What a whirlwind of a year it’s been! As my first full calendar year in Illinois, I had more success than I ever could have imagined. Last Christmas, some family members and I created bingo boards for the year ahead, and one of my columns focused on my photography business. My goals for the year were to:
- Work six trials
- Put out three model calls
- Complete a year of 52 Frames
- Have 5 portrait shoots
- Submit 6 entries to the Pet Photography Awards
Heading into 2025, my primary aim was to grow my network of clients and colleagues. The dog community is small, but moving from Texas to Illinois still felt like starting over in a lot of ways! I rely on word of mouth to grow my business, and I needed to find some new mouths. Most of these goals were created with that in mind! So, now that we’re looking at 2026, how did I do? And where do we go from here?
This was a bit of an understatement- I’ve covered 15 events this year, and still have two more to squeeze in before the month is up! From agility (of course) to bitework, dock diving, disc, and even a water trial, I was able to shoot & deliver thousands of photos showcasing the wide world of dog sports. While I loved every minute of it, these weekends were hard on my back and hard on my schedule! My aim for 2026 is to actually scale back the events side of my business to focus more time on portraits and competing with my own dogs. I’m shooting to cover just one event per month next year- wish me luck holding to that!
When I set my goals in January, I wasn’t planning to enter the Embark course. But thanks to the very specific shots the course required, I ended up putting out 13 model calls! Not all of them panned out for submissions, but each of them taught me something new. Model calls are so fun for exploring new locations, trying out different compositions, and the freedom to chase “that ONE shot.” I won’t be completing the next round in 2026, but I do want to continue some model calls regardless!
My 52 Frames page has been sadly neglected this year— I barely kept my “streak” going due to the time spent on events and Embark, and I threw in the towel on week 49. It unfortunately ended on a whimper when I forgot to submit a photo and I hate that I fumbled it so close to the finish line, but I can’t say I’m too upset about it ending. The challenges have been helpful to keep my creativity going in the past, but many of the recent prompts have felt more constraining than motivating. This is one goal that will be retired instead of carried over to next year. I may look for a less frequent challenge to replace it, or come up with my own! Monthly feels like a better frequency for my current schedule- maybe that will be how I keep the blog alive next year.
Despite spending so much time on events, I was also nearly able to triple my goal for portraits, completing 14 signature sessions! This is one area that I want to focus on next year— less time on events will mean more flexibility for portraits, which are really my favorite. I’d also like to offer more seasonal mini sessions in 2026, which will start with some snow minis on January 2nd!
And last but not least, the IPPA awards! I’ve already written about this elsewhere so I won’t belabor the point too much. In case you missed it, I ended up submitting 10 images this year, 6 of which were awarded (including my first-ever silver award)! Next year, I want to also branch out and enter more competitions than just this one. The feedback from “awards season” has been instrumental in driving my growth over the past couple of years and I'd love to learn from more sources.
Overall, I’m thrilled with the growth I’ve achieved this year from both a business and artistic standpoint and excited to see what 2026 will bring. I’m so grateful to everyone who has purchased an event photo, booked a session, responded to a model call, or just followed along! I truly couldn’t do this without you. Cheers to a phenomenal 2025 and many more years to come!