Giving Back

This is a post that I should have written a long time ago… because well it’s a conversation I always seem to have with Tuck!

This isn’t your typical business vs. love of photography and love of people post!  Although maybe it is… who knows!

I am pretty awful at the business side of photography and the business side of everything in general.  It’s a goal of mine every single year to work on this part of myself.  Get better at business, understand that this IS a business and realize that I am supporting my family and this is a job!

But… I just absolutely love what I do and the fact is obviously we ALL do (or we wouldn’t have ever picked up our cameras and continue to pick them up every day).  We wouldn’t pursue education, put money towards learning and education, put money towards equipment, put time and effort into pushing ourselves to learn and grow and find our style and better our art/craft.

We all just love it and we all lead with our hearts when we get out into the field and just start connecting with our clients.

For me… this business side sometimes takes me over.  It runs me down and often times it stresses me out so incredibly much that I tend to put the camera down for a while and walk away.

I’m at a place where I need this business side… I just can’t seem to rearrange my thinking in order to put it into practice.  It’s my fault and it’s my responsibility to change!  It’s a slow change for me, but I am making it.

Once I start to feel these “pains” though… I find that something happens!  It’s like God knows exactly what is on my heart (as He always does).  He knows what I’m feeling and how I’m feeling and he uses those moments to not only renew my spirit and my joy for photography (and the business side of things) but He works his mysterious ways and finds the most perfect fits so that I end up giving back in the most stealthy, secret and amazing ways possible!

It’s incredible really!  It’s why I absolutely LOVE this job and it’s why I continue to pick up my camera because I realize not only how important I feel our stories are, but because I truly feel that this is a way that I can serve His purpose.

I know this is sounding really cryptic and probably not making any sense!

Winter is a hard time for me… in soo soo many ways!  I seriously feel like I have seasonal affective disorder.  I crave the sun and not only the sun but the warmth and the warm weather.  I really do have cabin fever when the weather gets chilly (and I’m always chilly).  I love being outdoors and so does my family.  When the weather is cold, it’s just not enjoyable for me.  My boys can play outside no matter what, but I have poor circulation and I get cold FAST!  I’m just miserable in five minutes flat.

Winter is also so hard because it’s a down time for most photographers.  I’m not out meeting with people and shooting and sharing memories as much as I do in the warmer weather.  I’m not connecting as much!  As a stay at home mom (for most of the time) that part of photography is my life savor.  I LOVE staying home with Linc and I wouldn’t have it any other way, but for those few moments when it’s just me and my camera and these amazing people that allow me into their world… it’s just such a blessing for me in ways I could never describe!

This winter has been a crazy one!  So when all of that snow hit but the sun was out… it was a sign.  I saw a post from another incredibly talented photographer friend (Jessica Ryan) that she was going to be shooting a few complimentary wintery sessions on and I thought… that is an amazing idea.  Here I was, in my pajamas (still getting over being sick) feeling pathetic and sorry for myself with free time on my hands.  I felt like this was a sign that I needed to take inspiration from her and follow her lead!

These snowy seasons that I’ve been able to do have done more for me than I could ever put into words!  Those who were willing to trudge and tromp through the snow just to play with me don’t realize how much they gave back to me!

And what I didn’t realize was in small ways, what a difference just getting out of the house or a simple set of images (or even a chance to just play around without stress) could make a difference for them!

I know I’m not great at the business side of things, but I feel like God knows this and so when I need to just get out and shoot from my heart, He gives me families and couples and little ones that for some reason or another just need a day off!  They just need a moment to play or they need some one on one time together.

I feel like it’s in these sessions, I hope anyway, that God is the one who is helping me give back and using me for His purpose and that this is all a part of His plan for me!

I’ve been given so much in this world of photography, I’ve been taught so many things by soo many wonderful people!  Andi Grant, Tara Liebeck, Amanda Hedgepeth, Katelyn James, Elizabeth Friske, Amanda Manupella, Erika Mills, Ginny Zapar Cohen… just to name a few.  All these wonderful ladies I call my friends and all have given so incredibly much to me and still do in ways of community and inspiration and growth and mentoring!

Giving back is just a natural thing!