Right now feels like the calm before the storm. I’ve been diving into little projects this week because I had a some extra time to spare. I guess trying to soak in the relaxation and me time. I am all caught up with editing and album design and I must say, it feels nice. Tomorrow starts the rush of things that are coming up this month. Over the upcoming weeks I have shoots scheduled, three weddings to photograph and the dancing school pictures. I photograph Martha Mayer Dancing School each year which consists of about 150 girls over a 2 day shooting period. I photograph the front and back cover for the dance program as well as each students photo and some group shots of teachers, ad winners, etc… The girls also purchase packages which consist of 2 poses each – 5×7 photos and wallets. It is so much fun to see this process come together from start to finish. By the end- my office looks like a factory. Editing, sending files off, packages being delivered, filling photo orders, stuffing envelopes, organizing which student goes with which package x 150! Organization is key! There is like a million check lists. The reason this is one of my favorite things to shoot is simple. I danced for 11 years when I was younger. It brings back a flood of memories as each cute little tiny thing strolls up in her flashy costume and strikes a pose. And to think that I am on the other side of the camera capturing it all for them, is amazing! I still have every single year of dance photos from when I was little. It’s a great experience to be a part of it all again!
Right in the midst of my crazy month, my brother Jimmy who lives in California is also coming to visit for the first weekend of Jazz Fest. I will be needing a little break so I hope to be able to go along with him and some friends to relax a bit! I talk to my brother a lot about business related things and yesterday in particular we had a really great conversation. He is thinking of moving back to New Orleans to open his own restaurant- its very exciting and more details to come soon! Anyway- we’re always reading books and bouncing ideas off one another. I have found it very comforting in my three years of my photography journey. I come from a family of entrepreneurs, so there is no surprise that I’ve chosen to do what I do. It feels natural, its comfortable, its normal, its what we do, its ME! I can’t imagine living my life any other way. Having your own business takes a lot of time, patience, dedication, will, want, hunger and responsibility. I could talk about this for days but I’ll save it for another time.
I went to Barnes and Nobles a couple of nights ago and bought some new books about business inspiration/motivation. I don’t ever want to just sit back and let it ride. How boring is that? When I get free time, the first thing that pops into my head is… what can I be doing that is productive? What can I be doing to make my business better, make my outlook better, make my life in general BETTER! So, I headed to the bookstore. Grabbed a few books from my list of good reads I had been keeping and found a big comfortable chair. I read the first few pages in each book and was sold. I couldn’t wait to get home and begin filling my brain with knowledge. I started one when I got home, read about half the book and feel asleep when my eyes could no longer stay open.
On another note. Besides reading, I love doing little crafty things. Do ya’ll like fabric? I went to the fabric store yesterday and was like a kid in a candy store. I have a cool project brewing up! I bought a mix of different colors and textures- I just picked a handful of materials that really caught my attention and represented my style best. I am going to be making something for the new kitchen- we need some decor! I haven’t really thought of exactly what its going to look like, but its going on the wall. Hope to share some pictures of the process once I get started :)
Have a great weekend! I am off to shoot a portrait session and then to a wedding meeting! And to go along with my rambling post- I figured I would post a photo of some things I talked about.
My brother Jimmy and I
One of my craft projects I’ve been working on…. I’ll show a whole post once I am done :)
