It’s been a while, huh? I feel like I haven’t blogged much lately. Blogging rut and being busy are my excuses. Having a hard time telling people no lately, I’ve never really been good at that game. No matter if it’s photography, my friends, family or Randy. I’ll always seem to make it work or find the time. I am so overly thankful, as I’ve said a million times for so many people wanting me to take their pictures. I never thought I’d be at this point right now. January will mark my third year in business as a professional with an LLC. I’ve been shooting since I was a teenager, but 2008 is when Jen Amato Photography was born. Just this past weekend I was talking about when it all began. When I wanted to give up. When I had no friends in the industry. When no one wanted to book me. When I was only photographing family and very close friends. It feels like yesterday I was crying on Randy’s shoulder that I felt like I was going nowhere with my business. I had my doubts. I was ready to quit and go back to school, I was ready for something to just happen already! I learned real quick that it doesn’t happen over night. I can honestly say I’ve put in countless hours of shooting, editing, learning, listening, researching and planning to be at this point. I’m still not there, but now I’ve come to enjoy the process rather than want to speed it up. I will continue to grow as a photographer each and every day.
In December of 2008 is when Randy and I got engaged in New York. We took the trip to celebrate my first year in business. It was then that I decided to turn over a new leaf. I expressed my plans about wanting to take my career to the next level. Once January of 2009 began I knew some things needed to change. I started going to church every Sunday and I prayed about it. I always pray for guidance, but never forget to say thank you for what I’ve been blessed with so far. It was then that I started attending workshops regularly, started a blog and was ready for the upcoming challenges. It was then I realized how powerful God is and how much he had healed me. Both spiritually and mentally. I am a better person today because I’ve chosen to put God first. I am nothing without him. He is the reason I am where I am today.
I’m looking at my calendar for the next 2 months and wondering how I’m going to get through it. I have weddings every weekend until the end of November and 3-4 shoots per week. It just means I’ll have some late nights and early mornings ahead. I am so afraid of getting behind, I do it to myself. Half the time I’m the one who drives myself crazy! When it comes down to it, I still manage to always have photos back quickly for my clients. Busy first couple of weeks in December are busy as well, I hope to be able to take off a week for Christmas. I’ve been doing bootcamp for almost a year now and I can honestly say its what helps me stay sane, that and church! (Randy’s reassurance and my moms home cooked meals don’t hurt either!)
In other news, I’ve started my health kick again for the 100th time! It always takes a weather change to get me motivated. I’ve been trying to eat really healthy. This past weekend I went to Sam’s and bought more fruits and vegetables then the law allows. I am still so bummed that we don’t have a farmers market near by. I swear some days, I dream of living in the country. With big open fields, some killer old rusted trucks and objects to photograph in front of, a farmers market to visit every week, some chickens that lay eggs and I can’t forget… a house full of random mismatched aged vintage furniture. Maybe I’ll be rich enough to have this as a second home one day….. HA! Sure!
Lately, I’ve been daydreaming about taking another road trip vacation. Randy and I’s honeymoon was amazing and I would do it all over again tomorrow if I could. Having my camera there to capture it all made the memories even more sweet. I need to promise myself to take a vacation like that at least once a year. There are a lot of promises I need to make to myself, I should get a list going! Another thing I want to do is go shooting just for fun, just the two of us or maybe with some of our photographer friends. I am craving something different and wouldn’t mind taking a drive to find it!
Right now, I have 2 Bridal Sessions in que waiting to be blogged, but they can’t be shown yet. I also have a wedding from this past weekend that I’m working on right now and I hope to have them up by the end of the week. Since every post is better with a picture, I leave you with random shots of Randy and I from this past weekend only because we like making fun of each other!!!
