There have been two times since starting this brave little business that I’ve launched something, then held my breath.

Four years ago, family films were incorporated into every one of my packages. I was certain I was scuttling a healthy photography business. 222 films later, it seems God had other plans for it.

Today, I launch a sub-brand that has been tugging at my heart for years. It’s dedicated to courageous families with untold stories—the ones who’ve lived through fire, fought invisible battles, and whose stories deserve to be celebrated too.

There’s nothing predictable about this new sub-brand:

– I don’t know how these clients will hear about me.
– I don’t know if they will want what I offer.
– I don’t know how many will be able to pay (‘cause they don’t have to).
– I don’t know how much my empathetic heart can bear.

It doesn’t matter. I feel called to this work, and all my heart is on the table. It feels like my faith, my story, my fifteen years as a PT—as well as the families who inspired this brand—have all led me to today.

And so I give you Chiaroscuro Photos + Films (kee-aa-ruh-skyour-row, from Italian chiaro, “light,” and scuro, “dark”—a technique employed by visual artists to convey light piercing the darkness).

Because there is light above the clouds and beauty in the shadows.