Lesson Learned | Fredericksburg Lifestyle Photographer

Over the weekend I attended/assisted at a photography workshop held by Marta Locklear. She touched a bit on how she likes to run her business and it really helped me to reevaluate some aspects of mine. Okay,okay, she may have called me out on giving my work away for too little more than once too. But she had a really good point of not devaluing what your work is worth, something I have always had a hard time with. And for such a successful photographer to tell you that your work is worth so much more it really helps you see it too. It is tough especially in the beginning of a new business venture to be able to say, yep, I charge $50 for a single 8 x 10 because it's worth it hoping that your potential clients think so to. I started my business because I love creating art for others to enjoy and photography was a medium that I had a lot of passion for. But being completely honest, no one can pay the bills much less make any profit by just giving their hard work away for free. A couple of months ago after being discouraged about the direction my business was going I made a slightly spur of the moment decision to change my prices to include all the digital files in the session fee for a really low price. I figured, everyone is wanting the digital files anyway if I include them in a lower price my business will prosper and that means being able to do what I love full time. Right?
Wrong!!! It didn't help in the least bit. I didn't notice any difference and I wasn't even breaking even! Not only that but I wasn't marketing towards people that want to hire me for my work, I was marketing towards people that want pictures taken by someone other than themselves for really cheap. And that doesn't fulfill my needs as a creative photographer. So this morning, I sat up in bed at 6 am, grabbed my laptop and changed all the prices on my website back to what they originally were. And for those of you who know me really well I am not nor have I ever been a morning person. For me to crawl out of bed that early without being dragged kicking and screaming against my own will, I knew it was the right thing to do. So even if I don't have a hundred clients booking with me or even 50 for that matter. I will have clients that value my work just as much as I do and that is what really counts.

Here is a sneak peak image from The Workshop I attended. Full blog post to follow soon.

Feeling Hopeful | Fredericksburg Lifestyle Photographer

The last couple of months have been very trying for me physically and emotionally and I haven't been able to focus on the enjoyable things in my life as much as I'd like to. Not only has my photography been put on the back burner but my friends and family have paid the price too. I won't go into details about my health, but I have been dealing with a certain unexplainable problem on and off for the last 10 years. Anyone that has dealt with a chronic health problem knows how debilitating it can be. It affects every aspect of your life and your relationships can definitely suffer because of it. Like a lot of people do, I had been putting off going to the doctor for lack of having health insurance and decided this week that I could no longer put up with the pain. I ventured out of the house before work insearch of a doctor that would be able to see me that day and be easy on my ever dwindling pocket book. The stars must have been alligned for me yesterday because I was able to get an appointment at my doctors office with a different doctor than my usual and today I am on day 1 of hopefully a healthy future. And because I have been such a bad blogger recently, here are a couple of pictures of the gorgeous flowers my sister gave me and my awesome new chucks from my boyfriend for my 25th birthday last Thursday. A week later and the flowers are still looking stunning.

Ashley & Erich Married | Washington D.C. Wedding Photographer

Two weekends ago I had the pleasure of working again with Natalie Franke to photograph Ashley and Erich's wedding. The wedding was held at International Student House in Washington D.C. with the reception following at the Tabard Inn. The bride and groom, the details, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Thanks again to Natalie, Ashley & Erich for having me share the day with them!