new year. new goals. new me.

How did New Year Resolutions get such a bad rep? Isn’t it a time for us to start over with fresh intentions? Forget the past and move on? Out with the old, in with the new? 

I personally look at it as striving for a change and creating new habits. I like examining my past year’s behaviors (and misbehaviors) and making a list of things I’d like to fix and setting goals – ooooooh, I loooooove goals. Setting goals increases productivity and the success rate by 80%! I’m pretty sure I just made that up, but I know goal setting is important – as long as it’s realistic and specific.

Like most women, one of my New Year Resolutions (known as NYR now, because it’s a pain to type) is to lose weight. Wooomp woomp womp.

A key to setting goals is to be as specific, whether it’s a setting a ideal weight or size, or saying many days you’re dedicating working out in the gym a week. The other key is making sure it’s realistic and attainable. Sure, I’d LOVE to lose 30 pounds before my birthday in February, but seriously. Even though my goal is specific – I stated the amount I’d like to lose and gave me a deadline, but I’m not exactly on the Biggest Loser Ranch where I can work out for hours a day and eat perfectly clean, so I’m pretty sure that my body can’t lose the required 6 pounds per week to meet my goal. I’d basically be setting myself up for disappointment, which yeah, could put a bad taste in my mouth regarding the whole NYR planning thing.

Last year, my boyfriend and I set a goal that we’d lose 20 lbs. by the time we leave for our normal Fourth of July trip to the beach. I wasn’t in the gym every day like I was hoping I’d be, and I occasionally enjoyed an item from the McDonalds menu here and there, but I framed my mind into thinking these were just speed bumps, not reasons to give up hope and quit. As the pounds came off, my confidence went up, and it transformed itself from a NYR to just a normal habit. Going on a run was as automatic as brushing my teeth. When I hit the 20 lbs. mark in June, I wanted to keep going. Since I met my goal, I set a new one, I wanted to start wearing a size 8. I ended up losing 38 lbs. and wearing a size 10 by mid August. Unfortunately, I didn’t plan for any other setbacks and transition myself into “maintenance mode”. I gained some back, and yeah I’m disappointed, but now I know what I need to do for 2011. I have a fresh start and a new mindset and don’t consider myself a failure because I hit a road block. The typical person only sticks to the NYR until mid February. If it happens to you, shrug it off and start again in a couple months and be satisfied that the first 1.5 months of attempted change with pure intentions is better than no attempt at all.

So alas, here are my personal NYR for 2011 (and hopefully the rest of my life):

1. Déjà vu – I’m going to lose 20 lbs. by July because I know I can do it. And then I’m going to get into those freakin size 8 jeans by the end of 2011, all the while burning all of my fat jeans that I keep coming back to.

2. New motto: Quality, not Quantity – I used to measure my worth based on how many people I surrounded myself with – yeah, I thought I was a big deal because I had over 1,300 friends on Facebook. Now I’ve realized it doesn’t matter how many friendships you have, but the actual connection and effort your are giving to and receiving from this person.

3. Project 365 – I’m going to take one picture a day for the next year. Armed with my backup Canon DSLR that I’m going to attempt to start carrying with me everywhere and my iPhone 4 which is basically an appendage, I should have no problem doing this.

4. Frugalness – I need to be smarter with my money and live as if plastic wasn’t invented. Save, Save, Save!

5. Stop the Profanity – I cuss like a sailor. Hell, my thoughts are usually profanity.

6. Read the Bible – I received my very own Bible from my parents for Christmas this year and I tend to read it!

7. Anger Control – ie, road rage, attitude, confrontation, rudeness, yelling, etc. Be gone with it you all!


I have some photography-related NYR as well:

8. Blog once every two weeks.

9. I’m getting busier, but I still have some down time between shoots. Even if it’s shooting Toby or nature, I just need to practice more.

10. Take at least one photography related class a month – I have a mentoring session in NC coming up in January, a Photoshop class in February, and a workshop in Atlanta in March – the only way I’m going to get better is to keep being a student and learn.

11. I finally got to the point where I’m happy and confident with my lens inventory, but I’m still just using the 3 I’m most comfortable with. I need to get out of my comfort zone and use the others!

12. Be more organized with contracts and paperwork.

13. Book at least 1-2 weddings each month starting in April.  

14. Here’s an article about NYR for photographers: http://www.macworld.com/article/156640/2010/12/photoresolutions.html. I do most of these, but I need to do the others!

 

So, what are your New Year Resolutions?

I wish you and your loved ones a very happy, healthy and goal-oriented New Year! :)

stay calm & snap on.

I've heard and read over and over again that a photographer should shoot everyday in order to get better at their craft and learn more about themselves. As a part-time photographer, I can't do that... that's why I'm part-time. I have a full-time job in the corporate world, a social life, and a Tobyshark among other things, so it's impossible to put away some time during the day to shoot for me... or so I thought...

This is a Tobyshark.

I ran across this website called Big Picture Classes while following a fun, feminine photography blog, The Shutter Sisters. They were offering a 31 day, online class called Picture the Holidays. For $30, I would receive 1 email every day in December challenging me to stop in the midst of my hectic life, reflect on the holiday season, and capture the provided theme through the lens of my camera all the while giving me helpful tips for photography in general. I didn't jump on it right away. I kept coming up with reasons why I thought I shouldn't or couldn't take this class: shooting every day, $30 to reflect on the holidays - am I actually going to learn something or get something out of it? As I weighed the pros and cons carefully, I reflected back on the pictures I took in the Sonoma Valley, Alcatraz Island, and San Francisco, and how much fun I had taking them. There was no pressure to impress a client or to get shots that would build my portfolio - these were for me to remember this vacation. After I returned from my trip with great images, I felt renewed. The rut I was in had faded and I was ready to get back to work. Shooting for fun should be a constant in my life since it's the reason I decided to make this a potential career anyways.

So. I signed up for the class.  I can make the time. It'll take some effort on my part - making myself get up a littler earlier in the morning so I have time to sit down at my computer and reflect on the daily assignment then shoot before I go to work, and make sure I set sometime aside when I get home to choose my image for editing and upload it to the community gallery they have set up for us. It's only the 2nd day, and I'm enjoying it. I like the fact that it makes you think beyond the surface of the literal. The December 1st assignment talked about holding on to gratitude for the holiday season and prompted us to shoot something that we are grateful for. Not only did I shoot one concept that I was grateful for, it made me think of all the other things I was grateful for too. Gah, there were so many! Powerful tool, this project :) I'll be sharing my daily photos in a Facebook album.

There's still time to sign up - they are taking new students until December 10th. If you can't participate this time, they have other classes like Picture Winter  and other seasons as well that will offered later. If you don't want to dish out the money or shoot everyday, this chick does a similar thing on her blog called You Capture. She suggests a feeling or abstract concept once a week, and asks her readers to go shoot it. And I must add, this isn't just for professional photographers. It's for anyone who wants to slow life down a tad and reflect. You can use a fancy smancy DSLR, or your point-and-shoot - hell, she even says she welcomes cell phone pictures.

On a totally unrelated - but kinda related - note, I bought this poster tonight:
  

I plan on hanging it up in my office where I do all my post-processing and blogging. As life continues to get busier and my personal and photography schedule fills up, I hope this will serve as a constant reminder to me keep my photography venture fun and to reflect on why I began this in the first place. Day 2 of my photography project, and I'm already looking forward to more self-reflection.

Hi, 2011 - you're already looking bright from here.

All I Want For Christmas Is a Kelly Moore Bag!

So this past weekend, I wrote a review on the Epiphanie Belle Camera Bag and mentioned a Kelly Moore Bag as my other option. After much afterthought, I decided to go on and order the *fabulous* Kelly Moore B-HoBo Bag in mustard as well. I wanted something that looked less like a camera bag, so that I'm not getting extra attention when walking around. Since I travel a lot, I figured this would be the best bag to take with me when I'm sightseeing and only need a few things, not my entire inventory of equipment.

All of Kelly's bags are extremely popular, so many of the styles have been backordered and have future ship dates. Mine will be shipped early-mid December!

I finally cleaned up my office yesterday and started to gather all of my equipment together since it was scattered all over the place: battery chargers, bounce cards, flash diffusers, lens cleaner, white balance cards, reflectors, backup camera body, and it goes on and on and on. Currently, they're chillin on some shelves of a tv stand - not the most ideal place. The newest bag of the Kelly Moore line, the JuJu Bag, would be THE perfect home for all of my extra equipment. 

Look how much space this baby has! And the walnut color is so classy!

This would be the ULTIMATE Christmas gift (hint, hint)! To any family member reading this: I may have a coupon to help you out if you want to buy me this :) Readers, you can get a coupon too! Check out Kelly's Blog to see how.

Reviews for the B-Hobo bag will come as soon as I get it!

Review: Epiphan!e Camera Bag - Belle

I'm a growing photographer. As my skill and clientele grows, so does my equipment. When I started a little over a year ago, my little cheap canvas bag that came with my Canon Rebel Kit was good enough for my camera body and 2 lenses, which rubbed up next to each other - not the most ideal situation for expensive equipment. Now I carry at least 3 or 4 lenses, an external flash, batteries, memory cards, etc. with me on a 2 hour engagement session; more when I shoot a wedding. I had been researching camera bags off and on, all the while wearing my kit bag out. 
Like most women, I wanted my next bag to be stylish yet extremely functional and comfortable. I read many reviews for bags from Kelly Moore, ShootSac, Jo Totes, and Epiphanie, yet I hesitated making the jump because buying online without seeing them in person made me nervous. After narrowing it down based on size and style, I couldn't decide between the Epiphanie Belle in teal and the Kelly Moore Classic in fuchsia. Even though the Kelly Moore in fuchsia is chic and many of my photographer friends recommend it, I ultimately let price be the deciding point and went with the Epiphanie Belle.
Here she is:

Isn't she lovely?! I shot with her for the first time last Saturday, and I made her model for me yesterday :) I figured that I'd use my blog as a review in case there are other lady photographers that are trying to figure out if the Epiphanie Belle is right for them.

Appearance
Have you ever bought something online based on the color and then it gets shipped home, only to find the color is a little off (or a lot) from the color you saw on the computer screen? Not here. The teal is exactly what I expected from the Epiphanie website. I love the silver accents: zippers, clasps, tag, and beading (I don't know what else to call it). They are all quality made and firmly attached - no cheap, plastic-y pieces on it. The leather is thick but very soft. You would think being waterproof that the leather would be shiny and pleathery-like - not at all. I haven't had it long enough to come into contact with a bunch of water or drink spills, but I do feel comfortable that it'll do the job of keeping my equipment dry if those situations arose. There are two pockets - one on the front and one on the back. I wish they were a tad bigger, or there were side pockets for more personal items like my keys or cell phone. No biggie - I can still fit my essentials. In the front pocket, there's enough room for my SD Card wallet, my lens pen and writing pens, and extra batteries for my flash and camera in the back pocket. 

Inside and Space 

I am very happy with the space that's available inside the bag for equipment. The whole inside is made of bright green felt material, so the sky is your limit when deciding where to put what and none of your equipment will blend in which makes it easy for you to locate things in your bag. The dividers have really good velcro on the bottom so they aren't the easiest to remove, but that's good. They are thick and sturdy - definitely aren't moving once you put them in place. There's even a little flap over the top that serves a shield for whatever you put in that spot. In the picture below, you can see how I have my bag set up. There was an extra small divider, but I took it out. On the left side, I have my Tamron 10-24mm, Canon 100mm 2.8, and Canon 50mm 1.4; in the middle, I'll have my Canon 60D body on its back with a Tamron 28-75mm attached pointing up; and on the right, I have my Canon Speedlite 580EX II and a bounce card. Even with packing it with all of this, the zipper closes easily and it stands up when I have it on the ground. No worrying that something is going to fall out!

On the Body

The thing I was most worried about was how comfortable it is to wear and how it lays against my body. The longer padded strap is a dream - VERY comfortable and is adjustable depending on where you prefer your bag to fall. The bag width is thick based on how much is packed in it. For me, wearing it without the messenger strap is kinda uncomfortable because my arm has to wrap around the entire bag - very difficult to shoot like this. I prefer to wear it messenger style on my left shoulder and across my body so it falls on my right hip. Leaving the zipper open makes it easily accessible to switch out lenses and grab whatever you need in one fell swoop.

Overall, I give the Epiphanie Bell Bag 4.5 out of 5 stars. It's adorable and makes carrying my equipment effortless - I just wish there were more pockets on the outside for personal items. On its debut shoot, I never got annoyed with the strap or weight, and didn't need to adjust it at all. 

 I highly recommend this bag for anyone who can't decide between Kelly Moore and Epiphanie. Kelly Moore may be THE bag to buy right now, but being $30 cheaper and not being on backorder, the Epiphanie Belle definitely meets my expectations.

I'm Back!

I have great intentions when start a new routine. I'm all about it at first - following through on a consistent basis, then WHAM! I fall of the wagon a month or two later. Unfortunately, I've let this happen to my blogging. But I'm back! :)

Many things have happened since the last time I've blogged. I've given my website and logo a whole new look, dyed my hair blonde (excited to get new professional pics by Tina Wrona in January to show it) and I've redirected my focus to wedding services and event photography, which has made me A LOT busier than I had been. Before I opted to do all of this, I hit a wall. I burned myself out - more quickly than I had anticipated - and it wasn't fun for me anymore. It became what I hoped it wouldn't: a job. After a quick trip to San Francisco in August where I got to shoot landscapes and abstracts for me and no one else, and attending a Business of Photography class with the Portrait Photography Group - Columbia, I decided I would limit myself to shoot what I enjoyed most: engagements, bridals, and weddings. Yes, it may seem that I'm shrinking my clientele. Yes, some of my audience may move on. But I'm okay with it. I rather limit myself focusing on what I love, rather than opening myself to many opportunities doing something I'm not crazy about. I'm being fair to myself, as well as to potential clients. Think about it: would you want me to shoot your kid when I'm not 100% invested? Nope.

After I experienced my first unsatisfied client (who was a friend and oddly never told me she was unsatisfied - just defriended me on Facebook), I realized tiny humans didn't tickle my fancy. Babies straight up scare me. I think newborn baby photography is the most beautiful form of photography and would love to do it - I'm just not built for it. So I decided to stick with shooting what I'm good at and thoroughly enjoy: Love between a man and woman who want to spend the rest of their lives together.

So I'm back - for reals this time - and I'm looking forward to showing you awesome images of the clients that I'm 100% crazy about.