About 7 years ago I started Becerra Photography because of her, Sofia Sky Becerra. When Kara was pregnant with Sofia we decided that it was important for her to be able to stay home with our kids. That would mean that I would be the sole provider of our little family. I realized that my small teacher’s salary wouldn’t really cover our basic needs, and so I started shooting weddings as a side business. But things started to grow, my business multiplied and pretty soon, shooting weddings was my full time job and teaching was my side business.
This past year has been my most successful in business. I’ve never done more photoshoots. I’ve never made more money. I’ve achieved a dream that many aspire to; I was able to support my family as a full-time photographer. But looking back on my 2011 calendar I made a stark realization. I had worked EVERY Saturday from March through December 17th. Up until this point in our lives working nights and weekends hasn’t been a problem, because we’ve been able to make family time during the week. But in 2011 my daughter Sofia started Kindergarten, and my son Gabriel started pre-school. Tuesdays can’t be our Saturdays anymore.
Recently a hero of mine passed away, and his passing has made me think a lot about my business and my family. I wasn’t on the Steve Jobs bandwagon, when the iPad came out, or the iPhone or even the iPod. Nah, I was really excited back in 1997 when Steve Jobs came back to Apple. I liked that he was a rebel CEO, a guy that combined art with technology. Steve Jobs took some serious hippy philosophy and applied it to a totally non-hippy environment. I liked that. He was tenacious and determined. I liked that too.
Like many Apple\Steve Jobs fans I read a lot about my late hero over the past few months. I read articles and blogs and Walter Isaacson’s biography on my iPhone in one hand while I rocked my baby to sleep with the other. The book was inspiring, lots of great insight and personal stories impressed me. But what hit me most was Job’s explanation for opening up about his private life. He said, “I wanted my kids to know me. I wasn’t always there for them and I wanted them to know why and to understand what I did.”
So as I’m holding my baby, Miriam, and reading these words from my hero “I wanted my kids to know me”, I made a decision. My kids will not know me from a newspaper article, they will know me because I’m going to spend every moment I can with them. They are growing up so fast. Sofia blows me away with how fast she is learning Spanish. Gabe is a little stud on the monkey bars, and Miriam makes me laugh every single day. How can I miss out on that? I won’t. So even though I love shooting weddings, I love interacting with my clients and using my creative ideas to capture their memories, 2012 will be my last year working as a professional photographer.
This doesn’t mean I’m putting my camera away forever. I’ll still do a few photo jobs here and there, but for the most part when 2013 comes around I’ll be going back to the 9-5 Monday through Friday way of life. I’ll be returning to education full time. Who knows I might actually take pictures just for the fun of it!
Obviously I’ve given this a lot of thought. I’ve talked with several friends about my decision not to continue my business beyond 2013. Sometimes people react and say “Oh that’s so sad!”. I guess there is some truth to that, but really photography has always been a job. It’s been a fun job, a fabulous job, but at the end of the day, it’s still just the way I put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads. It’s the way I’ve been able to provide for our family so Kara can stay home with our kids. I know there are photographers who are able to make it all work, who can have successful businesses and a great family life and I hope my decision doesn’t come across as judging them. I’m just trying to explain my situation and what I’ve decided is best for my family.
I’ve had a great ride. I’ve learned so much. I never thought that I’d own my own business, be named Best Wedding Photographer in Oregon, or travel like I have. I want to say thank you to every single person who has hired me over the past 7 years. It’s been a pleasure working for you.
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