Monthly Archives: April 2015

I had intended a completely different post for today, until I logged on to facebook yesterday late in the afternoon and saw a video post from a super sweetheart girlfriend of mine!

I opened it up because anything she touches or chooses to do is always with heart and full of intention!  This post was absolutely no different!

I know a bit about her story… parts she has trusted me enough to share!  Watching this video yesterday and reading her words and feeling her raw emotion and her bravery, it moved me beyond words could ever express!

I feel like I preach a lot about our stories.  I talk a lot about how real is better than perfect… it IS and I believe that with a full and open heart!  I feel like I speak out a lot about living our stories and sharing them with others because if we can accept who we are and where we come from and love that, then we can fully relate to one another on a deeper level.

I use pretty words and I strategically place pretty images to enhance the “feels” behind those words that I do truly believe in.

But Hannah…. Hannah did something bigger yesterday.

She breathed life and movement into all of that above!

She set fire to fear!

She threw away boundaries and any and all notion of her own personal feelings or insecurities so that she could share her own story and connect people and enlighten people!

She stood up and educated the world and in her bravery she united hearts!

She is truly amazing;  for so many reasons she is amazing!  She was amazing before this video and she will always be amazing for the qualities she has that the video doesn’t even do justice or highlight!

If you have a moment today… please take the time to watch this brave young women share her story!  Watch her show you how beautiful REAL really is and how our true selves are actually more perfect than any made up perfection could possibly be!

Watch how beautiful and courageous and inspiring my friend Hannah truly is!

 

20 years old and she is boldly bringing awareness through social media!

20 years old and she is choosing to educate the world!  She is sitting in her room in college using her voice to connect hearts and do something that is bigger than herself when others her age are more concerned with dates and parties and summer plans!

At 18 we all knew she was something special!  We knew she would do big big things… now at 20 she is already bringing us to our knees with her open heart and her beautiful loving spirit!

This world is better because of people and woman like Hannah!  The world is better because she has always chosen to live happily and joyfully no matter what!  She has chosen strength and an open heart through all her years never letting anything get in her way!  Now she is hoping to share her heart and her joy and her spirit and bring it to others so they may live beautifully as well!

 

 

Hannah @ 18 right before leaving for college!

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  • April 23, 2015 - 3:36 pm

    Caroline Logan - Amazing Brooke!!!! Wow. So powerful. She’s beautiful! Thank you for sharing this!!ReplyCancel

    • April 23, 2015 - 5:20 pm

      brooketuckerphoto@gmail.com - Thanks Caroline! Isn’t she beautiful and isn’t she just incredible! Her strength and courage and the way I have seen her just live always happy (for the brief moments I get to see her) just really made me think of all little ways I choose to live my life! Her message is powerful and speaks about so much!ReplyCancel

  • May 1, 2015 - 1:15 am

    Vickie fisher - You are beautiful Hannah!ReplyCancel

When we first start out in photography we all begin as a jack of all trades, master/king of none!

It’s actually a wonderful place to be!

I remember when I first started and my parents bought me my first “big deal DSLR camera”.  I took pictures of EVERYTHING!  I loved it so much.  I would spend hours in the yard looking for incredible bugs or beautiful petals!  I would take my camera with me everywhere and shoot people, places and things.  Heck… I even tried shooting architecture… but about three clicks of the button on that and I quickly realized that I absolutely had no skill, no place and more importantly no passion for shooting that area of photography!

The BEST part about starting this way:  as a jack of all trades, is that eventually you find yourself starting to crave the things you are passionate about!  You actually start realizing there are some things that you just LOVE to shoot and that you are really very good at.  Those other areas just fall away!

You soon start to become less of a Jack and more like a queen… still working your way around the kingdom but picking and choosing the ones that are right for you!~

THIS is where I think most of us get comfortable!  This is where most of tend to live.  This is where I think fear starts to creep in and keeps us a little bit “stuck”.

We live and breathe in an industry that has the ability to push our boundaries!  It’s exciting and it’s wonderful and it’s scary too!

We have the freedom to choose our own path and our own little niche!  We have the ability to even CREATE a niche ourselves and that is truly amazing!

Fear however like I mentioned before keeps us stuck!  It keeps us living in this place of… I know I really love shooting such and such but I don’t know if there’s a real market or potential for me to just do that!  Fear keeps us living in this space of well maybe I was too quick to judge this type of photography and maybe if I keep working at it, I will of course just get better and then grow to love it.  It’s just nerves right now, that’s why I’m not comfortable working in this market!

Fear stops us sometimes from realizing what we really want to do and what our true purpose with our gift might be!

I know because I lived stuck for so incredibly long!

I felt pressured to shoot ALL types of people because I love people!  I felt because this area loves weddings, that I should also LOVE weddings (and I do love weddings).  I felt that maybe I didn’t enjoy shooting them as much as everyone else did was because I wasn’t as experienced or confident enough quite yet!  That maybe, just maybe, if I continued to shoot them I would grow to adore them as I much as I wanted to!

In my heart what was happening was that I had a bigger much greater love for children and families!  It wasn’t that I didn’t love the wedding industry and love shooting weddings!  I do and I still shoot one or two very special weddings each year!

What was happening is that I was still thinking about my children and family clients!

I would have ideas and thoughts for this specific little world that would inspire me to wake up in the middle of the night and write notes in a journal I kept by my bedside!

THIS was my niche!

I realized this long ago but still I worried!  Could I make this work if I only worked with children and family clients?!  Could this work if I specifically set myself apart as a Family Lifestyle photographer shooting Bumps, Birth’s, Babies and Families?

I doubted this for so long that I let it hold me back!  I was afraid to make that leap and I was stuck!

It wasn’t until last year and this year really that I began to realize that life is just too short to let fear take root this way!  It was time I let go of the Jack and became the King… King of my fear and if nothing else tried!

I’ll tell you what I know now…. whether I succeed brilliantly or whether I fall flat on my face, I will have won either way!

You see, letting go and getting “unstuck” is the biggest win of all!  You only lose by never trying and then having regret!

So if you are where I was… if you have something on your heart but you keep second guessing yourself… start to rethink your situation and find out if it’s just fear keeping you there!

We only get one life friends so why not follow your heart and give it all you have!  The only failure that could possibly be is living with the regret of never having stepped out of your own way and tried in the first place!

Go be the king of your fear friends!  Take the leap or at least one small step today!

P.s.  Thanks to Elizabeth for humoring me and taking this shot ^ while I tried to leap with all my ability in those jeans ya’ll!  WOAH!

Happy Happy Monday Friends!  I can’t help it, I know Monday’s are probably the most dreaded day of the week!  Cue the groans and the sleepy eyes and the yawns and longing for one more weekend day… just one more!

I LOVE Monday mornings though.  I just do… it might just have something to do with the fact that our weekends are so incredibly jam packed that by Monday morning the peace and quiet that fills my house is actually refreshing!

It’s my chance to clean up our house which tends to get a bit cluttery from two crazy boys!  It’s my chance to dance around the house to loud music and sing out of tune for as loud and long as possible (to the music of my choice!)  And it’s my chance to sit in my office with the light pouring in and get to work in silence without feeling like I’m neglecting anyone or anything!

I LOVE Mondays!

I also love Mondays because it’s my chance to review the weekend and reflect!

This weekend was incredible!  I was honored to shoot a wedding for an old high school friend and man oh man ya’ll… she was STUNNING!  I actually gasped when she turned around with her hair and makeup fixed just so!  She didn’t even have her dress on yet!

I just adore this couple so much that it was a bit of a running joke between us as well as the guests and sadly enough the STAFF that goodness gracious the photographer is even crying!

I think I openly weeped this whole weekend so much that Elizabeth had to tell me to get it together girl at least 10 times!

I know I’m emotional and some people might not agree with openly crying at a wedding you are shooting… but I know this is me!  It’s who I am and for me to hold it back would be silly!  I adore Alena and John so much and their wedding day was truly something special!  I am awkward and goofy and emotional, I think it would be a disservice to them if I held any of that back!

Anyway.. Elizabeth and I had such a great weekend all together!  We adored the Clifton Inn!  It was fantastic and we were both jumping around like two kids in a candy store as we checked out the grounds to scout locations!

I’ve always said I was a beach girl and I would never live where I couldn’t get to the ocean in a matter of 20-30 minutes or an hour!

After visiting Charlottesville I might have to amend that statement!  I fell in love!

Elizabeth and I spent all day shooting the wedding on Saturday but on Sunday we took our time and got lost on Sunday, like actually and truly got lost on Sunday!

Here’s what we learned:

  • Drivers on Keswick Road are not a fan of anyone that doesn’t know where they are going or drive at a leisurely pace!  (and EB and I might have screamed once or twice in the car)
  • Breaking the rules is not something that comes naturally to us and we have a really hard time doing anything remotely close to even pushing the boundary of rule breaking, but we managed to slightly step our toes over the line once or twice
  • When Elizabeth is hungry, watch out!  There is only a short period of time to feed her or else.  That is all I’m going to say!
  • There are so many amazing places off the beaten path near Clifton Inn, Keswick Winery and such to explore and take photos!
  • I am trying to convince my husband to buy a farm out there along the road next to the Keswick winery and tasting room!
  • These personal farms look like they are each a wedding venue and we were shocked to “get lost” at one to find out it really was someone’s personal driveway!
  • I somehow stepped into some kind of poison ivy or some kind of something that I am allergic to!
  • Bloody Mary’s are delicious (it was a first time sampling one!)
  • Sometimes you just need to take a day off to enjoy a moment!  For me this meant taking my time getting home to my family (as selfish as that sounds) and sitting outside with EB, sipping a drink and enjoying a really gorgeous view!
  • Spring is my favorite time of year and new blooms are incredibly beautiful to shoot and reset the creativity button!
  • It is incredibly important to have a best friend beside you to help you get lost, explore and take silly pictures with!

I enjoyed this weekend so much for so many reasons that I just can’t express in words!

I am so thankful that I have such a wonderful friend by my side supporting me, lifting me up, and most importantly embracing the awkward moments and the silly moments with me!  EB and I have grown so much not only in photography together with each other but in our friendship!  That is so rare in a world that is often brought down by competitiveness and comparison!

We always have each other’s back!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend too!  Hope you enjoyed a drink, some blooms and a good conversation just as we did!