I’ll start this post by saying that I can’t believe we are already part way through December! I hope that you are getting in the holiday spirit and enjoying decorating and spending time with family like I am! A couple of weeks ago, I drove up to Annapolis, MD to spend a day with the amazing Natalie Franke.. I had the honor of being the first person to have an “official” mentoring session with Natalie, which I explained to her was sort of ironic because I was also the first person to do one with Katelyn James about a year and a half ago! Time flies! And it is so fun to see how much has changed in that time…I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am to each of my clients who have chosen me to be a part of one of the biggest days of their lives. Ahhh photographing a wedding…there is something so magical about this job…

And while I really believe that statement, it is also a lot of work…there is so much learning and so many hours of hard work that go into it. It’s a major investment of time, money, and love…2 and a half years ago I admitted to my then brand new husband that I had this secret dream of being a wedding photographer…so I started studying the craft and shared the secret with only a select few people who I knew would support me, but who would also be honest with me about the realities of running a small business and creating a product that I could be proud of. It has been difficult, but so rewarding…and I’m so thankful that I made that decision to surround myself with people who were willing to give me constructive criticism! Because that’s how you grow. Well that and a lot of work and practice…

I made it a goal to focus on my craft this year, because I want to offer my couples the very best images that I possibly can! It’s important to me in my business to stress that I am always striving to create a quality product because I recognize that what I do goes wayyy beyond just photographing a wedding…it’s about creating an heirloom for my couples…and that means that I’m always reading, practicing, and have made it a commitment to never stop learning! So that takes me back to what I was saying before…in my opinion, part of that learning process should involve sitting down with someone else who can offer advice and an honest critique of your business. When you are running a small business, you don’t really have a boss who can help to guide you as you grow like you would at a different job…so I think it’s so helpful to get feedback on what you’re doing from people you respect as often as possible!

And that brings me to Natalie…I just adore this girl. She has an air of professionalism that goes beyond her years, yet exudes a super friendly and down to earth attitude towards life and business. I was so thrilled to have the opportunity to sit down with her and talk about my goals and where I’m heading and to get some honest feedback on things I can do to better serve my clients. It’s incredibly refreshing to meet with someone who believes in you and pushes you to try things that you may not have done otherwise and I’m so grateful for her heart to see me succeed…In an industry where there are so many who are so kind and open and willing to teach others the way that they do things, I think that Natalie stands out from the crowd because apart from being an open book, she is eager to help others learn to run a business that works for them and their unique personality and situation. In my book, humility goes a long way and despite her many accomplishments, Natalie is one of the most kind and genuine people I’ve ever met. Natalie’s heart is to help people think outside of the box and to challenge the system to do things in a way that works for them and their clients…

I’m so excited to be making some changes in 2014 that will allow me to serve my clients better and achieve some new goals…one of those changes is that I’ll be taking on fewer weddings than I did this year. I’m one of those people that likes to put my whole heart into something and each of the couples that I work with are so important to me that I want to make sure I have time to put my all into every one! I do this job because I love the craft behind it and working with people and I’m so excited to have more time to invest in each couple…There are some other exciting changes coming, but more on that later as they solidify a little more!

Images by Natalie Franke. Sidenote: I think I was most excited to wear my new trench coat for these! After my old one got worn out, I was coveting the iconic Burberry version…that’s when I started my hunt to find one that I loved in my price range…This was the third one I ordered to try out and I’m so happy with it! It’s still a classic but a lot more budget friendly than the first option…and thank you, Nat, for these pictures! It’s so helpful to get behind the camera every once and a while to remember how it feels to be photographed…I think it makes you a better photographer!

For now, I just wanted to give Natalie a big cyber hug via the blog and to tell my industry friends that they absolutely need to sign up to meet with her when she officially announces her mentoring sessions! And to the couples who choose to work with me…thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart! I love you guys! I’m so excited to share more about the new things happening for my business in 2014 soon!

Happy Thursday!!