Wow. It’s January. I really do believe that the old you get the faster time moves. Things speed up, the days become weeks, and suddenly those weeks are years. I can’t quite wrap my brain around the fact that time is moving at light speed. We’ve now been in business a year, and I’m so pleased with the things Jeremy & I have accomplished. At the start of 2010 I had 2 brave brides willing to take a chance on me, for which I am eternally grateful. They gave me the confidence I needed, but also put the fear of God in me. Those lovely ladies spurred me to learn more, read more, grow more than I ever thought possible. At the end of 2010, I’d shot 7 weddings, 5 more than I thought I would. I am so excited about 2011, I can’t even stand it! I know the good Lord is watching over us, and pointing us down this path. I, like most, have hopes, dreams and goals for the new year, along with a few resolutions. Let’s look back at the December 2010 goals, and see what all I got accomplished….. 1. Edit & deliver Anna & Chris’s wedding. DONE!2. Edit & deliver Jacquelyn & Jon’s holiday/winter shoot. DONE!3. Finish our Christmas cards & send them out. DONE!4. Finish decorating for Christmas.  DONE!5. Photograph Jennifer’s holiday cards & deliver.   DONE!6. Photograph Kernersville Living cover & deliver.  DONE!7. Clean out my car. DONE! 8. Clean up my desk. DONE!9. Book at least 2 more weddings 🙂 10. Spend more time with friends.  DONE!11. Enjoy the holidays with my hunny!  DONE!#9 Was a biggie. I was really hoping to get 2 weddings booked this month. I did get one (YAY!!!!) but the 2nd one didn’t happen. I have had several inquires in the last week though, so hopefully they will pan out in January.January is typically a slow month, for all businesses, so I intend to take this down time to get some things done. 1. Shoot Mary Kathryns family & deliver CD2. Have new photos taken for our “about me” & “contact me” pages by The Beautiful Mess3. Post some behind the scenes/how to blogs4. Book 2 weddings. 5. Get new letterpressed business cards (they’re already ordered!)6. Explore advertising options. 7. Blog Kernersville Living Shoot8. Blog our vacation photos Now…. on to the biggies…. my 2011 goals!!!1. Shoot 12-15 weddings. Ideally, I’d love to do one a month, but that’s just not reality.  2. Advertise our name a bit better. (already doing with facebook & a magazine ad)3. Sell our 14-24 lens & 2 soft boxes4. Purchase a 20mm or 24mm lens5. Purchase a tilt shift lens6. Be better organized with our business accounting stuff. (much better now, and making more improvements!)7. Pay off the rest of the gear we bought in 20108. Turn a profit every quarter 9. Actually pull a paycheck. (so far every dime earned has gone back into the business)Old, but I like. 

On this snowy afternoon, I felt like my latest purchase needed it’s own photo shoot…. in the snow 🙂 Happy Saturday!

Here’s my first attempt at showing my SOOC images (straight out of camera) vs. how I edit them. I try really hard not to go overboard with editing. I try and keep it clean and simple…. no muss no fuss (no crazy actions). I know lots of photographers batch edit, and can do lots of steps at once…. I don’t. I open each image separately and edit them each to my liking…. some may say that’s not efficient, but for now, for me, it works. so on to the good stuff…. #1Emma Rae, 10 months, Wake Forest UniversityD70050mm 1.4 lens Settings:f/1.81/640 s.ISO: 200 What did I do? Up blacks to 7Up contrast +39Up clarity +15Up Saturation +6Curves:Lights +8Darks +4Shadows +13 Luminance:Red +30Magenta +59Purple +40 Lightened eyes with adjustment brush looked too warm so I used the underwater filter at 2% density #2Scott, College Senior, Davidson CollegeD70050mm 1.4 lens Settings:f/21/125 sISO: 200 What did I do?Up blacks to 15Increase exposure by +0.30Clarity +13 Luminance:Red +10Orange -6 Spot Healing Brush on imperfections