I’m glad those little areas exist. Today I wanted to talk about the fact that yes, as photographers, we seem to bully each other a lot in this industry. I don’t like the bullying that happens in photography, but I think a lot of the insecurities of photographers go deeper than that. In some ways I think we bring our own confidences down and bully ourselves into thinking we aren’t good enough.

To me it’s the photography memes I see. Memes are those little photos or icons that get shared and passed around on the internet. They have funny pictures, hilarious sayings, and sometimes they’re serious too! I think sometimes memes are meant to be funny, but they can spread a little bit of insecurity and negativity too. That funny meme about forgetting to take your lens cap off? I do that all the time! It’s funny, but when I see others posting it, I wonder if for the newbie it makes them feel stupid because they’ve done it. Even in the smallest ways we can spread that sort of negativity and not even realize it.

Sometimes I see stuff like this and I just don’t see that it adds anything positive to our industry. I also wonder, what would my clients think if I started to share this on my Facebook where they could see it? That’s not to say that what these memes are saying I disagree with. A lot of the times I agree with them, and think they could be funny. But, for the amateur who is trying and trying and already not getting help or support from others in the industry these small little things add up to a big negative feeling.

I just figure, I’m not here to judge why anyone wants to be a photographer. I don’t want to discourage anyone from trying anything, like photography. Sure, there are lots of things to know to turn it into a business. It does cost money, but if someone wants to try? Who am I to say otherwise?

I believe that when I die I want to know that I tried everything I ever wanted. I chased after every dream and that I failed at a few. I want no regrets. Sometimes stuff like these memes makes me not want to try things. I worry about pulling out my iPhone at a wedding and being judged for taking a cute Instagram of my clients. What if there’s a photographer out there who really loves taking school portraits and that’s what they’re passionate about? The reason you don’t see me sharing this kind of stuff is that it’s not what I want to put out there into the industry. I want to put out positivity. I welcome anyone who wants to try to be a photographer to give it a try. Rather than worrying about what everyone else is doing or newbies in the industry I just focus on my own business and what I can do to make my business better. If someone had told me in the beginning that I shouldn’t even bother because I have zero experience, a crappy camera, and don’t know what I’m doing I would have shut down and I would be in a completely different place in my life and probably not as happy. I had no experience, a crappy camera and had no idea what I was doing or what I was getting into when I decided to start a business. It was on a whim, it wasn’t a calculated thought. I had a nice camera and I liked taking photos with it so I figured why not try it? I did work really hard, I educated myself, I learned, I made mistakes, and I still am making them sometimes. Memes like this when I was a newbie made me worry about asking any other photographer for help. I’d just become the next meme subject if I didn’t know what ISO was. So I kept to myself and didn’t ask for help and it was a really hard journey. I actually only 2 weeks ago asked my very first question of another photographer. That’s how hard it can be coming into this industry. Only 5 years in and I only just now feel confident enough to ask, or maybe I didn’t find the right part of the community until now. I don’t think we should have to feel like that.

Another big part of why I don’t post stuff like this is that although sometimes I think these memes are true, I don’t want to make my clients feel guilty. I don’t want my family to feel guilty. I don’t want to make other people feel bad by throwing it out there that I work hard or that my nice camera isn’t the only skill I have. I’m not here to rub stuff like this in other people’s faces. I want to take photos of my clients because I love it and if my family, society, my friends doesn’t get it – that’s fine. I don’t want a bride to see me post this on my Facebook and wonder, “Wow, does she really think everyone else thinks that much about her?”

Or how about this? Doesn’t this just make you want to work with a photographer? I hope this is not what we’re all like. But this is what we’re portraying ourselves as in the industry for everyone to see.

Why do we do this to ourselves? I’m all for great sarcasm, but at some point it becomes negativity. We bully ourselves when we make fun of the stuff we do. We are our biggest critics. So many photographers are already unconfident with what they do, intimidated by others, and insecure. If we start putting positivity into what we do, encouraging each other, helping each other we might all feel a little less insecure.

Building confidence in what we do has to start with ourselves and the how we represent ourselves to the world. We can’t be beating up on ourselves all the time. Making self-depreciated comments is belittling and undervaluing yourself. Honor yourself and your abilities. What you have to put out in the world is something worth respecting and it starts with you. We are these awesome human beings. We have one life to live.

We use self depreciation like this to defend our sense of ‘self.’ When we take it and we put it out there for others to see not only are we destroying our own sense of self in a small way, but also the sense of self in others who may see what we put out there.

The bottom line is that we are good enough. You are good enough to try anything you want and you shouldn’t let anyone or anything discourage you from doing so. We all have things of value to offer to each other and the world.

I saw this quote somewhere online, but couldn’t find the source. “You are perfect, exactly as you are; there is no need to change anything except the thoughts that you aren’t good enough.’ By changing your own thoughts, maybe you can change the thoughts of someone else.

Awesomesauce Store – Become a Member

At the convention there was a lot of talk about why we are here and what we do. Are we here being photographers so someday we can become that famous one? Sometimes we get really wrapped up in photography being all about ourselves and we forget that it’s about our clients.

One of the speakers at United, >Mary Marantz<, talked about why she was a photographer. She talked about ‘personality marketing,’ something I’ve been pushing and teaching to you guys about for a long time. She talked about how personality marketing has become the new commodity – how we’re all putting ourselves out there and marketing our personalities. Personality is the new commodity – we’re all doing it. She said even she herself does it. I know I do it too. I use my personality to attract the type of brides that I want in my business and that’s okay. But it’s also important to know that the personality of a photographer is not enduring over time. The photos are enduring. We can all push and market ourselves and our personalities, but we need to remember why we are here – to produce beautiful images and memories for our clients. That is what is enduring.

After her speech about personality marketing it made me realize that I may be going about marketing myself and making it all about me. I’m not enduring. After my client’s wedding is done I’m no longer in the picture and my photos are. It reminded me that I can’t make my business about me, myself and I. I want to bring it back to my clients. Sure…I can use my personality to ensure that I’m a good match for my clients. I can be funny and charming on social media, but I need to make sure it’s about my clients and that I’m providing them with a wonderful experience and the best photos possible of their weddings, babies and any other major life events. The photos we create are the most important part of our job. Our clients are the most important part, not us. I left the speech feeling selfish and different and wanting to focus on different things in my business.

She asked the crowd what the most important photo was to us and took some answers from others. It was weird because I thought the most important and memorable photo to me would be a wedding photo of my husband and I, but the very first photo that showed up in my brain was a photo of my grandparents. It’s this funny photo.

My mom has albums of photos of my brother and I growing up and the photos are not the most professional, they’re fun memories of our lives. When I first moved out of the house at 19 I remember I wanted to take a photo of my grandma and grandpa with me. My grandpa passed away years before. I remember that my mom wasn’t home when I went through the photo album and snagged a funny photo of the two of them. I never really paid much attention to what was happening in the photo, but I loved it because my grandpa – a rather quiet man was laughing with my grandma at the kitchen table. It’s the same kitchen table my grandma still has today and I love that kitchen, their house, and the smell of it all. I have so many fond memories of summers there.

It’s a small 4×6 photo and I put it in a glittery star and moon frame that I’ve had since middle school. I was that stylish when I moved out. The frame is kind of stupid and the photo in it is funny and yellowed. Like I said, I never really knew why they were laughing in the photo and I didn’t pay much attention.

It wasn’t until years later when my mom was over at my house that I learned what this photo was all about. I can’t remember where I was living at the time that she told me the story behind that photo. Apparently a button on my grandma’s blouse had come undone or she was really hot, I can’t quite remember, but her undergarments were peeking out the top and my grandparents were laughing about it at the kitchen table. Someone took a photo of that because it was so funny at the time. I’m glad I know the story behind that photo.

I’ve questioned for the last couple weeks why that was the photo that came to my mind when Mary Marantz asked us what the most important photo was to us. I mean, I have no control over my brain, why is that photo the one that popped up the minute she asked that question? I took that photo on a whim because it was one candid photo of my grandparents both smiling. She asked us why the photos we thought were the most important were the ones that made us want to be a photographer.

That photo of my grandparents and that memory of them laughing in the kitchen is something that has gone and passed. I don’t even know if I was in the kitchen when that happened, or if I was old enough at the time the photo was taken to know why they were laughing. My grandma will be 94 years old this year and my grandpa has been gone for a very long time. My grandma, the healthiest person I know, is now finally starting to have health issues and these years are some of the most important that I be a part of her life before it’s too late. Even though I was young when my grandpa passed I know what he looked like and sounded like when he did laugh. As I write these words, sitting in the back row of an airplane I can hear my grandma laughing and saying “oh go on.”

I guess that photo is the most important photo to be because it defines why photos are important. It’s a little blurry, aged, yellow, and slightly over exposed. But it is PERFECT.

I’m a photographer because I want to celebrate life, which is too short. I hope that even my imperfect images can remind my clients of the same things this one photo reminds me of. Thanks Mary Marantz for putting my mind and business back on the right track and reminding me of the most important things in life.

So, why are you a photographer?

Awesomesauce Store & Carrie Swails Photography

It’s so easy to get all wrapped up in the things that we do for business and forget all the people who helped and are still helping us get there. When I was asked last week who sacrificed for me to be a photographer I knew the two people who sacrificed the most.

Long before I was a photographer and back when I thought being a professional ballerina was the path my life would take my mom made a lot of sacrifices. Dance was something I did for fun and I was never as serious about it as the other girls on my competitive team. Despite my lack of amazing talent and just wanting to be there for fun, it was my mom who got a job just to pay for all the fees associated with being on my competition team. She sacrificed driving me to dance class and practice 5 or 6 times a week. She sacrificed driving me around to competitions and conventions on the weekends. She sacrificed a lot of time and money just so I could have fun. I was 10 and she knew I’d never be a famous ballerina.

When I first said I wanted to do this photography thing she jumped on board and supported me financially and emotionally so I could give this thing a go. So who sacrificed for me to be sitting here and writing this to you? My mom. How can you thank someone who does whatever they can to let you try out your dreams? My mom has always sacrificed for me to be able to try whatever I felt like I feel like I have to succeed. Her sacrifices are my motivation. I’m proud to say I have a mom who stands behind me whether it’s something I wanted to try for fun like dance, or whether it’s something I’m serious about doing. Not everyone is as lucky as I am.

My mom still provides that emotional support needed when running a business. When you’re a business owner sometimes you’re alone. I’m the kind of person who likes to process problems by myself, but I still like to have an ear to rant to and my mom is the best person in the world. She’s listened to years of my struggles and accomplishments with my business. Thanks mom.

When I first started my business I was also working full-time. The amount of hours that I spent sitting at my computer editing photos, networking, and just trying to work on any aspect of business that I could was obscene. Which brings me to the other important person in my life who also sacrificed a lot for me to be here, my husband Nick. This poor guy would come home to me working all the time. There was always a “just a minute and let me answer this email” and then I’d be there for hours. That’s why I’m much more in tune to time management these days. I try to do all my work when he’s at work and be available when he’s available, and I don’t just mean free with my time, I mean mentally available. He sacrificed a lot with me the first couple years. We sacrificed dates and fun all so I could be here now running a successful business. I am so thankful for him and lucky to have a husband who supports whatever I want to do, even if it might be frustrating at times.

Whenever I have a new idea or a stupid one my husband sits by and confirms why I think my ideas are the best and supports my efforts and assures me it’s all okay when I fail.

So I ask you, who sacrificed for you in order for you to be a photographer? Take some time to thank them and let them know you love them. I know I wouldn’t have been able to do this on hard work alone. I wouldn’t be here without my mom and my Nick.

Awesomesauce Store & Carrie Swails Photography

While I was in southern California I was blessed with many opportunities to work with a number of photographers some new, some industry leaders and some just regulars. I was also lucky enough to have this amazing opportunity that wasn’t at all photography related.

I’ve been a long time listener to an internet radio show called >The Pretty Good Podcast<. A Podcast is essentially talk radio that is accessible online. You can find The Pretty Good Podcast on iTunes. I listen to it every day and when I first started to listen to it I was going through a rough time with my day job and that was right when I first started to become a photographer, so in a way it’s sort of significant that the world turned around and Gina Grad and Randy Wang invited me to be a guest on the podcast while I was out at the Showit United photography conference. So one morning I woke up at the butt-crack of dawn and drove down from Santa Barbara into LA.

I have to say that after listening to The Pretty Good Podcast for years on a daily basis you start to feel like you know the hosts, Gina and Randy. Here I was driving down there and my stomach was doing flip flops thinking about how much I knew about them and they know nothing about me. What if I was a bad guest? Would it be weird? Would I say some dorky things on the show?

Everything went off without a hitch and they were the most friendly people in the world. The producer of the show, Elijah, is also a bit of a camera buff and the first thing I did when I arrived was take out my camera equipment and lenses and let him play with them the entire show.

I’m posting and sharing the link with you all here because being a guest on a show was kind of like something I could check off my ‘bucket list.’ I’m proud and honored I got to be there and be a part of the show that got me through a tough time in life. You can listen to the show >here< or find it on iTunes. Please be aware that the show is not PG rated. I do talk about some personal things and beliefs. It’s who I am and I’m proud of that person, even if that person might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Gina, Randy, and Elijah if you stumble across my blog post just know how wonderful it was for you to let me be on the show and thank you for inviting me into your home Randy! You guys are awesome and I have always thought you were, but meeting you in person finally confirmed that! Thanks for a wonderful opportunity that was seriously one of the highlights of my year!

I can’t wait to do it again next time!

The Showit United photography conference last week was a little bit like summer camp. You know the feeling when your parents send you off and you don’t know anyone at summer camp, but you make the absolute best friends while you are there. There’s something about a community at a summer camp that will always stick with you and give you wonderful memories even after the years have gone by since summer camp.

The Showit conference was like that. I went knowing no one, not knowing what I would learn, and not fully understanding how changed I would be when I left. We live in a cruel industry where on a daily basis over the internet all we see and hear is photographers putting each other down. How it’s possible for any of us to truly feel inspired when everything about being a photographer seems to be against you is truly beyond me. The Showit United conference is put on by www.showitfast.com, my favorite software company, and yet they are so much more. They’ve worked hard not only to develop this amazing software we can use to run our websites and online galleries, but they’ve put even more into the world than that – they’ve worked hard to develop the type of photography community that we’ve all dreamed of.

I had the absolute pleasure of learning from many talented and wonderful photographers at this conference. No, they are not the industry ‘celebrities,’ they are our industry leaders. My absolute favorite speech was the one made by Mary Marantz of >Justin & Mary< Did I plan on crying at this conference? Um…definitely not, but hey when you’re feeling so inspired that you’re brought to tears that can’t be a bad thing right?

Mary really touched on some topics in her speech that I loved. It’s been days since I heard it and I cannot stop thinking about it. She said, “We wear busy like a badge of honor.” And we so do. We get caught up in what the photography industry defines as success and forget what defines success on a personal level for us. We get caught up in Facebook likes, who is speaking at WPPI, who has the most awesome workshops, how much we’re getting paid, who has photographed more weddings then who.

All of this social media almost makes us get caught up in these checklists of what we need to do to be a successful photographer and it never seems to be enough. We keep wanting more and more and can’t be happy with what we already have. We hear someone say how many sessions they have to photograph this week, or how many more sessions they have to edit. We put it out there for everyone to see and we wear busy like a badge of honor.

Mary talked about how being too busy being a photographer has held her back in some ways and made her miss out on moments that she can never get back. We get caught up in being busy and sometimes we think that the busier we are the more successful we will be.

When we’re on our deathbeds we won’t care about how many Facebook likes we have, or that photographer who had 10 photo sessions in a week, or whose photos are better than whose. We should care about what type of industry we are leaving behind. Mary said, “Don’t be a success at an industry – be significant.” I couldn’t agree more. Speaking at huge conventions, booking huge expensive weddings, and all that isn’t significant – it really doesn’t matter at the end of the day. What matters is that time you spend with your kids, your family, your spouse and living a life full of things that really matter. It’s better to fail at the things that matter than to succeed at the things that don’t. I think that means that sometimes we all sacrifice to become more successful photographers and we shouldn’t be sacrificing our important relationships with others for business – or we’ll live a life of regret.

Don’t wear busy like a badge of honor. Live a life with no regrets.

Regret is a way to mourn your own life, while you are in it. – Mary Marantz

Awesomesauce Store & Carrie Swails Photography

I am writing to you this morning from bed with all 3 of my dogs snuggled in the covers with me. I’m sure some of you think this is gross, but when I’m sick I’m a pathetic soul who generally no one wants to deal with, so I consider myself lucky to have dogs who want to be around my booger-infested self.

It’s been a long time since I was sick and what I realized is that it’s probably my body’s way of telling me I need to take a ‘chill pill.’ I have to be honest when I way that it’s rare I actually take a day off working because I LOVE it so much. I love blogging here to you and I love photographing my clients. Looking back I can see that from pretty much April this year until last Friday I have been going and going and going without much thought to myself or taking an extended break.The last couple weeks I’ve been feeling it though. I’ve been so bombarded with sessions lately that I haven’t even had a moment to think, I was bound to work too hard and for my body to say, ‘THAT’S ENOUGH!”

So here I am writing to you to tell you photographers not to let your body make the decision for you when you’ve worked too hard. Although I don’t feel stressed at all, and am still in love with what I do, it’s super important to take a break now and then.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, if you celebrate here in the US. And if you aren’t here, then I hope you simply had a great weekend. Blog posts this week may be sketchy as I sit in bed and recover.

Some Notes…

Tonight was going to be our November online live FREE Q&A class tonight. Unfortunately I’ve lost my voice so that class has been rescheduled to Friday evening. I hope to see you all there. >Register Here<

As of right now the class on Wednesday about ‘Becoming a Success at In-Peson Print Sales’ is still a go! >Register Here<

Also today is the very last day to hit up our Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale on digital download items in the >store< and even mentoring sessions. I know many of you have expressed a desire to book a mentoring session and right now they’re 25% off.

“Hello!

Soooo… tomorrow I’m turning 30. 

I read your e-mails everyday and not only aspire to have an awesome photography business some day, but am so awesomely impressed by how you give your knowledge to others. You have already had a profound impact on my life and we’ve never met. That is amazing to me.  You touch people so profoundly. I aspire to impact people in that positively awesome way that you do.

So, although you inspire me with all of your followers, I’m hoping you might be able to personally inspire me… I sent this message to several of my friends and family members this evening. I’m hoping you can contribute. I’m getting a lot of ‘go skydiving’ that I can’t say will actually make it onto the list, but I know that whatever you suggest will likely touch my heart and inspire me to live this year is a very great way. Thank you already for all that you do. ”

I think all of us start out our day with negative thoughts about ourselves. We get up in the morning, take a shower, and it starts when we look in the mirror and start criticizing our hair, our cellulite, our thighs…whatever. Lately I feel like I’ve been beating up on myself a lot and I know we all have these times when we do, but I want to share a little bit about what helps me get through the rough parts of being a photographer (and life!) and the stress of trying to own a business and do everything and be everything to everyone.

It starts with you. You have to give yourself permission. You need to give yourself permission to sleep. Give yourself permission to have a day off. Give yourself permission to answer those emails on Monday. Give yourself permission to LOVE YOURSELF.

Sometimes when things get rough you need to write yourself a prescription. That’s what I do. Seriously, the prescription is to look at myself in the mirror every day and say, “I accept myself unconditionally right now.” Now, I’m no expert in psychology, but nobody knows my own thoughts better than I do. Words are the most powerful drug known to humans. I know I agonize over the smallest criticism, give myself a huge guilt trip anytime I hear the smallest word that could mean I’ve disappointed someone. The words others say to us throughout our day impact how we feel about ourselves and everything around us more than anything. Those words others day don’t even have to be directed to us, but they do affect us. Sometimes it’s easy to hide it and pretend like it doesn’t, but if we look deep down it does. We hear words about what other people think of others on TV, in daily conversations and all over the media. These words affect us. They give us the idea that those around us have an expectation for who we should be, what we should look like, and how we should act. Those tiny expectations are what affect us daily and especially as photographers. We want to go above and beyond our clients’ expectations, we want to go above and beyond the expectations of our children to be the best mom or dad ever, and we want to go above and beyond the expectations for all of our friends, family, co-workers and acquaintances. Maybe that means we forget to go above and beyond our own expectations sometimes or that we’re the most critical on ourselves. Maybe we forget to set expectations for ourselves completely.

So when I say we have to give ourselves permission to love ourselves it means that as photographers we sometimes need to set aside theses expectations to be the best at everything for everyone all the time and be the best we can for ourselves. Once we do that we’ll be able to easily be the best we can for everyone else. Yeah maybe that one photoshoot wasn’t our best work, but you can accept yourself unconditionally right now and set an expectation to be the bomb-diggity on the next one.

If you’re having one of those times when you’re punching yourself for not being the best photographer in the world, or neglecting your parenting, or not spending enough time with your spouse then this post is dedicated to you because we’ve all had rough times. Stop telling yourself negative things about yourself, give yourself permission to love yourself.

Anyway everyone, a little motivational talk before the weekend sets in! It’s good to be back from vacation and back to blogging!

1. Check Yourself – Are you seeing the situation clearly? Check the facts and compare them to your emotions before you respond to your clients.

2. Put Yourself in your Client’s Shoes – What is your client thinking about this difficult situation? Consider their perspective and try to understand why they are thinking or reacting the way they are.

3. Have a Practice Conversation – Imagine in your head how your difficult conversation would go. Practice approaching the client’s problem with an attitude of curiosity. Ask questions and make sure you listen before you respond.Practicing this before you have the conversation will help you think through all the possibilities of which way the difficult conversation could go and prepare for them.

4. Pick A Time – Having a difficult conversation with a client on their wedding day isn’t the right time and place, make sure you think through what time is going to be appropriate.

5. Empathize during the actual conversation by listening to your client first and letting them know that you do understand where they are coming from. Listen first and then say your part.

6. Let the outcome go once you’re done. The outcome could be positive or negative. Once your conversation is done, let it go and do your best to move on. If you listen and solve the problem holding onto it afterward will only give you grief and make it more difficult to work with that client in the future.

It’s great when confidence is one of those natural things for people, but unfortunately it’s not natural for everyone. So how can you develop confidence? It’s easier said than done. Sure, confidence is a key to a successful business, but many of us have to find it before we can have it.

1. Don’t set prices or sell things that you don’t believe in. I find it is so much easier for me to be a sales person and do my in-person product sales of photography items when I truly believe I would purchase what I’m offering.

2. Be comfortable with how you set up your business. What might work for one photographer may not work for everyone’s business set up. There are many different ways you can set up your business to achieve success. If you’re not comfortable with a certain way just because it’s the trend or someone else does it that way then don’t do it. You have to be comfortable with what you’re doing so you can be confident with it.

3. Practice! Yes, it’s a bit silly, but you have to practice talking about your products. Chat up your family and tell them about your new business and why you are offering things the way that you are. That’s practicing. Practice in your room when no one is home, or in front of a mirror. The more you talk about what you do and why the more confident you will become with it.

4. Confident people go through life taking any opportunities that are thrown their direction. The outcome of seizing these opportunities makes them generally more happy people.

5. Confidence shouldn’t be based in the skills you have or how professionally you dress. It’s about the truth of who you really are and being comfortable being yourself. First you need to accept that not everyone is going to think the same way as you, always agree with you, and think the same way. Make choices in life based on your morals and integrity and not based on what others think. By learning to make these choices despite what others think you are developing your own authentic confidence.

Carrie Swails Photography
Photography Awesomesauce 

When I started my business I had another full time job. It was a 9-5er and every day I had to come home to another pile of work on my desk, emails to answer, marketing to attend to, social networking to keep up on. It was easy to become so absorbed that I worked all day from 9 to 5 and came home and worked into the wee hours of the morning at times, collapsed into bed and did it all over again.

And the weekend? Don’t get me started on the weekend. I had to attend to shoots, edit photos, and schedule all my meetings on weekends. I remember 3 months straight where I did not have one single day where I wasn’t working. I’m not complaining, that’s what I chose and that hard work paid off. I wouldn’t do it any other way, but I could have done a much better job managing my time. Here’s a few tips that can help those of you balancing the full time job and building a business.

1. Make a Schedule for Yourself – Yep! This is good to do for anyone who owns their own business, but especially if you are trying to balance your time with your full time job, a part time job, family, kids, and your business. You will have much more limited hours to work at your business, and in order to be the most effective it’s great to plan to set aside a certain amount of time to work on your business. When that time is up, walk away and know that the next day’s hour or two you’ll get back to what you need to do.

2. Create a Goal List – For the week, for the day, for the month! Once you give yourself that schedule to stick to, give yourself a to-do list to knock out. If you run ahead of your schedule, great, relax (you deserve it!) and if you run out of time put it on the to-do list for the next day. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the social networking and caught up in looking at other photographers blogs or images and loose your time. If you have limited time to begin with you’re going to have to work even harder to use that time wisely. A list of your goals to accomplish for the day or for the week will help you use your limited time to it’s maximum potential.

3. Realize You Won’t Be Able to Do It All – Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could be super woman (or super man – no gender discrimination here) and work 8 hours a day, cook dinner, do a bit of picking up the house, play with the kids, walk the dogs, relax and get a couple hours of your business work in too as well as sleep at night? You can’t do it all and setting out trying to accomplish it all in one short day is setting yourself up for failure. Ask for help and prioritize what’s most important. When I was working full time and building my business I could not keep on top of the cleaning of our house and I also knew I wasn’t a productive worker in a messy and dirty environment. It was a worthwhile investment to pay a college student a little bit of money a week to help me keep on top of basic cleaning. I’d have asked my husband, Nick, but he was working as much as I was!

4. The Beauty of Doing Nothing – Ah yes the Italians know what this is. You can work your butt off every day and accomplish everything you planned to in the time you set aside to, but it’s really important to ensure you are getting some time off – from all your work to just hang out with your significant other, the kids, the family, the dogs and do nothing. Schedule yourself a day regularly ( and I mean schedule!!) where you won’t make any appointments or do any work. That sanity time will do wonders for your ability to be productive the rest of the week.

5. Celebrate Your Small Successes – It’s easy to get burnt out, feel like you don’t have enough time, worry about not getting enough business and lose confidence. When you’re starting out and trying to balance it all remember to give yourself that pat on the back when you have little accomplishments. It’s important you give yourself credit for what you are worth and the hard work you’ve been doing to get there. Sometimes your support system when you’re starting on this journey isn’t the best, and sometimes people are blessed with amazing families that believe in them. Either way you have to revel in the big accomplishments and especially the small ones.

Carrie Swails Photography

Reminder! Next Monday is our >Photographing in Manual Mode class<. The class is $15, if you are still shooting in Auto or need help truly understanding all those controls on your camera then this is the class for you. Once you have learned how to shoot in manual you will be more confident in your work! Next Wednesday we’re also doing a special >class specifically about White Balance<. If you struggle with white balance and you get a lot of yellow, cyan, or magenta tinted images this class is going to teach you everything you need to know to fix that easily!

Also we have two GREAT workshops for next month. >31 Days to a Better Photography Business< will be running next month as well as our new >Awesomesauce Business Workshop< with tons of personal mentoring and individualized learning!

The very first goal I made my first summer in business was, “I want to photograph 5 weddings this year so I have a varied portfolio.” It didn’t matter to me how I accomplished photographing those weddings. I did some for free, some for ridiculously cheap, and some ended up being fairly pricey. I pounced on anyone I heard was getting married and occasionally overdid the sales pitch in effort to meet this goal. I probably didn’t run a very tidy business, but I accomplished and exceeded my goals. I photographed 15 weddings that year. It took the next year to really refine what I was doing as well as the process and I feel that now I’m only just settling into a good routine.

Setting that goal for myself changed my business and without creating something to work toward I don’t think I would have succeeded at all. I never wrote down that goal it was just always there somewhere in my left brain trying to keep me on track. As business grew I started setting more and more goals. Different goals. Yearly goals. Monthly goals. Small goals for individual sessions. Editing goals. Blogging goals. 100% of the time I’ve put my mind to it, I’ve exceeded those goals every single time.

As a full time business owner I now have a yearly business plan, mostly for myself, just to track these goals, plans, marketing, stats, and all that number-crunching business. Still though I make these small goals so I can accomplish little things in a big picture. These have been the foundation of my business and I would encourage anyone starting a business, or whose business seems stalled, or anyone feeling unmotivated to create some personal goals with regards to the business end of their photography – or the photography end of the photography.

Write them down. Keep ‘em in your brain. Blog your goals. Write a business plan. Research whatever you need to do in order to accomplish these goals.

I believe that if you create these goals for yourself, you’ve already done half the work to accomplish them.

Carrie Swails Photography

Next week we have two classes!! Monday, July 23rd is our free Catchlights and Sparkly eyes class. Class will start with a bit of information to help you with getting good catchlights and then the rest of the class is all Q &A for you guys, so bring your questions! Wednesday, July 25th is our Pricing Class. You guys asked for this class. We’ll talk about different pricing techniques, how to raise your prices, how to figure out where your prices should be, how to price products….and so much more. If you can’t make it to either of these classes live, you can still register and you’ll be able to watch the recording afterward!

Sure…you love photography, it’s one thing to love it and want to have it be your career and another thing to live, eat, breathe, and sleep photography. That’s usually when you’ll find your motivation for photography decreases and let me tell you the key to success in photography is diligence and hard work. It’s something you have to work hard every day at in order to succeed. Without motivation to do the hard work, how do you keep going?

That’s why finding motivation and keeping it are two separate stories. It’s rare that we can constantly keep motivation after we find it. We will always need to be finding it. If you’re having trouble finding it here are a few tips that can help you re-find that mojo.

1. Do a “photo a day” project for one month. Google some themes for each day and do your best to stick with it. If at the end of the month you’re still looking for that special something to keep you going, then keep your project going.

2. Join a Photography Group on Facebook, a photography forum, or a local group where you can meet and hang out with other photographers. Sharing your work, critiquing each other, and bouncing ideas off each other is a great way to get something fresh into your photography.

3. Take a photography class or workshop and learn something new. Sometimes seeing others enthusiasm and learning a new technique is enough to get you out there and photographing.

4. Start bringing your camera with you everywhere so every time you see something interesting you can photograph it.

5. Depending on what type of person you are, start following other photographers on Facebook, or block out those other photographers – whatever is easiest and will help you most.

6. Get new equipment, new editing software, new lenses. Rent! Trying out something new like a new lens or even a creative lens like a Lensbaby, might lead you do explore a whole new path of photography.

7. Explore another creative outlet. For me all the types of art I enjoy are all connected. I love to paint and do pottery and find I my mind wandering when I do these types of art wondering how it could be translated to photography.

8. Try taking a break altogether. This may not work for everyone, but if you put that camera down until you are just itching to use it again you  might find some new motivation along the way.

9. Research and try out a new type of photography. Do you usually do wedding photography? Try doing some landscape photography for a change of pace.

10.Finally, challenge yourself to see things in a new way. Challenge yourself to take a photo of the exact same thing every day for one month and watch how your creativity will be forced to blossom so each picture isn’t the same as the next.

There’s a free class at the end of August about dealing with your competition and keeping your inspiration. There are lots of seats left so sign up if that’s something you struggle with. The Photography Marketing class on July 16th is filling up. There are only a few seats left so make sure you grab one before it’s too late! Register for photography classes here.

Carrie Swails Photography

I’m just me and because photography is something I love and it’s the career I chose I have to work extra hard to make sure it doesn’t define me. The biggest struggle I still have with photography is ensuring I make time for everything else in my life. When I started there were so many late nights doing photography alongside of my ‘day job.’ When I stopped having that day job I assumed I’d have so much more free time to work on photography and have time for life.

Instead it seems to mean I find more time for things like Facebook. Ugh. I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. I love it because it’s a free marketing tool, but I hate that you can become so engrossed in it at the same time. There are nights where Nick (my husband) and I just are sitting around and I end up refreshing Facebook just looking for something interesting. I know I’m not alone in this. It’s hard to run a photography business where you have to be everything to every one of your clients and everything to everyone else in your family and friends. It can sometimes be a lot of demand on your time.

My most important other love is my husband. Last year we started a project so that even during the busy wedding season of photography or busy weeks for him studying for his PhD, we could still get those nice things said to each other that we need to keep our marriage strong. I can’t remember where I got the idea from, but I know it wasn’t originally mine.

We have a notebook. I ended up just picking a notebook someone had once given me as a gift. You know how when someone gives you a gift and they don’t know you well so they buy you either some sort of blank journal or a basket of smelly lotions? This was one of those kinds of gifts I got years ago and it just was sitting around unused, a traveler’s journal.

While I do travel quite a bit I tend to document my journey with photos and not words. Since only one of us in the marriage seems to be the target of the photos and the other is behind the lens we document our relationship’s ups and downs with our journal. Today is our 2 year wedding anniversary and I found the journal hidden in my laptop bag as I was headed out the door. Admittedly, I read it at a stoplight not far from our street because I just couldn’t wait to see what he wrote. It’s not something we write in daily, monthly, or on any sort of time frame, just whenever we want. We hide it in suitcases when someone is going out of town, in the refrigerator, taped inside the shower, wherever we feel like. It’s part of the fun.

It’s our special book of love letters and I couldn’t have found a better anniversary gift than a beautiful, meaningful, and amazing letter written in it from my husband on the morning of our anniversary. No flowers, no gifts, just words. It’s our way of ensuring we make time for each other in our busy worlds. Especially on days like today where we won’t even be seeing each other on our anniversary. I’m so thankful to have such a wonderful best friend in my life. Make sure you’re not letting ‘photographer’ define you and that you’re making time for all your other loves too.

As always, I’m here to help photographers. I absolutely love answering all the questions and messages you send to me and I try my best to answer them all, feel free to ask me a question or shoot me an email anytime! If you need any photography tools, also check out The Shop for pose guides, photography mentoring, business guides, organizing tools, and more!

 Carrie Swails Photography

I’m not here to judge if you are good enough, only you know that. I’m here because I’ve been able to combine the two things I love to do – photography and teaching art. I think we should all aim to live in such a way that when you leave this place there are no, “I wish I had…” statements.

With the onslaught of the digital age, comes the internet, and the internet provides such a sense of secure anonymity that people find themselves expressing opinions, negativites, and other thoughts they may not otherwise say to your face. Sometimes that’s a good thing. I’ve been a part of many online forums and communities. I’ve worked for one of the largest forums on the internet and the pattern is always the same – people feel they can speak more freely online.

The truth is that you can. By starting your own photography business you have now officially ‘put yourself out there.’ Existing on the internet in any form automatically comes with the territory of getting criticism. The question is, how do you stay above the naysayers and not let them bring you down?

It’s really hard sometimes. If you are here online, at some point you’ll encounter someone telling you that you can’t do this and you’re not good enough. In this community here I’m striving to keep comments and our forum positive. I want people to come here and learn and add to what I am offering. I’m not here to judge and bring anyone down. The ways I run my business are not right for everyone. All I know for sure is that they worked for me. I’m not the best photographer, but I’m always going to keep trying to get better and better. Along the way, I have a passion to teach and help when I have the opportunity.

I have friends and family members who still think my photography business is a ‘thing.’ You know what I mean. Someone you know says, “oh how’s your photography thing going?” A part of me wants to scream out and say, ‘oh that thing that pays my mortgage?’ Really though, it’s fine. Call it a thing if you want. The people who have always called it a ‘thing’ are the ones who motivated me to do better. Instead of being angry and letting it get to me I’ve used it to my advantage. To some people, being a photographer, will just be that ‘thing’ you do.

The fact of the matter is that to put yourself out there is to expose yourself to criticism. Be ready for it. These two things go hand-in-hand and one cannot exist without the other. With a huge corner of the internet dedicated to ‘Signs to Recognize a Bad Photographer’, websites to make fun of bad photos, and communities surrounding these things discussing and furthering those feelings how is anyone to find an ounce of confidence here?

Decide how you are going to respond to it. Are you going to engage with your naysayers? Can you learn from them? We all learn from our mistakes and we are our own worst critics. It’s not helpful to have everyone jump on the bandwagon and be your worst critics too. Since I know I’ve been in those shoes I try not to jump on those bandwagons when it comes to others. Constructive criticism is hard to find. You can chose to engage with those people or not. Would that be a useful way to spend your time? If I spent all my time engaging with those who think my photography is a thing and listening to their negativity about what I do I’d probably have ended up in a corner rocking myself with puffy, wet eyes. I chose to ignore or learn. Sometimes those negative comments are true. I’m not perfect, I’m not the best. When people told me I couldn’t do this I used it as motivation to prove them wrong. I’ve turned their negative into a positive.

On a personal level, it comes down to having the guts to try. I have the guts to stand on the stage and make myself available for the tomato-throwers. I make mistakes and when I do I turn those tomatoes into spaghetti sauce (in case you love a bad analogy). Whatever I do, when I’m standing up on the stage putting myself out there I just try not to throw the tomatoes back.

You’ll get out what you put into the world also applies to your business. If you believe the naysayers who tell you you’ll fail, then you will. If you work hard, educate yourself, and learn from your mistakes you can succeed in this business.

I’ll end this with a final thought: You’re going to become a target, but don’t make yourself a victim.

Carrie Swails Photography

If you’re interested in mentoring with me to learn more about photography or the business side of photography consider scheduling a business consultation. Check out The Shop, it is full of tools, guides, ebooks and other resources to help you succeed.