What it means to have purpose | Palm Coast Photographer

It's about serving people who serve others.  I am happy I found this, it isn't about the steps you must take in order to find your purpose, it's about an experience that helps us take a step back and ask what our purpose is.  Are we struggling in our lives asking the question why we do what we do day in and day out?

International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day, a day to celebrate the past, the present, and the future of women's achievements!  This year's theme is Connecting Girls, Inspiring Women.

Even today there are injustices all over the world concerning the rights of women.  It is unfortunate and disheartening.  But I believe that we live in a century of empowerment.  The internet has given the world a voice.  People have access to information like NEVER before.

Knowledge is Power.

I could save this story for Mother's day, but I'm going to share it today because it has reminded me of where I came from.

The truth is that my mother and I have a complicated relationship.  We LOVE each other dearly, but there is sometimes a struggle of understanding.  Now that I am a mother, I get why there is that struggle.  But, that doesn't mean I don't respect her or the things she has done in order to give me the life I have now.  I wish I would have understood it while growing up, but I was a selfish teenager and couldn't see past my own world.

When I was 13, my parents divorced.  It was probably a good thing as they were in a passionate, yet volatile relationship.  There were problems and my mother felt necessary to take the reigns and get us out of a situation that would have been detrimental to the future of our family.  Now, just so you know I love my Dad.  But, he is human and made mistakes in his life.

I'll give you the short version of our life after the divorce.  My mom worked at our local county library, in a pretty big town - not city mind you.  When my parent's divorced, she was the only one to provide for us and was making MAYBE a little over minimum wage.  This was back in the early 90's.

She won the car in the divorce and unfortunately didn't win on that one because it didn't last very long. She had already decided to get us bikes, and had put them on layaway at the local walmart.  I'm not sure how much they cost, but I was elated.  I was also homeschooled for two years prior to the divorce and would be entering junior high in the 7th grade.  I just thought it would be a great way to get to school.

Then the car died.  And she didn't have the money to replace it.  So she sold the car for parts and paid off the layaway.  This was the beginning of my torture as a teenager.

With little money and bicycles, we did EVERYTHING on those two wheels.  Grocery shopped, went to church, movies... if we had to be somewhere, we used our bikes.  I was already being made fun of because I was amazonian tall and had big unruly curly hair - this was the topping and I was not happy about it.

My diet at the time consisted of MASSIVE amounts of PB&J, Tuna fish sandwiches, Yogurt, Beans and Jasmine rice from the Flea Market and Fried Egg Sandwiches.  All these things, store brand, meant cheap eats that were full of sustenance.

But, eventually things began to change for us.  My mom went back to school, taking the public transportation over the bridge to the local community college and then eventually got a new job at the school board as a secretary and bought a car because we were TOO far away to bike.  So, she bought a 1970's something blue tank with a radiator problem that drove like a bullet out of a shotgun.  We had to keep gallons of water in the massive you-could-hide-a-dead-body-in-here trunk, and we weren't able to drive very far because of it.  Then we moved into the teeniest tiniest of homes.  It was 3 beadrooms with a living room and couldn't have been more than 500 sqft.  My mom took the room that was more like a closet and my brother and I got the two massive bedrooms.  That was when she was really into healthy eating... but that is a different story.  

She graduated with her AS in programming and went from secretary to programmer in what I can remember in 2 years.  She got a huge pay raise and she bought a new car.  It was a Chevy Sprint.  It was ridiculously cute, even made it to Oklahoma and back, and eventually became mine.  Then she bought a house...

WAIT.

Did I mention that this woman did all this without ANY help?  Aside from a Pell Grant she received for going back to college.  Everything she did, she did on her own.  No family help, and for a long time without ANY child support.  Even my dad's family didn't make sure that my brother and I had food to eat.  She did it all on her own.

She had no support system.  And I was a HORRIBLE teenage child.  My world at the time, revolved around me.  I was ungrateful.  But today, I am the age my mother was when she divorced my dad.  I am not in the same situation.  But I have realized that I where I am today because of her.

Today, my mom owns 3 homes.  She's married to a man that treats her like a queen, and she's attempting to do something she's always wanted - be an children's author.

This may be a long post, but it's short in comparison to life that my mother gave to my brother and myself.  We went from meagerly living to an abundant life. Sometimes I forget that.  I'm a bit selfish now, but memories like these bring me back and realize that while I can quote powerful women like Oprah, Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Meade - but I am blood related to a powerful and empowering woman.  She is welcome to her criticisms and her opinions in this world because she has earned them.  And though we may not always agree, I do find it easier to respect her because of the things she did for her children.

My Mother is inspiring.  She is empowering.  I hope that your Mother is that for you too.  This Woman's Day, tell your mother how she inspires you and share your story with the other women and girls in your life to inspire them too.

Natural Light

I am a natural light photographer.  What does this mean?

A lot of photographers who have less than 5 years of professional experience can claim to be a natural light photographer because they aren't familiar with studio lighting, and guess what - that is ok!    We all are learning and have to learn somewhere.

But what does it mean when I say that  I am a natural light photographer.  I have worked with both studio lighting and natural lighting, also called ambient, and I prefer it.  Natural light can surround your subject in light, or bathe it in light.  However, it can also be very harsh and too bright for compensation.  Typically, natural light photographers don't use a light meter to capture readings, although to be proficient one should.  But they should have a basic understanding of how light works.

I am always training myself to perform better under natural lighting conditions.   With and with a reflector or a scrim, on my own or with an assistant.  And using a variety of different subjects; people, nature, or inanimate.

I have a maternity session coming up in April that I am trying to prepare for and want to shoot it outside at the beach.  But I want to make some parts look like they were shot in a studio.  Hmmm... this is where it gets tricky.

As a contemporary portrait photographer, I always try to keep fresh and current and set my own trends.  It will be fun to see the outcome!

I learned some new posing techniques over the weekend and here is a test shot I did with my daughter in my natural light studio.  Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!!

Consistent Learning

I wasn't a good highschool student.  Well, no I take that back.  I was an AB student, but I knew how to work the sytem.  I regret that.  Because I never really paid attention and work came easy for me.

That isn't a good thing.  I didn't really spend a lot of time at school either.  As an adult.  It has all changed.  Not everything is easy for me.  And I like it.  It is a challenge.  But there is no reason to be complacent.

I do things every week to learn; read a book, read a blog, learn a new recipe, learn from a master photographer, I take a class or read up on business, help my daughter with homework... this is all learning.  I also read news articles, mostly they are tech related - some are world and some are environmental - very few are political.  I take the information I read and I try to take something away from it.

Quora.com is another one of those places I go to learn.  Quora.com is like a giant ask me network.  Ask something, read answers of a question, or answer someone.  It's a brilliant website because of the amount of variety out there.

Learning exercises the mind and invigorates the soul.

This weekend I spent time taking a virtual photography course.  It was amazing and taught by the amazing and gorgeous Sue Bryce.  I was elated she was teaching, and am so happy that I have taken the course.  She, as have past instructors helped me to open my mind and my heart in my business to take it to the next level.

The wheels in my head are already spinning and I'm excited to learn more and do more as I grow as a person and as a photographer.

What do you do to learn?  How do you expand your mind?  How do you educate to become more soulful, more balanced, grow?  I'd like to know.

This is how I spent some time learning today.  It's been a long time since I took a headshot, I learned some tips from Sue Bryce and I used them with my husband when he needed a new headshot for his FB account and a teaching account, this is what I captured.  He's gorgeous, and british... love.

Are you looking to update your headshot?  Are you a recently displaced worker?  Let me create a gorgeous headshot for you. 

P.S.

If I haven't said it before, I'm saying it now.

Thanks so much for reading my blog :)  I really do appreciate it!

Charity Model Search / Palm Coast Photographer

Portrait Expressions in Palm Coast is participating in the Charity Model Search to select America’s Cutest Kid and to raise funds for the non-profit Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation. (NILMDTS.org)

Is your child America’s Cutest Kid? We’ll give you the opportunity to prove it! The prizewinners will receive a generous savings bond and gift cards!

Model Search Special:

$9.99 entrance fee includes a 15-minute model session and one image submitted to the international gallery.  Special Note: The entrance fee is also your booking commitment fee.  When we first started working with this charity we didn't charge a fee and had quite a few no-shows.  This charity relies on the support of donations and we couldn't get any donations if we didn't have models to photograph :).  The booking fee can be applied to the purchase of any image from your session.

Finalists will be determined by online votes. Each vote is $1 (no limit on the amount of votes you can cast), and all proceeds from votes benefit Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (NILMDTS.org). 

The top 25 vote receivers will move on to the final judging round to determine the winners.

The grand prize winner and runners up will be determined from the 25 finalists. Photography experts will select the winner and runners up.

Call 386-243-9002 now to enter your “Cutest Kid” in this exciting contest.

*Contest open to residents of the US. For more information, visit http://www.charitymodelsearch.org.

It's all Give Give Give.../ Palm Coast Family Photographer

Tonight was my daughter's soccer team party.  It was fun and fantastic and a great time was had by all!

These past couple of nights have been full of good times and good feelings and truth be told, it has all be very emotional for me.

My husband has been a volunteer soccer coach as well as a paid HS soccer coach for almost 6 years, we know the amount of time spent volunteering to spend with kids from all walks and income levels to play a sport that they all enjoy.  The same is true for my daughter's coach.  He so willingly and lovingly gave up his time and expertise to help our girls get to 2nd in the state in their division.  I'm not sure our girls completely or fully grasp that - but it is honestly some of the best kind of stuff that any person is made of to dedicate their time to the community and want nothing back in return, and I will tell you this man is humble.

But it made me sit up and think.  I have always wanted to help - always.  And without a thing in return.  I've been walked all over and taken advantage of because of this.  It burns, I have to say - a little.  But all in all, I can say honestly I would never change what I did.

Things that are the most important to me are women and children.  I have worked in a battered women's shelter, I have helped with poverty stricken children, I've donated thousands of dollars to organizations, I've baked for team fundraising events, I've volunteered my time in classrooms as an educator and as a class parent, I've delivered baskets of food and solicited businesses for charitable support.  I've also been the receiver of charity - two of which I've never properly been able to share my gratitude or appreciation for.  Firstly for the mother of a co-worker who gave me $50 when I had separated from my ex and had moved home without a penny to my name and I was able to buy diapers for my daughter.  For that act of kindness I am humbly thankful for and hope that I was able to pay it forward.  Secondly for the immigration lawyer who I was connected to via a friend who helped me get my husband over to the United States legally, without requesting a penny; without them I would be married to my best friend who would still be living in the UK.  I hope I paid it forward for them as well.  And for all the smaller and possibly less memorable acts of kindness bestowed on me during my life, they have all had an impact on my life and hopefully I have continued to pay it forward.

I'm still very involved.  I haven't stopped.  I have projects in my head all the time about how I can help my community and possibly ease the burden of someone's hardship.

Things I'm working on directly through Portrait Expressions:

• Displaced Workers Headshots: I've been laid off too and right now is even harder to find a job.  I want to help these people stand out from the crowd by offering free professional headshots to be used on LinkedIn or facebook.
• Charity Model Search: The 2012 Charity Model Search provides funds to support the ongoing activities of the charitable organization called Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep or www.nilmdts.org. The mission of this not-for-profit is to introduce remembrance photography to parents suffering the loss of a baby with the gift of professional portraiture. I am not a volunteer photographer through NILMDTS, I am a charitable photographer through the annual Charity Model Search and have raised over $ 600 and hope to increase that amount every year.
• Help Portrait: Help-Portrait is a community of photographers coming together across the world to use their photography skills to give back to their local community. One day a year we take family portraits for members of the community for free.  Something they may never get.
• School Fundraising through Gift Certificate Sales: When I partner with a school, the gift certificate is purchased by a student for $19.99 and the school automatically gets $10.  The other $9.99 covers nothing more that administrative costs.  The gift certificate includes a 30 minute portrait session and Portrait Art, usually a 10x13 family portrait.  The school has the potential to earn between $10 and $10,000 (based on 1000 sales) easily.  Without door to door sales.  When this happens, it frees up the school to focus on one thing and not worry about the details.  The reason I do this is two fold.  First, education is expensive and there is never enough funding.  I remember the days of being told at PTO meetings by the Principal about having to nickel and dime all the way down to the rolls of paper towels.  Sports funding is declining as is the ever declining arts funding.  $10 or $10,000 can go a long way when needed for simple things or additional learning tools.  Knowledge is power.  Secondly, kids need to feel good about what they are doing for the community as well.  Photographs are the capturing of memories and our lifeline to the past.  It isn't about getting the picture taken, it's about the journey that got them there.  And they are only there because they were able to support the school.
• International Women's Day, Connecting Women, Inspiring Girls: This is less of a fundraising effort and more of a story and heritage project.  Our girls are the future.  More women are entering male dominated careers everyday, all over the world.  It is up to us as Women to inspire our daughters and the girls around us to always be hungry.  Willie Wonka said, We are the music makers, we are the dreamers of dreams.  We need to inspire our girls to dream and create and live life with passion and to never settle for less. The project will focus on creating portraiture for mothers and daughters, sisters, bestfriends who inspire one another and who want to leave a legacy of hope and courage.

What are you doing to give back?  Share it with me!  I'd love to hear all the ways we are making our communities and our world a better place.

Grumpies & Meanies / Palm Coast Family Photographer

Positive out, Positive In.

I have to admit I wasn't very nice to my husband this morning.  He did nothing wrong, I just had a case of the funkies.  I didn't get much sleep last night because of a sinus headache and then I just didn't feel good and I was being miserable.  I just wanted to go back to bed.

Well I cut that crap out immediately when my Superman of a Husband didn't let me get away with it!  Haha!  Full of kisses and hugs, he just said he was sorry.  Awe!  I felt really bad!  But decided to get up and get out of the meanies just by putting a smile on my face!  That changed the whole day for me.

If you live in Florida, you know the weather here is gorgeous 90% of the time.  Seriously.  Today was no exception.  I had errands to run and had all the windows down and blasted my music.  If I could have, I would have stayed away all day!  This weekend, we're going away.  I'm super excited.  We haven't seen some of our friends in a while and I'm ready for some nostalgia!

So, if you're being grumpy today or got a case of the meanies - remember you can choose this.  If you put it out, it's going to come back to you!  Maybe you need a boost?  Go outside and bask in the sunshine for a while - it is MARVELOUS!!

Oh, need some creativity?  Challenge yourself to try something new!  I joined a local FB Photographers group and everyday we have little challenges to keep us photographing.  Today, it was called "The Ring".  Here's what I did.

SDPA 2/16/2012 - "The Ring(s)"
backlit with cracked ipod