Signs of Growth - The Shoot & Share Contest // Personal

As most of you reading this would agree, we are often more critical of our own work than we are of anyone else's. That is definitely true for myself. It's hard to measure how much I've grown as a photographer. In all honesty, I want every single wedding, engagement, anniversary session, and family session to be better than my last. I try my hardest to look at my own work with a critical eye, because I never want to get comfortable. I always want to keep growing and getting better so I never get stagnant.

Sometimes, though, it's hard to commend yourself for the good work you're doing when you're always looking to be better. There's a healthy element to recognizing your growth and achievements, rather than always picking out the most negative side of your work. At times I've realized that if I had a boss as hard as me as I am to myself, I probably would have quit a long time ago!

Each year, there is a huge photography contest hosted by the folks over at Shoot and Share. I first heard about it last year, my first year in business, and was eager to enter a few of my pictures from the year. I remember being so disheartened when it came to voting time, however. It seemed that EVERYONE had better pictures than I did, and mine didn't even stand a chance of making it past the first round, let alone winning any sort of prize. It was all very discouraging, and it brought me down for a little bit of time.

This year, I was determined to enter again, and not let other's work get me down. When I began to look through my pictures, I was blown away. There are still so many things I want to improve, and so much I want to work on, but I was proud to enter pictures this year. I don't expect to win the grand prize (since it's as much about the style of the weddings as it is your pictures), but I felt like mine stood up to so many others in the same category as mine. There are so many photographers who are without a doubt better than I am, who can master light more, and who can see things that I am still training myself to see, but I've made a giant leap from where I was last year. 

I'm proud of what I did in 2014. I'm proud of so many family sessions, engagements, and weddings that I shot. I hope to be even better in 2015, but today, I'm choosing to take pride in how far I've come, instead of looking at how much farther I want to go.

Take pride in your work, friends. Sometimes, you're the only one who will on any given day. And that's more than enough for me.

Click here to see more Monday Musings!

Pixieset Online Galleries // Business

I'm not gonna lie, it seems so mundane to write a blog about ANYTHING after last Sunday's big adoption announcement! But, as they say, the show must go on :)

Back in July, I started looking at different options for image delivery to clients. I've always been a huge proponent of online galleries - it's such an easy way to share high resolution images with clients whether they are in the area or not. I can send a link over email, which anyone can then share with anyone else.

Another big benefit of online galleries is ordering prints. There is a HUGE difference between prints ordered at somewhere like Costco or Walgreens, and prints ordered through a professional printing company. I could talk about that much longer (and probably will in a future blog post), but online galleries make it so simple to order professional quality prints through one of the best labs in the country. The pricing is still very reasonable, and the quality is guaranteed.

It used to be that a DVD of images was included with photography sessions and weddings - in fact, that's how my wedding images were delivered! While there's nothing wrong with this, it is so much less user friendly to mail a DVD to a client. Once that happens...then what? If you have family in a different state, or just want to share your images with a friend, you're left the task of mailing a physical copy and hoping nothing happens to your DVD in the mail. Over time, DVDs erode and wear away, and will eventually be unreadable. Online galleries, and downloadable images, will never receive the wear and tear that physical goods will.

With that said, I've tried a few different options over the last few years. The one I've settled on as not only my favorite, but one that I can confidently send to my clients, is Pixieset. Pixieset is one of the most beautiful client galleries I have seen. With a range of options as to how I present the images, I can make sure that my client experience is fully customized from beginning to end.

Once a client receives their gallery, the options are limitless. The images can be downloaded, ordered straight from the gallery, or shared to ANY social media site you can imagine. As a client, you can favorite pictures as you go through - no more talking over the phone and trying to figure out what prints your mom wants! Just send her the link, ask her to mark her favorites, and order straight from there.

On the back end, Pixieset gives me the flexibility I want. I can control the print prices, so the price you see will match the rest of your experience with Maria Grace Photography. I can add highlights to galleries, password protect certain images if desired...the options are almost endless! All this contributes to the best possible experience for my brides and families.

Below are some examples of how Pixieset looks. Really, I think this speaks for itself! The site is mobile and desktop friendly, so there's no worries about transitioning between the two. And, as always...let me know what you think!