Fun. Fresh. Personal. Lifestyle

2008 is winding down and 2009 is coming in. This year has been simply amazing for so many reasons and so much has happened that I am so thankful for. I have learned sooooo much over this past year that I can’t even believe.

Thanks to workshops like the One Light Workshop by Zack Arias and the One Light DVD I finally feel confident about using basic lighting techniques which terrified me at the beginning of the year because I thought I would never be able to understand it. I also have to thank wonderful photographers like Shannon Sewell, Fred Egan, Erik Clausen, Ashley Langford, and Cesar and Tanya Perez who I have built relationships with over this past year and have either mentored me or just answer any random questions I have about photography or business. I wouldn’t have any of the knowledge that I have right now if it wasn’t for wonderful photographers like these! I think one thing that gives me such a passion for photography is that there are others around me that have that same passion who are willing to help and become the best we can be. It is great!

I also want to thank all my clients I have had this year,  I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for them trusting a guy new to the business to capture their wedding day. I had the opportunity to shoot over 60 sessions this year ranging from weddings, engagements, bridals, high school seniors, families, maternity, newborns, etc. It blows me away that God provided all these people during my first year of business while still having a full time job! I can’t wait to see what God does with my business in 2009 as I transition to becoming a full time photographer.

Thank you to all the people who keep coming back to my blog on a regular basis to see what I am doing these days! Many of you are friends who I am thankful to know, and others of you have never met me and still decide to come back whih just blows me away. I can’t say thank you enough. I am just a small fish in a very big internet pond and I get excited when I have more than just 20 people visit my blog in one day haha. I know there are websites and blogs that would average 20 visitors every 10 minutes, but for a guy just starting his business, I love seeing it. This year I averaged around 650 visitors per month, next year I would like to raise that to 1,000! The only way I can do that is with the help of all of you. Thank you friends, family, and people I have not met yet, keep spreading the word about me!

Finally, I just have to thank my wife for a wonderful 2008 year. She has been more than supportive of my photography and the decision to go full time next year, I couldn’t do it without a wife who believes so strongly in me. Whenever I have my doubts she is right there to help encourage me and support me in my decisions. Here is one of Jessica’s favorite pictures of us from our one year anniversary session with Shannon Sewell.

I have big plans for 2009 and I can’t wait to share them with everyone. I am ready to take my business to the next level. I will have new prices for weddings and portrait sessions, new products, new blog and site, new logo. It is going to be greatness!

I’d like to leave you with a few detail shows from a wedding I shot with Poser (Erik Clausen) a month or so ago. I had the pleasure of second shooting with him at a beautiful glass chapel in Hot Springs, Arkansas. This was such a beautiful time to get married because the fall colors were amazing! Enjoy these last shots from me in 2008. I look forward to sharing more with you from my sessions in 2009!

Just when I thought I was done posting pictures for the year, I found this session that got lost in the bunch!

This is the McGuire family. Sean McGuire is the brother of Matt McGuire whose family has graced my blog a few times now. They kept seeing all these beautiful shots of their family and of Hudson and wanted some as well! Sean and Kelly have 3 girls and a new baby boy that just got introduced to the family. We spent some time just outside of the square in McKinney walking around and finding some nice places to shoot. I had a good time getting to know this family and playing around with Madison, Cassidy, and Sophie. Thank you Sean and Kelly for letting me capture these photos!

Enjoy.

Merry Christmas Eve. If you are visiting my blog today I just want to say thank you for stopping by.

Meet the Jasien family. This was my last family session of 2008 and it ended up being my favorite family session of the year! Shannan works with my cousin Andrea who was on my blog last month, and once she saw their family pictures she knew that she wanted some of her own to show off! So we met up in Kaufman, Texas in a little town square that they have and we just walked around and ended up finding some great places to shoot.

The reason I can say that this was my favorite family session of the year is because we all had so much fun taking these pictures! Everyone was laid-back and ready to have some fun and not afraid just to be a little silly. We all had plenty of laughs and it was great that we all felt comfortable with each other.

I also have a crazy story to share, which may be bad from a business stand-point but great to show God some glory, so I think God out weighs my business. After the shoot was over I did my typical packing up of equipment and I usually take my memory card out of my camera and put it into my memory card case so I don’t have to get the camera back out once I get home. Well somewhere in between me taking out of my camera and putting it into my memory card case I missed and I believe I put the memory card on top of my car and never picked it back up. So I drove home and was ready to download my card, I open up my memory card case and the card was not there! I was freaking out and was tearing up the car and my camera case for this memory card and I couldn’t find it anywhere. I felt HORRIBLE. I did not want to be that guy who lost a simple memory card from a shoot. I didn’t want to have to break that news to the Jasien family that we would have to reshoot. But I sucked it up and gave them a call and let them know the situation and they were sooooo incredibly gracious and kind towards me and let me know that it was okay and they wouldn’t mind rescheduling. I even asked them if they would mind driving back out to the square and looking for the card even though it was already night time and they did! But no luck. You can only imagine how I felt. Especially if you are a photographer. But I prayed and my wife prayed that card would reappear somehow. I had my friends from church praying, other photographer friends praying, and the Jasien family was even praying. I’ll be honest though, I had my serious doubts on God being able to return that card to me, there was no reason for Him to be so gracious, I sure did not deserve it. I was ready to move on and try to get over the lose of that memory card. Next day comes around and still no memory card, the day goes by and in the afternoon I get a phone call from Adam. Adam says “you will not believe this” and I say “what” because I still will not believe anything about that memory card unless I hear it from him and Adam says “we found the memory card”. After I heard those words I was jumping up and down!!! I could not believe it. The memory card was in the parking lot of the square where I was parked and it was unharmed! Still in perfect condition! So I ended up getting the memory card back! No need to reschedule. Got to keep all the awesome and fun pictures we took during that session.

Like I said, probably not the best thing to share from a business stand-point from a photographer…I know. But rest assured I learned my lesson and will be sooooooo much more aware of my precious memory cards. More importantly though it does show the power of prayer and God’s grace toward a silly and sinful photographer. I had no trust in Him but He had is own way of showing me that even in my doubts that He is still worthy of trust. So all the praise toward God for this one.

Enjoy these pictures and be reminded of God’s grace!

Meet the Clickner family. Blake and Kristin are friends from our new church home in Forney, TX. Blake is the leader of the middle school kids at our church as well are our leader for our small group bible study. Jessica and I LOVE to see Cade, and we are lucky that we get to see him at least once a week! I love getting to do baby sessions in the homes of the parents because the pictures always turns out much more personal, it also helps when they have cute decorated rooms to show off. Thank you Blake and Kristin for being wonderful friends and making us feel welcome to our new church so early on! Enjoy.

Well if you have followed my blog for the past year you are familiar with the wonderful Mcguire family and their cute baby boy Hudson.

I have had the pleasure of shooting this family since Lindsey was pregnant with Hudson.

I then got to take pictures of Hudson after he was just a few days old…

We had a session when Hudson was 6 months old.

Then we recently met up when Hudson turned 1 year.

My how the times flies. I love having the opportunity to watch Hudson grow and getting to capture it through my lens. It is also great because I have been growing right along with Hudson and have learned so much over the past year. So it is exciting all around.

Lindsey’s parents, brother and his wife were in town for Hudson’s 1st birthday so we met up at the Shops at Legacy in Plano and just spent our session walking around and taking some family pictures. The fall colors were beautiful during this time and the weather was perfect! I would like to say thank you to Lindsey’s parents Gene and Jody Satern and her brother and his wife Jon and Areglia for allowing me into their lives as well to take their pictures.

Enjoy!