• LIE: YOU HAVE TO SHOW UP IN VIDEOS ON YOUR STORIES TO BE SUCCESSFUL ON IG. That’s right. It’s not true. BUT you can’t get away with NOT showing up. Wait what?? Here’s what I mean: Let’s use me as an example – I DON’T like attention, having the spotlight on me. I am not a quick thinker, nor am I witty. Seriously attention, especially in social situations can make me feel sooo uncomfortable. My natural personality comes out best when I can listen, observe, and internally process then share at a slower pace. I know this about me. It’s who I am. How I can best be. So you can imagine that taking videos of myself chatting away for IG stories definitely wasn’t on my top list of priorities. HONESTLY it sounded like one of the worst possible things I could do. And yet everyone says that what you HAVE to do to win the IG game. But I think there is a misperception within that. You NEED to show up to create connection, but you don’t have to do it in the way your friend or favorite artist do. I did not want to push myself outside of who I am to constantly show up in stories by videoing myself. Talking, whatever it may be. That goes against the authenticity of me. So instead I do what reflects my personality. I post more of what I observe. My clients, my adventures, Finn. I share what my eyes see and always pair it with my words on stories so I can invite more of that “me” element to it. BUT ABOVE ALL ELSE? I share pictures of me ALL the time. In my stories, on my posts. Because it’s exactly my speed. Captured in a moment of candidness. Instead I let the pictures of me do the talking. Showing myself everywhere in a more quiet, reserved way which is my personality. And I LOVE it because it’s exactly how I want to share myself with you. Through words and images. Being fully present within being myself. And THAT’S how you be successful no matter where you go. So if you don’t want to video yourself...there are ways around it! You just have to know yourself and bring to life who you are 🧡 Does this take some pressure off you?! How can you better show up without sacrificing WHO you are?
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    LIE: YOU HAVE TO SHOW UP IN VIDEOS ON YOUR STORIES TO BE SUCCESSFUL ON IG. That’s right. It’s not true. BUT you can’t get away with NOT showing up. Wait what?? Here’s what I mean: Let’s use me as an example – I DON’T like attention, having the spotlight on me. I am not a quick thinker, nor am I witty. Seriously attention, especially in social situations can make me feel sooo uncomfortable. My natural personality comes out best when I can listen, observe, and internally process then share at a slower pace. I know this about me. It’s who I am. How I can best be. So you can imagine that taking videos of myself chatting away for IG stories definitely wasn’t on my top list of priorities. HONESTLY it sounded like one of the worst possible things I could do. And yet everyone says that what you HAVE to do to win the IG game. But I think there is a misperception within that. You NEED to show up to create connection, but you don’t have to do it in the way your friend or favorite artist do. I did not want to push myself outside of who I am to constantly show up in stories by videoing myself. Talking, whatever it may be. That goes against the authenticity of me. So instead I do what reflects my personality. I post more of what I observe. My clients, my adventures, Finn. I share what my eyes see and always pair it with my words on stories so I can invite more of that “me” element to it. BUT ABOVE ALL ELSE? I share pictures of me ALL the time. In my stories, on my posts. Because it’s exactly my speed. Captured in a moment of candidness. Instead I let the pictures of me do the talking. Showing myself everywhere in a more quiet, reserved way which is my personality. And I LOVE it because it’s exactly how I want to share myself with you. Through words and images. Being fully present within being myself. And THAT’S how you be successful no matter where you go. So if you don’t want to video yourself...there are ways around it! You just have to know yourself and bring to life who you are 🧡 Does this take some pressure off you?! How can you better show up without sacrificing WHO you are?
  • I was so frustrated. Angry even. I was losing grip on myself. I had been in the car for almost 15 hours last week on my mountain trips, and after so much time in the car you start getting a little edgy. AMIRIGHT?! I was at that point real hard between locations for an elopement. I started heading out, not wanting to risk being any sort of late so we wouldn’t run out of daylight. …and then I found myself stuck in bumper to bumper traffic watching the minutes on my GPS go up and UP. It was like very second was another minute added. Then I felt it coming into me like a destructive wave. The anxiety. The doubts. The worry. My chest was tensing up and I started trying to blame every car around me for the situation I was in. I was getting mad. Irritated. READY TO--- And then it hit me like a wall. I was trying to control what was out of my control instead of surrendering to the place that was MADE for me. The refuge that’s GOD. The peace that comes from TRUSTING HIM in every moment. The exact balm to anxiety – to fear. I laughed at myself then. How tied up I let worry make me. How I was drowning myself unnecessarily in something I couldn’t control instead of tending to the one thing I could control. Myself. I immediately prayed. Posturing my heart to God and trust in his timing. I asked for patience, to be released from anxiety and that a wave of peace would take the place of the original one I willingly invited into myself. That I can better surrender to God’s timing and trust his plan EVEN if I’m late or things get behind. I can’t control time, but I can control my attitude. I AM NOT JOKING. I came out of that prayer, and out of the corner of my eye, noticed my GPS changing. All those added minutes? They started going down. BY THE SECOND. Until traffic opened up and I got to my destination EARLY. GOD IS THE BEST AND MOST PATIENCE FATHER. I love how he doesn’t force, but waits until we chose Him. To open and invite him in. And then He will move mountains. Or stand still traffic in this case 😉 I want you to ask yourself this? How can YOU let lose the reigns on your life and better invite God into the everyday moments?
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    I was so frustrated. Angry even. I was losing grip on myself. I had been in the car for almost 15 hours last week on my mountain trips, and after so much time in the car you start getting a little edgy. AMIRIGHT?! I was at that point real hard between locations for an elopement. I started heading out, not wanting to risk being any sort of late so we wouldn’t run out of daylight. …and then I found myself stuck in bumper to bumper traffic watching the minutes on my GPS go up and UP. It was like very second was another minute added. Then I felt it coming into me like a destructive wave. The anxiety. The doubts. The worry. My chest was tensing up and I started trying to blame every car around me for the situation I was in. I was getting mad. Irritated. READY TO--- And then it hit me like a wall. I was trying to control what was out of my control instead of surrendering to the place that was MADE for me. The refuge that’s GOD. The peace that comes from TRUSTING HIM in every moment. The exact balm to anxiety – to fear. I laughed at myself then. How tied up I let worry make me. How I was drowning myself unnecessarily in something I couldn’t control instead of tending to the one thing I could control. Myself. I immediately prayed. Posturing my heart to God and trust in his timing. I asked for patience, to be released from anxiety and that a wave of peace would take the place of the original one I willingly invited into myself. That I can better surrender to God’s timing and trust his plan EVEN if I’m late or things get behind. I can’t control time, but I can control my attitude. I AM NOT JOKING. I came out of that prayer, and out of the corner of my eye, noticed my GPS changing. All those added minutes? They started going down. BY THE SECOND. Until traffic opened up and I got to my destination EARLY. GOD IS THE BEST AND MOST PATIENCE FATHER. I love how he doesn’t force, but waits until we chose Him. To open and invite him in. And then He will move mountains. Or stand still traffic in this case 😉 I want you to ask yourself this? How can YOU let lose the reigns on your life and better invite God into the everyday moments?
  • I did something I’ve never done before. I bought a disposable camera and used it to document part of a trip. AND IT WAS THE BEST THING EVER!! 🤗 And now I am going to do it for EVERY trip if possible. After conversing with @humblehandsartistry, where she did the same thing for her own past vacation, I knew I had to jump in. Here’s why: Film is all about candidness. You don’t get to review the settings, the final shot, you just go for it! LET ME TELL YOU. This was a trail of surrender for me. 🙈 Some of you who grew up on film are probably laughing at me right now. But SERIOUSLY. I had some anxiety when taking the first few shots because I’m TOO used to the luxuries of digital. 💁🏻‍♀️ But in this season where I am slowing down and trying to be more intentional, this little camera was the perfect lesson. Click. Bam. DONE. Go back to the moment. ALSO once the photos are developed. THEY ARE DONE. People think I’m so lucky that I can take such nice photos for my own vacation. WELL... The reality of being a photographer is half the time I rarely go back through my own Camera photos because I’m already back into the photo realm of catching up on clients photos. (For real I have so many vacation photos that have not seen the light of day) So now? I have countless memories representing so many sweet moments that are DONE and formatted to use! Unposed. Unplanned. Just present. And perfect 🙌🏻 When was the last time you picked up a good ole disposable camera?! 📸
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    I did something I’ve never done before. I bought a disposable camera and used it to document part of a trip. AND IT WAS THE BEST THING EVER!! 🤗 And now I am going to do it for EVERY trip if possible. After conversing with @humblehandsartistry, where she did the same thing for her own past vacation, I knew I had to jump in. Here’s why: Film is all about candidness. You don’t get to review the settings, the final shot, you just go for it! LET ME TELL YOU. This was a trail of surrender for me. 🙈 Some of you who grew up on film are probably laughing at me right now. But SERIOUSLY. I had some anxiety when taking the first few shots because I’m TOO used to the luxuries of digital. 💁🏻‍♀️ But in this season where I am slowing down and trying to be more intentional, this little camera was the perfect lesson. Click. Bam. DONE. Go back to the moment. ALSO once the photos are developed. THEY ARE DONE. People think I’m so lucky that I can take such nice photos for my own vacation. WELL... The reality of being a photographer is half the time I rarely go back through my own Camera photos because I’m already back into the photo realm of catching up on clients photos. (For real I have so many vacation photos that have not seen the light of day) So now? I have countless memories representing so many sweet moments that are DONE and formatted to use! Unposed. Unplanned. Just present. And perfect 🙌🏻 When was the last time you picked up a good ole disposable camera?! 📸
  • What is one specific goal you can work towards this week, and what is the first step you will take to make it happen? Keeping it simple today 🙌🏻 mine is still trying to find a better work life balance and fill my time with lots of rest to recharge. Looking to get to a better heart place to serve better. What about you?!
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    What is one specific goal you can work towards this week, and what is the first step you will take to make it happen? Keeping it simple today 🙌🏻 mine is still trying to find a better work life balance and fill my time with lots of rest to recharge. Looking to get to a better heart place to serve better. What about you?!
  • Busy season is a BEAST. But want to know something even bigger? BURNOUT. This past July-September I did TOO much. And even more than I originally planned for because of new elopements and COVID reschedules. It felt like I never stopped... And NOW I’m going into the NORMAL busy season. And I’m going to be real with you, once the end of September hit, I was in a ROUGH, deeply tired, burned out spot. And while I know I had too much on my books, the bigger issue within me was... I didn’t balance it with rest. I let the stress, anxiety, and worry push me to keep working to the point where I never took days off. I worked till 10pm because I felt like if I didn’t, I wouldn’t stay afloat. I felt guilty for taking breaks because I knew people were waiting on me. GUYS. DONT BE LIKE ME. You are human and you need grace for yourself or else you’ll never be able to serve well. The more you have on the books? The more you need to counter balance it with rest. So when October hit I started practice and here’s what’s been work great BEAUTIFULLY for me: 📌 taking a FULL day off and not touch working and ENJOYING it. (Especially after shoot weddings) 📌 Not letting stress, anxiety, or worry pressure me. Lean into God and seek peace and patience. JUST BREATH. 📌 Tale frequent work breaks (especially when you feel stressed or stuck) 📌 Exercise, stretch and be outside more - let your body get what it needs! 📌 Change your work area, find a new refreshing space to bring you joy! 📌 Set strict work boundaries. For example for me, I’ve been working 9am-5pm and not touching work before or after those times. 📌 Wake up and create a healthy routine. Start with things like: yoga, walk outside, good breakfast, time with God, and/or read a enriching book. These are just a few things I’ve been working on to slowly let my soul rest and recharge and I’m notice a HUGE different. I feel so much less of that deep tiredness that plagued me, AND gracing myself with rest feels like a long drink of water after being in a desert. Again, you are HUMAN. And you can’t be the best human you can be if you don’t give yourself grace. Are there any other ways you would add here?!
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    Busy season is a BEAST. But want to know something even bigger? BURNOUT. This past July-September I did TOO much. And even more than I originally planned for because of new elopements and COVID reschedules. It felt like I never stopped... And NOW I’m going into the NORMAL busy season. And I’m going to be real with you, once the end of September hit, I was in a ROUGH, deeply tired, burned out spot. And while I know I had too much on my books, the bigger issue within me was... I didn’t balance it with rest. I let the stress, anxiety, and worry push me to keep working to the point where I never took days off. I worked till 10pm because I felt like if I didn’t, I wouldn’t stay afloat. I felt guilty for taking breaks because I knew people were waiting on me. GUYS. DONT BE LIKE ME. You are human and you need grace for yourself or else you’ll never be able to serve well. The more you have on the books? The more you need to counter balance it with rest. So when October hit I started practice and here’s what’s been work great BEAUTIFULLY for me: 📌 taking a FULL day off and not touch working and ENJOYING it. (Especially after shoot weddings) 📌 Not letting stress, anxiety, or worry pressure me. Lean into God and seek peace and patience. JUST BREATH. 📌 Tale frequent work breaks (especially when you feel stressed or stuck) 📌 Exercise, stretch and be outside more - let your body get what it needs! 📌 Change your work area, find a new refreshing space to bring you joy! 📌 Set strict work boundaries. For example for me, I’ve been working 9am-5pm and not touching work before or after those times. 📌 Wake up and create a healthy routine. Start with things like: yoga, walk outside, good breakfast, time with God, and/or read a enriching book. These are just a few things I’ve been working on to slowly let my soul rest and recharge and I’m notice a HUGE different. I feel so much less of that deep tiredness that plagued me, AND gracing myself with rest feels like a long drink of water after being in a desert. Again, you are HUMAN. And you can’t be the best human you can be if you don’t give yourself grace. Are there any other ways you would add here?!
  • We will keep it simple today with just a question: What is one thing that people do not notice about you right away that you wish they would? Honestly for me the first thing that popped into my head was NOTHING! Because I don’t liked to be noticed. 🤣🙈 But I made myself think a little deeper.. I would wish that people would instantly know they have a safe place with me to be vulnerable and show their heart. That they don’t need to fake anything, but can be 100% themselves around me. And how about you?!
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    We will keep it simple today with just a question: What is one thing that people do not notice about you right away that you wish they would? Honestly for me the first thing that popped into my head was NOTHING! Because I don’t liked to be noticed. 🤣🙈 But I made myself think a little deeper.. I would wish that people would instantly know they have a safe place with me to be vulnerable and show their heart. That they don’t need to fake anything, but can be 100% themselves around me. And how about you?!
  • Just when you think you know yourself...YOU DON’T. For so long I’ve said Words of Affirmation is my lowest love language and that I don’t feel as loved by when people use words like *you're beautiful, I appreciate you, etc* verses things like quality time or touch. ALSO, I’ve struggled the most with showing love through words to other people when it’s THEIR language. Basically me and words of affirmation have not had the best relationship. UNTIL I HAD THE BIGGEST REALIZATION. I’ve been having some struggles pop back up in my life that have been revolving around emotional heart wounds and core fears. For me everything usually always leads back to: “I’m I good enough? Am I being intentional enough? Am I doing something well enough?” You see I’ve always struggled with confidence and that has molded my earthly heart to be weary of what I can and can’t do. It’s a constant struggle, but I think it’s a common battle through different fears the world has sadly sculpted in our hearts. That’s why self awareness is SO important. It’s a tool to help you fight and better understand yourself so you can give grace. WHICH WHY I FREAKED OUT THE OTHER DAY. I don’t cry often, but the times I remember doing so (happy tears in this case) is when people told me they saw my efforts, or that I was doing a great job, or even that they believed I could do something. I’ve literally started crying from being told these things. I always thought it was a weird reaction until it hit me. ITS WORDS OF AFFIRMATION. But not the surface ones, the deep ones my heart long to hear to be a balm to that core fear. TO BE SEEN AND AFFIRMED. In this way, makes me feel so deeply loved. NOW I understand, after being so wrong all this time. And the only reason I awoke to this truth is because of the self awareness I’ve been diving into with God this week. Taking the time to know myself so I can better love and encourage others to love me well. LOVE LANGUAGES ARE THE BEST SECRET SAUSE TO HEALTHIER RELATIONSHIPS. And it’s something I’m still learning to do well. So what about you, what’s your love languages?
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    Just when you think you know yourself...YOU DON’T. For so long I’ve said Words of Affirmation is my lowest love language and that I don’t feel as loved by when people use words like *you're beautiful, I appreciate you, etc* verses things like quality time or touch. ALSO, I’ve struggled the most with showing love through words to other people when it’s THEIR language. Basically me and words of affirmation have not had the best relationship. UNTIL I HAD THE BIGGEST REALIZATION. I’ve been having some struggles pop back up in my life that have been revolving around emotional heart wounds and core fears. For me everything usually always leads back to: “I’m I good enough? Am I being intentional enough? Am I doing something well enough?” You see I’ve always struggled with confidence and that has molded my earthly heart to be weary of what I can and can’t do. It’s a constant struggle, but I think it’s a common battle through different fears the world has sadly sculpted in our hearts. That’s why self awareness is SO important. It’s a tool to help you fight and better understand yourself so you can give grace. WHICH WHY I FREAKED OUT THE OTHER DAY. I don’t cry often, but the times I remember doing so (happy tears in this case) is when people told me they saw my efforts, or that I was doing a great job, or even that they believed I could do something. I’ve literally started crying from being told these things. I always thought it was a weird reaction until it hit me. ITS WORDS OF AFFIRMATION. But not the surface ones, the deep ones my heart long to hear to be a balm to that core fear. TO BE SEEN AND AFFIRMED. In this way, makes me feel so deeply loved. NOW I understand, after being so wrong all this time. And the only reason I awoke to this truth is because of the self awareness I’ve been diving into with God this week. Taking the time to know myself so I can better love and encourage others to love me well. LOVE LANGUAGES ARE THE BEST SECRET SAUSE TO HEALTHIER RELATIONSHIPS. And it’s something I’m still learning to do well. So what about you, what’s your love languages?
  • There is one thing about being a self-employed person you HAVE to know. Work never really leaves us and it’s all too easy to lose sight on healthy boundaries. Usually we work from home. There isn’t an “office” to leave for and come back home from. Especially when you love what you do? Those starting and stopping points all blur together and it sometimes feels like you never stop. Another thing to know? It’s October. The craziest month for photographers. What is April to accountant is October to photographers. So those boundaries get even more blurred. So I challenged myself this week. The past few days I took a vacation with several other photographer friends and told myself not to touch work in the four days I was gone. Outside of the shoots we put together, I made myself have FIRM boundaries and not even engage in work so I could be present and REST for the month ahead and also for the time my soul is craving to slow down. And it was AMAZING. Did I have more work to come home to? YEP. But I planned out a “coming back to work” schedule where I could ease back into everything and not stress about having too much work on my plate. Plus I leaned into those I outsource my workload too. Letting them do what they do best so I had less to do when I come home. Did I feel guilty for making my clients wait? Oh you BET. But only in the beginning because I remembered I am human too. And rest and present-ness is important for me. Plus I am at my best when I take time to recharge. And that’s who I want to be for my clients. I can’t be that without work boundaries. Instead of worry, guilt, anxiety – I gave all that to God and let Him guide me in being present to play, grow, REST, and just enjoy time away as it came and went. Crazy enough, this was the first time I have ever done this and it was one of the best decisions I made because I felt so much peace for letting myself rest, so much grace in taking the time, and so much happiness on having work separated from this personal, time away trip. With that said, photographers I HIGHLY encourage you to put this on your heart for this month. It’s VITAL. But together we got this!
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    There is one thing about being a self-employed person you HAVE to know. Work never really leaves us and it’s all too easy to lose sight on healthy boundaries. Usually we work from home. There isn’t an “office” to leave for and come back home from. Especially when you love what you do? Those starting and stopping points all blur together and it sometimes feels like you never stop. Another thing to know? It’s October. The craziest month for photographers. What is April to accountant is October to photographers. So those boundaries get even more blurred. So I challenged myself this week. The past few days I took a vacation with several other photographer friends and told myself not to touch work in the four days I was gone. Outside of the shoots we put together, I made myself have FIRM boundaries and not even engage in work so I could be present and REST for the month ahead and also for the time my soul is craving to slow down. And it was AMAZING. Did I have more work to come home to? YEP. But I planned out a “coming back to work” schedule where I could ease back into everything and not stress about having too much work on my plate. Plus I leaned into those I outsource my workload too. Letting them do what they do best so I had less to do when I come home. Did I feel guilty for making my clients wait? Oh you BET. But only in the beginning because I remembered I am human too. And rest and present-ness is important for me. Plus I am at my best when I take time to recharge. And that’s who I want to be for my clients. I can’t be that without work boundaries. Instead of worry, guilt, anxiety – I gave all that to God and let Him guide me in being present to play, grow, REST, and just enjoy time away as it came and went. Crazy enough, this was the first time I have ever done this and it was one of the best decisions I made because I felt so much peace for letting myself rest, so much grace in taking the time, and so much happiness on having work separated from this personal, time away trip. With that said, photographers I HIGHLY encourage you to put this on your heart for this month. It’s VITAL. But together we got this!