Away on a Love Affair

Ahhhh.

A week to relax.

I'm not going to know what to do with my work-a-holic self. Well, I'll still kind of be working as I become inspired by the lovely ladies of the Love Affair Workshop and learn new tips and tricks to keep things fresh and continuously growing as a photographer. I'm looking forward to the community of seeing old photographer friends and meeting new photographers who are creative minds that share the same love affair for a camera and how we see the world through it.

We'll be snuck away off the coast of North Carolina somewhere, so remote that we have to take a ferry to get to our destination. Knowing T-Mobile, I probably won't have cell service, and there will be limited internet service as well. So though I'm bringing my laptop for editing the photo shoots we will be doing, I'm forcing myself to take a week off from checking my email and blogging. In order to keep some sort of balance in my life, my brain needs to breathe and detox from the ball and chain modern day technology can be sometimes. So to clients and friends, I will return all phone calls and emails when I am back at my desk on March 3rd.

Have a fabulous week! I'll miss you on the blog but stay tuned for lots of fun creative shoots we'll be doing at the workshop that I'll be posting when I get back!

Rachel and Ariel are engaged!

One thing I love capturing on camera is the laugh a couple shares that tells them they want to laugh with that person for the rest of their lives. In editing the Engagement Session of Rachel and Ariel, it was rare to see a photo of them not smiling and laughing with each other. In the beginning of our shoot, they confessed to being shy at showing affection in public, but seeing their laughs together spoke more to me than any other PDA I could have captured for them. I love the challenge of discovering the unique love language each couple shares, and laughter is definitely what Rachel and Ariel speak to each other.

They also brought their other love and first child, Wendy, a cute beagle who was also shy in front of the camera. After a few shots with her, Rachel and Ariel brought out their old fashioned bikes (that they made themselves!) that they love riding up and down Jacksonville Beach together on lazy days. It was so much fun to document something they naturally love to do together.

Here are some of my faves and the slideshow below!  God blessed us with some amazing setting sunshine and I had fun playing around with all the juicy saturated rays backlighting their love! (Gorgeous setting sunshine is a photographer's favorite love language!)

A day in the life of a wedding photographer.

My messy messy desk where I spend a majority of my days.  I need more space!


I often get asked the question, "So if you shoot weddings on the weekend, what do you do during the week?"

There is a definite misconception about photographers. Shooting is only 25% of what we do.

I was reading my friend Jasmine Star's blog about her venting her frustrations on how much time we as photographers are stuck in front of a computer. I could appreciate her words as I relate all too well with it. Some days I look for an excuse to go to the grocery store for the third time that week just to get away from my computer and out in the real world. Working from my home, it is easy to get stuck in my cave and not realize the sun went down in the midst of being zoned into my computer screen.

So what do I do during the week? Here's a day in the life of:

Wake up about 10am.

Grab some water and a piece of grapefruit.

Check email.

Finish grapefruit.

On a good day, go for a run or spend an hour with God writing in my prayer journal.

Shower.

Check email.

Respond to the high priority emails.

Go through and select fave photos from a recent session or wedding.

Edit photos.

Create a slideshow.

Blog about the session or other random ramblings.

Check email.

Respond to email and new inquiries.

Realize three hours went by responding to email.

Stress about the rest of the stuff on my To Do list.

Realize it's 3pm and I still haven't taken my dog out to pee.

Feel guilty about being a horrible mother to my dog.

Check email.

Respond to email.

Stress about all the out of the blue stuff that ALWAYS comes up to distract me from doing more editing or album design that needs to be done.

Procrastinate.

Remember to eat lunch now at 4pm.

Try to get through more email and editing that I can.

Go to yoga to keep my sanity.

Shower.

Eat dinner.

Watch a TV show.

Edit until my eyes are starting to close.

Go to bed finally about 3am.

And there are days like today, a Saturday where I don't have a wedding to shoot, but because I'm going out of town for a week on Monday, I have to use my Saturday to squeeze in a week of work before taking a week off.

Some days I actually get out of the house and do errands like deposit checks or meet someone for lunch or drop off dry cleaning. Today I really need to take my car in to get my tires rotated and check my oil before my road trip, but my dad is an angel and coming over soon to take that off my To Do list. My goal in the new year is to learn to outsource more of the things that I can hire someone else to do to help free up my time for growing my business or writing my book. Unfortunately I'm too much a control freak, and the only child in me stubbornly still wants to do it all herself. But I'm trying to slowly learn the beauty in letting go.

So that's my answer in what I do during the week.

Simply put, run a full-time business.

The hat of CEO I wear is bigger than the hat of photographer, but it helps me to appreciate that much more the moments I do get to flex my creative muscle and simply shoot.

EDIT: I also forgot to mention, this is an average day where I don't have photoshoots like an engagement session or bridal glam session! So throw that into the mix a few times a week on top of running a business, and you have one stressed Scarlett! ;-) Yet, I love every moment.

Featured in {Fete}-ish magazine!

I'm so excited and honored to be showcased in a hot new online wedding magazine called {Fete}-ish. It was started by rockstar wedding planner Terrica Skaggs of Fabu-luxe Events in Jekyll Island, Ga. For the premiere issue, she and I had virtual martinis and she interviewed me as the featured photographer.

Click here to read the full three-page interview and the rest of the stylish magazine! You'll have to register for free and then click "This month's newsletter". Enjoy!

Get on the Fast Track!

For all the photographers who keep up with my blog, I love paying forward information to help your photography business grow! I'm so thankful for mentors and friends God placed in my life that helped me learn from the beginning all the inside scoop about being a photographer and running a photography business. One photography friend who is doing great things in the industry is So Cal photog Dane Sanders. A few years ago he started the awesome "simple photo minute" videos now that can be seen through CutFrameTV.com. It's like YouTube for photographers where the best of the best upload videos on tips and tricks to get their awesome images. I've learned so much myself from all the videos and it's a great resource to check out. Another great thing Dane is doing is he about to launch a fabulous book to help you "fast track" your photography career. He recently sent out a special sneak peak at the first chapter of his book to those who signed up for his newsletter, but he has also allowed me to share it with all of you! You can download the PDF here! And also be sure to check out his website for the book appropriately titled "Fast Track Photographer".

It's awesome to see Dane paving the way for books by photographers in the industry because I'm excited to share that toward the end of last year, I began writing my own photography book for all of you! I'm currently in the labor pains of giving birth to the vision God has given me, but I can't wait to share more details the closer it gets to being published. Stay tuned!!

Until then, I hope Dane's book blesses you as you continue to grow in your knowledge on your way to becoming the next rock star photographer!

My Father the Hero

This past weekend, it was so nice to withdraw from all forms of modern day technology like computers, email, blogging, etc, and step back into the 1960s. I took a road trip with my parents to the small town of Marianna, Fl., right outside of Campbellton where my dad grew up. At his old college, they were honoring his old basketball coach, the legendary Milton Johnson, and bringing together a reunion of all the old players that he coached in his lifetime. During my dad's high school days, he was one of those star players under Coach Johnson before they both moved on to to Chipola Junior College. Unfortunately, due to an injury, my dad's basketball college career was cut short. Though he couldn't go on playing, Coach Johnson continued a career of over 800 victories. Not only did Coach Johnson serve as a great coach in my dad's life, my dad has always been thankful for how he served as a great role model setting the foundation of success in my dad's life that he would go on to have in his own career in construction.

My dad has never had copies of his old yearbooks or any childhood photos of him growing up, so my favorite part of the weekend was flipping through all the old yearbooks they had out, and discovering old photos of my dad that I had never seen before. From his chubby cheeks in first grade up to his studly Elvis look-a-like looks in high school, I got teary eyed looking at this piece of my family history I was holding in my hands. It was one of those moments of being reminded why photography is so important, and what an honor it is to serve as a photographer in the lives of so many.

Here are some fun photos from my point and shoot that I took of my dad's yearbook photos!



My dad reuniting with Coach Johnson after 40-something years.




My dad and his "trophy wife and trophy daughter".

Happy Valentine's Day!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever."

~Psalm 107:1

The best thing I love about shooting weddings is that it keeps me believing in love.

Even on days like today when I don't have a romantic love in my life, and I feel like the waiting game will never end, and I celebrate my 27th Valentine's Day alone... weddings keep me hopeful that somewhere out there, my husband is out there thinking of me too just as anxious for God's perfect timing to have our paths cross and begin our love story.

To all my brides and grooms who have allowed me into your lives, or will be, to capture your wedding day, thank you for serving as inspiration in my life that true love is worth the wait. I am not only a photographer at your wedding, but someone who is honored to celebrate your love story and share it with the world here on my blog. Your love leaves a legacy in my heart and inspires me to keep waiting for God's best.

To all my loyal blog readers, I wish you a beautiful Valentine's Day and may you feel today the beauty of our one True Love above. Here's one of my favorite worship love songs, Divine Romance by Phil Whickham.

Congratulations, you know who you are! ;-)

I can't say who for privacy reasons, but I recently shot a wedding in St. Augustine at the Lightner Museum and Casa Monica for a special couple who will be remaining anonymous on the blog. They did however allow me to post detail shots from their wedding. Here are a few of my favorites!

Nathan and Betsey are still in love!

While in Jamaica, I shot a fun Flirt session for Nathan and Betsey who have been happily married for many years now and have three wonderful boys. To take a break from the Iowa cold where they are from, they decided to jet down to the islands to spend a few days being lazy around the Sandals Whitehouse resort. It was fun to capture their happily married love!