relaxation throughout the year. What a blessing this year has been!

What I Learned

Again…how do I just boil this down to one thing. This year I learned that I need to put myself out there. To try new things. That everyone is scared and you just have to do it scared. That it is okay to pivot and change (and that we aren’t supposed to stay stagnate). I have learned to trust myself more and to not be paralyzed any longer. And most of all…I have learned to tap into my value and share it with the world (and to help others to do the same). I can’t wait for 2024 and pushing myself even further into brand photography and also starting to do some brand strategy consulting and branding consulting. Stay tuned for more of that!

What I am Leaving Behind

I am not going to lie…this is hard to write. I am leaving behind senior photography in 2024. It breaks my heart a little bit as it is one of my favorite things, but it also takes me away from my family a lot on the nights and weekends and as I only have a few more years before my nest is empty, I want to make the most of that time. I might be doing some senior minis and a few select senior sessions for those who have been in the LiLo family for a long time. So if you are wondering come summer….reach out and ask! Thanks for always being so supportive and for following me in my progression as a business owner.

Where I am Headed

This is the exciting part. 2024 is going to be a year of refinement, of putting myself out there even more and of exciting change. I am looking forward to a year of stepping into supporting small business owners and brand to help them define their brand and represent themselves visually to the world. It means I am going to be working more as a brand strategist, doing some brand strategy consulting, brand coaching, visual audits, helping business owners define their brand and help them show up as a business owner with confidence and in a way that helps their business level up and be even more successful.

I have always loved being a cheerleader for other businesses and I can’t wait to do that even more in 2024 through my Christian business podcast, brand coaching, templates and brand photography. So if you are a small business owner or if you know a small business owner, I would love to help you clarify your brand and level up your business. Just click here for more information.

2023 Highlights

Just want the quick run-down? Here are the numbers.

40 senior sessions

27 Family minis

4 Workshops/Retreats

8 Times being published in a magazine (3 covers)

67 Branding clients

13 Volunteering for photos at church

58 Episodes of our podcast

2 Music album covers

4 Other photo sessions

8 Trips (personal and business)

Just writing these down made my eyes water with gratitude and wonder.

You did it! Congrats on making it to the end of this long post. Thank you for being here! If you are just here for the pretty pictures, enjoy some of my favorite images from 2023 below.

If you want to work with me for your photos, I would love to chat. You can find out more info here. And if you want to see last year’s recap, click here.