Rachel knows.

There are certain dates you keep in memory forever. Pick and choose the ones that will further push you onward. Clinging on to regret keeps you stuck in place. Learn from the past, live for the present, and plan towards a brighter future. Take this day to celebrate on all the uplifting memories from the past. Celebrate the people that have had a positive influence in your life. Celebrate the difficulties you’ve had to overcome. Celebrate those you’ve given back to. Be grateful, stay humble, embrace what you’ve accomplished in life so far.

Kass in thought.

Wake me up when September ends.

Beautiful Maddy.

There are a handful of places where I love to go to get away from it all. Sometimes I make the escape on my own, other times I take someone along with me so we can knock out a shoot. It helps to clear my mind from the daily pressures and stresses I face. I’m most productive when there isn’t anything weighing me down. Finding the time to escape from everything helps me to refocus on my own goals. 

The serenity of nature allows me to relax and just think about life, past, present, and future. We need to think and reflect upon where we’ve been, where we’re at, and where we’re looking to go. It’s difficult when we’re in our familiar surroundings. Distractions come up, and we’re often pulled into commitments. Take time to step outside that box. Set aside time for ourselves. Finding safe new places we can call our own, will help us identify what is truly important in life.

This past year has been difficult I’m sure, for all of us. But let’s not forget what has brought us happiness and joy in the past. Let’s not forget what’s important now, and in our futures. Don’t spend the energy and time on matters concerning others, until we can take the time and energy to focus and take care of ourselves first.

In the cove with Bree.

Sometimes I welcome change, other times, it’s a burden. We become so set and comfortable in our ways, our routines, that adjustments, and changes, can bring about anxieties that we’re not quite comfortable with. It certainly helps to plan things out, but in this line of work, not everything always goes according to plan. More often than not, you’ll find yourself having to adjust and adapt on the fly to the working conditions. Whether those conditions are the environment, your clients, your team, the situation will require you to be the decision maker. You’re going to have to make some calls, and you’re going to have to figure things out quickly, or you’ll find yourself in some really bad spots. It’s a dynamic field, and some of the challenges you face will be unique to yourself and others many others will have experienced too. 

Certainly plan your days, way ahead, weeks ahead. Try to figure out what you want to do each month. If you’re in a dry season where you’re not getting a lot of work but feel an itch to shoot, have set plans for that. Tell yourself you’re going to shoot a few times a week. Don’t overload yourself or your creativity will suffer from it. Balance is always key. Always work on your craft, shoot, create, explore, experiment. The more you organize your days, and deal with situations that come up, the more adept you’ll become at handling situations when it really matters. 

What I personally use to do was try to shoot once every other day. I would give myself a day off in between to see what I’ve shot. If I felt some inspiration from that shoot I would work on that shoot for some time. If I felt there was something else I could have done, I’ll try to work that out in the next shoot. I build from there. In slow times I often focused on different ideas I might want to explore for future shoots. I discuss concepts with models, I get their ideas on what they would like to do. I try to get feedback from my creative team on their ideas. There are so many options and roads to take to keep yourself going. Keeping things consistent and maintaining a good sense of balance by staying busy, helps to adjust to whatever it may be that presents itself as a challenge to you.

Krystina staying cool.

It’s easy to find yourself going down the rabbit hole. The true challenge is coming back up.

Beautiful Elicia.

“Maturity…is knowing what your limitations are…Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter can be said to remedy anything.” -Kurt Vonnegut, Jr

Lauren on the prowl.

Alden thumbing through some literature.

The sweet heart of summer.

Taking in the heat with Kerry.

Occupy the mind with delights. Know what moves you, and reinforce yourself with that same energy.

Denise, is the truth.