The Studio at Fountain City Newborn Session
At the end of The Studio at Fountain City newborn session, Beth told me that I didn’t have to put all the time in to write them a blog post. At the time, my editing to-do list was small and I wanted to share the photos from my first newborn session in my studio, so I responded with, but I WANT to. And then the rest of the week ensued and I had event after event and soon my editing to do list was 5 deep. It came time to blog Peyton’s photos and I text Beth and told her I was taking her up on the “no-blog-post” thing. You see there is so much more that goes into a blog post than what you would guess. Picking the photos is the easiest part honestly. Resizing them, renaming them, giving them alt-tags, writing the text, redoing all the things of how it shows up on google like the URL, title, and description. Beth is my right-hand lady and she usually does all this for me, but she is on maternity leave right now and I just felt the pressure raise when she said those words out loud.
But then.
As I scrolled through Peyton’s gallery.
I wanted to write him a blog post. Not because he would ever care. But because I need the world to see the example of the Tuesburgs as a pillar of hope in all this insanity that’s around us right now.
I’ve said it before and I know I’ll say it again, but the Lord is the main source of the words spilled on this blog post. Yes, I think it helps my business and I’m super grateful for that, but ultimately, He gives me these words to write to further His kingdom and that is its sole purpose. Growing my business is just a happy bonus that He so graciously gives me. So, as I’m writing this, I’m thinking that someone out there somewhere needs to read this today.
Honestly, I don’t even know where to begin with this family. We met in a small group through our church 4 years ago. I was honored to be the photographer to shoot their maternity photos when they were pregnant with Scarlett. It was at that very first session I did for them that I realized what humble and amazing people they were. They knew how to love like Christ. They knew how to ask questions. They knew how to listen. They genuinely cared.
From week to week in our small group, Beth would always remember everyone’s prayer requests and ask about them the following week. She would always be the first to bring it up and how she kept everyone’s straight is beyond me because at one point we had 8 different couples in our group.
Fast forward to the time in their life where Beth decided to quit her job to stay home with her sweet girl. At the same time, I had just had Grayson and decided I needed to start looking for a virtual assistant to help with Amanda May Photos. I spoke about it in our small group and Beth perked up and said well I would love to do that job! I didn’t think much about it at the time because I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Lots of people say lots of things in the moment that after they think through, may change their minds.
I opened up applications and sure enough, Beth applied. I still made her go through the formal interview process. This was the first time I had actually “hired” someone and I wanted to give everyone a fair chance. When it was time to decide who I was going to hire, I had it down to two girls… Beth and Traci. Both so talented and so needed in different ways. Traci did join the AMP team as well in a different capacity that looking back was literally a gift from God, but that is a WHOLE other blog post ha! So Beth was it. And I can’t tell you how much the Lord has used both Adam and Beth through our AMP relationship to speak to me, to help grow AMP, and to shine His light.
Beth is a virtual assistant but there are times where her assistantship becomes not so virtual. She has helped me at the Small Business Workshop both years and both times she stayed for all the speakers, eager to learn from them to make her better at her job. She has poured countless words of encouragement into my heart and there are no words I can every say to describe my gratitude for that. She sees the innermost part of AMP. She knows pretty much every single thing about my business baby. She sees the struggles that I have and the energy I pour into it and instead of judging or criticizing… she loves and encourages. And on top of that, Adam has sacrificed to help in SO many ways too when it’s not even his job! I’m not paying him, but he has showed up to the business workshop carrying in loads of food and drinks from Costco. He has taken mail stuff to the post office during COVID when pregnant Beth could not leave her house. He has loaded my car and unloaded my car more times than I can count and he is ALWAYS doing it with a smile on his face.
I hate the stigma that the title assistant gets. Like that person is less than or beneath the person they are assisting. But in the AMP family, that is so not the case. Beth is just as equal as I am when it comes to AMP. She does the less flashy work, but the dedication and the passion that she pours into this business of mine literally melts my heart.
We joke all the time about how if this was the 14th century, we would have already set up Scarlett and Grayson to get married because they are SO stinking cute together. But honestly, we don’t need our kids to be married to feel like family. I am so thankful for the love that both Beth and Adam pour into something that they don’t have to pour into. I’m thankful for the accountability (like when Beth reminds me that I don’t have to post on social media every single night) and the realness that she brings to the table. I love her ability to bring new, fresh ideas to the table when I barely have time to maintain all the workflows that we currently have time, much less think of ways to improve them.
The Lord is the one who crossed our paths and made it possible to work together and I’m so so so thankful that He did.
So my encouragement to you today, is to open up your relationships to God. When you are looking for someone to come into your life, ask Him first. Be open to what He brings to the table and watch Him work in amazing ways to help blossom the little business baby that you may be doing!
So thankful that the Tuesburgs decided to do The Studio at Fountain City newborn pictures with their sweet little babe. It was glorious getting to snuggle him and document all his perfectness! This was my first The Studio at Fountain City newborn session and I LOVED it! If you’re looking for a newborn photographer and your open to coming to a studio… email me! amanda@amandamayphotos.com 🙂
I’m a Knoxville Wedding Photographer that loves to travel…I shoot anywhere! Click here to contact me with any questions you have about pricing or booking! If you liked what you saw above, go ahead and follow me on Facebook or Instagram to see my daily updates of the latest sessions!
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