Today I am starting a new blog series called “Behind the Scenes”. The purpose of this space on my website is twofold. First, I will showcase an in-depth look at my recent work and give some behind the scenes perspective on those shoots. Second, I will pull back the curtain into some areas of my personal life so you can get to know me, the person behind the lens. I will highlight the latter in today’s post sharing some of the behind the scenes moments in my life since first picking up the camera 16 years ago.

2 random facts:

1. I dislike shopping for groceries.
2. I am an avid podcast listener.

While those two facts seem disconnected, one is key to making the other manageable. On Monday mornings I get myself out the door to Costco with the promise of listening to something enjoyable. I walk around with my headphones in, transported to whatever conversation I am listening to and distracted from the mundane task of buying food. One of my favourite things to say to my husband (multiple times a week) is, “I learned something fascinating today on *insert podcast name here*!” He smiles sweetly, nods his head and knows he is about to have a knowledge download from his wife.

Finding inspiration

Recently I found the Katelyn James podcast. As a photographer, I am a little late to the game discovering her, but none the less I have been quite inspired by her content and her story telling ability. 😊 She is incredibly down to earth and creates encouraging content. She is also very honest with the aspects of her life that she shares. A few weeks ago I sent her an email to let her know just how much I love her podcast. To my surprise, I heard back from her within an hour. For those of you who have never heard of her, she is a pretty big deal in the wedding photography industry. It was humbling that she took the time to write back. One of her encouragements to the photographers she mentors is to share the behind the scenes of their lives with their clients, so I am taking her up on that.

Learning to Shoot

My journey beyond point and shoot photography started when we dropped our camera when Aiden was a few months old. Cell phone cameras were not yet a thing, and we knew that we needed to be able to document our life now that we had a baby. Within a few days of being camera-less, we headed to a real camera store and bought our first DSLR. We proudly took our Canon Rebel XTi everywhere we went and enthusiastically took pictures all the time. Our first lens purchase was the “Nifty 50”, Canon’s inexpensive 50 mm 1.8 lens. That lens showed me the amazing world of background blur and all things bokeh. I loved the dreamy pictures that I could take of my little boy. While my husband loved photographing nature and landscapes, I was very drawn to photographing people.

A few more years went by, two more kids came along and I still found myself snapping away with my Rebel and my 50 mm lens. My eye for photography was getting better. Friends and family started noticing my photos on social media and asked me to take their family photos.

At this point I had a 5, 3 and 1 year old at home and definitely looking for a creative outlet and a break from my kids. On a whim, I decided to open up Laura Perron Photography and less than a week later I had my website up and running and started advertising.

Homeschool Years

My business grew steadily for the first few years, but when our oldest was in grade one I started noticing that he was struggling academically in school. After a lot of conversations, prayer and research we decided to homeschool for grade 2. With two kids in school at home and a toddler running around, my hands were full and my focus was definitely split between growing a business and taking care of my family. A few more years went by, and I was still happily serving clients and schooling two kids at home. What I did not know was that life was about to throw me a huge curveball.

Rest and Recovery

We always hear the sage advice to expect the unexpected. But until life stops you in your tracks for the first time, you cannot truly appreciate that phrase. In the spring of 2017, I was volunteering in my daughters’ classroom when I started to feel unwell. 48 hours later I was being transferred to the ICU with an out of control sepsis infection. My husband received a phone call from the doctor that no one wants to receive. He was told to get to the hospital with the kids so they could say goodbye to their mom. They could not get ahead of the infection with all of the antibiotics they were pumping into my system and the situation was dire. I am a firm believer in prayer, and I believe that my life was spared because of how many people were praying for a different outcome. I was in and out of the hospital for the next 6 weeks, and left very weak from the infection that had overtaken my body. It was the first time in my life that I had been wiped out by something that I could not fix myself. It took me a long time to process everything that had happened physically and emotionally.

New opportunities

That fall our three kids headed back to “real” school. I believed that now was the time to really go after my photography business and build it to the potential that it could be. At the same time, an opportunity to start a volunteer position at our church presented itself. One of my biggest passions in life is music. Interested in seeing where it could lead, I said yes. In many ways working at our church was the dream job I never knew that I wanted. I got to work with passionate leaders and use my gifting in music to work with others. Because I was a photographer, I volunteered to take staff photos that could be used on our church’s website. Little did I know, life was about to throw a few more unexpected challenges.

Mourning with those who mourn

It was Valentine’s Day and each of the staff were coming to the lobby and taking their turn in front of the camera. It was fun to interact with everyone and see who was shy and who was confident. I took one picture in particular of a wonderful man named Pastor Stan. I remember looking at the back of the camera and saying to him, “Wow Pastor Stan, you look so good in this picture! You look like an author and this picture is your book cover.” He laughed a little embarrassed and went back to his work. Little did we both know that this picture would be used at his funeral a few short weeks later. Pastor Stan passed away very unexpectedly and our church community was rocked with grief at the loss. Unbelievably, a few short months later, another beloved pastor was diagnosed with cancer. By the end of the year, another one of the pictures I had taken that day was being used at Pastor Quinn’s funeral. Even though I knew those pictures were a gift and a blessing to their families, I did not know how to process the emotions of being the person who took them.

Packing it up

Now that I have several years perspective, I can appreciate what I was feeling at the time. I had a lot of unprocessed grief about my own illness and also the unexpected deaths of people I loved dearly. At the time I grew to have a very negative association with my camera and literally packed it away in the back of a closet. People would ask me to take their family or newborn pictures, and I never felt like I could adequately explain why I could not. In 2018, I made the decision to officially close Laura Perron Photography. I packed up my studio, moved all of my gear into storage in the house and felt like a bit of a failure to be honest. Thankfully I continued the work at the church that I loved, but my camera quietly collected dust.

Covid 👎🏻

Enough has been written on this subject by others. Suffice it to say, it was another curveball season. 😊😷 When we were starting to come out on the other side of that very difficult season I found myself wondering what was next for me.

Dusting off the lens

In 2022 my good friend Jacqueline called with an opportunity to be the set photographer on her show, In the Jumpseat with Jacqueline. I can’t quite remember how the conversation went, but I think I politely said no. We have been friends long enough I should have known that would not be the end of our talk. She persistently and lovingly encouraged me to consider it. I don’t know what made me finally say yes, but with much nervousness I showed up to set with my gear. I remember praying that I would remember how to do this and capture some good behind the scenes shots.

Rediscovering my passion

I have now had the opportunity to work on three different productions with Jacqueline, and her husband Bill. Their company, TCF4 productions has been a huge blessing in my life. Through my work on their shows, I have rediscovered my love for photography and met SO many fascinating people in the process. I also get to work with an amazing crew who inspire me in my work.

Laura Perron Photography 2.0

As my kids get older I have felt my capacity increasing again to do more outside of our home. I have contemplated applying for different jobs or going back to school. But as I chatted those options through with my husband none of them seem to be the right fit for now. I knew a few things that still remained true as I was trying to figure out this next stage of life.

1. I love being home and available to my kids when they are home from school.
2. I love volunteering at our church and putting my musical gifting to work in that context.
3. I feel ready for a challenge.

The more I was behind the camera on set and doing photoshoots here and there for clients I remembered how much I love working as a photographer. Throughout this series I will go into more detail on some of the aspects that brought me full circle to this job again.

In this series I hope to:

1. Take time to reflect on what I have learned from my past experiences.
2. Look at what has changed in the industry (so much!) and what has stayed the same.
3. Delve deeper into my mission, vision and goals for my business.
4. Explain what launching and learning has and continues to look like for me.

I hope that as I share lessons along the way of what I have learned that it will be helpful for those who may be experiencing something similar. Thanks for taking the time to get to know me.