March Goals

Valentine's Day-Inspired Styled Shoot I thought about making that cover photo one I recently took in the snow, but I then I realized that NO ONE WANTS TO SEE SNOW ANYMORE. :) Tulips are much friendlier now that it's March. I'm optimistic that spring is just around the corner. But while we're waiting for it, Nathan and I decided to get out of dodge and hang out just the two of us in a much warmer climate (wanna guess where we are??). This is our last hurrah before my busy season starts to pick up, and I can't wait to share tropical photos when we get back!

In the meantime, I've been working on my March goals--my last month to get a TON of off-season stuff done. I think it's going to be a successful one!

March Goals

How is your March shaping up? What are you most looking forward to? Make it a good one, friends!

February Goals

Winter Trees in Steamboat Springs I'm greeting February as a new woman! January was all about rest and restoration, and boy did I soak it up. This is my first photography season where I didn't book any weddings in the traditional "off" months and it has been quite the experience being "off" for 2.5 months now.

I've learned that being a wedding photographer means truly embracing the ebbs and flows of life … and of business. One minute you're feeling incredibly stress-free and like you could do this "off" thing for the rest of your life, and then it all comes racing back to you: What am I doing sitting around?? I should be working!!!! What if I never book anything ever again?! How much time have I wasted sitting on this couch, just existing, not producing anything?!?!?! 

Then my sanity returns and I remember what a gift this slow season is. I remember why it's crucial to just be for awhile. To not produce anything but dream about things. To pick up all those thing I neglected six months ago. To devour books and learn and learn and learn again.

It's a constant cycle but I'm excited to embrace that cycle for another 2.5 months. Soon enough it will be time to hustle and produce again. And that's a beautiful experience in and of itself.

February Goals

  • Read three books (Still Life with Bread Crumbs, Emma and Stitches)
  • Send/give encouragement to three people (I'm not sure exactly what this will look like yet, but it's amazing how much time and energy I spend on myself when I could be using a lot of that time to focus on other people. It's so easy to slip into that selfish and prideful pattern!)
  • Complete our 2014 taxes
  • Finish designing and hanging our living room gallery wall
  • Purge our house of old magazines
  • Continue writing content for my new client guide
  • Develop a realistic business budget*
  • Order a new, untraditional sample album (I'll be sharing soon!)
  • Experiment with fine art prints (i.e., order a couple different samples)
  • Finish the questionnaire for the spring workshop I'll be attending (so excited about this one!)

*I'll be using Nancy Ray's Business Budgeting Guide. We talked a lot about finances in my mentoring session, and it was so helpful!

What does your February look like? Do you have something exciting planned this month?

August Goals + Creative Juices

It's August?! How is it August?? This summer has gone SO quickly, and if I'm being perfectly honest, I'm having a hard time keeping the balance I was determined to stick with at the beginning of the year. Summers are always filled with lots of shooting--weddings, newborns, families, engagements--and I always want to do it all! It's a tough lesson for me to learn that I'm just one person and can't say yes to everything while still staying balanced in my personal life. I suppose I'll always deal with this struggle. It's one that reminds me I'm human and helps me appreciate the little moments in the midst of the crazy. And August will be just that … CRAZY! Nathan and I get to escape to the UK in September (YAY!), so August will be reminiscent of exam week in college--cram as much in as you possibly can and somehow, some way it will all get done. Here's to a productive month!

I've been obsessing over So You Think You Can Dance this summer (it's my first season ever!), and I was captivated by Jessica and Casey's performance last week to Hozier's Like Real People Do. This song is beautiful, and I especially love the folksy + waltz feel. Check it out:

Anyone else loving SYTYCD or another show this summer? I've also been watching season after season of Survivor while I edit. It's so not something I ever thought I would get into, but I'm loving it!

July Goals

Cleveland Ohio Outdoor Chic WeddingI learned (or relearned) quite a few things in June:

  • When you take on six weddings all in one month, you should plan to have a frivolous book on your nightstand for some light reading at the end of the night. Taking on Girl Meets God last month was not my best decision. I'll be saving that one for the end of the year.
  • To avoid a wedding "hangover," you must chug water the second you get home. A Lime-A-Rita is not a substitute.
  • And on that same note, popcorn is not a substitute for a proper lunch. Although it IS delicious.
  • When you try to cram two or three months of work into one, most of your goals will take a back seat to editing. Duly noted.

Needless to say, June wasn't my best month for completing goals. I got a little ahead of myself, and now that I'm trying to catch up on all that June plopped on my desk, I'll be posting some boring reasonable goals for July. :) I hope your summers are off to a great start! Can I get a high five for all this awesome weather we've been having?! (Read: It makes for a happy wedding photographer!)