I am always reading stories in Photography Facebook groups I am a part of where clients ask or demand all the raw photos from their sessions or weddings. Thankfully, I have only had that happen a couple of times, and my explanation about why I don’t give my raw photos has always satisfied wondering minds.
Read MoreAs I teach my middle school students every year, mistakes are good…they help you learn! And like I tell my own children, LISTEN TO WISDOM—It’s easier to learn from other people’s mistakes than making them yourself. So here are a few words of wisdom about mistakes I have made as a photographer so that you can keep from repeating them!
Read MoreI am a mom of two wild boys, middle school teacher, and part-time photographer. People say to me all the time, “I don’t know how you do it all.” And to be honest, I’m still not quite sure how I do, either! I have always been very driven—I have the hardest time just sitting still and just being. I’m one of those people who feels like a slug if I haven’t been productive each day. And saying no to people is one of my biggest challenges. For those of you who are Enneagram fans, I am a 2w3, driven by pleasing others and working hard to accomplish my goals. BUT, I have learned over the last couple of years to simplify, outsource, and set limits, because I know I can’t do it all!
Read MoreI am not the typical Stranger Things fan. I can admit I am a super-fan, but what I don’t want to admit is that I am also an “older” fan. I’m a grownup—a “middle aged” grownup. As much as I would like to pretend that’s not true sometimes, I have been a grownup for more years of my life than I was a child. So I try not to overdo it with excitement when talking about Stranger Things to my “peers” (i.e. other Gen-X “grownups”), because I know they think I am just a tad bit crazy. Maybe I’m just a nerd. Maybe I spend too much time with pre-teens and teenagers. Or maybe this is my version of a mid-life crisis? But thankfully, there are a few nerdy peers of mine who share my passion, and many others from younger generations in my life as a middle school teacher that I can talk to and geek out with about the show! So why has Stranger Things captured my heart and the heart of so many others across generations?
Read MoreSo your kid is leaving the safe confines of elementary and headed into middle school years, fraught with changes in hormones, physical growth, friendship woes, a sudden interest in relationships beyond friendships, and DRAMA. Often that drama surrounds issues that happen in the classrooms and school hallways. And who is on the front lines of these ever-evolving battles? Your child’s teachers. Your child’s teachers should be your best allies—after all, a child spends 7-8 hours at school five days a week, which is more hours than most parents actually spend with their children each day. But unfortunately, the angst of middle schoolers often creates a wall between teachers and parents, especially when children come home with emotionally-charged stories of things that happened during the school day. My goal with this post is to tear down these walls! Teachers love your children, I promise. Like I shared in my recent post, “An Open Letter to My Students,” teachers didn’t go into this profession because we enjoy tormenting students or being tormented. We truly have our students’ best interests in mind and want to help them succeed in school and in life! And one of the best ways we can do that is to establish a strong partnership and connection with YOU, their parents! So hear me out… I’m getting ready to start my 25th year as a middle school educator, and I’ve experienced and learned quite a few things along the way.
Read MoreI am writing you here because I know that I don’t always have the time or space to share my heart with you in the classroom. So maybe a few of you will stumble upon this letter and read it.
There are some truths about teachers and education that I want to share with you…
Read More“Go with the flow…”
I can do that! I can chill out. I can be flexible!
Who am I kidding?!? The only time I can truly live like that is the one week a year when we’re on vacation, and even then, it takes me weeks beforehand to research the best places to eat, find discounts and coupons, plan grocery lists, and pack.
I am not the type of person that can live my life without a vision or plan. I thrive on structure, schedules, and organization. Knowing where I am going and how much time I have to get there actually relaxes me! For the first few years of running a small business, I had no structure. I was “going with the flow,” and it was burning me out! It often meant lots of late nights, binge editing, and arguments with my husband over how I was spending my free time. Finding that work-life balance was a priority, but it was hard to see from the inside what I needed to do. So I spent a month working with a life/business coach, and she was able to look at things from the outside in and identify some areas that I could easily adjust to make my life easier. One of the most important things she taught me was how to develop workflows for my business and my life. From wedding photography to meal-planning, workflows have become my best friend. So if you’re like me, keep reading…I am going to share a few of my top secret workflows with you. Maybe one will inspire you to get yourself a little more organized so that you can free up time to go with YOUR flow!
Read MoreHave you ever been reading a blog post or Instagram caption and run across a grammar mistake?
What’s your first thought?
What if you see constant grammar mistakes on the same website? Instagram account? Business profile? Does it lose a bit of its lustre?
It may not matter if your social media presence is just for friends and family or if your audience doesn’t care (or doesn’t know enough to care). Social media seems to have popularized common mistakes in the name of “authenticity” (much to my grammar-loving chagrin). But when you are running a business, you don’t want to appear careless. Your message needs to come through clearly, and poor grammar can make things very difficult to understand. When readers see a pattern of misspellings, misused punctuation marks, lack of capitalization, and misused words, you might lose clients and customers who might view you as unprofessional or lacking attention to detail.
Read MoreSo now that school has been out for a week, I have had time to decompress from this year of craziness and reflect on the challenges and successes of the year. First off, these observations are coming from a hybrid middle school teaching model. I work in a fantastic school district that started back to school last Fall with elementary students in a family-model (in person, 5-days a week, smaller self-contained classes) and middle and high school students in a hybrid model (A/B days with classes from 10-15 kids, students coming M/W or T/Th and on Fridays for extra help). And, these are just my personal observations. I am sure there are others with different experiences, but these are mine.
I work with one of the most amazing ELA coaches on the planet, and she encouraged us to assess the things we were “done” with by flipping them around and looking at how they impacted our growth. I did this activity with my students on the last day of school, and it was so encouraging to hear what their reflections were, so here is my own “I Am So Done With…/On the Flipside…” analysis!
Read MoreI actually get that question a lot! Thankfully, I have not had any horror bridezilla stories, been mauled by a drunk wedding guest, or fallen into a lake. But I thought it would be fun to reflect on my experiences over the last eight years and write down some of my crazy stories, “Friends”-style, of course!
Read MoreFirst, you have to understand that photography is literally “writing with light.” As I teach the students in my ELA class every year, “photo” means light and “graph” means write. Aperture, shutter speed, and ISO all have to do with controlling the light you allow into your camera so that you can expose, or make clear, your image. But there are other effects that you can achieve by controlling aperture, shutter speed, and ISO that aren’t light related—bokeh, blur, and grain.
Read MoreWhether or not you want to become a professional photographer or not, learning photography can be one of the most challenging yet rewarding things you can do. There is SO MUCH information out there, but where do you even begin? First, you must master your camera. Then, you must master your craft.
Read MoreWhen I asked this past summer what blog post ideas my followers wanted to see me write about, several mentioned wanting to know what it would be like for teachers during this strange school year. So I decided to compile my thoughts for them, but also for myself…so that I don’t forget what this experience is like! First, even though there are some pretty desperate situations in the state of SC, I know I work in one of the best school districts on the planet. Our administrators and school board have done a remarkable job planning for everyone’s safety and needs, and we already have top-notch technology for teachers and students. Second, everyone has their own experience and level of comfort with what is happening, and these are just my thoughts. There are definitely some concerns, but there are also a some bright spots that I am trying to recognize and celebrate.
Read MoreI have never not had a summer. I’m a teacher, and teachers look forward to the two months between school years to refresh and energize themselves for the next year. While many of us still work second jobs (I worked camps for 15 summers before I had my children, and now I operate my part-time photography business year-round), it’s still a couple of months doing something different, not having to make 14,000 educational decisions a day, and having time to think through some of the changes we want to make for the next school year. But this summer has been different. While I have been at home since March, there has been nothing refreshing or energizing about our current situation. E-Learning completely turned our school and home life upside down, and when it ended in June, things didn’t change much. Preparing for the upcoming school year in the midst of a global pandemic has created a tremendous amount of anxiety for every teacher, parent, administrator, and school leader that I know for our entire summer. And now that we know the date(s) we are expected to return, teachers are scrambling to ready their physical classrooms, virtual classrooms, and lesson plans to take on this new challenge.
Read MoreIt’s Valentine’s Day! And yes, I still have Christmas cards hanging up. The ones my clients sent me with the photos I took for them are my favorites, and I just can’t bear to take them down! I love, love, love this job, and the love my clients show me fills my bucket in a way that sometimes even my own family can’t. So instead of a typical “Happy Valentine’s Day” post, I thought I’d share something a little different! Whether I am your photographer or you use someone else, here are five ways that you can show your love for us!
Read MoreToday I went to the South Carolina State House to join my teacher voice with 10,000 others in support of public education across our state. It's hard to put into words what it was like. It was empowering, amazing, awe-inspiring, and one of the most historic events I have ever had the honor of being a part of. I often found myself just looking around in awe at the crowds, the creative and witty signs, the determined faces, and the never-ending sea of red, so much so that I didn't take nearly as many photos as I thought I would!
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