This post is going to be pretty similar to the “Meet Savannah” section on my main page but I thought it was the best place to start as I begin this new journey of organizing my thoughts and putting them into words for the internet to read. I am truly truly honored that you’re taking the time to review my work and now reading a little about my photography business, my daily life, and whatever else I can come up with for you all as time goes on.
Before I became a photographer, I became a mom. I was a young mom. Not a really young mom. But a young mom, nonetheless. I found out that I was pregnant with my son o n e week after graduating from college when I was just 23 years old. I was career minded, goal oriented, and ready to take on the world. But God had a different plan & the path that my life would take couldn’t have been further from what I had envisioned—and of course, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Over the following few years I acquired a few more children to add to my growing collection and I can now proudly say I am a mama of 4 little nuggets ages 4, 3, and 1.5-year-old twins.
Being a mama became my first inspiration to get into photography. I never picked up a camera with the intention of becoming a professional photographer; I just wanted to document my kids in cute outfits. Plus- I was SO happy with my former career. I worked in the hotel industry, coordinating events & doing exactly what I always pictured I would do. As I posted my photos to social media, friends & family began to ask if I would take photos for them too—a quick family shoot, a 1st birthday, a pregnancy announcement. Soon it finally occurred to me that this was actually something I could do ~semi-professionally~ on the side!
In the fall of 2017, I lost my husband unexpectedly –something that I do plan to write about more in depth down the road—and again my life’s path was forever changed. Initially I told my bosses that I needed to take a few weeks to grieve & process and just be with my family. Those few weeks turned into a month and eventually that month lead to me returning to work only to pack up my office and leave behind the career that I *thought* I was born to do. I had two toddlers at home and they needed me, all of me. I suddenly had to play the roles of both mom & dad and I couldn’t let them down. So, I leaned on photography as a source of income while still spending the vast majority of my time with the two most important little people in my life. I educated myself, took on free sessions to practice, educated myself some more, snapped photos of my kids for extra practice and then I educated myself even more. I knew I wanted to make this little side hustle my main gig for a multitude of reasons and I am so proud of how far my work has come from my very first shoot to now.
It has taken YEARS to finally find my workflow, my editing flow, the colors I’m drawn to, the lighting I prefer to shoot in, develop wardrobe guides for my clients, and just truly find my artistic style- and man, do I love what I’ve finally landed on. I hope that you do too and that you’ll soon be on the other side of my lens!
If you have a unique idea for a shoot, have any questions, or just want to chat to see if we’d be a good fit for your session vision, please don’t hesitate to tap the “contact” button at the top of this page. You can also email me directly at hello@savannahtutko.com.
Savannah
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