| Sarah Jane Photography | Balancing Live, Love, and Photography Career | Decatur IL |
In the spirit of full disclosure, this blog post is stemming from a bit of Friday afternoon un-productivity. In the past 45 minutes I have bounced between what feels like 100 different things including a bit of bookkeeping, facebooking, unpacking orders from the lab, designing an album page, sending an album to the printers, uploading part of an order to the lab, pulling orders to send to the retoucher and setting up for a premier…. uh, holy A.D.D up in here!
So, why not add ‘blogging’ to the crazy list of half done ‘to do’ list items for the afternoon right? Right! Welcome aboard (I promise this IS going somewhere… I don’t promise that it is anywhere important.)
Ok, back on track…. obviously most of you know I love my job and am passionate about photography and creating art for YOU. But, have you ever thought what a photographer does for FUN when their hobby/love/passion becomes their career? (Me too!) Well, 2 years ago when photography became my full time career it consumed my life. Starting the career in a new city from the ground up meant no guarantees, no past clients and for a long time no sleep! I was racing to make a name, get clients, create great work for current clients and didn’t take much time for anything else.
That pace isn’t a long-term sustainable option (especially with a hubby) so over the past year things like (semi) normal ‘work-hours’ were introduced into our home. In my down time away from my business I’ve discovered a fun ‘hobby’ and new passion… teaching. It’s no secret I LOVE photography and am passionate about making it a career and encouraging of anyone who wants to turn that dream into a career. But there are millions of photographers who try/fail to do so (sad).
Alongside the photographers trying to make a sustainable living in portraiture there are also many who just love the field as a hobby (and that’s AWESOME too!). But where can they learn all the finite details of creating create portrait art? Lighting, posing, natural light, flash, etc? No everyone wants/needs or has access to a college degree in photography so they attend seminars, listen to speakers and receive online education.
And I’m super excited to be a part of that. In the past year I’ve been able to speak to professionals at FotoChoas and the Greater Kansas City Area Professional Photographers of America event. And just last night I was able to speak for the second time for the Decatur Camera Club whom I’ve spoken for once before and even had the honor of judging their annual print competition.
Last night I was able to share my knowledge and passion about off camera location lighting and even had time to do a live shoot demo! It was a blast and so exciting to share my knowledge of the subject with a room full of fellow photographers.
I hope to have continuing opportunities to help others grow their passion whether it be hobby/business by speaking at more events, continuing to offer one-on-one in-depth courses and through my blog (and recently started book!!).
Anyways, hope you enjoyed this Friday, kinda-lengthy, rambly, casual blog post. Haha, I’m now going to run off and start a few more items on my to do list.
Happy Weekend!
Sarah Jane Photography Blog 