Planning.

I got up early with the intent to take care of some business emails and edit pictures from a family session I had on Saturday...but my son seems to think that if I'm up, he should be up; and so between potty breaks and trying to keep him in bed (and quite) until a reasonable hour, I can't focus on the images long enough to get anything done. So I'm blogging instead. And seriously considering getting my 3-year-old his own alarm clock and teaching him how to tell time. Lucky for me, the emails I had to write were to
a) one of my brides for this next summer, who also happens to be my "little" cousin
and
b)another prospective bride
which means I already have 3 weddings to start planning and dreaming about for the summer....which means a lot of fun, and a little nervousness. I always, always get nervous before a shoot. I think it's good, though-keeps me on my toes. Weddings just tend to make me a bit more nervous than, say, the newborn shoot I did last month, or the Christmas card shoots I've been doing since then. Weddings, in case you didn't know, are a BIG.DEAL. Which means a fair amount of pressure as the photographer to, you know, NOT MESS IT UP. So thankful for digital!

But already having 3 brides for the summer has made me start to think about my business again. I started this whole thing without a very clear idea of where I wanted to go with it; now I'm constantly thinking about that, as well as how my business can be used to bless & help people. It's time to do some serious planning. Not necessarily a 5-year plan; but thinking and praying about a purpose statement for my business-why it exists-what I can do to become a better photographer-some steps i can take in the next year to get there. I don't want this to just "maybe happen". I have a pretty clear idea of where I'd like to see this whole photography thing go and some hard work to put in to get there. But I'm not afraid of hard work. Since things will most likely slow down after Christmas, I'll have some more time to plan and dream. And, even better, to take action. Baby Girl will be weaned in about 6 weeks; I'll have a little freedom to go to workshops and things like that. I'm excited. The only photography class I've ever taken was one in high school, which was mostly about how to develop photos in the darkroom. Photography is something I'd really like to be good at-but not just so I can say I'm a good photographer. I'm incredibly thankful for the opportunities I'm being given, and excited to see where this all goes.

About a month ago, our church had a big Orphan Sunday Concert, raising awareness about the programs our church has that help children both here in our town and abroad who are orphaned or in the foster care system. I was asked to be the photographer; and although it was completely different than the things i usually do (and therefore made me realize just how much I have to learn!) it was so much fun to stretch myself like that.
I know I'm rambling; and since it's now 7 am and Pax is officially out of bed I need to go. Just hadn't blogged for awhile-but obviously not for lack of subjects. I wanted to let you in on a bit of what's brewing in my brain...