31-Mar-2010

Wow, April 1st is almost here. I'm very much looking forward to this April, because in 8 days I'll be flying to DC to see my fiancé - and we're getting our engagement photos taken while i'm there, which makes it even better. :)

I've been trying to think, but the last two afternoons I've been training a new girl in the office, and I am just so ready to s.t.o.p thinking by the time the day is over, it's pretty sad.

Today I did research on DC photographers, and tried to find several low, medium, and high range photographers. It was interesting for me, because it seemed the lower the photographers were, the more they tried to almost justify charging as much as they do, instead of them feeling good about their creativity and charging for it. i did find one guy who charges 8000 to shoot a wedding. It would be nice to be able to do that. haha.

Here are my goals for tomorrow:
1) Edit more photos
2) Write down processes
3) Follow up with several potential brides
4) THINK.

-Susie

30-Mar-2010

Wow, I have done such a horrible job at posting! Ack! Last night I do have an excuse, because I basically had to leave right after work to stay with my Grandma in the hospital, but other than that I pretty much have just forgotten about it. :( So, I've been proactive, now, and I just finished putting a reminder in my phone for every weekday evening to post on my blog.

This past week I've been editing a lot. My process is slowed down because my silly computer is so full it's so slow. [i really need to just move everything to an external hard drive.]

Other than that, I've been working on my client profile. I've been struggling with it, because it's been tempting to make my client into a girl I've always dreamed of being, rather than making her a girl I want to be one of my clients. BUT, after talking to Christina this evening, I think I have a clearer picture of how to do that. [can anyone say Google? ;)]

I'm working on my procedures and processes, too, and trying to figure out how I do things. I think I'm discovering I really have more illusions of what I want to do than realities of what I actually do. ha. I guess i really do have a 'dream' business. :P

Tonight I had my call with Christina. It really went well, and I felt like I was clarifying some things I needed to get done. Of course, I was also off the hook about completing my assignments because I forgot to write them down last time and she forgot to send them to me. [hehe]. I had actually done quite a few of them, though.

Well, I'm off to research photographers in the DC area.

-Susie

27-Mar-2010

Ack! this week has gone by waaaay to fast.

Yesterday I was editing yet again. And that's about all I did with photography. Editing just takes up a lot of time!

I'm currently working on my Client profile, Business Values, and converting phrases into words.

This afternoon's goal: think.

-Susie

25-Mar-2010

Wow, this week has gone by so quickly! Basically this is what my photography week has looked like:
Tuesday: phone call with Christina
Any other spare moment: edit photos. yup. with 2 weddings to get done, an engagement shoot next weekend, and several other shoots to line up, I'm looking at a busy spring.

-Susie

22-Mar-2010

Monday. almost bedtime. this is good.

My weekend consisted of LOTS of photography. The outdoor wedding I shot on Saturday [10 hours of shooting] was great...and it only rained for about an hour. thankfully! It was gorgeous, and I have a few photos up on my blog.

I wasn't feeling the greatest Friday night, and was really worried I was getting sick. Thankfully, Pepto-Bismol and tums helped me get through Saturday without any glitches.

Besides shooting the wedding on Saturday, this weekend [including today] I've managed to:
1) Revise the 5 phrases about myself
2) work on revising my values
3) Finished sorting the wedding from two weeks ago
4) Started editing the wedding from two weeks ago
5) Posted on my blog
6) Scheduled a meeting with a bride to collect payment for a wedding in May [yay!]
7) Worked on my story
8) Slept. [this was especially helpful for all of the above. haha]

I've definitely had a busy weekend, and can feel it in my legs. I still get sore every time from shooting a wedding. :P I guess I just do weird things when I shoot a wedding. I'm just glad I don't have to watch myself. haha.

Well, I'm still not feeling the greatest, and I think I need more sleep....so, I'm off.
-Susie

17-Mar-2010

another busy day.

1) Sorted through the wedding I shot two weeks ago. I am almost finished sorting! yay.
2) Worked on procedures and processes...
3) Worked on writing my story. [this time i got more than one sentence written. haha.]
4) Met with the bride who's wedding on Saturday, and collected the rest of the payment, and finalized photography details. yay!
5) Posted on my blog.

I can't seem to start working on photography stuff until 7 or 8 in the evening, and then I don't get to bed until late. I think I'm going to have to start working faster, or I'll die from getting to bed late. :P

Susie

17-Mar-2010

My sister was freaking out today at the amount of lists I write. haha. I think I'm a list-a-holic. :P

My accomplishments today:
1) Did some pricing research on albums
2) Started writing my Procedures and Processes [can I just mention I love doing this? haha. I've actually been doing this a LOT in my other job in the past two years...and have gotten to where it has really changed a lot in our company, and I can see so much benefit in doing this...so, yeah, it's exciting to do that for my photography, too. :)]
3) Started my story. got one whole like written. haha.
4) Confirmed time I'll be meeting the bride on Saturday to shoot her wedding! yay. :)
5) Ensured my cool new lighting setup works. I got some remote flash triggers for my flashes - now I don't have to rely on the sensors on the flashes [yay], and I have a lot more flexibility. I'm very excited about using it for the wedding Saturday.

signing out,
Susie

16-Mar-2010

Today was a good day. I bought my ticket to go see my fiance in a few weeks, and get my engagement photos taken! Long distance relationships stink, let me just say that. It's been 8 weeks since we've seen each other, and it's going to be another 3 1/2 weeks until I see him. :P

On a photography note, however, I did manage to get a few things accomplished:
1) I had my call with Christina. We sent out a nice to-do list for next week. yay!
2) I talked with several people about photo sessions, and am scheduling a consultation with a bride for two weeks from now.
3) I spent about 20 minutes sorting wedding photos from the wedding last weekend. I always have to get motivated to sort wedding photos. haha. Thank goodness for Lightroom!

-Susie

15-Mar-2010

Monday. Wait, is today Monday or Tuesday? I have been so confused about days of the week lately I keep second guessing myself.

Today was a profitable day for me, in several ways:
1) I wrote more of my dream business. It's getting to be a pretty cool business, if I do say so myself. ;)
2) I wrote down more phrases that are unique to me.
3) I contacted a client about a possible photo session.
4) I also spoke with another client about a photo session they want to schedule within the next 3 weeks. yay. :)
5) Wrote a to-do list for tomorrow. ha.

In other news, I took a personality test with the Meyer's Briggs personality profile, and discovered I am an ISTJ....and then, to make things better, I realized I'm also in "Catastrophe Mode" right now. haha.
["Under stress, ISTJs may fall into "catastrophe mode", where they see nothing but all of the possibilities of what could go wrong. They will berate themselves for things which they should have done differently, or duties which they failed to perform. They will lose their ability to see things calmly and reasonably, and will depress themselves with their visions of doom."]
There have been some things that have happened at my job that are stressing me out...mainly the fact that I need to find two people to hire and train in the next six months to completely run the office. yeah. a bit stressful.

Anyway, it's off to bed for me.

-Susie

[this is for Friday]

I did nothing with photography today. After a busy, stressful week, Friday afternoon I took off work and did wedding planning with my wedding coordinator, mom, sisters, and my sister's fiance. It really is amazing how after an afternoon of wedding planning my brain turns to mush, but it does. I sat down on the computer Friday evening to type up more about my dream business and write down values, but somehow nothing at all came to mind. not one thing. :P Very sad, if I do say so myself.

-Susie

11-Mar-2010

Today I was writing 10-Mar-10 all day...it was that bad. I was the only one in the office today, since the girl I work with took the entire day off. Of course, that's when everything happens, plus I have my family needing more things from me today than usual...nice. [For those of you who don't know...I am the Office & Service Manager in an Air Conditioning and Heating company, owned by my Father. This can be a blessing [most of the time] or a curse [when it gets difficult to separate work and family].

Then, tonight after work, I came home and we had family over because my Aunt is visiting from Honduras [she's a missionary down there], and, of course, since I get to see her about once every two years, I didn't do much photography this evening. heh.

I did manage to do a few things today:
1) Download Tweetdeck. ha. marketing...marketing....
2) Got my Graphistudio album ready to order! yay. :) [AND, I just got notice that Graphistudio shipped my sample pack, so I'll be ordering as soon as I get that in and can decide on what I like best. I'm quite excited.]
3) I also began researching design/colors/web layouts in order to better refine my blog and website.
4) Updated a few things on my website.

10-Mar-2010

Wait, it's Wednesday already? Where has my week gone?

So, yesterday evening, I did another blog post, and posted a link to it on my facebook and Photography facebook pages. It's amazing how many more hits I got than when I don't link it...heh. Yesterday I had 39 hits, and today I had 55. Much better than 2. ;)

Here's what I've accomplished today....
1)I thought a lot about my dream business....what fun! I also started writing my story of my dream business, and got quite a bit accomplished. I like dreaming big. and I especially like dreaming big about photography.

2) I started writing more specific values of my business. I like digging deeper into things...and I really do enjoy putting practical applications to my thoughts, so it works out quite perfectly to be doing all this. yay.

3) I also started an Excel spreadsheet with my goals for each day and week that I'm doing. I'm a Spreadsheet junkie, and anything that can be spreedsheeted [wait, is that a word? haha] I will put on one. So, yup. that made me happy.

4) I also uploaded some photos to the FB page. I had totally forgotten about it until Christina sent out the reminder email today. bad me.

5) I worked on getting my sample GraphiStudio album designed. I'm almost finished and pretty happy with it! I can't wait to actually hold one in my hands...that will be quite amazing.

6) I also learned [late last night...]how to compress a link so I can post it on Twitter. I am determined to have more internet networking in my business, so one of my steps is to learn how to twitter...

7) I also began writing down five statements about myself that are uniquely me. I have two done so far.

I like this keeping track of what I do. It makes me feel quite accomplished, and I can go to bed knowing today was profitable.

Susie

9-Mar-2010

Wow...this weekend went fast, and yesterday, I totally forgot to post. in fact, I think I forgot most things. haha.

Saturday I shot a wedding from 9:30 to 7, and it went well! I'll be posting a few photos, hopefully, in the next few days. The bride wanted a LOT of the photos on the stage of the church, so I set up my flashes and went for it. I didn't officially have an assistant, so I grabbed whoever was nearby to help hold a flash. It worked pretty well, but since I prefer shooting outdoors, or in places other than a stage of a church, I definitely felt a bit restricted. heh.

Last week I also took the strengthsfinders test, and came up with my 5 top strengths:
Achiever
Learner
Input
Relator
Focus

They were pretty much all dead right. yup.

Yesterday I totally forgot about posting. I worked all day, had to drive an hour for some appointments in the afternoon, and got home after company arrived at my home. I did manage to:
1) downloaded the photos from the wedding and back them up.
2) Edit a few photos I took of one of my cousin's little girl and send them to her.




Today I managed to do the following:
1) Had my call with Christina - I like these... :)
2) Set goals for next week - in my strengthsfinders test, I learned that I'm a goal-a-holic...pretty much. :P I love setting goals. and achieving them.
3) Emailed several brides and asked for them to write something about their wedding photography experiences that I could put on my "Raves" section of my website that is currently non-existent, but I want to develop.


-Susie

5-Mar-2010

Well, I managed to make it here in time to go to a coffee shop with free wifi before I have to be at the rehearsal, which means I get to update after all. yay.

Today consisted of driving, driving, and more driving.

Brainstorming was definitely my photography accomplishment today, and I was thinking of everything from processes to inspiration to values to marketing. A very wide range, but I really do love planning out practical ways to grow and improve my business.

Once I made it to the coffee shop I refined a few of my pages in my album. I feel like I'm always almost there with designs, but like I still haven't quite gotten it. :P

-Susie

4-Mar-2010

Everytime before I leave for a trip, it seems like there are a million things that pile on me. I managed to get most of them knocked out by 7, so I could then began working on photography. My evenings are definitely spent on my computer.

Since I have now been told I love lists [yes, it was in my Strengthsfinders results] I'm sure you'll see lots of them here. haha.

Here's my accomplishments today:
1) Finished packing and getting all gear cleaned and ready to use on Saturday
2) Finalized Photography Schedule for wedding
3) Spent 2 hours alternating between updating my website and designing my album [i'm actually getting a few pages to where I finally like them. heh.]
4) Tried to think, but I was so busy doing that I rescheduled it for tomorrow while I'm driving 10 hours to Missouri.
5) I also put a few things in my "Inspirations" box.

I don't think I'll be able to post this weekend because of my travels, but I'll be back with normal posting on Monday.


Signing off,
Susie

3-Mar-2010

Today was a busy day, and I'm going to be glad to hit my bed in a few minutes!

If you want a little glimpse of what's going on in my life check out my other blog.

As far as photography goes, here's what I've finished today:

1) Got Camera Equipment together for wedding this weekend - which is quite a task since some of my equipment is at my house and some at the shop where I work. Of course, I'm still missing a few memory cards which always seems to happen. I'll have to hunt them down tomorrow...

2) Updated blog

3) Refined a few pages in an album I'm designing

-Susie

2-March-2010

Today I managed to accomplish the following with photography:

1) Upload engagement gallery

2) Find and export a senior session, got it ready to burn on CD & send to client

3) Take Strengthsfinder's Test

4) Work with off camera flash and the setup I just got - and discovered I need more work. haha

5) Researched off camera flash

6) made a list of everything I'll need to take with me for the wedding I'm shooting in MO this weekend

-Susie

1-March-2010

My first day of photography mentorship began with me wanting to turn my alarm off and go back to sleep. I think this was because last night, after my first call with Christina, my mind couldn't stop turning as I thought of all the new ways I want to invest in my business. I don't think late night calls are good for me....

Nevertheless, I did manage to get up, and go to my "real job" [an Office Manager in my Father's Heating and Air Conditioning Company].

As far as photography goes....here's what I've accomplished today:

1) thought about how I want to work my new Photography blog for my business [ok...so I didn't get actually think of anything I liked, but don't tell anyone].

2) Wrote down a list of values that my business has to offer. [now I can feel good about charging people lots of money to take their pictures. yay!]

3) designed another two page in my amazing, cool Graphistudio Sample album that I'm about to order. [I only had on my list to design one...so I was happy to do two.]

4) Thought about how amazingly cool my wedding is going to look at this place: [oh, woops! that wasn't part of my photography building....]

5) I now have a place to store all of the things I find that inspire me.

6) I also have uploaded a few preview photos of a bridal shower I shot for a Bride who's getting married in a few weeks.

7) And, besides all that, I'm also currently in the process of exporting an engagement gallery to upload for my clients - which I'll be uploading to the internet as I sleep. Ah...it's wonderful to be able to work and sleep at the same time.

All in all, I had a wonderful day, and can only hope that tomorrow will be even better. [if it will just stop raining.....]

-Susie