My third-ever client, Kylie.

Kylie’s touching comment on our socials, and a selection of photos created together over the years.

15 years ago I launched Sherbet Birdie commercially after two years of tenaciously building the business. And as all new business owners would agree, opening the business is a strange limbo-land, where your internal imposter-syndrome runs rampant. In the first instance, you’ve bought the equipment, you’ve invested in the training, you’ve cross-checked your business plan a million times, you’ve sought the advice. You’re officially ready! However in the second instance it’s time to take bookings, meet new clients, deliver excellent results, and oh my god YOU DO NOT FEEL READY FOR THIS!

I recall those first 20-30 clients, and the nerves I felt. From the nerves going to bed the night before a shoot, to the nauseating nerves the morning of the shoot, to the white-knuckling my way through the entire shoot PRAYING I was doing a good job. Needless to say I am so so so so so thrilled that is all behind me now.

At the time, I made a decision that in order to appear professional, I needed to fudge my client job numbers to start at 17, rather than 1 (lol). I mean I didn’t want my very first ever client to know that this was my first rodeo so-to-speak.

With two paying clients worth of experience under my belt, in walks Kylie. The idea that she wanted to explore for her shoot was a vintage carnivale style – See The Tattooed Lady. Kylie had recently traveled to Canada to commission her favourite tattoo artist to tattoo an Alphonse Mucha inspired-tattoo over her entire back. Alphonse Mucha is one of my favourite Art Nouveau artists so we got along instantly. It was the beginning of a 15 year friendship.

Kylie’s latest job number is 1502-29. WOW! All these years have past, and I’ve had the honour of photographing her so many times. The initial support she gave me when I was a baby-photographer back in 2008 was the confidence boost I needed back then, and the support she continues to show now – just like all of our repeat clients – means the world to me and helps us to take our dreams to higher dimensions.

This preamble is all to offer you context for the touching comment she made of the recent photograph I loaded from her Gods & Warriors shoot, and that I have included here in this blog post, along with a selection of some of the photos we’ve created together, including her very first shoot..

Thank you Kylie, for everything.