Making Time for Creativity

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One of the mistakes I made early in my business, was forgetting to budget time into my schedule for myself to recharge, recalibrate, and dare I say it—relax. I was shooting like a maniac on every day of the week, with multiple sessions per day and one or two weddings every weekend. Ba—nanas.

This went on for about three years before I finally got my act together. When I think back to that time, I still can't quite figure out how I managed to hold it all together, but I'm grateful that I was able to grow from the experience.

These days, I have a much better grip on things and regularly make it a point to give myself lots of breathing room for all kinds of passion projects—photo related and otherwise. While it's not always easy to look at your calendar and simply draw a big ol' line through days, weeks, or even months at a time, it's one of the most rewarding things you can do for yourself. The payoffs can come in the form of increased focus, new and expanded ideas, and of course—creativity.

Recharging my batteries also means that I'll have more time, attention, and energy to devote to clients, enabling me to provide them with the best possible experience.

Like most things, if you don't allocate time for "taking time off," it's unlikely to happen. With this in mind, I've blocked out the rest of 2012 to devote time to several writing projects, travel, teaching, and hopefully—lots of nephew squeezing. :) I look forward to sharing my adventures along the way!

Before you go, check out this TED Talk from Stefan Sagmeister who shares the value he's found in routinely taking an entire year "off."

Love Shoot: Jared + Leigh

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Leigh, Jared, and I welcomed one of the first officially "cooler" days of fall with an engagement session in celebration of their upcoming July wedding. It may very well be 100+ degrees the next time I have these two in front of my lens, but it'll still be a walk in the park as Leigh's feathers are impressively slow to ruffle. Not only was it pretty darn chilly out during yesterday's session, but we walked a million miles (and Leigh did it all in heels!), and—sadly, we eventually lost the balloons we were so excited to shoot with. (Surprisingly, even weighing them down with a hand-weight wasn't enough to overpower the wind.) Thankfully, we managed to work the balloons in early on....

Can't wait for their big day—working with these two is such a breeze! ;)

Workflow + Album Design: creativeLIVE Wrap-Up

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Wow. The entire crew over at creativeLIVE is on their game like nobody's business. They make magic happen on a daily basis, and—they make it look easy.

For those of you who aren't familiar with creativeLIVE and how it works, they offer entirely FREE online workshops, broadcast over the internet to anyone in the world with a connection. If you enjoy the course and want to keep it for future reference, you can purchase it for immediate download (which often includes some bonus goodies too).

They're quickly taking the whole world by storm, and I am beyond honored to have had the opportunity to be part of the fun and witness their collective genius in action. (Group hug!)

I shared my approach to wedding workflow and album design, detailing how for the past 3 years, I've managed to edit a full wedding (and design the album) in 8 hours or less, getting everything back to clients within a week of their wedding. I've been teaching variations of this topic for a few years, and there are always some folks who think I'm making the whole thing up. :) To put an end to any doubts you may have, at the end of Day 2, you can watch  me design a full 40-pg album (entirely from scratch in InDesign), start to finish—in 35 minutes. LIVE and on-camera.

Think I'm kidding? Get the course and see for yourself! ;)

Here's a wrap-up from the end of Day 1: (Huge shout out to the entire creativeLIVE crew and everyone who tuned in to be part of the world-wide magic... Collective happy dance!)

Join Me on creativeLIVE (for FREE!)

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Wedding Album I am crazy excited to be making an appearance on creativeLIVE and will have the opportunity to help photographers around the globe whip their workflows into shape!

The 2-day workshop will be broadcast on-line for FREE on Sept. 27th & 28th and you can sign up to watch here. (If you're in or plan to be in the Seattle area at that time, fill out this form for a chance to join me in the live studio audience. Selectees will be notified on Sept. 17th, so get the form in no later than the 16th!)

Here's an overview of what to expect—don't miss this!

Down the Aisle: Derrick + Chelsea

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An international love affair that spans the Atlantic ocean, Derrick (from Ireland) and Chelsea (a Nebraska girl) currently call the Omaha area home, but friends and family were quick to remind them that they'll "Always have a home in Sligo!" It's great to be so loved, isn't it? On two continents, no less.

Congrats you two... Looking forward to an Irish coffee date! ;)

Derrick's "Gran" looking so cute on the sofa... I couldn't help myself. :)

"Inside this packet are petals and wishes to scatter all over the new Mr. & Mrs.!"