Fa La La La La!!

December has already been a goodie! My Christmas shopping is 90% dunzo which has NEVER happened before and it hasn't snowed! Yay! hehe. We still haven't decorated our house but I think we are planning on that this weekend. I can't wait for a real tree this year and for Harper to help deck the halls! She's going to love it.

I took her out for a quick photo shoot the other day and I setup my TWP holiday mini stuff and she absolutely loved decorating that tree and messing up all my decorations ;) Oh and lets not forget how fun it is to dress up in all the festive outfits and jammies of this time of year! It's probably my fave. Of course Paper Doll Clothing Co. puts out the most adorable printed tees and they knocked it out of the park with their holiday collection! Obsessed! And one of my new favorite shops Camden and Kate makes these adorable comfy skirts with poms! I am in love with the print of the buffalo check and the sweetest little deer! She also makes... two words. Baby. Kimonos. HEART EYES OMG! 

Harper's Outfit

Skirt | Printed Tee | Jeweled Headband | Freshly Picked Moccs

LOL. This one is so funny to me. It looks like she's saying, Mom, shush! :) haha

Starting a new {photography} business. The First Year.

Hello sweet friends! Today I really wanted to talk about photography and business "stuff" that goes along with it. I get asked a lot of questions about how I started, what camera I shoot with, and other photography related questions so I thought I would answer them all in one blog post! Now before I get started I just want to clarify that I am in NO way an expert on this. I am completely self taught when it comes to photography but I feel like I have learned and taught myself a lot in the last year and I would love to share my tips and tricks to starting up your photo business.

A little backstory on how I got started; It all started with Harper of course. I was obsessed with taking photos of her 24/7 and all I had was my iPhone. I would literally setup "photo shoots" and take them with my iPhone and people would ask me if I got a new camera, nope, just the good ole phone camera. I even bought photoshop before I ever had the camera! I had been wanting a DSLR for so long but we could not afford it so my Dad generously bought me my Canon Rebel T3 with a kit lens and thats where it all started. I was obsessed with learning everything about it. I read the manual from beginning to end and played with it all day long. I started shooting on AV but very quickly wanted to master manual so I set out with my little model and figured it out fairly quickly. After a few months of learning on the kit lens, I upgraded to the 50mm 1.8 and I fell even more in love with photos and it just sparked this insane passion in me! I was smitten with photography. More than I could have ever imagined. It was all I could ever think about. Lighting, locations, camera settings, all of it was becoming an obsession. I finally asked some Facebook friends if they would let me take some photos for them to maybe start up a portfolio and I was overwhelmed with responses. I took off super fast with my shoots and I decided to turn my little hobby into something bigger! In the first few months I was already swamped with shoots and I couldn't believe it. People really wanted me to capture moments for them. It was amazing! It has now been exactly a year since I asked that Facebook question and I am so blessed to have found something that I LOVE to do!

First off, I am still shooting with my Rebel and 50mm 1.8. I know a lot of times people get caught up in gear and having the best of everything but its not about that. I can do some pretty amazing things with my entry level DSLR and one prime lens. I defiantly think I have outgrown my camera and it is time for me to upgrade to a full frame body but right now I just cannot afford that so I have completely mastered everything about my rebel and I think I rock it! So, it's not about what camera you have, it's about you skill level and passion that comes through in the photos. Not the gear. And also learning photoshop. You can not charge people hard earned money for mediocre photos. Yes I strive for perfect SOOC (straight out of camera) shots but I love editing and really making them pop in photoshop. I could not live without it.

Start a Facebook page. Facebook is one of the best (and sometimes worst) forms of free advertisement. Without Facebook I wouldn't get probably 90% of my clients. Facebook is great in that way. People see my images and become interested so they "like" my page so that brings in new followers which generates more business. But also Facebook changes their settings a lot especially for business pages and it can really hurt our pages. They hide posts from our fans and it can be really frustrating so I have had to think of other ways to promote myself.

Business cards are a must! I am so happy I received these gorgeous business cards from Tiny Prints because they are such a great promoting tool for Me. I give them out at the end of my sessions and just randomly to people so that they will hopefully call me when they need their photos done. I made sure to include some of my favorite photos and all of my information including name, number, email, blog, and Facebook page.

Personalized Business Cards

Stay organized with your business and photos. The only way I can function day to day is to be extremely organized! I have so many sessions from day to day that I write everything down in my planner and phone calendar. I also love writing notes about sessions like themes or style and what the client is asking for because I try to stay on top of every little detail to make every session perfect. You also have to find a way to keep all of your client photos organized because they can become overwhelming. You will defiantly need an external hard drive and I would organize that like crazy. I literally have a folder for every single session I have ever done. I would hate to lose client images or something happen to them so I try and keep myself well organized with the photos and just my life and business in general. Trust me, this is a huge one. You will be kicking yourself the first time you forget something important for a session or forget one all together! Thank goodness that has never happened to me but I am extremely paranoid. ;)

Personalized Notebook

You are never done learning. Read, and read, and ask questions, and research, and learn more every single day! Just when I think I master something, I learn something new and I love that aspect of photography. Whether it be from my camera to my editing I am also learning and growing and that is so exciting for me. I am so thankful to have a wonderful friend who I consider a mentor that I could ask questions and advice for anytime. I learn so much and am so inspired by all of the amazing photographers that I follow on Facebook from all around the world. You cannot believe how much talent is out there but it is so amazing how creative and talented people are. I need that inspiration from others in my life when I am feeling down about my work and it really pushes me to work even harder to become a superstar when I see others achieving their photography dreams!

Find friends in the industry and actually hangout with them! Not everyone with a camera is a threat to your business! One of the best things I ever did for myself was to find colleagues who were just as passionate about their profession in photography as I was. It is so nice to be able to share highs and lows with them and talk about photo stuff with someone who understands. Sure, you could think of them as "competition" but when you find the true gems who support you and you support them no matter what, its not that way at all!

And lastly; Do not give up!! I have been on a roller coaster ride this year with the ups and downs of starting my own business and finding a new passion for something so amazing! It has been one of the most rewarding and at the same time challenging years of my life but the greatness from my new career totally outweighs the hardship. I am so proud of myself for what I have accomplished in one short year and I cannot wait to see where I am in the next year or five years. I have big dreams for myself and I will not give them up no matter what!! I am determined to be the best photographer I can be and capture beautiful moments in life, because that's really why I started anyways.

I hope that helps someone out there that is thinking about starting a career in the photo business. This is just my "one year of business" perspective but woo, has this year been a whirlwind!? Thank you so much for all the support and encouragement from my family and friends too because without them I would not be where I am today!! XO

Please email me or comment with any other questions!!

Harper is TWO!!

I can't believe my baby has been two for two weeks now! They sure grow up in a blink of an eye. Tear. Now that she had her two year old checkup I can share her stats and her cute two year old-ness! 

Harper's 2 Year Old Stats:

Weight- 27 pounds (55%)

Height- 33.5 inches (41%)

Head- 19 inches (89%)

She is a healthy and perfect little two year old. With a big head, haha! 

Eating:

She's pretty much been a terrible eater for the last 6 months. She's extremely picky and some days the only thing she eats are some crackers and milk. She is defiantly going through some kind of no eating phase but the doctors said that is completely normal as long as she is gaining weight and she is. We have recently started a strict eating schedule to try and get her to eat good healthy meals. I make her a breakfast lunch and dinner with snacks in between of a protein, fruit/veggie, and a carb for every meal and sometimes she eats it sometimes she refuses. If she refuses its just too bad to sad she misses out on the meal which I feel bad about but it has actually worked really well. She is trying new foods and is eating better the last couple weeks than she has in months so I am glad we are sticking to it.

Some of her favorite foods are hot dogs, mac & cheese, ritz crackers, cheese sticks, fruit, cookies, milk, and chocolate milk!

Sizes: 

She is wearing mostly 2T and 18-24 months in all her clothes. Her little buddha belly is so big that most of her shirts are a little short unless they are 2T and its so cute to me! She wears a size 5 and 6 in shoes; Depends on the shoes but she's almost creeping into a 7! She wears size 5 diapers but we are hoping to not be buying diapers soon... Hello potty training...

Sleeping:

She is STILL sleeping with me at night. Its a love hate relationship because I love having her close to me and snuggling but its really hard on me to not have a little "me" time at night and its getting hard on Nick and our relationship. He has slept in a different room for two years now because a certain spoiled girl is taking his place. We've tried transitioning her to the crib but after we got back from a vacation she went totally crazy and would cry for hours until we went and got her. I don't know what to do and I'm sure nothing will change until we get into our own place and she has her own room. She does take one nap a day in the crib and she usually sleeps for an hour or two. Oh, and she always has to have the sound machine on. It's a life saver! Also, her "babies" and paci are always a must for any sleepy time but the paci is about to go bye bye!

Talking:

I can't believe how good she can talk! She is saying new words everyday and it is amazing. She says new sentences and things I've never even said and she picks up on everything. I love how I can have conversations with her now. Its so sweet. She calls me Mom instead of momma or mommy which I think is so funny. She calls Dad Dad, Grandma Gram, and Grandpa Pop. Hilarious! She makes me laugh everyday with all the cute things she says. 

Favorites:

Girlfriend loves it all! Some of her favorite activities are coloring, stickers, princess everything, baby dolls, puzzles, her Disney Jr shows (Doc, Mickey, Jake, Callie), playing outside, her new bike, her grandparents, playing with other kids, playing dress up, playing with water, and driving mommy crazy ;)

She is defiantly a two year old. She is so sweet and cute but then she will turn into a defiant whiny toddler in .5 seconds. I call her my sour patch kid. She's sour than sweet ;) She is very dramatic and she still gets a little nervous around other people but she has gotten so much better since going to school twice a week. I love her personality and how girly she is. She only likes wearing dresses and she always says "I'm a Prince!" (princess) and I just die from cuteness!! She is my mini me which I already know is trouble but I love her just the way she is and I love watching her grow and develop into her own little person everyday. She is my world!! 

Tent: everything made by me and my stepdad.

Harper's black and white dress: H&M

Gold Glitter Bow: Baby Jules Boutique

Tulle Swimsuit: Mud Pie

Custom Crown: Little Blue Olive