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A few neat things have happened lately and I just HAVE to share! I cannot believe how FAST this year has flown by.. The biggest event for us was our wedding of course!! Its been an eventful year with work, juggling to edit way more weddings than I intended (ouch), family portraits, and plan the wedding of our dreams. The important thing is, we did it and we are more inspired this year than last. Every year continues to bring more ideas, more plans and more reason to live life to the fullest. I have this tendency to book way more than I can handle but I honestly love it. I can't stop working! In the course of working, Stephen and I have met so many amazing people. We have been overwhelmed with the generosity of all of our clients and I hope the Lord continues to bring more wonderful people our way!
One thing Stephen and I have experienced more and more this year are surprises. One surprise that came today was just a little reminder of the little blessings in life. This morning, I received an amazing gift from a couple I didn't even book for their wedding! I unfortunately was booked on the date they inquired about so I sent them to a few other WONDERFUL photographers nearby. I opened the wonderful package and to my surprise, there was a VINTAGE sweater in the box as a thank you! Seriously?!!!!! Could they be any more thoughtful?!! I couldn't stop talking to Stephen about how surprised and excited I was to wear this beautiful sweater! It is so unique, OLD, and I just LOVE it! I've been wearing it around the house non-stop.
It just reminded me to appreciate those around me even more and sometimes the smallest things in life can oftentimes really be the most uplifting things! What a beautiful gift!
Here is my sweater..... |
| I also received today some amazing business cards that the lovely Promise Tangeman designed for me! I was thrilled to see the design and couldn't wait to order them from overnight prints! They turned out great and I'm excited to finally have some new cards to hand out! Thanks Promise! |
| One of my past clients just sent Stephen and I some photos that we took at THEIR wedding. This is us on the job when we get the chance :) We just couldnt resist! I promise we act professional outside the booth :) The same photo booth was at OUR wedding and I just received the disc of the images... Check out Picture This Booths! |
And the wacky people that attended are wedding are here.....
I have to just comment on a few...
1.This is the guy who designed my ring. Awesome.
2.My friend Phil and Buck. Phil was super excited we got married.
3. Something smelled when he left the booth...
4. Aaron was also so excited that he had to raise his shirt to show us how being married has really groomed him into being a man. |
| Whats going on back there Steve? Something looks a little too private... |
1.Don't get too excited dad... I don't think you have seen the final bill yet
The last photo is a photo of our lovely guests and the fabulous photobooth owners! |
1. I decided to step in the booth to surprise this lovely couple that was making out. I told them it was inappropriate.
2. Seriously? Again? |
| Am I seriously related to all these folks? Love it. |
Since the beginning of my business, Stephen has been by my side supporting my every effort and dream to become a wedding photographer. It has been fun watching our relationship and business grow together from our beginning days of college until now. We are so excited to stretch ourselves even further together. I wanted to address this post specifically to those couples that are thinking about working together as photographers. I hear all the time that it's a "thought" that many have, but most are afraid to try. Honestly, it's not for everyone, but those of you thinking about it, it is worth giving it a try.
We were told many times that working together probably wasn't a good idea...but it was important for us to experience working together for ourselves. We gave it a shot... and for us it has been GREAT! I mean, spending all day and night with someone is bound to cause a few arguments... and believe me, we have had our share, but we've also gotten quite good at working together in all areas of our life. Stephen and I may be rareities or maybe just plain strange, but we honestly love being around each other all the time. I mean, don't get me wrong, we definitely need our time apart and GET our time apart, but it has been fun working together as a team!
We often see different perspectives in the work aspect, the communication aspect, and of course the visual aspect. It's a great balance to listen to each others perspective because it just makes you THAT much better than YOU are alone. I don't think everyone needs to work with their husband or wife, but I do think you can make it work with ANYONE. Working with a friend on particular shoots can help you see things differently. Ask friends for advice, editing suggestions or even location ideas because it's SUPER important to hear other people's opinions in every area of your business. I think it's even great to hire a friend or fellow photographer to help you on a shoot. An extra set of eyes always helps! This is how I believe you become a better business woman/man. I always ask at least three people close to me their opinions before actually making a decision because everyone has a DIFFERENT perspective.
For those of you that have thought about working together as a husband and wife team... I say go for it... BUT definitely set aside time for yourself. It's also important to nail down exactly what both your strengths and weaknesses are. Stephen's strength is in the behind the scenes numbers. He helps with the invoices, contracts and financing... You should have seen me in college math.. YIKES... and that's WHY my strength is behind the camera! Steve ALSO is quite good behind the camera.... I thought I would add a few photos to show his sneaky talent!
Another suggestion is finding your own thing besides your one business together. Stephen does some investments on the side and also is tweaking his golf game as he is hoping to possibly play professional golf someday. It's a nice break from each other as we have something new to share with each other at the end of the day. We do however struggle with working at home together. We often need to leave home and begin our work at different times of the day since its hard to constantly be at home. For us, work is hard to stop because we find ourselves editing even late at night. The downfall of this job is not having scheduled days and not having scheduled breaks like everyone else. I have found a way to fix this.... SET A SCHEDULE! :) Stop working at 5pm (like everyone else)... shut off your phone, your e-mail and stop working until the next morning. Also, for holiday breaks, it's OK to take a break too! Set up an away message on your e-mail. DON'T sit in your PJ's all day and watch tv re-runs. Ok ok, I'm totally guilty of staying in my PJs at least until noon some days but it definitely helps your day stay productive longer if you get ready earlier.
I have SOOO many suggestions and words of advice for those of you wanting to work with your spouses and I'd love to share them through e-mail! Shoot me an e-mail if you are looking for encouragement! I thought I would add a few images from a few of our favorite shoots this year. This is Stephen shooting Natalie and Reggie's engagement shoot....
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| We like wide open spaces... |
| We are always looking at different perspectives through the lens. This is Tarah and Josh. |
| This isn't Stephen. This is actually my brother Michael. Michael and our friend Steve are working on a business together as videographers. I will be posting a future post on them but for now, I had to share this photo of my brother Michael in action. It's great to have yet ANOTHER perspective through the lens :) |
| Stephen DEFINITELY helps when we do child shoots. He is a great distraction behind the camera. They always seem to laugh at him... (it makes sense right? :) This is little baby Annie. |
I was overjoyed when Kimberly and Jason contacted me to photograph their grown up little Annie once again. It has been SUCH an honor to work with them since Annie was a a new born. I cannot believe how FAST time has flown and just how BIG little Annie is! The last time I saw Annie was her six month photos. She has definitely grown up quite a bit but her personality still has remained the exact same. Her bubbly ecstatic enthusiasm is CONSTANT! Annie just celebrated her first birthday and Stephen and I feel so honored to have been able to document her thus far.
Annie is a rare little girl. There aren't very many one year olds thats smile NON STOP! Stephen and I just couldn't stop smiling through our lens! We felt so overjoyed to be working with such amazing people and photograph little Annie's huge blue eyes and irrisistable adorable smile. We met again at Silverleaf golf club once again to document sweet little Annie. Since Jason plays golf professionally, we just HAD to take some photos on the Silverleaf course with her daddy. I have the claim to fame when little Annie debuts her modeling career and WHEN she becomes an amazing golfer like her dad :) |
| I don't even have to pose this little gal. She is ALL about the camera! |
| I am obsessed with little shoes. The little uggs were definitely PERFECT for her pink and gray outfit! |
| Silverleaf is adorned with amazing stone staircases and adorable little windows everywhere! |
| I couldn't resist this sweet little gate when I saw the incredible light peering through! |
| This is what I've been waiting for. We talked about having her use the sweet little antique bathtub once she got older and FINALLY we could use it!!! She was a perfect little accent to this adorable white tub! |
| When Kimberly pulled out the pink tootoo I almost wanted to put it on because I LOVED IT SO MUCH! |
| Since Annie just celebrated her first year, she HAD to eat her little cupcake in her pink tootoo like ANY little girl would like to do! |
| I have this love for light. When we walked in front of the golf club I just couldn't believe how gorgeous the road looked when the sun reflected sparkles! |
| Something about this photo just made me smile... |
| This is the beginning of Annie's love for golf. |
| Last week, Stephen and I drove over to the gorgeous The Farm at South Mountain to document the lovely Jacobson family! Lindsey and Ben arrived early with sweet little Charlee. Just enough time to catch her little sweet personality on camera! I cannot say enough good things about this family. We felt overwhelmed by their kindness and patience with us. It was truly a treat to work with this family and I hope them all the very best! Have a very Merry Christmas!! |
A few months back, I posted about my latest obsessions. I tend to go through phases of simply liking things and then obsessing about things. I might abuse the word obsessing than most people but I just mean that I REALLY like things! SO... on that note... lately, I have been SO obsessed with networking. I don't mean this in a creepy stalker way I just mean that I LOVE meeting new people! A few months back, I received a refreshing e-mail from two fellow photographers from Holland. They mentioned they would be staying in Phoenix for a few days and they hoped to join us for a cup of coffee. I couldn't be more thrilled that they wanted to have coffee with Stephen and I!! It's always interesting to hear about different photographers tips and tools of working with clients as we are ALL doing the same thing. It always builds confidence to hear that everyone is pretty much doing everything the same way. We are all learning and what better way to learn then to talk to other photographers! Anouschka and Raymond run their business out of Holland. Weddings and photography are definitely different in different countries and it was so interesting to hear about their business and life! Anouschka and Raymond briefly mentioned a wedding they shot for a terminally ill bride. To hear their story and how they worked with the family was so inspiring. They have HUGE hearts and I truly admire their spirit of giving. These are the kinds of people that remind me exactly why I am in this business!
It was such a pleasure to meet with you Anouschka and Raymond!! Thank you SO very much for your time! |
| I have also become extremely excited about branding new business things! One thing that I feel really helps business run smoothly is organization. Not just organizing files and papers... I mean organizing your delivery process. What I mean is, figuring out how you want to deliver your disc to your clients. What will the package look like? Do you have a letter head you send to clients? How about an appointment reminder card? Business cards? I went to the wonderfully talented Infinet Design to help me create a blog that reflected truly my personality. I have been MORE than happy with how the blog turned out but now I need some business cards to give the same effect! SO, I have turned to the lovely Promise Tangeman to help me create a business card design. I am more than thrilled to see what the outcome will be! I know right now business is tough for ALOT of people and spending money on business cards or any extra business need isn't quite on the top of the list for everyone.... but I do think it's extremely important to still present yourself well to your clients because THAT is what keeps your business moving. This is an example I found of a cute packaging idea! .... |
| Definitely check out Promise's site... she has some GREAT ideas! She is seriously just as awesome in person as she seems on her blog! |
| One more thing I have been quite obsessed with....laughing at CUTE Margo. Margo celebrated her 2nd birthday (doggy years thats 14 right?) this past November and what a great excuse to celebrate?!! We found some awesome discounted doggy clothing and just couldn't resist. Ok... don't judge.. it gave us ALL a good laugh and Margo totally loved it. :) |
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