Today is my 30th birthday; June 9, 2022!

Unlike some people, I’m truly not at all sad to be leaving my 20’s behind me. So it seemed like the perfect day to welcome in a new decade in my life with some exciting changes, updated and announcements.

First, I wanted to take a moment to thank all of the amazing clients who have chosen MHP over the years.

When I look back at where I started, it blows my mind!! I mean 8 years ago I bought a camera, made a logo in photoshop, made a facebook page and just did it. Now, I have a small team of incredibly talented women working alongside me…how did that little dream grow this big?! So many clients have been with me since the beginning and I cannot thank you enough for sticking with me as I worked on honing my skills, defining my style and growing as an artist.

Next, I want to share what has been alive in my life for the past nearly two years.

If you follow me at all on social media, you may have seen that in 2020, my husband and I went through several losses on our journey to start a family. The most recent of which we were finally able to hear a heartbeat. Only to discover a few weeks later that heart was no longer beating. I had let myself get excited about this pregnancy because this was the first time we had ever heard a heartbeat. And because it was COVID, I was alone in the exam room as the doctor tried to find the heartbeat. Our baby girl was not meant for this world. And all of my babies had touched my life in such a deep way. This was the beginning of my healing journey.

In July of 2020 I started working with a business coach, who turned out to be so much more than just a business coach. I remember thinking that I couldn’t share my personal struggles with her because this was business coaching, not therapy! And when I told her I needed space to grieve, she told me that all of me was welcome. That’s when I realized working with her was going to be deeper than business hacks and tricks. This was deep, soul work and it has been the most beautiful, emotional and healing journey I have ever experienced.

Growing up, I hated my body. I didn’t know I did…but I did.

I lost babies…and with that, my trust in my body and my identity! Who was I if I couldn’t have children? How could I trust a body that failed me so deeply? And in the grief I realized that I knew them. I knew each and every one of them. And even for the short time, their soul was a part of me and our lives were intertwined. Our angels now watch over us and I know God is holding them. Sometimes in my dreams I imagine what they look like; our beautiful babies.

You might be wondering why such an emotional dive into my grief is relevant…

Well, it took those souls touching mine for me to see what my purpose was here. It took that grief and heartbreak for me to finally see what I was called here to do. Encourage, support and inspire others through my gifts; photography, coaching, the podcast platform…all of these things I am doing now are because of this awareness. And I thank you for giving me the space to grow and evolve!

I love photography because it allows me to show you the incredible human that I see.

And more than that, I get to walk with you through a session, sometimes a wedding day, and my job is to help you feel your absolute best! Photography will always be a part of me and this business is my heart!

There’s some exciting new things for Megan Helm Photography I want to share with you today!

First, you’re probably reading this blog on…OUR NEW WEBSITE!! This has been a project for awhile now with updating the portfolio and images with more recent work! Sharing more pricing details and about the team! I love our new little corner of the interwebs and thank you for being here!

Second, you might have seen the PODCAST I just launched along with this shiny new website! The Wine and Wedding Wednesday Podcast is a podcast for couples and photographers…heck even wedding vendors in general! This is a small passion project of mine where I’ll be sharing wedding planning and logistical tips, business tips and lessons I have learned along my own photo business journey.

And third, I am officially launching the coaching side of my business!

I am currently in the process of becoming a certified NLP Master Practitioner. NLP is the work I talked about earlier in this blog; the reason I have grown so much the past two years.

NLP stands for Neuro Linguistic Programming and is essentially how you can dive into and reframe the subconscious patterns and programs that are no longer serving you. NLP contains a variety of modalities and techniques to facilitate true and permanent changes. And probably the most beautiful aspect of the training that I am a part of is the integrity of the women teaching us.

I am so excited to begin sharing these techniques with 1-1 coaching clients and also with our photography clients!

Finally, I wanted to share a bit about my personal health journey.

Over the past 10 months, I have been on a weightloss journey which has lead to a renewed love for healthy eating and cooking, movement and exercise and overall mental health. NLP has been a huge driver in these habit changes I have made in my own life and I hope to also share them with others.

I have lost nearly 50 pounds and am working on the last 40 or so. If you’d like to follow along on that journey I will link that Instagram account here!

I hope that my personal journey can encourage others to seek their own health; mentally, physically and emotionally.

And know that you don’t need to lose weight to be healthy. You can love your body and want to change it. You can love your body and not want to change it. You can be healthy at any size or shape. You are beautiful at any size and you deserve photographs that you love of yourself. You deserve to do what makes you feel good. You owe it to nobody but you!

Thank you again for this space to share a little bit more about my own personal growth and health journey. I love you!