P.S. You're Beautiful | Akron Ohio Makeup Artist

One of the best things about being a small business owner is getting to know other small business owners. I've met so many cool people in this industry, and Karen Cole of P.S. You're Beautiful definitely qualifies as cool. Not only is Karen an artist with her makeup brushes, she's good at about 968 other things as well. This lady is passionate about her craft and such a breath of fresh air! If you're looking for a wedding makeup artist or just want to get dolled up for a night on the town, definitely give Karen a ring. She'll make you feel beautiful!

Karen does a lot of the makeup for Cleveland Ballet Conservatory dancers (which just so happens to be run by the beautiful Kerry and taught by the lovely Heather. I'm so thankful to have been referred within this circle! These ladies are awesome).

Karen's studio space is so pretty.

And then we headed outdoors for some editorial photos. I am a huge fan of this weathered porch ...

Thanks, Karen! I had so much fun with you!

HH Boogie Unshop

2014 is the year of conferences for me. Well, technically Unshop is more of a workshop (ish), but who's getting technical? :) Allow me to explain ...

Unshop is the brainchild of Jeremy Kester and his wife, Ashley. It's basically a relaxed workshop where photographers get to gather in a safe space to talk, shoot, ask questions … the sky's the limit really. I got to attend in May in the Kester's hometown of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, with some of my awesome photographer friends. It really was exactly what I needed for the start of my busy season.

We spent a good portion of Unshop talking about industry standards and why we shouldn't feel compelled to box ourselves in. As a rules-follower, this was especially important for me to hear. I have a hard time allowing myself to do what I feel is right vs. doing what everyone else is doing because it seems right. While it's not an overnight change for me, I have lots of ideas swimming around in my head for slow season!

On day two, we visited McFarland's Llama Farm (yes, a llama farm!) for a relaxed shoot and picnic. I've used the word "relaxed" two times now and that's an important part of Unshop. There were no official rules for the days we spent in Mt. Vernon. Jeremy's goal was for us to slow down and do what we felt was right. If we needed to take a nap instead of shoot, then we did. I did a little bit of shooting with my friends Carolyn and Zipporah.

That evening, we sat around a bonfire at the Kester residence (talk about hospitable people! Jeremy and Ashley are the best!) and talked for hours. We asked for advice on struggles, shared funny stories and really just had a good time getting to know each other. While most of us came from Ohio, there were photographers in attendance from Iowa and Tennessee and the East Coast. Meeting people from across the country is my favorite part of attending a workshop or conference.

If you're interested in learning more about or attending an Unshop, get more info here. There you can also learn more about the "HH Boogie" bit. I highly recommend it all!

Making Things Happen

About five weeks ago, my former assistant, Emily, and I packed my trusty little Jetta full of snacks and weekend bags and headed south to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the Making Things Happen conference. I had no expectations going in … and I think I'm glad that was the case. If I would have known how far I would be pushed out of my comfort zone, I probably would have planted myself on my safe couch in my safe house with my nose stuck in a safe book. Sometimes you have to be pushed though, you know? I've waited a long time to blog about MTH because I honestly didn't know how to put it into words. I'm not sure I do now. The short of it: MTH is a two-day conference for creatives, most of whom are business owners or on the brink of a business or big idea. I knew we'd be talking about goal setting and where we wanted to go. I was ready for that, and I was ready to break out of a work-life balance cycle that seemed to always teeter more towards work and less towards life.

What I didn't expect was how much we'd address what's really at the root of it all: What matters to us personally, forget work. What fires us up and what freaks us out. What we really wanted to accomplish but weren't sure we'd ever be able to. You guys. It was terrifying to get up in front of a group of 100 people and say out loud what we feared the most. But you know what? It was liberating too. We were pushed again and again to verbalize what we were saying NO to and what we were saying YES to. All so we could get to that place we wanted to be--personally and professionally.

Here are some of mine:

• I am saying NO to working past 5 p.m.
• I am saying YES to having more adventures with Nathan.
• I am saying NO to comparing myself to others.
• I am saying YES to making time to read every day.

The Carolina Inn was beautiful! | My amazing roomies, Emily and Sarah | A little inspiration back at home

One thing that Lara said that really hit me was that we can only do life with every part of us in. I realized at that moment that, that was what was bothering me. I was always so consumed with social media and work and multitasking that I was never really turning it off. When I was hanging out on the couch with Nathan I was also looking at Facebook. When I was making breakfast in the morning I was already thinking about what I had on my to do list that day. There is a time for work, of course, but there's also a time for no work. I was suddenly seized with this desire to have conversations and really listen. I wanted to go get ice cream and truly, 100% enjoy the flavor and the colors and the cold sensation. It sounds cheesy and so obvious but as a creative--and also Type A--business owner, I thought that my success was dependent on how much time I was devoting to my business. I learned that I really just need to work smarter, not longer.

It's definitely still a learning experience. I didn't come home from Chapel Hill as this perfectly focused business owner, but I'm aware and constantly working on making things better and giving my time to what matters most. I could share a million other things from those two days, but I think I'll save them for future blog posts. I will say that one of my very favorite things that came out of Making Things Happen is a new morning routine. I used to wake up, grab breakfast and race to my office to start on e-mails, but now I wake up, change my clothes (important!), brush my teeth and wash my face, cook a healthy breakfast for Nathan and me, and hang out with him and the TODAY show before he leaves at 8 a.m. THEN I head to my office and start my day. Such a huge difference!

I challenge you to reflect on what matters to you and where you want to be and make your own YES and NO list. I'm always adding to mine … I probably always will! … but keeping it at arm's length helps me when I'm struggling and need a reminder of the course I want my life to take.

Thanks to Robyn Van Dyke Photography for the awesome group photo!

New Brand + Website!

It’s here, it’s here, it’s here! For the past five months or so the lovely Rachelle Sartini Garner has been tirelessly working on my new brand, including color palettes, logos (for LBP and the Photobooth!), pricing guides and a sparkly website. I’m so excited to unveil it to the world.

This is the first time I’ve gone through the entire branding process as owner of Lane Baldwin Photography (I helped the fraternity with a rebrand, which was actually really good experience for my personal rebrand). When I started out three years ago I had my logo designed … and then I did the rest myself. I chose to invest in things like my client’s experience and cohesive packaging, along with new equipment. I’m not sure if that was necessarily the right or wrong way to do it, but I’m so thankful that it worked for me.

About a year ago, I knew that it was time to start thinking about hiring a professional to create a cohesive brand for LBP. I needed a more grown-up look, and I knew that I wanted my brand and website to have a more editorial style. Rachelle was just the lady for the job!

The brand piece (colors, fonts, logos, etc.) was fairly easy. Is that ridiculous to say? By easy I mean that 1) I had an idea of what I wanted going in and 2) Rachelle is super talented and I liked what she put together from the start. The website? Not gonna lie, I struggled with that part.

I really, really wanted a completely customized website. Like really. But I couldn’t find a platform that I loved. I always strive to create clean, bright, modern photos, and I wanted my website to match. The bells and whistles just didn’t feel right. I want my website visitors to be able to easily navigate my site and find what they’re looking for. And if and when visitors decide to spend some time on my site, I want them to hang out on the blog because that’s the heart and soul of my business. So … I decided to stick with Folio Websites. It’s a template-based site and it’s not flashy, but it’s simple and editorial and clean.

I find myself comparing myself to others a lot, which is so not healthy but so easy to do. I get swept up in what everyone else is doing and forget where I’m at and what’s best for me. This is what’s best for me. This is where Lane Baldwin Photography is supposed to be. And I could not be more thrilled! Thanks for all your support. Here’s to the next three years!