We are so excited to announce that we’ve been working on a rebrand and are finally ready to reveal that Emily Annette Photography is now Beauty of the Soul Studio!

The Inspiration

While looking for ways to incorporate my Catholic faith into my business, I came across a quote from St. Augustine. “As love grows in you, beauty grows too. For love is the beauty of the soul.” These words stuck with me all evening and I realized their application particularly in the attitude and beliefs I hold when I consider the mission of this business. As a Catholic wedding photographer, I strive to use my photography to elevate Christ and others instead of myself (something I talked about in a blog post a few weeks back!). It’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to have the prettiest portfolio; to feel jaded when you see other photographers showing off weddings with a $100,000 budget and stunning detail after stunning detail; to feel resentful of couples that don’t sign a model release, because what’s the point if I can’t show off on Instagram and curate that perfect portfolio?

This quote from St. Augustine is a centering message for me. A reminder that beauty grows as love grows – beauty will follow where love leads. As a photographer, I’m always seeking to create beautiful photos. But remembering just what “beautiful” means can be the difference between a photography business that elevates love and Christ, versus one that elevates myself and societal definitions of beauty. Beautiful images come from ones that follow love. I would rather capture classic photos at a simple wedding for people who claim to be “unphotogenic” but are deeply in love and celebrating that love before God and their families than to capture the most Vogue-worthy wedding but without warmth or any feelings of love between the newlyweds. I want to continually learn to lean into the simplicity, to draw out and capture in camera the beauty present in any moment that celebrates love – not just keep my portfolio updated with images that are supposed to determine my worth as a photographer.

The Beauty of the Soul

Beyond the call to remember that “love is the beauty of the soul,” I also found myself captivated by the idea of “the beauty of the soul” itself. What a wonderful reminder that beauty doesn’t have to be a surface-level thing. Yes, exterior beauty CAN be pure and good and elevate Christ and love – like the glow of a bride or pregnant woman, or the mosaics and stained glass and complex architecture of a church, or the stunning colorful dress chosen by a soon-to-be-bride to wear during an engagement session – but even more than that is seeing and capturing the interior beauty – the beauty of the soul of that bride, of that couple, of that wedding day.

It extends beyond the romantic wedding day as well, a reminder of what I seek to capture in the maternity session, the engagement session, even the headshot or the corporate annual awards dinner. I’ve chosen this quote as the inspiration of my entire business as a reminder to capture the beauty of the soul of the pregnant woman and the expectant father and the very essence of that loving and creative relationship; of the professional seeking the job God is calling them to, or celebrating a promotion or other milestone with their company, which led them to commission headshots to mark the occasion; of the company event where people celebrate jobs well done and teamwork and camaraderie among peers. From the most mundane to the most romantic to the most exciting moments in the human experience, each person and relationship and event has a soul (whether more or less figurative) from which I strive to find the beauty and joy to draw out and capture.

Photography for the Intentional

Finally, we’ve added a new tagline – “for the intentional” – to really highlight the essence of this whole thought process and mission. I hope that my business will attract those who WANT a photographer who recognizes these things, the important things. Beauty of the Soul Studio is a business for the intentional. It’s for the bride and groom carefully curating a wedding day that reflects their love and their relationship with Christ, not just their budget and decorating tastes. It’s for the business professional looking for a photographer whose style matches their personality, intentionally creating a set of images to showcase to their peers and potential employers that they take their image seriously and want to be taken seriously as a candidate or supervisor or fellow professional. It’s for the expectant couple who recognize not just that a baby bump makes for a cute photo but that there’s a small but real life growing inside of that mother, and seek to capture that unique moment in time of anticipation and joy at having created a living soul.

I hope that my work lives up to the high standard that this newfound inspiration sets for me as both photographer and business owner. Particularly as a Catholic wedding photographer, I know that I am held to a higher standard because of the call for my work to always point back to Christ, always providing clients and peers with an experience of love and virtuous leadership. Please pray for me as I continue to develop my brand and grow in understanding this call – and let me know what you think of this big change! And of course, big thanks to Lexington Design Co. for helping me develop my new branding, including the new logo!