It’s been a little quiet around here lately. Too quiet. We know, you missed us. We missed you all too. You may have noticed we haven’t been quite as active with our online presence across all platforms, not just our journal. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat…we’ve been pretty mute. For good reason though! We’ve been busy working with a designer on a whole new look, that ended up being a whole new outlook on our business.

You see, when we (well, I…Carissa) started in 2011, I was a full-time college student with 2-3 jobs at a time. Sleep? Never. Who needs that?! After 7 years of college, 2.5 degrees and one minor (of the educational variety), I graduated college. Did I sleep any more or change my work habits? Hell no. Despite my degrees, photography was still my main passion and that’s what I knew I wanted to do with my life. So I kept at it. I shot anything and everything. That’s what I thought every photographer did: shoot everything. For those that do that, love it and are successful, that’s great! For me though, I realized I needed to do things differently.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate every single session I’ve had the opportunity to shoot. Really. Each session has given me more experience and I’ve truly met some of the most wonderful people. I’ve grown as a photographer, but it’s time for me (us) to grow as artists and shoot what we’re truly passionate about. Without all of you though, we never would have realized what our passion was. Not long after I started shooting weddings, I brought Gabe on board as my steady second shooter. I cannot thank him enough for stepping up to the plate like that. It’s not something he ever thought about pursuing as a career, but it’s grown into something more. It’s something we both share and love. We spend a lot of time together. Let me repeat that…a lot of time together. For us to be able to create and build this business together is phenomenal.

Which leads me to Fernweh + Liebe. Why the change? Our prior branding, Carissa Pic Photography, came from my maiden name, Carissa Pic. Did you know Pic was pronounced “peach”, like the fruit? It’s Bohemian (or Czech, depending on who you ask). I’ve spent most of my life being Carissa “Pick”, which as a business evolved into Carissa “Pic” like “picture” (even though that wasn’t the intention). As much as I loved keeping my maiden name in some aspect of life, I knew it was time to move on. Over the years, Gabriel started doing more and more and has become a full partner, not just my steady second shooter. Re-branding has given us an opportunity to strip our business down to the basics and build it back up together. Unsure how to pronounce our new name or understand what it means? No worries; it’s in German. If you know German, super! Lass uns reden! If not, here’s a little help guide to help you out.

fernweh [feirn-veyh] n. an ache for distance places; the craving for travel; to wander

liebe [lee-beh] n. love; dear; feeling of affection

Our rebranding is a reflection of our shared love for traveling and experiencing new cultures, as well as Gabriel’s heritage. If you haven’t had a chance to explore our website yet, Gabriel was born and raised in Saarland, Germany. We are international high school sweethearts, but that’s a story for another day.

Today is about a new name, a new business, and a new approach to everything. Do we have everything figured out yet? Nope, but we’re working on it. There’s so many things that go into the behind the scenes of a business. Photography isn’t about just taking pictures; that’s actually a small facet of it. (My favorite facet though!) We’re really excited for our new branding, new website, new products, and new approach. Over the next few months we’ll be implementing more and more changes. We want you, our clients, to have an amazing experience from the first time we chat and plan your session to getting your images up on the wall and into your hands. In order to provide this, we are going to be stepping back from newborn photography and milestones. We’ve found over the years that our inspiration and creativity thrives most with couples in love. (We would love to offer you recommendations for your new baby or little ones, so just ask!) We won’t be solely focusing on weddings and engagements though, and we still plan to work with fine art style families, maternity, boudoir, and senior photos. However, we’ll be limiting how many shoots we take on. We want to offer each and every client a more focused and comprehensive experience.

We look forwarding building a relationship with you and getting to know more about your personality and style. Your session with us will truly be a collaboration. So check out our new name and new look from Sail Away Creative. If you like what you see, get in touch and let’s create!

XOXO

Carissa + Gabriel

Photos courtesy of the very sweet, very talented Julie Paisley Photography. Thanks love. XOXO