Self-Care: It's A Thing and It's Important ~ Wisconsin Wedding Photographer

At one time, I wanted to be a social worker. I wanted to "help people"....whatever I thought that meant. I wanted to guide folks to helpful benefits....I wanted to make sure elderly people had access to quality care and housing....I wanted to counsel grieving people. 

Photography intervened and I never had a chance to wander down that path. Which is OKAY. It wasn't meant to be. 

But I did pick up a few tidbits here and there while studying. 

One of the major tenants of a caregiver job is the issue of SELF-care. Self care simply means that you are never "pouring from an empty cup", so to speak. 

If you are self-employed, you likely suck at this. Especially if you are self-employed AND a parent....because ain't nobody got time for that self-care business, right? I mean, I LONG for bedtime for the kids some nights just so I have a SECOND to sit down and watch some terrible TV. Not really self-care....in the traditional sense. Usually it's just avoiding bedtime myself.

But, I made it my mission for 2017 to start investing some time and effort into self-care, because I could feel myself getting tired....and resentful....and all-together crabby.

First things first, I signed up for Crossfit again. I had LOVED it when I was going before I got pregnant with Bridget....and I had missed that time to myself since. It's only an hour a day (plus the 22 minutes or so in the car)....but it sets my day up nicely. Whatever I may have on my mind, I can go to the gym....struggle through ring dips with my spindly little arms like I did this morning....and channel any stress into that. As much as I may stare at the dark outside my window when the alarm goes off at 4:15 AM on Crossfit days....I ALWAYS feel good when I get up and go. I feel like even if I don't get anything else of value accomplished that day, at least I went to Crossfit.

Bear in mind, I am a pretty terrible Crossfitter....but that doesn't really seem to be the point. The point is, it's MINE. For the time being, it's not something I really have to share with anyone else or rely on anyone else to get up early for. I make the decision and I go. 

Running your own business, especially if you are primarily at home, can be stressful...motivation can be tough...BALANCE is freaking impossible. It can be really difficult to watch people on social media taking wonderful vacations while I'm in the midst of handling the Norovirus outbreak at our house (that was SUCKAGE....three puking kids and a puking mom. It was complete madness). It can be SO HARD to feel invisible when it seems like people around you are booking like crazy or getting amazing jobs. We are really hard on ourselves, aren't we?

Social media can make you feel like crap. Sometimes you just need to turn it off and do YOUR thing.

So right now, my thing is carving out some time here or there to do a little reading (without guilt!) and continuing to be a semi-okay Crossfitter.

Look at your day....where can you fit in some Self-Care? We ALL have time...even if it's just 5 minutes. You have to MAKE time. It's that important. 

 

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Fractured Thoughts ~ Wisconsin Wedding Photographer

Currently Watching: Well, it WAS Sherlock....because Sherlock is the best. But, that's done now so I'm not quite sure what I'm going to move on to next. Any suggestions? 

Currently Spinning: The husband just got the Ghost EP Popestar for Christmas and it's pretty stellar. However, it's still all Hamilton, all the time, in the car.

Currently Reading: White Trash: The 400 Year Untold History of Class in America. Because once a Sociology major, always a Sociology major I guess. This is the stuff I like to read. 

- We're taking 2017 on with an incredible amount of enthusiasm for the future. I'm so invested in making Type A Great Again (ha!!) that I feel this renewed excitement is trickling over into other areas, which is moving us into "getting shizz done" mode.

- Our whole goal last year was to get our family into a position to move without it being financially stupid for us to do so. I think we're getting there. We are meeting with a builder in the Milwaukee area next weekend which I'm cautiously optimistic about.  We are working with one of Dave Ramsey's ELP (endorsed local providers) Mortgage Lenders and they have been absolutely wonderful so far. They delve deep into your finances and are great for self-employed folks like me! 

Churchill Mortgage, shout out to you! 

- Like I said, we are CAUTIOUSLY optimistic about building. Being as frugal as I am (let's face it, I'm a tightwad)....the concept of "Oh, plan for 20% more than you think it'll be" like everyone says scares the bejesus out of me. Um....no. It doesn't work like that in our household. We don't need a fireplace, we don't want a tub in the master, we don't need extra fancy crap that no one cares about. What we need is a bit more space. Room for Bridget (who has taken to waking up so often from her crib in our room that neither of us are sleeping worth a damn right now) 

Room to grow and not just room to put extra crap. 

- SPEAKING of extra crap, I was way influenced by the book Minimalism that I picked up with my Christmas money. So, I went on a bit of a binge (or, shall I say, purge) and got rid of a ton of superfluous CRAP that we had around the house. Stuff we never used, never wore, never cared for....that we just kept moving around. 

It was REALLY freeing....though the husband had to step in a few times and say "Um, lets not get rid of EVERYTHING...."

I probably would have if he let me! 

 

- My daughter Betty (the 9 year old) started her own Art blog. Check it out at Betty Hearts Art 
 

- Can we talk SHERLOCK for a minute. First of all, 3 episodes per series is just NOT. ENOUGH. As soon as I get comfortable with a new Sunday night routine, it's over! But, this series was pretty incredible. Wasn't QUITE sure about the last episode, but it all wrapped up nicely. And, Benedict Cumberbatch can pretty much do no wrong. This better not be the bitter end.

- The whole family caught that NASTY norovirus that was going around. Whoa. NEL. LIE. I haven't been THAT sick in a really long time. I tossed my cookies at a wedding shoot (finished that wedding though....arggggg!)...but let me tell yah, being pukey-sick at a wedding is the WORST. I was rushing to get ill, rushing back out to catch the speeches, rushing back to dry heave, rushing back to catch the 1st dance. To my credit, I didn't miss a thing. But, it was ROUGH.

I came home that night to complete bedlam at the house. All three girls had caught it and it was a Round Robin of puking all night long.

Ahhh....parenting. 

- Betty started her foray into braces this month. She needs them. She has my teeth. I had some JACKED teeth when I was her age. I looked like I'd been popped in the mouth. So, she's in for a long haul....but she's taking it like a champ.

- I brought The Pudgy Gazelle blog back.....for good. It was too motivating for me not to renew it. You can check it out and follow along on our debt freedom journey! 

SENIORS!!! 

I am still seeking a few SENIOR MODELS! The response has been really overwhelming this year and that's GREAT! I'm starting to branch out and marketing to Waukesha and Milwaukee county too, in anticipation of a move, but Beloit is still my home base! 

If you or someone you know is interested in representing Type A for the CLASS of 2018 and scoring some sweet deals, fill out the application at the top of the page! 

 

WEDDINGS 

I am over 1/2 booked for 2017. I am looking to fill in some dates for July and August as well as October/November/Dec. So, if you are looking in that area, shoot me an email! 

I have some absolutely GREAT couples lined up for this season and I just cannot wait to get started. I'm all over the map again and that's just how I like it! 

I designed a new 33 page Wedding Magazine that I can send to any inquiry to check out. 

ON THE HORIZON

I've got so many things bopping around in this little brain of mine.....I've been writing things down at a feverish pace just hoping that I don't MISS something! 

Senior Model Studio Sessions kick off in February. I'm bringing more of the awesome to Senior Portraits...no cheeseball stuff included! 

I am hosting a specially priced Spring Mini promotion running from February 1 to April 1. Book a studio or on-location mini anytime between those dates and get it for $150 and 10 digital images. 
 

Kicking around the idea of bringing back a beginner's photography class to the studio sometime this spring as well, so keep an eye out for that! 


- Here's some pictures from the last few weeks. Check it out!! 

 

8 Ways to Be the Most Incredible Client ~ Wisconsin Wedding Photographer

We've all had 'em. Absolutely AMAZING clients. Clients we talk about with our fellow photographers....clients we wish we could clone....clients we think fondly about even years after their events or sessions.

The BEST clients. 

You hear a lot in the social media stratosphere about "nightmare clients" (there's even the ubiquitous websites and postings like Clients From Hell). To read these items you'd think working in the creative realm is chock full of nutters and we all must struggle to deal with these nightmares on a regular basis.

No, no, a thousand times no. 

In reality, 99.9% of my clients are really great, reasonable people (and I think I've learned enough to avoid the tiny percent of out and out crazy after 9 years). 

There's some nuances that make clients super-memorable, kick-ass, OMG THAT WAS SUCH A BLAST type clients. 

Here's 8 ways to join the ranks of awesome:

1. THEY MAKE THEIR FIRST IMPRESSION A GOOD ONE
Yes, we are out to impress you on first meeting. We want you to find us fun, funny, responsible, and, above all, creative and professional. But, we are sort of "interviewing" our clients upon meeting as well. 

It doesn't take a lot to make a good impression. Make your initial email personal. Nothing is more disheartening than getting a canned "Your work is amazing!" email only to find out you send the exact same "your work is amazing" email to 100 other photographers....just copy and pasting their names in the "to" box.  We work REALLY hard to set ourselves apart....to make ourselves appealing to your particular tastes....and it means a lot when people take a moment to recognize that. 

I get people who will email me and say "AH! I love Doctor Who too!" or "Potatoes are my JAM!!"

I get super excited to meet them, because I know we already have something in common.

2. THEY HAVE REASONABLE AND REACHABLE EXPECTATIONS

It can be frustrating to meet with someone only to find their expectations of what a wedding photographer can provide for them are completely out of whack. 

The best wedding vendors can manage your expectations and explain to you what is do-able and what is not. They won't promise the moon and the stars if it cannot be feasible. 
The best will underpromise and overdeliver to ensure your happiness with the overall job.

The best are HONEST. 

Much the same, the best clients are honest with themselves. They know what they look like, they know what photography can (and can not) do. They know a human being cannot be in 2 places at once or possibly know things not told to them.

They know, at the end of the day, we are human beings doing the best jobs possible for them....not magicians. :) 

3. THEY PUT THOUGHT INTO THEIR OTHER VENDORS

It's awesome when a client puts a lot of thought into the cohesive vendor team they're building. When we all work together well, it means a better wedding day overall. 

Ask your initially booked vendors for referrals! It's the best way to get a team that works well as, well, a team....and avoids the issue of videographers on power-trips or handsy DJ's. 

4. THEY READ THEIR PAPERWORK

This seems like a given.

It's not. 

I know a 4 page contract full of common sense type stuff can seem a bit daunting....but it's important to know what we are giving you and what is expected in return. 

Know your turn-around times....know your rights with the images....know when your balance is due. 

And ASK QUESTIONS....seriously, I love questions! Ask away! 

5. THEY SURROUND THEMSELVES WITH AWESOME PEOPLE

This can be hard. I've said it once and I'll say it again: weddings bring out people's latent crazy. That includes friends and family. From the Mom-in-Law who can't stop criticizing everything to the best friend who is so wildly jealous of your big day that she has a perma-stank-face.

Secure and happy folks typically have secure and happy friends and family....they attract that kind of love and acceptance. This is such a great environment to work in. And believe me, I've been among some of the BEST families and the BEST friend groups. It makes my heart happy. 

There's nothing like walking away from a wedding with the thought that "Man, I wish these people were MY friends....how AWESOME were they?!?" 

Have good people on your support team....it makes your day SO much better! 

6. THEY KNOW HOW TO BRING THE FUNNY

I'm a girl who appreciates humor. Dark humor, gallows humor, dirty humor, childish humor, cerebral humor...I run the gamut. I love me some South Park, some Tom Segura, some Eddie Izzard, some Monty Python.

I appreciate a sharp sense of humor above most other personal attributes.

So, it makes me happy as a clam when my clients are straight up FUNNY. When I can joke around without worrying that they're thinking I'm not concentrating on my job (I am, I'm serious about work....at all times! Even when joking about other stuff). 

I appreciate it when folks just don't take themselves TOO seriously (time and place though, folks! Time and place! Probably not best to be cracking jokes at the altar during high mass). 

Life is funny. LAUGH! 

8. THEY'RE MADLY, HOPELESSLY, CRAZY IN LOVE

I don't care WHAT kind of wedding you have: small or large. Ornate or simple. Expensive or shoestring budget. When a couple is crazy, madly, can't-even-hardly-breathe in love with one another, it makes the day so enjoyable and memorable. 

I can always recall those couples who are just nuts about one another. I may not be able to remember their centerpieces or what her dress looked like. But I can always remember the FEELING. 

This makes couples such a joy to work with....the LOVE at the base of it all.

8. THEY'RE NICE PEOPLE

It's simple....be NICE. I know weddings are stressful...and some folks just don't handle stress well. But, taking a step back and just being nice to the folks around you makes you a memorable and incredible client.

I remember the small gestures, believe me. Something as simple as calling me by my name (thought it's been a long time since someone has called me "Hey You".....lol)  Treating your vendors like human beings who need to eat....sometimes sit....maybe drink a water on hot days.

I always love to come away from a wedding thinking 'Man, they were so NICE. Their families were SO NICE." 

Nice. It may seem like a lost concept to some, but there's still room in the world for it.


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So there you have it....ways to climb the ladder and reach the upper echelon of client-dom. 

People will never forget how you made them feel, and being a great, gracious, and fun client gives all of us vendors a great feeling: about our jobs and people as a whole. 

And that's a good thing! 

2016: A Year in Review ~ Wisconsin Wedding Photographer

What. 
A. Year.

Seriously, I feel like this one will go down in the record books as.....well...something. Most celebrity deaths, maybe? The election was....interesting. That's all I got to say about that, I guess. 

It's the year we said Goodbye to Bowie and Prince and Leonard Cohen and freakin' SNAPE, man.

It's the year I said HELLO to "Hamilton"....and haven't been able to let it go since. 

I had a baby. I quit a job. I celebrated 10 years of marriage. 

Some folks are calling 2016 "the worst"....but there are silver linings everywhere. I choose to believe. 

JANUARY

I started the year in a bit of limbo, honestly. I was still working at the Assisted Living facility and we were a week away from opening the doors and moving in our first residents. The situation unraveled quite quickly, with my urging, in all honesty. I was quite pregnant and the stress of being embroiled in a director-ship that was just NOT right for me was really eating away at me. When you know you are in a place you don't belong, every day becomes a struggle to find a way to bow out as gracefully as possible.

So, I resigned. I resigned the post and resigned myself....to building Type A back up to a full time, ass-kicking unstoppable train of awesome.

I had spent the better part of the 2 years prior working on other people's dreams....feverishly but foolishly, I think. I abandoned my own. And I paid for it.

 

FEBRUARY-APRIL

I concentrated hard on finishing up my pregnancy healthy and happy....and getting Type A back to thriving status. 

By the time Bridget joined us on April 26, I had booked up my 2016 season and senior bookings were starting to pour in.

Thankfully, my wayward year of chasing my ideals elsewhere wasn't an incurable misstep. 

You can ALWAYS start again.

Always.

We were able to welcome Bridget Frances Reseburg with happiness, open-arms, and a sense of calm that I am forever thankful for. I've also been able to stay home with her since her birth, which is absolutely ideal for us. 

Things always have a way of working themselves out, I find. Even if the road to seeing is long.

(Pictures courtesy of Kara Reese Photography) 

(Pictures courtesy of Kara Reese Photography) 

SUMMER 2016

I found this year that by really concentrating hard on reaching my ideal client, I was able to book some pretty incredible weddings. This is the first year I really tried to put out into the world a sense of who Type A is FOR. What stories I really wanted to tell and what clients would most benefit from my vision.

It all sounds like a lot of sale-sy mumbo jumbo, but it's pretty incredible how enjoyable your job can be when you connect with your clients on a level deeper than just "hired help". 

Yes, I am a service provider. But Type A can be so much more. 

The word "authentic" is batted around quite a bit these days....but the older I get, the more I come to discover WHO I am....(and who I'm NOT)....and just how much I may care (or not care) what people think about that.

I am authentically nerdy, to the core. I love turn-of-the century period pieces. I was SO born too late. I obsess over various fandoms and I love all manner of grunge rock, even if it past it's prime some time ago. Historical non-fiction makes me giddy. Documentaries are my jam. I won't miss Jeopardy. 

I have listened to the Hamilton soundtrack about a bazillion times this year and I still adore it. Lin-Manuel Miranda is my spirit animal. 

I will clear my schedule for some Sherlock. An exciting Friday night for me is filling out a new dayplanner with different colored gel pens. I love lists. I love order. I love planning. I love quiet.

I am by no means cool, in the conventional sense. But, I'm finally becoming okay with who I am and what I love. 

I think, in some way, that helped Type A connect with people. I hope to do more of that in 2017

FALL 2016

Fall was all about Seniors. About 3 years ago I decided I wanted to concentrate my portrait work primarily on Senior Portraits, and I got to work marketing my patootie off. 

I had read that it takes about 3 years to solidify a Senior Portrait market. 

And yeah, that's about right.

I FINALLY moved my studio to a killer space in Milton, WI and it allowed me to expand my creativity with respect to Senior studio portraits.

I love shooting Seniors and I've set some lofty goals for myself for 2017 with regards to the Senior Portrait game.

I'm currently looking for 2018 Grads who would like to join the Type A Model Team.....know anyone? Click on the website link to fill out an application. 

:) 

Fall was also about beginning to dream forward....and a lot of that was planning a move. I started to realize in 2016 that I think we have outgrown Beloit, WI. It will always be my hometown, but it's never really felt like "home", if that makes any sense at all. 

Beloit has made some incredible, laudable strides in the past few years and I've been happy to be a part of some of those. 

But, I realized I missed a lot of things about living nearer to a bigger city.  I felt a pull to move our family for some time now and in 2017 we are going to do everything in our power to make that happen. Whether that means buying or building. 

2017

I can't say I'm terribly sad to see 2016 go.....2017 holds a lot of promise so I'm ready to get going on it. 

I hope to dream more, worry less.
Read more, nap more, eat better, and hit CrossFit on a regular basis....as much as my body can withstand! 

I want to spend more time with the kids....who will only be kids for so long. 

I want to move upwards and onwards....find home. Settle in. Create memories. 

Is 2017 going to be "my year"....who knows....but I'm ready to take it on and see!