Permission to be BOLD

Last week I was getting ready to go to Vegas for WPPI (an annual photographers convention), I was finalizing the details with some of my photographer friends to have them as guests during the week I would be absent. I asked 6 amazing, beautiful, God-loving girls to share something with you; I wanted them to share what was in their heart at the moment and their entries literally changed my life! Thank you girls!!!

I read each and everyone of the words in the documents they sent me, and I have to say that I was amazed, grateful, blessed by their hearts. I have only met these girls online in the Pursuit 31 community on Facebook, and yet with the way they opened their hearts to me and to you out there reading this, I felt I knew them for a very long time. They talked openly about their faith, how they are trusting God to do great things in their business, and right then and there I felt I was letting them down. The pain grew bigger when God helped me realize that I was letting Him down too.

I left for Vegas, but my heart was pleading for a way to make things better. I didn't want to hide my love for my God, I wanted to be transparent in my blog posts, I wanted to be able to write freely and openly about my struggles, my joys, my ups and downs, my blessings and my learnings along this way, but I knew I couldn't do it alone. I prayed for an answer and what I didn't know is that my prayer was going to be answered the week I came back home.

Yesterday I was blessed enough to be part of a big announcement from a photographer who I admire, not only for her work, but also for the way she writes boldly about her relationship with God. That girl is Scarlett Lillian, from Scarlett loves Stephen photographers. I "met" (read stalked) her blog, her Facebook and after being part of a webinar her husband hosted last year, I was more interested in really knowing her.

Scarlett published a book in which she shares her heart, her prayers, her journey through building a photography business with God as her CEO. There as I was still lying in bed in the morning I jumped out and turned my computer on to witness a new chapter in her life. I watched the video, read her welcome letter and tears filled my eyes because she was giving me something I longed for, permission to be bold like her and write my heart out for everyone to read.

Even though this post is getting long, I want to thank Scarlett for sharing her heart like this, for pushing the bar higher in our relationship with God; I want to thank her husband Stephen too, because he's been an incredible man standing behind her, encouraging her to get closer to her Heavenly Father and to publish this book. I am blessed to be able to share this with you! I hope to meet you soon and have an authentic Mexican dinner!

Without further due, here I share with you a video where Scarlett herself tells you about her book.
Don't forget to visit www.choosecommitprosper.com Enjoy!!




Promo video for the book Prosper by Scarlett Lillian from Scarlett & Stephen on Vimeo.

Faith on our Heavenly Father

By Rachelle Chase

Rachelle Chase has been married to her high school sweetheart for 12 years and has 2 boys. She lives in NH where she is a homeschooling mom, professional photographer and with her husband runs a not-for-profit youth center that she and her husband started.

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Have you ever watched a 2-year-old eat an ice cream cone outside on a hot day?

If you have, you are picturing the complete and utter mess that comes about half way through that dessert!

The ice cream is melting down his face, and the sticky mess is all over his chubby little fingers!

If you have ever been a random spectator of this, you have probably thought.

Oh. my. Goodness.

That kid is a hot mess!

What is that car going to look like on the way home?

And that shirt? Well you might as well throw it away!

Now picture the same scenario. But this time? You are the mother.

A warm day is finally here after a week of rain, and you are taking your little boy...the absolute love of your life...out for a treat. A special treat that doesn't just happen every day.

Same exact scenario, but for some reason, you aren't thinking for one second about his shirt, sticky face or messy car!

You can not believe how his big blue eyes are sparkling with joy!

You don't remember ever realizing how much he looks like his daddy when he laughs.

And you love that those sticky fingers are reaching for your face!

This is your baby. And you love this boy more than life itself.

Cleaning up a mess is nothing at all to you, and you would gladly clean him up a million times just to see this look on his face!

I was thinking of this in relation to my Heavenly Father.

Sometimes as I am going through my life, I think...wow. I have really made a mess of this situation!

Or, maybe...I have really made a mess of my life!

What is God thinking of me right now? How can I even pray? He probably can't even stand to look at me right now!

And in those times, I back away from God.

While there are times in our lives that sin separates us from a close relationship with God, I think that usually He is looking at us just like we would look at our messy sticky little boy.

Maybe he is shaking his head, laughing and saying...there's my girl again! Making a mess! I love to see her laugh like that! I love her so much.

I love how 1 John 3:1 puts it when it says “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God.”

See that? He is our Father who is lavishing love all over us!

Crazy love.

So the next time you are tempted to back away from your Father after a time where you think that you have made way too big of a mess?

Stop and think it over.

Realize that your Father is totally in love with you and does not mind one bit cleaning up after your mess.

And instead of backing away - run to Him. 

Check out Rachelle’s work at

www.rachellechasephotography.com

My big grain of salt

By Edith Taylor

Edith:

“I am a very short, overly energetic yet kinda awkward small town girl from Oregon. I carry an overwhelming joy in my heart brought forth by God’s grace, blessings & the love of my husband. I fell hard & fast for my husband after we reconnected & 3 months later agreeing to marrying the boy who used to live next door. We live in a small farmhouse neighboring our landlords beef cattle, with our dog Moose who is our child. Although I was not raised on a farm, I am a total small town, country, hay lovin, lemonade in a used mason jar kinda girl.”

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Although I carry the title of photographer, I use that word very delicately as I am aware that I am constantly growing in this art which requires much dedication, time & appreciation. Although I did everything completely backwards, it has taught me so much about the proper means to titling yourself a photographer & growing my admiration for true artists. Being a photographer is so much fun. It is an explosion of creative beauty. I love seeing my dreams & visions come to life before me. My heart unfolding in each photo, as I totally fall for my clients. Art runs through my veins, my heart, my soul & photography is the outlet I was created for.

This being said…there is a reason that one should be legitimately experienced before running a business. Being a photographer comes with extremely hard work, disappointment, so much time away from family I can’t even stress it, missing most of your summer if you photograph weddings, taxes (be legit, not under the table, the IRS will find you. I’ve heard stories), late nights, early mornings and a ton of investment.

There are certain things that will make the launching of your business less of a self-discovery struggle & more of an announcement of your arrival. If you pick up a camera, take a few photos & start a business you will have a long road ahead of you full of back peddling & restructuring. This is the very brief version of what I learned about starting a business way before I should have.

1) Find your style

Everyone has an opinion on what is art & what looks good. Spend time realizing (not deciding) what your style is. I emphasize the YOUR in that. I like bold colors, country landscapes, old barns, sunsets. My clients love to wear boots, jeans and sundresses. Almost every session involves the family dog. I am obsessed with sun flare. I don’t do studio photography & I am always laughing. My style has a look, a feel, is me at the core.

2) Find your ideal client

This will not only help you build the portfolio you want, but will help you find the clientele you want. I can shoot big fancy hotel weddings. However, my ideal bride is wearing a knockout wedding dress in either flats, Justins (cowgirl boots) or converse. Their venue is a vintage backyard, a beautiful country ranch or something a little more hippie under an oak tree. The dress is usually semi-formal & kids are almost always invited. Yes you should be able to shoot everything, but find out who you LOVE to shoot.

3) The legal ducks

I will preach this to the cows come home. Be legit. I understand doing stuff under the table when starting is often the norm. However, you want to run an honest business. Pay your taxes. There are benefits to it. You do get to write a ton of stuff off. Have your contracts in order. Not only is this important for your clients, but it protects you. I have heard so many sad stories of people who worked for friends & family only to be caught in awful situations because there were no contracts. Make SURE you have model releases! Even if it just a handwritten note when starting out. You must get their permission to post their photos online. Verbal is not enough. Learn early on, how & why you should protect yourself.

4) Invest wisely, not widely

We all love to see that beautiful red strip on our lenses or read the word Nikkor on all of our gear. Instead of investing in the most expensive gear right off the bat, work up to it. Although don’t buy the most rock bottom priced gear either. If you don’t know what you like, rent first. Instead of saving, buying, saving, buying, saving, buying just save, research (a lot) and buy what you will use now as well as down the road. So if you want the middle grade lens don’t listen to your inner child throwing a tantrum & buy the cheap gotta have it now lens. Save up, spend a few hundred extra & get the lens that you will be happy with for good amount of time.

Once you have discovered who you are, who your ideal clients are, you understand your equipment, have experience & get at least most of your legal ducks in a row you get to launch off on your own. This is where the big grain of salt comes in. When I started my business, I was in such a rush to making it, I completely lost myself. I let others call the shots, tell me the best way to operate was, what to charge, what to sell, what not to sell and everything in between. It’s taken me quit some time to discover who I was again & who I want my business to be. When you are deciding the major factors like branding, colors, websites, pricing (the hardest part) make sure that while you listen to the wise words of experience, take everything with a grain of salt.

A) Charge what your worth

It has taken me a long time to decide what to charge, what to sell & how to defend it. I hate pricing. My inner hippie still wants to love on everyone & just give it all away for free. But that doesn’t keep the lights on so we as artist must charge. I am not only happy with what I charge, I can explain why I charge what I do with confidence. I live in a small town so while I do charge enough, I certainly don’t charge what many do in say Manhattan, New York or San Francisco, California. I listened to those who kept saying to increase my prices, but did it to a level that I was proud of while still not undermining myself or paying myself less than what I was worth.

B) Smile & nod

Everyone has an opinion. Everyone. When I first started I thought my friends who took 800 photos on their flip phones were totally qualified to tell me what a “good” photograph was. As you grow you will have lots of people tell you your photos are incredible, you should have done something different, you should include the disc, you should sell the disc for $1500, you should do selective coloring (ok this is not true, don’t do that), you should buy this equipment before buying that equipment, you should do this & that & this & that. AHHH! My point is, you are YOU! Listen to what everyone has to say. Listen politely & openly. Some are right, some are wrong. You are your own person so take in everything you hear, write it down if it’s easier, and then go over it little by little. Weigh the wisdom. Slowly narrow it down to what you decide to let impact your business. Like I said we are all different. Our art is different. You are different. Make sure that with everything that can & will come your way does not make you lose yourself. Big grain of salt.

C) Know your heart

Last year I started to change as a person & as a photographer. I went to an amazing workshop called For The Love. I was met with a LOT of reflection time. FYI super crucial to staying true to yourself. There I realized not only who I was as a photographer, but who I was as a person. Today I walk confidently in the identity that God showed me that week. I know who I am. I know what I like. When people ask me to do things that do not coincide with that, I smile, listen, politely explain that it’s not something that I do & refer them to someone who does.

My name is Edith Taylor. I am an artist. I am a photographer. I am the only me.

Discover who you are. Then open your dreams up to the amazing possibilities that await you. The true you.

Check out Edith’s work at

  www.simplykissed.com