Hello
My name is Kathy and I am the photographer and owner of Hobby for Hope Photography LLC. Let me tell you a little bit about myself and my passion.
My Story
I am a wife to my wonderful and supportive husband, Dat. We met in college since 2004, engaged in 2007, and married in 2012.
Together we have 3 rambunctious boys: Kayden (10), Dylan (8), and Ethan (5). I have a full-time job as a nurse practitioner (NP) working in a hospital setting. In my spare time, I love to pick up my camera and chase my 3 boys to take pictures of them. Photography started as a hobby for me prior to having a family and kids. Prior to having kids as my main models, I used to capture images of our beloved dog, Yoyo, and the landscapes of placed we traveled through.
Why Hobby for Hope
The name Hobby for Hope stemmed from two parts:
1. Photography was originally a hobby for me. As mentioned, I became interested in photography shortly after meeting my spouse and us adopting our dog, Yoyo. The hobby grew and grew each year as I continue to learn the art of photography, posing, lighting, and editing. My hobby became more serious since 2021 as I had more time devoted to it.
2. In 2021, our baby boy, Ethan, was diagnosed with B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). He was 3 years old at the time. Due to his diagnosis, I had to put my full-time job as an NP on hold to be able to care for Ethan. During this time, I wanted to use my camera and photography skills to document Ethan's cancer journey. Photographing Ethan's journey was my therapy outlet. Throughout 2021 and most of 2022, Ethan's cancer treatment consumed our family's life. In addition to Ethan's scheduled weekly clinic appointments, he had multiple ER visits and admissions due to fevers, low blood count, and low platelet counts caused by chemotherapy. By the Fall of 2022, Ethan's cancer treatment finally took a better turn. He is now only having monthly clinic appointments and rarely needs ER visits or admissions. Since Ethan is doing better and going to pre-school, I have more time devoted to my craft. Hobby for Hope Photography became a business in October 2022.
Pediatric Oncology Community
As a parent of a child going through cancer disease and treatment, I understand the hardships, pain, and emotions that parents/caregivers experience when they have a diagnosed child(ren). One of my goals for Hobby for Hope Photography is to give the gift of a "frozen moment of happiness" to families with little ones going through similar journey. If your family has a child diagnosed with a childhood cancer or know of someone who does, please contact me.
Contact
Lake County: Grayslake, IL
Dupage County: Glendale Heights, IL
415-966-0030