The Best of 2012: Portraits

If I was being honest ... and I try to be on this humble, little blog ... I would tell you that I was petrified. In the fall of 2011, when I finally decided to go solo with this whole photography thing, I couldn't see farther than right in front of my face. I had just signed up to advertise on Wedding Wire and I really thought no one would contact me. I wouldn't call myself a perfectionist but I have this fear of putting myself out there before I feel 100% ready. And I didn't think I was ready. Slowly I'm learning that no one is really, truly ever ready. I realize now that sometimes you have to dive in with as much courage as you can muster and say, "Hey. This is me. Like it or leave it, but at least I'm gonna try." Lucky for me, this solo photography thing has worked out. And I couldn't be more grateful. Really. Truly.

Valerie and Alex were the first ones to contact me, just a couple days after I created a Wedding Wire account, and they gave me so much more confidence than they will ever know. From there I've been blown away by how many of you have believed in me to document your weddings, your itty-bitty newborns, your families—all the most important parts of your life. I know it's hard to give up control, I know you have pictures in your head of how you want it to look ... and I cannot say it enough: THANK YOU for choosing me.

I've been looking back at some of my favorite photos from the past year, and I want to share them all with you over the next few weeks. First up are my favorite portraits of 2012.

I've watched Baby Lane grow (newborn, 3-month and 6-month):

Amanda and Nathan (of Amanda Weis Photography) welcomed a baby boy into the world, and I got to take their maternity photos:

Travis and Zach graduated:

My second shooter, Emily, came into my life (yay!), and we practiced taking portraits with her sister, Katie, and Katie's boyfriend, Kyle.

Beautiful Baby Brenna was born:

And so was cute little Connor:

I met the Porter family:

Ashley and Justin got a puppy and I did my first-ever pet session:

My best friends Nicole and Kelby had a little boy named Owen:

The B family had portraits done before dad was deployed overseas with the Navy:

And last but not least, I got to hang out with Adrina and her family on a beautiful fall day:

Client Christmas Gifts

2012 was truly exceptional. Without gushing TOO much (I'm saving that for tomorrow!), I have to say for the 3,578th time that my clients rock. I was so blessed this past year to get to know really, really sweet couples that truly appreciate photography and trusted me to capture their wedding in a beautiful, editorial way. In return, I wanted them ... and my 2013 couples ... to know just how much I appreciate them for their friendship and faith in me. What better way to do so then sharing my love of sweets? Fusion Sweets makes delicious, unique, handcrafted caramels that I knew would be the perfect treat for my clients. I snagged a pack for Nathan and me to taste, and they are melt-in-your-mouth good. My favorite is the french lavender, vanilla, honey and sea salt caramel. :)

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to all my sweet clients!

The Pros and Cons of Working from Home

A typical day for me looks like this: roll out of bed around 7:30 a.m., walk downstairs to grab breakfast and then walk back upstairs to my office where I proceed to work all day. You might be jealous that I get to spend my days working at home, but I'm telling you it's not all roses and sunshine. Don't get me wrong. From the first day I was allowed to work from home—about four years ago when I was working full-time for the fraternity and commuting one hour each way every day to do so—I felt so lucky. It's amazing that I was and still am trusted to get all my work done outside of the office ... and paid to do it the same as being in the office! Now that I'm working as a photographer, I feel lucky that I had that experience because being thrown into this working from home thing is a little bit jolting.

Just to give you an idea, here's my pro and con list:

Pros of working at home: You can work in your PJs You can go for a run in middle of the day or do dishes when you're slow There's so much more flexibility with your schedule You save on gas money (and maybe even on eating out) You have a lot more hours in your days (or at least I did once I took out that two-hour commute and getting ready in the morning!)

Cons of working at home: You're all alone alllll day It's hard to stay on track/be productive because of all the distractions It's hard to get away from work because your home is also your office You don't have much reason to get dolled up I don't make as many phone calls to friends because I don't have downtime in the car

I think the biggest things I struggle with are not being around people and keeping myself on track productivity wise.

Interacting with People: I am lucky enough to have awesome co-workers at the fraternity, each of whom I like. Yep. I like all of them. It's hard missing out on stuff and feeling like you're not always part of the team.

To counteract this, I try to schedule a couple coffee dates or outings at least two times a week. Plus, my goal for the new year and slow season is to get involved with a couple organizations that will introduce me to new people and get me out in the community at the same time (that's the benefit of working from home: I have a flexible schedule to be able to do this stuff!). I've learned that you have to be proactive in getting things on your calendar because it's really easy to just let days and weeks go by without seeing anyone (besides the hubby!).

Another goal for my slow season is to start getting in a habit of connecting with one friend/family member a day. That could be by phone, e-mail, hand-written card, etc., I just want to do a better job of keeping in touch with people and staying connected.

Staying productive: It is sooo easy to lounge in bed until 8:30 a.m. or be enticed by the TV when you don't want to work anymore (see, it's 1 p.m. and I'm just now getting my blog post up!), but I've learned that it just makes you feel worse when you get too relaxed with your schedule.

To counteract this, I schedule out every, single work day so I know that 1) I have goals for the day and 2) I have a purpose as the day goes on. This might seem a little extreme, but I tell you it works for me! I think it's the list-maker in me. :)

I schedule in everything, from work stuff to breaks to making sure I have time to relax. If it's written out, I do my best to make sure I'm staying on track.

And let me just say that breaks are uber important for me. If I sit at my computer for four hours straight and don't take a break, I'm waaaay less productive by the end of those four hours. But if I work for an hour and a half and then take 15 minutes to straighten up the living room, that time away from my computer helps me reset for the next hour an a half.

So tell me, if you're a work-at-homer (or worker-at-home?) what helps YOU stay on track and ready to seize each day??

Juma Gallery | Shaker Heights

In my last Favorite Things post, I mentioned how excited I was to have an eclectic coffee shop and store in my neighborhood. Well, here it is! Juma just opened, and I've already been there five times! See how excited I am? If you're in the area, you should definitely check it out! There are great Christmas present ideas and coffee and a cute little store in the back with repurposed, rustic furniture.