Another Busy Weekend!

I will have tons of session photos to blog from this weekend but first I need to play major catch up, so sorry to disappoint! I had a semi-relaxing day on Saturday enjoying the New Prague Harvest Festival, but honestly, I couldn't help but feel guilty for not being inside working on photos! Something is wrong with me. I'm trying to not be business 24/7, but it's really hard to relax when you have so much to do. I'm sure you all know what that's like.

There are so many aspects to my business so it's easy to get overwhelmed. It's not just the time shooting the sessions, that's the easy part. It's huge time management: booking clients and scheduling efficiently, returning dozens of emails (many of them going back and forth), returning phone calls, editing (which is HUGE), ordering supplies, photo orders, trips to the post office, accounting, blogging, keeping my website up to date, and also trying to further my business by thinking of new ideas and products. Those who have been there since the beginning knew that I originally started shooting a few sessions a month for "grocery money" and this thing has now blown up to have a life of its own, so I'm really just trying to keep up and enjoy the ride at the same time! I think I am getting better at allowing time for myself but it's hard to shut it off and just be a mom some nights! I am truly dedicated and passionate about my business. Earlier this season, I had said that I was going to block off time for myself, such as the day after a wedding, etc. but that has all been booked! That's all I'm going to say about that, but maybe now you know why my turnaround time has been long or if it takes me more than 48 hours to return an email. The life of a successful photographer is definitely a busy one, it's also great to have a network of photographer friends that face the same challenges.

A lot of people ask me where I went to school, or how I learned about photography. I am almost completely self-taught. I took a basic photography class last Spring, about 9 months into my business, just to reinforce basic techniques that I was already using. I guess I had a natural eye and that of course has since developed over time and hopefully will always continue to develop. Everything else I have learned along the way. Studio photography was a completely new challenge to me that I had to pick up in the last few months. I do a lot of reading, mostly on the internet, and have just figured everything out on my own. Like I said, I am very driven and passionate about what I do! I have always had a drive to "be the best" and am wickedly competitive. I believe that anything that you are passionate about will come easy because human willpower is a very strong thing! I also have this crazy obsessive gene in my family. Just ask my mom and sister- we have total OCD. I just try to channel it into my work!