HI THERE AND WELCOME TO MY FIRST EVER BLOG POST!

I AM SO HAPPY YOU’RE HERE AND READING ALONG.

I FIGURED WITH RECENTLY LAUNCHING MY WEBSITE AND HAVING QUITE A FEW NEW FACES AROUND HERE THAT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO INTRODUCE MYSELF, SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHO’S BEHIND THE LENS, AND TELL YOU ABOUT WHY I CHOSE THE NAME GRACE IN FOCUS PHOTOGRAPHY FOR MY BUSINESS AND WHAT IT MEANS TO ME!

SO FIRST THINGS FIRST, I’M MELANIE. I’M A 22 YEAR OLD, COFFEE AND CARBS KINDA GIRL (BASIC, I KNOW…) AND AM ABSOLUTELY BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE TO BE ABLE TO TAKE MY PASSION AND TURN IT INTO A CAREER!

I QUIT MY SAFETY NET OF A JOB THIS LAST MAY TO JUMP INTO PHOTOGRAPHY FULL-TIME AND IT HAS BEEN NOTHING SHORT OF AMAZING. ALL GLORY ASIDE, IT HAS DEFINITELY COME WITH PLENTY OF BUMPS IN THE ROAD, BUT I AM SO SO GRATEFUL FOR EVERY CHALLENGE AND ROAD BLOCK THAT HAS COME MY WAY…

I HAVE A HUGE HEART FOR JESUS AND BELIEVE THAT HE ALWAYS HAS PERFECT TIMING, NO MATTER THE TRIAL OR TRIUMPH.

BESIDES JESUS, COFFEE, AND CARBS…I AM YOUR AVERAGE GIRL WHO LOVES TO ROAM THE AISLES OF TARGET AND WATCH GREY’S ANATOMY OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I HAVE A LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH EARLY MORNINGS AND IF I COULD HAVE ALL THE CATS IN THE WORLD, I WOULD. I’M A HOPELESS ROMANTIC AND ENJOY A GOOD CHICK FLICK NOW AND THEN. MY FAVORITE BOOK RIGHT NOW IS GIRL, WASH YOUR FACE AND I WOULD PROBABLY CRY LIKE A BABY IF I EVER GOT TO MEET THEE AMAZING RACHEL HOLLIS. IN MY FREE TIME I LOVE EXPLORING THE TREASURE VALLEY WITH THE LOVE OF MY LIFE AND LASTLY, MY MIDDLE NAME IS GRACE.

WHICH LEADS ME BACK TO WHERE I STARTED…

…WHY DID I CHOOSE THE NAME GRACE IN FOCUS PHOTOGRAPHY FOR MY BUSINESS AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ME?

LIKE I SAID BEFORE, MY MIDDLE NAME IS GRACE. THIS MIDDLE NAME HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN IN MY FAMILY FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION. GROWING UP I DIDN’T REALLY REALIZE HOW MUCH MY MIDDLE NAME WOULD INSPIRE, LEAD, AND ENCOURAGE ME THROUGHOUT MY LIFE.

WHEN IT CAME TO FINDING THE PERFECT NAME FOR MY PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS, I REALLY STRUGGLED WITH FINDING SOMETHING UNIQUE AND SPECIAL TO ME AND MY MOM ACTUALLY HELPED ME COME UP WITH IT…GRACE IN FOCUS PHOTOGRAPHY. VOILA! I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT AND ITS MEANING TO ME, BUT WAS REALLY APPREHENSIVE OF USING IT AS MY BUSINESS NAME IN FEAR OF WHAT PEOPLE WOULD THINK ABOUT IT AND ITS MEANING TO ME.

THIS IN ITSELF WAS GOD TEACHING ME HOW TO HAVE MORE GRACE, TRUST THE PROCESS, AND LEARN HOW TO USE GRACE WHILE RUNNING MY PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS.

TO ME, GRACE MEANS TO HAVE A LOVING AND SERVING HEART TOWARDS OTHERS, NO MATTER THEIR STORY, WHERE THEY CAME FROM, OR WHAT THEY ARE GOING THROUGH. AS YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER, IT IS MY GOAL AND MY HEART TO SERVE YOU, CAPTURE YOUR STORY, AND GODS GRACE ALL WITHIN EACH SPECIAL, FLEETING AND AUTHENTIC MOMENT.

I WANT TO CAPTURE THE RAW AND REAL MOMENTS. NOT JUST THE HAPPY, INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK WORTHY MOMENTS, BUT THE MOMENTS THAT ARE DERIVED FROM TRIALS AND HARDSHIP AS WELL. YOUR LITTLE ONE WRAPPED AROUND DADDY’S FINGER, THE DOUBLE CHIN YOU GET FROM LAUGHING WAY TOO HARD, THOSE TEENSY, TINY TOES ON YOUR NEWEST LITTLE RAINBOW BABY OR THOSE BIG, WARM HUGS FROM GRANDMA. YOUR PROUDEST AND MOST CONFIDENT SMILE ON THE STRONGEST BODY YOU HAVE EVER HAD BEFORE. THE UNPLANNED SMOOCHES AND THE UNCONTROLLABLE GIGGLES. YOUR SCARS AND YOUR BRUISES. THE STRONG WOMAN OR MOMMA YOU HAVE BECOME. THE STORY THAT HAS LEAD YOU TO WHO YOU ARE TODAY.

I WANT TO CAPTURE THE BEAUTY AND GRACE THAT HAS COME FROM THE STORM AND HARDSHIP YOU HAVE ENDURED…I WANT TO CAPTURE THE BEAUTY AND GRACE THAT HAS COME FROM THE TRIUMPHS AND THE HAPPINESS YOU HAVE CELEBRATED.

IT IS MY JOB TO GIVE YOU GRACE AND PUT HIS GRACE IN FOCUS FROM LEARNING YOUR STORY AND WHO YOU ARE. WHAT MAKES YOU, YOU, WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, OR WHO YOU LOVE THE MOST.

EVERYONE HAS A STORY AND I AM SO HUMBLED THAT I GET TO CAPTURE YOURS.

I HOPE THAT THIS HAS GIVEN YOU A SMALL TASTE OF WHAT MAKES ME, ME AND WHAT DRIVES MY HEART FOR THIS PASSION OF MINE.

I CANNOT WAIT TO MEET YOU, HEAR YOUR STORY, AND SEE WHO YOU ARE THROUGH MY LENS!

XOXO,

MELANIE GRACE