We have done a lot for our business this year. We have revamped our style of shooting, our gear, our webpage, our pricelist, and all of our marketing materials. It has been a lot of work, but so far it has also been a huge success. I love where we are going, and hope to keep setting goals and pushing forward in the right direction. But it's hard. It's easy to lose track of those goals. It's easy to let one simple negative in and it can make it feel like, "What on earth am I doing?"
Sometimes I get to critical, or I over-think things and make them way harder than they should be. I forget to lose myself in my creativity. That's when I have to go back to basics. Go back to shooting for fun. Go back to being super creative and taking risks. Success in the business world is all about taking risks, right? Only I am a big chicken. I have to get over it. And I am working on that.
So my advice to you (and to myself), is to take risks. Put yourself out there and see what happens. You'll never know if you try!
Here are my first risks. My very first photography class at FSU. My very fist SLR camera. I had no idea what I was doing and I took pictures of everything. 80% of them are crap. But the rest are beautiful. And those few beautiful shots are worth it.
I love how these look "vintage" without even trying. That's just the way they came out of the camera. I should have used filters to correct the white balance, but I didn't know what white balance was. Sometimes I wish I could still get that vintage look with digital and photoshop, but it never looks quite right. I love that I was fascinated enough with the porch light reflecting in a puddle to grab the camera and photograph it. I love that I photographed my then boyfriend, Gary, because he sadly passed away after a long battle with cancer. I started this project for his wife, so she could have a copy of a few precious pictures I have of him, and I am so glad that I did - for multiple reasons.
Photography is precious. People are precious. Life is precious. Many times, after all is said and done, after memories fade, all that is left are pictures. Make sure you get in front of the camera. Take pictures with your kids. They are not going to care if you weighed 10lbs more or didn't have make up on - trust me! All they will care about down the road is having a great picture with their loved ones.
Thank you so much for 1) finding those old photos of Gary and 2) finding those old photos of Mozart too :) I showed one of the pics of Gary that you posted last night to Mikey and he knew that they were of his daddy but when his daddy was younger which was so neat for him to realize. One day he will really appreciate these photos. :) Thanks again!!!
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