Giving up the day job and becoming a full time family photographer

Two weeks ago something monumental happened.

I walked out of the John Lewis head office in Victoria for the very last time and embarked upon my journey of working for myself full time.

It's the dream for so many people and the significance of it was not lost on me.

It was a big day! No, I'm not doing it justice - it was a HUGE day!

Not least because I'd been with them for almost 11 years. But when a restructure came up and the option of voluntary redundancy was on the table, I knew there was no other path for me to follow. I'd always felt like a square peg in a round hole, going through the motions. And when you return from mat leave and say you want to go part time, it IS career limiting, I don't care what anyone else says. I'm sure that resonates with many of you.

I started my Surrey baby and family photography business 8 years ago as a creative outlet and since then I've photographed literally hundreds of beautiful families across Surrey, but being a mummy and working part time in London 3-days a week meant I was never able to scale the business as much as I'd want to. Now though, I'm filled with excitement about what's to come for Lucy Down Photography and also my other businesses Fresh Leaf Creative and Molly & Moo (more about those in future posts!)

It's an uber exciting time to be a woman, and to be embracing a portfolio career. I'm so exhilarated about the journey ahead of me.

At the moment I'm networking like mad. If you're a photographer in the Surrey area who favours support over competition, then I'd love to hear from you - it would be great to meet up for a coffee :)

Or maybe you're looking for a newborn or baby photographer this year? This post has been all about my story, but now it's time to document your own! Contact me for more informatio, visit my home page or learn a little more about what to expect from a session with me