Sunday, December 6, 2015

The Coleman Family

 Happy December friends! Can you believe it is December already? Where did the year go? No really? What did you do with it? Where did you put my 11 months? I can't even believe how fast this year went. It was a blur to be honest. Such a great year though. No complaints. I got married to one hunk of a man. I launched my photo booth. I grew in so many ways personally and professionally.  It has been a great, yet fast year. But then I really started to think.
 I just finished up my session with Bethany and Sam. It was seriously like hanging out with old friends. We did their session at the baseball field that they spend soooo many hours each week at. It was fun. The kids ran around. I chased them. Her new little one, cried. And cried some more. Then I made him laugh with my secret (weapon) noise. Of course it worked. It always does. It is pretty awesome. By the way, I would love to share it with you now but you HAVE to book a session with me to hear it. Sorry. That is the rule. Anyways, it just made me think of how many times I have acted like a crazy fool, made silly noises and seriously just laughed my head off watching all these kids smile. It has been years. These past 5 years have gone by so fast. I can't even believe I was taking pictures of this sweet litter girl wearing a beautiful dress and cleats when 4 years ago she was a toddler playing in a fountain. That picture I took of her was my FAVORITE for a long time. It was the one picture where I thought everything was perfect and I just happened to be there to press the button. Seriously. I am not sure I did much to make it so cute. I can remember looking at it over and over. I felt so happy to know that I captured such a sweet moment with her. It was a great day.
 But here I was 4 years later. It was an even better day. The sun was setting. These crazy kids where acting like monkeys. I was making my funny sound. Everyone was laughing. Sigh. I love what I do. I seriously love it. I love when they cry. I love when they throw a fit. I love when cry laugh too. I just love PEOPLE. I love knowing I was there to snap that memory. It seriously can never get old. I knew my time with Beth was wrapping up and it sorta made me sad. Not because I will never see them again. Just sad that that moment was over. Our time was locked up in my Nikon. I wanted to keep talking. Keep smiling. Keep making my funny noise, but it was time to go. But that is okay I suppose. I have a new favorite picture of that little girl. <3
My first picture in 2011 and then her in 2015.

Monday, November 2, 2015

My 5 Year Plan

  It was January 2010 when I began looking at purchasing a digital camera. I mean,I was still using my Pentax K1000 from high school to take pictures. If you are not sure what kind of camera that is, let's just say it is the simplest manual 35mm film camera out there. I was back in college and money was a bit tight. I couldn't help but stay up late and droll over this particular Nikon DSLR camera. A couple months passed by and I was planning my annual snowboarding trip. But to be honest I kept thinking about that camera. I just couldn't afford to go snowboarding and buy that camera. What is a girl to do?
  One night in March after having a few glasses of wine, I made the purchase!! I did it! Hitting "Buy Now"  was the most exciting moment I had in awhile. I couldn't believe I did it. Welp, my snowboard trip was officially off. Heck! I knew it was worth it.
 When my camera arrived I spent hours taking pictures of flowers, okay weeds that looked like flowers, leaves, swings you name it. I was so overwhelmed with all the features and buttons. Remember, I had old school film camera all these years. Everything on that camera was done manually. There are point and shoots way advanced then my K1000.
 So after a few months of shooting the neighborhood kids playing and everything that moved, I finally decided it was time to get clients. I started my Facebook page and offered free sessions. I did contests to gain more followers. I was so happy! After my first paid session (of $25) I made my plan. My 5 year plan. I promised myself that I was going to work as hard as I could. I was going to learn everything I could about photography in the digital world and I would be doing this full time in 5 years. This was of course, my dream. My passion. I even wrote in my Sr. memory book that wanted to be a photographer when I grew up. I was on a mission.
  Well time passed and it as around 2012 sometime. I finished school. I was working again. Life was just going. Money was better. Photography was only busy during the holidays. I had a few personal things going on. I remember feeling that my 5 year plan wasn't realistic. I was actively going to Celebrations church at the time. Then Pasto Stoval said something that really sat in my heart. Now forgive me, I don't remember it word for word but he was talking about life goals and plans. He said they were important to have but you cannot be down on your self if your plan doesn't' end or happen when you want it too. He said that is because it isn't your plan. The plan we have is God's plan for us. We must put it in his hands and when it happens, then it will happen. I knew then that he was right. I can't force my photography to happen in 5 years if it really isn't supposed to. Now I know I still had to work hard for it but sometimes things happen when they are ready. I cried a few times about it. I just had hoped my photography career would be further then where it was that day. But he was right. I had to let go of that magic number and keep moving. So I did.
 I guess you can say that motivated me. I purchased some software and spent so many hours learning from Youtube. I still did free sessions here and there just for the practice. Things were picking and I was getting better and more paying clients. By 2013 everything was changing and I had over 700 people on Facebook now. I couldn't believe it. That was also the year I started to date my husband and biggest supporter, Jeremy.
   2013 turned out to be a game changer for me. So many amazing things were going on in my life. Dating Jeremy, a great job, my daughter being a patrol and of course my photography business. I was on cloud 9 all the time. I also upgraded my Nikon camera. I could see my work getting better and I was developing my own style. I was gaining more clients too. So anyways, now I am going to jump to 2014. I was layed off my job and then asked to come back doing something else. Something I hated. It was hard to say no but I couldn't be with out a job. I was letereally crying everyday. I practically lived at work. It was horrible. I was sad, I didn't even care about photography at that point let alone doing anything with people. I had a break down and took sometime off. I started to focus on photography again. I started to watch Youtube to learn more about Photoshop. I was starting to feel it(photography) again. My husband was always encouraging me and was the biggest supporter I had. He believed in me. Some days I didn't know why but I loved him for it.
  We were now in 2015 and planning our wedding. I was still out of work but ready to go back. But one day we were sitting on the couch and we started talking more about my photography and my goals and plans. I told him how I always wanted to start a photo booth. That is when he said then why don't you? Lets do this. Although the financial part would be hard at first, we decided that I was going to move forward with photography full time. I couldn't have been happier. I finally felt comfortable doing weddings and newborns so this was perfect.
 So there I was one night alone watching T.V. thinking about my first Nikon camera and my dreams and it hit me. It has been 5 years!!!! OMG! 5 YEARS! I didn't even see this coming. My eyes filled up with tears and I just ran and hugged Jeremy. He had no clue why I was crying or what was wrong. I kept telling him how happy I was. I thanked him over and over. After I calmed down I of course explained this all to him. How I put it in God's hands and that I knew one day I would be here. However, If it wasn't for the love and support of Jeremy I wouldn't be where I am today. He has been the most encouraging person in my life. He is so positive and has pushed me in ways I didn't know I could go. I am so thankful everyday.
 So that is my story on my 5 year plan. I know that there are so many things I want for myself as a photographer. I just know now that I can't put a time limit on it. Weddings will come when it is time. I can't rush God's plan for me. I hope that if you have any goals out there you will take this to heart. If it is for something personal or your business, keep moving. Keep working hard. Focus. Your time will come too.
My daughter in 2010 when I got my first Nikon. :)










Thursday, October 22, 2015

Barbra P.


   I am back! Did you even notice I was gone? That's okay. I have always had a hard time "blogging". Mainly because I spent more time passing notes in high school, rather than paying attention and learning. I tend to type faster than what my brain is saying and skip words when typing. In fact, I am sure there are probably already a few grammar errors so far. Sigh. I can take beautiful pictures but have me put them into words and I am lost. However, this family really made me realize that I need to get back into it. I need to take the time to blog about my day with them. Heck, it wasn't even a full day. It was more like an hour! An hour I hope they will cherish with the photos that I took for them. It really made me think more about whole photography experience. I never met any of them. We all show up, shake hands and start the process. They just jumped right in. I really felt like I was their friend and we were just hanging out at the beach. Barbara was full of so many silly things she wanted to do and try. I really didn't do much of leading in this session. We all ran around the beach as much as we could. Seriously, until the sun was almost gone. I wish we had more time. I always wish I had more time. Time for just one... more.. picture. That is why I do this. So I can share your memories.
 I have grown so much in the last year as a photographer. I have had more sleepless nights, frustration, tears and anxiety and it has been all worth it. How do I know? I know because as I finished up this last session, put their pictures to music and  I felt complete. I know they are going to be happy. They are not going to lose sleep over the windy hair I couldn't fix in most of the pictures. They are not going to spend hours deciding if the picture is "too blue" or if the last few pictures were "too grainy" because we had absolutely no light. They are all going to appreciate me being there to snap the laughter they all shared that one day at the beach. I really am blessed to be able do this. I am  also just as excited to be back to write to you all. So if you find any grammar errors, please feel free to let me know. If that kind of thing makes your skin crawl, you are better off just looking at my pictures and skipping the blog. :)





Wednesday, December 5, 2012

The Reddings








The Reddings

  Ask me who is in charge in this family? Ms. Emma of course! AWW, only kidding. I had the joy once again of hanging out with the Reddings around the San Marco area for their holiday pictures. I was a bit nervous because the year before was probably one of my favorite sessions. I was wondering to myself, “How can we top last year?” Well, when you have a cutie like Ms. Emma and she is a year older, I figured it all out. She was full of energy and silly smiles that I could barely keep up. This session was never dull and the only thing against us was the falling sun. Once again we were able have a blast and the pictures you see here are proof there are more exciting times ahead.

Anna and Ryan




Anna and Ryan
  Anna and Ryan chose Alpine Grove for their family pictures and once I got there I could see why they did. It was my first time there and can I just tell you how beautiful it really is? I had a wonderful time following them around trying to capture some precious moments. Ok, I will admit. Everyone was not as happy as I was but the best thing about pictures is that you cannot hear a sound. Mom’s you know what I am talking about, wink wink. It is tough getting five people all on the same page, especially when little ones are involved. But have no fear! That is what a photographer is for. I am there to snap that moment, and then put it all together. Don’t get me wrong, there were tons of smiles going on during this session. At the same time, there was a mother who wanted it all to come together perfectly. Looking at these pictures I think she should be proud of herself. She did it and they all look great. Thanks Anna and Ryan for once again allowing me to captures your fun.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

The Divas are back!








The Divas are back!
  This time they brought their whole family. What a fun time I had at Losco Park in Jacksonville, Florida with this crew. I always love my little diva Gabby (sorry mom, I just like that name). She knows how to capture anyone’s attention with her adorable attitude and sweet smile. Everyone was in great spirits and full of smiles as we walked around to find the perfect spot to save some memories. Since the Rodriguez’s are fluent in Spanish, I found it more amusing to have them say “queso” instead of cheese. Maybe I was the only one laughing at that one? Either way they smiled!! I always enjoy photo sessions with big families and really enjoyed my time with them. I am not sure how often they all are able to get together but they will have these photo’s to always remember the fun we all had.

Monday, December 12, 2011

The Coleman's


When I first was told we were meeting at their church for their photo session. I did not think much of it. I am always a bit nervous to do a session where I have not had the time to have some sort of a plan. I want this time to be perfect and special! So anyway…. I pull up, park and can I just tell you my mouth dropped! This place was beautiful. It was perfect. There was a fountain and vines growing everywhere. I could not have been more impressed. Meeting them was just as special. They had the most adorable family and you could just tell they were all very close. They chose this church because it meant something to them and had history. Beth informed me she had been going there her whole entire life! It made this session even more unique. My time with them was great! I was able to capture some sincere moments that really showed each of their individual personalities. I think being in a comfortable setting made it easier for them all. As much as I LOVED this spot, I will keep it a secret J