04/28/2026
Two weekends ago was one that was incredibly healing for me personally.
Hopefully one day it will be one of the more positive experiences our kiddos have had with us having a business as well.
If you'll indulge, it's a longer post. And it connects so much of our personal journey over the past 18 months into one moment.
In August of 2024, our family was in a drastically different place than we are now. We're in the same home, but we were at a point of stress that many didn't fully see. And we definitely did our best to keep it away from professional (and personal) relationships.
Professionally there was a lot of change. And admittedly, this was change that was of no one's fault but my own.
• Giving in to an out of town recruiter pulling me away from teaching full time and running the business,
• Working that full time marketing gig and managing our production business,
• Being laid off and diving back in to our business full-time with minimal client load and minimal budget for client outreach...
These things would generally be enough to make most people develop (at least a fraction of) the grey hair I've earned in my own beard and on my head.
But we were also actively caring for Samantha's parents in their declining health. Mowing their lawn, taking out their trash, helping take them to doctor's appointments as we could, and then later in November helping them load the moving truck so they could be closer to their oncologist.
The TL;DR version:
As a father, as a husband, as a business owner–it was a stressful time. More like a "balls-in-a-vice-in-every-direction" kind of time.
Financial outlook? lol.
Family? sad face.
Mental health, lol again.
So, whiney-man-boy...what's the problem?
When gigs came up, we took what we could. And I broke one of my own personal rules: never work on your kid's birthdays.
SO in September, just on the precipice of major change in our family life I drove across the state for wedding gig in Northeastern KS. On the sweet little kiddo in the photo's birthday.
And if you're not a wedding video/photo person, you may not get how much of a commitment that is.
Driving? 6 hours.
Wedding day? 8-12 hours.
Ibuprofen? Lots.
Getting home? 3 hours of work to catalog footage & audio and make sure nothing is lost before editing.
Did we get to do presents early? Yup.
But it was the idea...that "dad won't be here for me for my big day."
So on the back end, I returned from the wedding.
Got backlogged on work that we had to take to just make our bills.
Family life, the guilt of being gone for a big moment in my kiddo's life, and the weight of having both of Sam's parents pass away meant I prioritized family over the work.
Something I should have been doing from the beginning.
And to be honest, I had a couple of terrible client experiences during that time. I didn't do a great job of communicating, and life was hard.
But the couple whose wedding film was shot on AJ's birthday were so patient.
As we healed as a family, and as a business, while also managing our workload for existing clients, they were never anything but polite and understanding.
Their film is one of my favorites we've completed. We never shared it, but you can truly feel their love for others, and one another. And to thank them for their kindness we offered a photoshoot–they name the time, they name the place–and we'll be there.
And in the same spirit of kindness, understanding that family comes first, and genuine love for people, they did something truly special.
They gifted the photoshoot to their parents for Christmas this past year. And 1 week before their anniversary, a day after I spent the entire evening shooting and editing prom photos for LHS, we were in the car on the way to Manhattan, KS.
This time as a family.
This time to capture images for their family. For the first time in 15 years that their family had familyphotos captured.
This time, with me truly understanding the significance and importance of documenting this moment for their tribe.
And it was wonderful.
And after, AJ asked if she could have an impromptu photo session.
40 photos, each one documenting who she was on this particular day. A playful, silly 7 year old.
Sam and I were able to take her (and her sister) to various parts of a new town, exploring their shopping mall with snacks aplenty.
This time she appreciated us being able to visit somewhere new, and the fruits of our hard work on the business, and in life, and our rebuilding over the past 18 months.
This time we were able to have the photos back in less than 24 hours.
And to be honest, when you're in the thick of chaos personally and professionally, you sometimes forget how much skill you actually DO have at your craft. To see that we could have fun as a family, deliver a fantastic product for a more than deserving family, and knock things out of the park quickly?
This time it was healing.
And this time, it was healing for our kiddos, too.
- Ryan
