My Big, Scary, Audacious Goals // Personal

I'll share a secret that's probably pretty obvious - I keep a pretty detailed calendar, and make sure that I always have fresh content to share on the blog. I leave spaces open for spontaneous writing, because I never want to get stuck in a rut, but planning blogs out ahead of time ensures I have plenty of time to write them, and plenty of content to share.

This. Blog. I've been meaning to write it for about a month. I kept moving the date back and back farther, maybe hoping that by the time I got to February it would be too late to share. 

You see, I really don't like failure. But a lot of times, I can keep my failures to myself. I don't have to tell anyone all of my disappointments, or the times I don't 'make it,' whatever 'it' may be. So saying out loud my goals for this year is absolutely terrifying to me. What if I don't achieve them? What if I never reach even half of them?

It has to be a risk I'm willing to take. Because if I don't believe in myself enough to dream big dreams, and believe in a God big enough to fulfill the right ones, then I shouldn't even begin to try. 

Originally, I had set a lot of number goals for myself. I still have those numbers in mind (how many weddings/family sessions I want to book, etc.), but as much as I will keep those goals in front of me this year, I don't care how many weddings or family sessions I book, as long as I serve my clients the best I can. Yes, I do know how many I need to continue to run my business in a wise way, but my focus is not on how many weddings or family sessions I book, but how excited they are to spend time with me, and to see their beautiful family or wedding come to life again in pictures.

So here they are. My Big, Scary, Audacious Goals for 2015. (Yes, I realize it's supposed to be Hair instead of scary, and BSAGs sounds way more ridiculous than BHAGs, but they are scary enough to me that I get to rename them if I want! One of the perks of being an entrepreneur ;)

1) Book my first destination wedding.
I'm not picky - it doesn't even have to be international! But I love traveling, and would love to incorporate that into my wedding season.

2) Get my first print publication.

3) Sell more albums.
Not because I want to make money, (honestly), but because I so firmly believe that your pictures should not die as jpegs, and you should have something in hand to show your children, and their children, for generations to come. More on this later!

4) Get new headshots.
This is a little silly, because I could just book a photographer tomorrow and do this. But...I need to do it! Maybe this will force me to take some action.

5) Find a better balance between work life and home life.
This is the only completely objective goal, so I'm going to let my husband be the judge on this.

What's In My Bag? // Business

Let me start off this post by clearing something up - a photographer is not made by their equipment! All of these things are extremely helpful when photographing a wedding, and allow me to do my job in the best possible way. But at the end of the day, I started out with much less than what I have now, and I am still proud of those pictures. Photography is part technical, but mostly art - I can get correct exposure, white balance, and everything else with the best camera out there, but my work will not stand the test of time without a great balance of the artistry behind it.

At the same time, I'm extremely grateful for the camera and lenses I have, and they do allow me to be much more versatile during portraits or a wedding day. For all those non-photographers out there, I'll explain what I have and why I have it. I do have a backup camera and lenses, but today I'll focus on what I primarily use to shoot. Beside each lens I'll include a picture that I took with it so you can see the difference between all of them!

Nikon D800 - This is my baby. It is a 36.2 megapixel camera with phenomenal light handling, meaning I can still take great pictures in low light situations. Because there are so many pixels the files are huge, but I'm willing to buy more memory for the amazing quality I get. When I shoot in the highest performance mode (RAW), the pictures can be printed life-sized without getting grainy. I am able to shoot in darker ceremony venues without lighting (though of course I'd prefer to add light), and the crispness of each picture is amazing. I love love love my camera!

Nikon 50mm f/1.4 - For a long time, this was my go to lens. Lately I've been switching it up more, but the 50mm provides what most people would think of as a 'normal' picture. It's not extremely wide angle, nor is it a zoom lens. This is great for small families, or for full length shots from a safe distance. Though it won't capture really wide spaces or rooms, it can shoot some of the 'larger' details on your wedding day, such as the cake or a table setting. The wide aperture (f/1.4) means it lets in a lot of light, so I can use it for darker spaces.

Sigma 35mm f/1.4 - This is one of my more recent additions, and it's perfect for small spaces. It definitely saved me on the last wedding I shot, where the getting ready room was on the very small side! The 35mm allows me to step closer to my subject and still retain a full length portrait if I want. It also allows me to get pictures that include the beautiful scenery or backdrop I am in at the time, and I love it for the spaciousness it brings to my photos.

Sigma 85mm f/1.4 - Without a doubt, this is my go to lens for portraits. With longer lenses, there is the factor of 'lens compression,' which basically means you can get an extremely crisp portrait with a lot of bokeh (blurred edges) in the background. It's for that reason that I love it! This lens also allows me to step further away from my subjects to give them breathing room, while capturing pictures that look like I'm standing right next to the couple. I would hesitate to use this for families, since it's a zoom lens and won't work for large groups, but it's absolutely excellent for one or two people, or for capturing little details while going unnoticed.

Nikon 105mm f/2.8 - This is my most recent lens addition. It is a macro lens, which means I can capture the tiny details of the day (like wedding rings). It also allows me to step back further but get in closer on ceremony shots or other parts of the day where I might be a bit further back. Since I use prime lenses (lenses that have a fixed focal length), it's my longest lens and gets me right in to where I need to be.

I also have Nikon SB-10 flash, light stands, continuous lighting, Pocket Wizards (for off-camera flash), and a whole host of other things to help me capture what I need to, but my camera and lenses are constantly in use.  As I said, equipment does not a photographer make, but I do believe in providing the absolute best for my weddings and portraits, and each piece that I've bought helps me do just that!

Circles Conference 2014 Recap

Last week, I had the privilege of flying down to Texas and attending Circles Conference in Grapevine. I knew it would be a worthwhile conference, but I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. To be honest, the content and speakers absolutely blew me away!

Circles was all about creativity, from social media to graphic design, communications and beyond. The caliber of speakers was absolutely phenomenal. Hearing them talk about everything from how to say no to projects that will burn you out, giving everyone a voice to make us stronger together, and using the gifts we've been given as creatives was such an inspiration. It's impossible to write down every one of my notes from this conference - I'm still sorting through them all - but here are some of the highlights.

The Heads of State are an incredible graphic design team that have done campaigns for everyone from Nike to Starbucks, Subaru, and more. They showed their process of design, giving formulas for their inspiration for a dozen different clients. It was incredible to see their thought process, and made me think a little deeper about how I creatively get from point A to point B. I only wish we could have seen more examples!

Jay Argaet may have been my favorite! As the Art & Communication Director at Hillsong Church, he has a huge job that he doesn't take lightly. He spoke of believing in the impossible until you KNOW it can't be done - at one point, his team saw 27 billboards in Times Square lit up with the words "No Other Name: Jesus" for their album cover, on an extremely limited budget. My favorite quote: "If everyone's aiming at the sun, let's go to the moon."

Lee Steffen spoke about rest and finding true joy in creativity. He talked about using the gifts you've been given to fill a void that people already have, and not trying to force yourself to be good at things that don't come naturally to you.

Josh Brewer gave some of the most practical advice of the whole conference. As the former principal designer at Twitter during its years of insane growth, he detailed how to build and lead a team, something which I constantly feel like I need direction on. I also got to speak to him for a few minutes afterwards about my specific team, and he offered some great insight.

Josh Higgins absolutely rocked it with his presentation. Not only is he a designer at Facebook, he was a lead designer for Obama's 2012 campaign. That had to be one of the most fascinating things to see. I remember thinking as I listened to the talk, 'No wonder they won.' Seeing his creativity was an inspiration and a challenge to just BE better.

Some more highlights, since I can't possibly recap all the speakers:
I got to talk to Doug Bowman in person. And ask him advice. So, so helpful.
The Circles venue was amazing, and so was their team, swag, and everything about the conference. Really top notch.
Splatter Day, an optional time of paintball after the conference ended, was fantastic. I have the bruises and welts to prove I had a great time.
The FOOD. Steel City Pops changed my life. Hard Eight BBQ blew me away. That was some GOOD meat!

Overall, I left feeling inspired to be authentic to myself and my own creativity. I left with real tools to figure out how to do this in my own life. And I left knowing it's ok to rest and take a break - in fact, it's absolutely necessary to keep my creativity going. I'm still processing everything I took away from the conference, but I am absolutely planning on going back next year. If you're a creative of any type, from graphic design to communications to photography, I PROMISE that Circles Conference 2015 will absolutely encourage and inspire you in exactly the ways you need it!