May Snapshot

May 1, 2012 May Snapshot

These photographs give you a bit of an idea of what my life has looked like over so far in 2012! Thank you Lydia (my amazing second shooter) for taking these…and the others which are more embarrassing! I’ve been in a wedding bubble until now…one more wedding this month, then a break until August! Well, not really a break, I still have LOADS to do including…designing albums (thank you for being so patient with me people!)…updating the website…setting up Queensberry workspace (just subscribed today, I’m excited about this one!)…updating Portrait information… + working on a few exciting projects which I’m excited to share! I’m going to miss my lovely weddings during this winter season, but I’m SO excited to have the time to work ON my business, and not just IN it. This is the time that wedding photographers across the pacific are breathing again…it’s the end of the wedding ‘season’. And as important as it is to relax, recharge and get re-inspired for another season, I encourage all you wedding photographers reading this to take advantage of this “down” time! What can you do today that is going to make your business amazing and above average? xx

** In addition to my Melbourne weddings, I am also still taking bookings for NZ weddings next season. Currently I will be in NZ for half of October 2012, half of December, part of January 2013, part of February 2013 and March 2013, please feel free to contact me for specific dates!**

MAY 2012

I’ve just come back to Melbourne! It’s so nice seeing Sammy again. Apart from 4 short days back in NZ, this month will be mostly be spent in the land of the Aussies I’m excited for these two lovely people’s wedding next weekend, and since it’s Lydia’s 21st birthday, I’ve asked Olivia from Lily’s Make Believe to help me with this wedding. I went to design school with Olivia, and she is INCREDIBLY creative and ridiculously stylish. Check out her amazing work here. I am in LOVE with her beautiful little maps.

SOME MAY BUSINESS GOALS

Get album designs sent!

Set up Queensberry Workspace.

Update Portrait Information + print price lists.

Explore Beloved, do 2 Beloved sessions.

Send accountant 3 year plan + all invoicing (get these up to date!)

SOME MAY PERSONAL GOALS

Catch up with Melbourne photographers!

Oh did I tell you we got a car in Melbourne?! That was last months goal, I’m SO happy this one is crossed off finally!! Next is the sofa bed…

Spend some time reflecting on the year, have quiet time each day.

Have friends over for dinner.

Plan an adventure with Sam.

Posted In: Personal, Photography. Comments Off

April 25, 2012 Thames market + Vintage dresses.

I LOVE anything old, with history and character. I can’t get enough of antique shopping (when I have time!) so thought I would share some of my finds with you from the weekend…

Clutch – $20 from Palmers Store, Thames. Cake forks – $5 for set from lovely lady with a roadside stand.

I am SO in love with this dress. I love the beauty of the embroidered frills, ruffles, the unashamed girlyness of it. I also love the colour and the weight it it! This dress is definitely not flimsy, it has substance. It’s slightly loose around my waist, so I need it shaped to fit me…but even if I don’t wear it much, I will definitely display it proudly in my home. This dress is certainly too pretty to be shut away in some dark closet, don’t you agree? It was also from Palmers – $69. xx

Posted In: Inspiration, Personal. Comments Off

April 10, 2012 April Snapshot

I am so late at posting these! The goal for the rest of the year is definitely to blog my ‘snapshot’ posts on the 1st of the month…not when the month is half over…! I hope you had a lovely Easter break, I’m back in Melbourne (until Thursday), Sam and I had his parents come to visit from NZ so we have been on various road trips around Victoria. One of my favourite things to do is antique shopping, we went to this lovely one in the Yarra Valley. I love wondering about the history of each item, imagining what sort of past it had and where it came from. On a total contrast, we went to IKEA yesterday on the hunt for a sofa bed…I would definitely choose antiques over IKEA any day.

APRIL 2012

April will be spent mostly in NZ for me, I’ve got two more lovely weddings this month in NZ and one more in May. Last month, I blogged about exploring a Beloved style of shooting in my photography, and while I haven’t received the field guide in the post yet (hopefully it will come any day now!) I am SO SO excited to have booked a beloved shoot for Sam and I with Leah Kua. I just love Leah’s beautiful, honest photography and like anything, I always want to know what the experience feels like for myself, before I offer it to others. I was photographed by the lovely Fiona back in the early stages of starting my business, because I wanted to know what my subjects (or muses) were feeling. You can see that post here. I think it is so important to be photographed, ESPECIALLY if you are a photographer. If any photographer needs some portraits taken for their website or blog, get in touch! I’d love to help you out. Another shoot I’m excited about for this month is Lucy and Des’ Encore shoot at Whangamata beach. I love Encore photography and I haven’t done one of these shoots for a while, so I’m definitely looking forward to it! Jerry Ghionis is coming to NZ this month, I’m looking forward to going to his talk with my sister Lydia. Are any other photographers reading this going? Let me know! Have a beautiful (rest of) April everyone! xx

SOME MARCH BUSINESS GOALS

Okay I am behind on editing, but the goal this month is to catch up!!!

Design albums.

Get creative with my self portraits! This months photograph was taken by Sam, during a walk/explore of a park in the Yarra Valley…excuse the natural look and untamed hair!

Blog regularly.

Keep creating meaningful experiences for my couples.

Maintain an attitude of gratitude. (Sue Bryce) I highly recommend buying the Sue Bryce 3 day workshop on Creative Live, she is an INCREDIBLE person and an inspiring business women – proud she is a Kiwi too

Finish reading ‘Awakening the Entrepreneur within’ by Michael E. Gerber. Loving this book! Also definitely recommend reading his other book ‘The E-Myth revisited’.

Meeting with accountant, sort out financial position + goals.

SOME PERSONAL GOALS

Keep running every week day. I’ve just bought some new (pink!) running shoes, so this will definitely help with motivation during the colder months ahead…(for a while anyway!)

Spend time with friends and family in NZ before I leave for Melbourne.

I’ve just bought a Fujifilm Instax Camera. I love this thing! Excited to use it more.

Buy a car in Melbourne!! We are on the hunt at the moment…

Buy a new Sofa Bed for our Apartment in Melbourne (let me know if you happen to come across any antique versions!)

Posted In: Inspiration, Personal, Photography, Portraits. Comments Off

March 23, 2012 Say it out loud and BELIEVE IT!

When I was chatting to Cameron (my car mechanic) today at Brodie European, I mentioned I was photographing a wedding tomorrow so I would be picking the car up earlier than expected. Cameron – “oh you are a wedding photographer.” Me – “yes” We keep chatting about car things…then as I’m about to say see you later, Cameron mentions he’ll talk to me about wedding photography when I come in. I take in a booklet, he says “we’re getting married in February 2013″. I didn’t even think about it, but by mentioning ”I’m a wedding photographer” in conversation lead to conversations about wedding photography, and an opportunity for me to hand over my booklet. I’ve waited too long to simply say, “I’m a photographer” in conversation. In fact, I avoided it. I felt like if I told someone I was a photographer I had to defend myself, argue my case, tell them everything about my business. You don’t have to. Simply say “I’m a photographer”, say it in everyday conversation. Say it confidentially. Say it without an apologetic or defensive tone. Say it out loud. Truly believe it. And start telling everyone you know. This business is truly about who you know, but it’s also about who knows you! The more people in your life who know you are a photographer, the more jobs will come your way!

Posted In: Personal, Photography. Comments Off

March 16, 2012 March Snapshot

Ahhhh!!!! Where is this year going??!!! Seriously, it seems that February completely flew by and I woke up one day to find it is the middle of March! As the wedding summer ‘season’ is in it’s height, I’m feeling grateful. So blessed that I get to do this. Yes sometimes it’s overwhelming, everyday I have emails to answer, photographs to choose, edit, send, blog….the list is long at present…but I wouldn’t change anything. For most weekends at the moment I’m invited in to peoples lives. I have the absolute privilege of capturing something as momentous as their wedding day. I get to experience the excitement, nervousness, anticipation, joy, love, and every other emotion present on a wedding day. I LOVE it. I have 6 weddings this month, 4 of which I’ve already photographed. Some beautiful highlights so far…. The tears in Mike’s eyes as Rebecca walked down the aisle towards him. The excitement & laughter of Erin & her bridesmaids as Bill knocked on her door at 8am to pursue Erin, bribing the bridesmaids to let him in. The beautiful Chinese tradition of eating breakfast together before the ceremony, and an emotional tea ceremony. Jessica’s Dad’s reaction to seeing her in her wedding dress for the very first time. Riding on a helicopter over to Waiheke. James & Amber’s first look together before their ceremony, meeting under Pohutukawa trees on the beach….. There has been many highlights, I can’t wait to show you.

MARCH 2012

It’s the middle of the month and I am excited to have a break this weekend! My husband Sam is over from Melbourne and we are heading to Hahei beach in Coromandel in a few hours with some friends. I cannot wait! It is such gorgeous weather, and I’ve just been told from the owner of the bach we are renting that the water is ‘warm as toast’ hmmmmmm…. I’ll let you know how I get on!

SOME MARCH BUSINESS GOALS

Don’t get behind on editing!

Under promise and over deliver.

Delve into the Beloved Field Guide. I’m so excited about this!

Keep creating meaningful experiences for my couples.

Blogging….I know that posts have been a bit few and far between, but blogging is a priority so hold me to this!

SOME MARCH PERSONAL GOALS

Relax and spend quality time with my husband during the craziness.

Quality time with friends.

Swim at the beach. Lots. This summer (if you can call it that!) will not last much longer…hmm just realised it’s actually autumn already….so make that ‘warm weather’….!

Remember to breathe. Deeply.

Posted In: Personal, Photography. Comments Off

February 21, 2012 Run iPhone-ography

As lots of you know, I’m currently staying at my parents house for a season to photograph all the gorgeous weddings I’ve been fortunate enough to be invited to, here in NZ. My husband started his PHD in Melbourne, in June of last year – read more about our adventure here. I wont pretend it’s a piece of cake being apart from Sam for this time, but at the moment I’m actually quite enjoying being able to live between 2 countries. Keeps things interesting, and I get to spend time with my family here. My parents live in the country and I’ve been loving my morning runs here, so I took my iPhone with me today to share a little of what I see most mornings… xx

These are all processed with the App Frametastic

Posted In: Personal. Comments Off

February 8, 2012 Ideas for displaying your photographs.

A little while ago I blogged about inspiring videos I had watched while editing. One of them was this one, interviewing some exceptional photographers – Sarah & Chris Rhoads, entitled ‘Find your strength’. I love how they gave a little tour of their home, and I fell in LOVE with their photo display coffee table. I have no idea where I could find one, however I’m determined to get one similar made. As much as I love albums, which are essential for long lasting preservation of your photographs, I think this coffee table is such an accessible way to view your photos. I know when I’m visiting friends, I love looking through their albums (completely nosy like that!) and I think this table would be such a great talking point. I love how random the collection of prints is all piled together. With digital photography photographs are often buried on computer hard drives, and never get printed! (I am guilty of this…) Maybe because it’s daunting to know what to do with your photos, once you do get them printed. I had very grand ideas of putting mine & Sam’s travel photographs into photo books, but sadly it hasn’t happened yet! One of my goals this year is to get our personal photographs printed, and even more importantly…. to display them! I love the feeling of being transported back into a moment when I look at photographs. Photos conjure up so many memories, it’s important to live amongst them.

Here are some frame grabs from the video, if you want to check it out the drawers – they feature about 2 minutes into the clip.

I’ve also started a Pinterest board to collect other inspiring ways to display your photographs. I’d love to see or hear about any of yours too! xx

Posted In: Inspiration, Personal, Photography. Comments Off

February 2, 2012 February Snapshot

Wow…it’s February! It’s busy wedding ‘season’ at the moment for me and lately I’ve been thinking about why I love weddings and wedding photography. This is what inspired February’s ‘snapshot’. It’s a photograph of my Grandma in her wedding dress. I love this photograph for a few reasons. 1 – I get to see what my Grandma looked like on her wedding day before I even existed. 2 – it gives me a glimpse into her life. 3 – I know that with this photograph and others, her legacy lives on. I love that this is what I get to do, preserve memories. It sounds cheesy, but I’m grateful.

FEBRUARY 2012

This month, I’m excited to photograph Emily & Phil’s wedding at the Red Barn in Karapiro, Shaun & Kiri’s wedding in Matakana planned by the lovely Lisa at Beautiful Events, Samantha & Dan’s wedding in Waihi and Jenna & Mike’s wedding at The Wharf in Auckland! I’m also excited to go to Melbourne for 4 days to see Sam (in just over a week!) I fly back to Auckland on the morning of our 4th wedding Anniversary!

SOME FEBRUARY BUSINESS GOALS

-Finish all outstanding 2011 Queensberry album designs, get approved and send to print. (This was also last months goal, but I’m finishing the last album design today!)

-Don’t get distracted and cut down on checking social media. I know if I hired someone to work for me, and I found out I was paying them to be on Facebook…I wouldn’t be very happy. So why do I allow myself to do it? The goal for this month is to be productive and create work boundaries for myself.

-My sister Lydia is helping me edit some of my weddings, and I love it! At the moment I am on top of editing, the goal is to stay this way…!

-Perfect and stick to wedding post production system!

-Get accounts sorted and give all details to accountant for upcoming tax return…

-Design custom stationary.

- Keep blogging consistently!

- Send photographs to wedding vendors.

SOME FEBRUARY PERSONAL GOALS…

-Take scheduled time out for breaks, fun, and stay inspired. I find if I put this into my diary, I tend to work more productively because I’m looking forward to something.

-Visit the library and stock up on some good reads…recommendations? Has anyone read anything that they loved over the summer?

-Keep running every weekday.

Have a fabulous February people! What are your goals for the month? I’d love to hear them xx

Posted In: Personal. Comments Off

January 26, 2012 Visual Workflow

Any professional wedding photographer at the moment (in the southern hemisphere) will tell you that this is the busy season! Once you start photographing weddings every weekend, the to-do lists become longer and longer, and it’s easy to lose track of what needs to be done each day. A little while ago, I saw a post on Kiki about making a visual workflow board so I’ve made one for myself! I’m currently living at my parents house in NZ over the summer, so I have taken over their office which they don’t really use anymore luckily! I love seeing exactly what needs to be done, right in front of me. Not scribbled on endless bits of paper or hidden on my computer! There is no escaping it, which hopefully leaves less room for procrastinating…and I love the satisfaction of ticking things off!

My board isn’t very pretty, I just made it with a whiteboard. You could get a cork board, cover it with fabric and use pins as markers… My board has space for 10 clients at a time down the side, and my workflow begins with Booking Form received, right through to Album delivery, so I’ll always know where I’m at! xx

Posted In: Inspiration, Personal, Photography. Comments Off

January 24, 2012 Blueberry picking.

A few weekends ago we went Blueberry picking. One of my first ever jobs was picking fruit (melons) and after a while I couldn’t stand the sight of them… Not so with Blueberries, I could eat them by the truckload. And that I did. One for the bucket….five for my mouth…