"The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things! Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings! and why the seas is boiling hot and whether pigs have wings."
It's finally come; the time to say farewell to the old and hello to the new. Our brand spankin NEW blog launched today - it's up and pretty with our first post in the new format. I honestly a bit surprised by how it feels to be writing into this blog for the last time...it's a tiny bit bitter sweet. Blogger has been so good to us in allowing me an outlet to share who I am and who Andrew and I are and just to give people a look into our photography and how we see the world. So, while it's a little sad to say goodbye to the old, I'm so so so excited to see the new and all that's in store there.
Dont forget to update your feeds and your google readers as you wont be able to follow us at this link anymore. Get excited because there are a few new blog series coming as well as a new blogging schedule that I'm super super excited for. So, from now on, Olimb Photography's blog can be found over at:
www.olimbphotography.com/blog
Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Change Change CHANGE
I've never been a fan of change. It scares me to death. Sure, I can look back over my life and see so much good that has come from change, so much growth...but when faced with that moment right before the change...I'm terrified.
I havent been satisfied with my website for quite some time. It was a fine website, but I wanted more. I wanted something that was about Andrew and I and who we are as people, not just about the photos. But I was scared to make a change because so many people ere on the side of "dont change your image too much or you wont be recognized". But we're people...not just photographers and people change on a daily basis. And our website needs to reflect who we are, not who we were. So, the time came for a change...a brand new website and blog compliments of an amazing couple of months developing with Spilled Milk Designs through ShowIt. And I seriously have to give an extra shout out to Rachael for her amazing design work and putting up with me and all my changes.
So head on over to our website, take a look around and let us know what you think! And our blog...well, I say our blog but really, it's MY blog. Andrew gives me free reign there...it's my outlet and it's really for me personally to have that place where I can really share who I am and how I see life. I'll have a new blog coming up a little later this week. But until then, enjoy the warm and gooey goodness that is our new website! Leave us some love and let us know what you think!
Brand spankin NEWNESS: www.olimbphotography.com
Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie
I havent been satisfied with my website for quite some time. It was a fine website, but I wanted more. I wanted something that was about Andrew and I and who we are as people, not just about the photos. But I was scared to make a change because so many people ere on the side of "dont change your image too much or you wont be recognized". But we're people...not just photographers and people change on a daily basis. And our website needs to reflect who we are, not who we were. So, the time came for a change...a brand new website and blog compliments of an amazing couple of months developing with Spilled Milk Designs through ShowIt. And I seriously have to give an extra shout out to Rachael for her amazing design work and putting up with me and all my changes.
So head on over to our website, take a look around and let us know what you think! And our blog...well, I say our blog but really, it's MY blog. Andrew gives me free reign there...it's my outlet and it's really for me personally to have that place where I can really share who I am and how I see life. I'll have a new blog coming up a little later this week. But until then, enjoy the warm and gooey goodness that is our new website! Leave us some love and let us know what you think!
Brand spankin NEWNESS: www.olimbphotography.com
Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie
Monday, February 7, 2011
Our Favorite Things: iTunes Podcasts
I've been a little obsessed with knowledge lately. Not all knowledge, cause frankly, a lot of things bore me to death, but one of the goals I added to my personal goals for 2011 was to know more. I realize this sounds really vague but I promise, it's way more detailed on my list. There are about eight different categories of things that I'm starting to crave to know more about. The biggest thing is Christ. My walk last year was fairly stagnant for the most part; it wasnt until about half way through the year that I threw up my hands, let go of everything I was holding on to, and dove into my relationship with my Redeemer once again. As this year began and I started on my personal goals, a greater knowledge and understanding of Christ and Biblical histories was one of the first things to make the cut. One of the things that has helped me dive into learning more is iTunes Podcasts. One of my favorites is Voddie Baucham's podcast but I'm adding more and more to my library as the days go by.
So, what's your favorite podcast? Comment below and the first to comment and leave your email address will receive an iTunes gift card! Woot woot!
Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie
So, what's your favorite podcast? Comment below and the first to comment and leave your email address will receive an iTunes gift card! Woot woot!Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Whats Next
2011. Two thousand and eleven. It's strange but I remember a time when that date seemed like it was so incredibly far away. I was in middle school writing 1997 on my English papers and I'd see futuristic movies set in 2010 or 2012. It was so far...so far. And now here it is, 2011 and I cant quite determine my emotions on that. Not entirely. But, I am incredibly excited, I know that much. There's a lot for 2011 that we're looking forward to, a lot that we cannot wait to see. And while I had originally anticipated sharing my personal goals and our photography goals, I cant really bring myself to share my personal goals. They're intimate and precious...and really I dont think I'm ready to share those just yet. Maybe it's out of fear but I'm gonna hold onto them for a bit.
But our photography goals. Those I'm ready to just throw out there because I'm so crazy excited about them and ready to tackle them head on. So, here it goes...2011!
1. Our filing system for 2010 absolutely sucked. This year I've got a new filing cabinet, new folders, new harddrives and a whole new system. They're bright and shiny and yellow and perfectly organized. I've got a plan set for how I'm keeping track of everything and a way to keep each individual client feeling as if they're my only priority. The trick will be to not get lazy with the filing and imputing.
2. Finish redesigning the office. Andrew and I have been in our new house for a year now. A year. And ever since we put together the office, I loved it for about six months...maybe less. I wanted a new desk from pottery barn and I wanted plants and orchids and shelving and baskets and hooks and inspiration boards. We didnt get that far. Right now I have chunky black shelves and a chunky black desk...not the pretty white ones from pottery barn. So this year, I'm planning on purchasing my dream desk, and my decorations and hopefully I can keep orchids alive.
3. Incorporate a new blogging schedule. I'm holding off on that until our new blog launches. Yeah baby! You heard right, a new blog! Once it launches, we'll have new series on our blogs...Garland Puppy, Wedding Wednesday, Our Favorite Things Thursday, and Book Club Reviews.
4. Launch new blog and website. Spilled Milk Designs have been absolutely amazing with us. I cant wait to show you what they've done because we're stoked to switch over!
5. Submit at least five weddings to wedding blogs and magazines. I've never done this before and it terrifies me. I'm setting a goal to submit a minimum of five. I'm afraid of rejection, of not being good enough...but I'm going to try.
6. Book 20 weddings. Last year I set a goal of 12 weddings and we were blessed with 13! 20 sounds like a crazy amount to me. It kinda scares me a tad...what if we dont book 20? What if we book 20 and it's more than we can handle? But last year we laid our goals down before our Savior and said this is what we'd like to do, do with it as you see fit and He blessed us. So this year, we'll see what happens.
7. Shoot three creatively themed sessions. These are more for me. I love seeing those styled shoots in magazines and blogs but they're not realistic...they're created for blogs and for magazines. I just want to push myself more this year...and setting up three creative sessions is one of them. They take a lot of work and effort and extra money but I want to do it.
8. Shoot less and get more! We did so much better towards the end of the year but still not good enough. We shoot a lot of images...and what takes up the majority of our time is culling through them all. While there's a fine line between being safe and being just ridiculous, we're going to shoot less and get more quality. We're going to try to shoot less and get more quality. I dont want to miss out on an amazing shot because I dont want to take too many images. But I dont want ten thousand images of the same shot.
9. Purchase a 35mm 1.4 and a macro lens. Last year we rented our equipment that we didnt own from BorrowLens.com and while we discovered which lenses we really wanted, we wasted a whole heap load of money we could have invested into a lens. So this year, we're buying them, not renting, we're buying the new shiny pretty little lenses!
10. Make our materials match our brand. I've finally found new boxes for our high-res DVDs and new cases. They're going to be the most amazing custom packaging ever! They look amazing and they're the first on the list for things we're investing in this year. And our friends at letterpress have some new paper goods ready for us that we cant wait to share.
11. Build better relationships with our fellow wedding vendors. We shoot a lot of weddings with the same set of vendors and I havent taken the time to build relationships with them. This year we plan on making them a higher priority because they're amazing and without them, our photography wouldnt be what it is.
12. Keep tax information up to date and organized and consider hiring an account to handle all our legalities and tax stuff. BECAUSE I HATE IT! So, so much do I hate dealing with taxes and accounting and forms...hate hate hate!
13. Get more creative with our posing. We kinda got stuck in a rut last year. We werent very creative in posing our clients and we didnt push ourselves to try new things. This year, we're pushing our posing, we're practicing, we're trying to get more of a variety. As we looked over our images from last year, I noticed that I loved intertwining my clients. I loved their arms wrapped around each other and the groom protecting the bride with his arms and seeing her completely safe and comfortable in his grip. I love shots that are tight and from the waist up, focusing in on the eyes, the expression. But this year, I want to push myself.
14. Inspiration boards. I wanted to do these last year and never did. I want a board of posing a board of ideas, things that I love, things I want to buy, anything really. They're part of the office redesign, I'm designating a whole wall to them.
15. Pay off anything on our business credit card by December 1, 2011.
16. Start saving to convert to Macs. Yes, you can all gasp in shock...we do not own Macs, we dont work from Macs and we are a tad bit jealous of all the Mac products, gadgets and gizmos available.
17. This is one of the few business goals that mesh over into my personal goals but I'm going to share it anyway. I'm noticing a trend with other photographers new years resolution and goals. They all say they dont document their own lives enough, that they dont have any photos that are a good representation of themselves. We are no exception. You know that traditional photo of a young couple buying their first home standing in front of the sold sign holding keys? Or the photo of the couple eating pizza or mac and cheese on the floor on a blanket because they havent moved in all the way yet. We didnt get those photos. When we moved in, the only photos we have are the ones I snapped on my iPhone to show my grandma via email what our home looked like. So this year, Andrew and I want to document our lives. We want photos of the two of us together each season. Spring photos, summer photos, fall, winter...and every year we're going to make a photo album of that year and the highlights, the ups and downs and the memories. Andrew and I started this business because we loved being able to give that to clients...the memories, seeing themselves in the best possible light...and we want to that as well. What good is doing this if we cant have our own memories documented along the way.
And that's it...that's what we've got for 2011. I'm sure we'll add to the list as we go but this is our starting point, our spring board. As I'm sure it's 5:00 o'clock somewhere I'm going to go enjoy a nice glass of wine and spend some time over a nice dinner with my husband and our furry little Garland beastie. So here's to 2011!
Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie
But our photography goals. Those I'm ready to just throw out there because I'm so crazy excited about them and ready to tackle them head on. So, here it goes...2011!
1. Our filing system for 2010 absolutely sucked. This year I've got a new filing cabinet, new folders, new harddrives and a whole new system. They're bright and shiny and yellow and perfectly organized. I've got a plan set for how I'm keeping track of everything and a way to keep each individual client feeling as if they're my only priority. The trick will be to not get lazy with the filing and imputing.
2. Finish redesigning the office. Andrew and I have been in our new house for a year now. A year. And ever since we put together the office, I loved it for about six months...maybe less. I wanted a new desk from pottery barn and I wanted plants and orchids and shelving and baskets and hooks and inspiration boards. We didnt get that far. Right now I have chunky black shelves and a chunky black desk...not the pretty white ones from pottery barn. So this year, I'm planning on purchasing my dream desk, and my decorations and hopefully I can keep orchids alive.
3. Incorporate a new blogging schedule. I'm holding off on that until our new blog launches. Yeah baby! You heard right, a new blog! Once it launches, we'll have new series on our blogs...Garland Puppy, Wedding Wednesday, Our Favorite Things Thursday, and Book Club Reviews.
4. Launch new blog and website. Spilled Milk Designs have been absolutely amazing with us. I cant wait to show you what they've done because we're stoked to switch over!
5. Submit at least five weddings to wedding blogs and magazines. I've never done this before and it terrifies me. I'm setting a goal to submit a minimum of five. I'm afraid of rejection, of not being good enough...but I'm going to try.
6. Book 20 weddings. Last year I set a goal of 12 weddings and we were blessed with 13! 20 sounds like a crazy amount to me. It kinda scares me a tad...what if we dont book 20? What if we book 20 and it's more than we can handle? But last year we laid our goals down before our Savior and said this is what we'd like to do, do with it as you see fit and He blessed us. So this year, we'll see what happens.
7. Shoot three creatively themed sessions. These are more for me. I love seeing those styled shoots in magazines and blogs but they're not realistic...they're created for blogs and for magazines. I just want to push myself more this year...and setting up three creative sessions is one of them. They take a lot of work and effort and extra money but I want to do it.
8. Shoot less and get more! We did so much better towards the end of the year but still not good enough. We shoot a lot of images...and what takes up the majority of our time is culling through them all. While there's a fine line between being safe and being just ridiculous, we're going to shoot less and get more quality. We're going to try to shoot less and get more quality. I dont want to miss out on an amazing shot because I dont want to take too many images. But I dont want ten thousand images of the same shot.
9. Purchase a 35mm 1.4 and a macro lens. Last year we rented our equipment that we didnt own from BorrowLens.com and while we discovered which lenses we really wanted, we wasted a whole heap load of money we could have invested into a lens. So this year, we're buying them, not renting, we're buying the new shiny pretty little lenses!
10. Make our materials match our brand. I've finally found new boxes for our high-res DVDs and new cases. They're going to be the most amazing custom packaging ever! They look amazing and they're the first on the list for things we're investing in this year. And our friends at letterpress have some new paper goods ready for us that we cant wait to share.
11. Build better relationships with our fellow wedding vendors. We shoot a lot of weddings with the same set of vendors and I havent taken the time to build relationships with them. This year we plan on making them a higher priority because they're amazing and without them, our photography wouldnt be what it is.
12. Keep tax information up to date and organized and consider hiring an account to handle all our legalities and tax stuff. BECAUSE I HATE IT! So, so much do I hate dealing with taxes and accounting and forms...hate hate hate!
13. Get more creative with our posing. We kinda got stuck in a rut last year. We werent very creative in posing our clients and we didnt push ourselves to try new things. This year, we're pushing our posing, we're practicing, we're trying to get more of a variety. As we looked over our images from last year, I noticed that I loved intertwining my clients. I loved their arms wrapped around each other and the groom protecting the bride with his arms and seeing her completely safe and comfortable in his grip. I love shots that are tight and from the waist up, focusing in on the eyes, the expression. But this year, I want to push myself.
14. Inspiration boards. I wanted to do these last year and never did. I want a board of posing a board of ideas, things that I love, things I want to buy, anything really. They're part of the office redesign, I'm designating a whole wall to them.
15. Pay off anything on our business credit card by December 1, 2011.
16. Start saving to convert to Macs. Yes, you can all gasp in shock...we do not own Macs, we dont work from Macs and we are a tad bit jealous of all the Mac products, gadgets and gizmos available.
17. This is one of the few business goals that mesh over into my personal goals but I'm going to share it anyway. I'm noticing a trend with other photographers new years resolution and goals. They all say they dont document their own lives enough, that they dont have any photos that are a good representation of themselves. We are no exception. You know that traditional photo of a young couple buying their first home standing in front of the sold sign holding keys? Or the photo of the couple eating pizza or mac and cheese on the floor on a blanket because they havent moved in all the way yet. We didnt get those photos. When we moved in, the only photos we have are the ones I snapped on my iPhone to show my grandma via email what our home looked like. So this year, Andrew and I want to document our lives. We want photos of the two of us together each season. Spring photos, summer photos, fall, winter...and every year we're going to make a photo album of that year and the highlights, the ups and downs and the memories. Andrew and I started this business because we loved being able to give that to clients...the memories, seeing themselves in the best possible light...and we want to that as well. What good is doing this if we cant have our own memories documented along the way.
And that's it...that's what we've got for 2011. I'm sure we'll add to the list as we go but this is our starting point, our spring board. As I'm sure it's 5:00 o'clock somewhere I'm going to go enjoy a nice glass of wine and spend some time over a nice dinner with my husband and our furry little Garland beastie. So here's to 2011!
Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie
What Did and What Didnt
No holding back...no fears...no timidity. Today is February 1st and it's the day I promised myself to post my evaluation of 2010 and our goals for 2011. This is gonna be a long post, just a warning...so I would strongly recommend grabbing yourself a big cup of coffee and join me in what did work last year, what didnt work last year. Later today I'll post our goals for 2011 cause seriously, I didnt want to overwhelm you all at once.
So first up, the recap of 2010...
2010 was a molding year for Olimb Photography. We really started to get a firm grasp on who we wanted our clients to be and how to get them. We streamlined a lot of little things that were draining any sort of creative energy from our business and found a handful of things that we were really, really lacking. Here's a little overview of what we learned from last year. I'm gonna put up a disclaimer...this is how we did things, how we learned and how we feel. It's not going to be right for everyone and I'm pretty sure it's not even the business school and photography school way of doing things. But it's how we work.
1. Look for light, not for pretty backdrops. Forever I was always worried about where to shoot, what location had pretty backgrounds and cool props. I dont know what did it but one day I suddenly decided to look for light and viola! We love our shooting style now, getting pretty lighting and simply capturing the subject, our clients and their love, their energy.
2. Andrew is never allowed to touch engagement rings...ever. Is there a story there? Yes, yes there is. But it will not be shared, all ended well and he's never touching an engagement ring again.
3. Brides that set aside a good hour for photos at a variety of locations get absolutely amazing photos.
4. When shooting kids, the higher shutter speed trumps all.
5. Go with your gut...not matter how weird or scary it seems.
6. Sometimes weddings that stretch you are what you really needed to discover your shooting style and to see just how strong you can be.
7. Always always be prepared for rain and fog...always.
8. Read the situation and the emotions. There were a few times last year when I read the situation and was terrified to do anything. Emotions seemed weird and I just gave up and became a fly on the wall. That's not what we're hired to be...so it took a few instances to learn to just step back, take a breath, re-evaluate the situation and everyone's emotions and try again and again and again until you get the images you need.
9. Finding a bride you absolutely cannot live without and form a friendship with is the most amazing thing ever. She is who we strive to find and who we want to spend every weekend with.
10. Shooting for the sake of shooting is a two edged sword. Practice is always key in photography but there comes a point when you need to recognize when you're passion is gone and to take a break. Trying to shoot through a creative-less and passion-less existence doesn't do anyone any good.
11. We live in Florida. Florida is hot. Hot is an understatement...Florida is Hades! In light of this obviousness, we no longer accept weddings in the dead of summer. Because I'd like to live.
12. Whenever possible, I will always always shoot a first look. They're intimate and amazing and sweet and precious. Despite that, I will never push a first look on a couple if they're arent open to it.
13. I want to shoot pudgy little babies covered in cupcakes and pearls and tutus and headbands and little footie shoes. It scares me to death and I'm not 100% sure on how I'm going to go about that but I want to shoot pudgy little babies!
14. Family photos took up a tremendous amount of time last year. Especially close to Christmas when everyone wanted a Christmas card photo. So, this year, we're not shooting family photos like we did last year. We only have a limited number of shoots for the entire year because frankly, we got burnt out by Christmas and seriously, who wants to be burnt out at Christmas!
15. It took almost two years, but Andrew and I finally have a system at weddings. I always know where he is, what he's shooting and what I need to get. Feels amazing to not be stressed at a wedding anymore wondering if we have what we need.
16. We no longer design our wedding albums. It's complex and I hated using the program and I wasnt very good at it. It took a lot to release control of it and send it off to a designer...an amazing designer that I cannot imagine life without.
17. The word amazing. I use it way too much...I've got to start finding new words because saying things are amazing all the time is getting old and unbelievable. Things are amazing! But I'm a writer and I'm gonna find another way to say it.
18. Buy what you need, not what you want. When we first started our business I swore I wasnt going to take out a business loan. I bought a lot of things that I thought I needed and didnt, things I wanted and should have waited on and some things I desperately needed but didnt have the money for. This year we're really evaluating what we need to buy and want to buy and writing them on 3x5 cards. We're prioritizing what we need versus what we want.
*Breathe* I think that about scratches the surface of last year. I'm fairly certain that I left out a lot or at least a handful of things of importance, but 2010 was an amazing year. We've learned so much and come far last year as a photography business. Personally, we've come even further and changed just as much. There's a lot of change coming for this year. I'm terrified. I'm excited. I've cried. I've gotten angry. I've wrestled depression and anxiety and experienced a ton of happiness and genuine joy. There's a lot coming...
Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie
So first up, the recap of 2010...
2010 was a molding year for Olimb Photography. We really started to get a firm grasp on who we wanted our clients to be and how to get them. We streamlined a lot of little things that were draining any sort of creative energy from our business and found a handful of things that we were really, really lacking. Here's a little overview of what we learned from last year. I'm gonna put up a disclaimer...this is how we did things, how we learned and how we feel. It's not going to be right for everyone and I'm pretty sure it's not even the business school and photography school way of doing things. But it's how we work.
1. Look for light, not for pretty backdrops. Forever I was always worried about where to shoot, what location had pretty backgrounds and cool props. I dont know what did it but one day I suddenly decided to look for light and viola! We love our shooting style now, getting pretty lighting and simply capturing the subject, our clients and their love, their energy.
2. Andrew is never allowed to touch engagement rings...ever. Is there a story there? Yes, yes there is. But it will not be shared, all ended well and he's never touching an engagement ring again.
3. Brides that set aside a good hour for photos at a variety of locations get absolutely amazing photos.
4. When shooting kids, the higher shutter speed trumps all.
5. Go with your gut...not matter how weird or scary it seems.
6. Sometimes weddings that stretch you are what you really needed to discover your shooting style and to see just how strong you can be.
7. Always always be prepared for rain and fog...always.
8. Read the situation and the emotions. There were a few times last year when I read the situation and was terrified to do anything. Emotions seemed weird and I just gave up and became a fly on the wall. That's not what we're hired to be...so it took a few instances to learn to just step back, take a breath, re-evaluate the situation and everyone's emotions and try again and again and again until you get the images you need.
9. Finding a bride you absolutely cannot live without and form a friendship with is the most amazing thing ever. She is who we strive to find and who we want to spend every weekend with.
10. Shooting for the sake of shooting is a two edged sword. Practice is always key in photography but there comes a point when you need to recognize when you're passion is gone and to take a break. Trying to shoot through a creative-less and passion-less existence doesn't do anyone any good.
11. We live in Florida. Florida is hot. Hot is an understatement...Florida is Hades! In light of this obviousness, we no longer accept weddings in the dead of summer. Because I'd like to live.
12. Whenever possible, I will always always shoot a first look. They're intimate and amazing and sweet and precious. Despite that, I will never push a first look on a couple if they're arent open to it.
13. I want to shoot pudgy little babies covered in cupcakes and pearls and tutus and headbands and little footie shoes. It scares me to death and I'm not 100% sure on how I'm going to go about that but I want to shoot pudgy little babies!
14. Family photos took up a tremendous amount of time last year. Especially close to Christmas when everyone wanted a Christmas card photo. So, this year, we're not shooting family photos like we did last year. We only have a limited number of shoots for the entire year because frankly, we got burnt out by Christmas and seriously, who wants to be burnt out at Christmas!
15. It took almost two years, but Andrew and I finally have a system at weddings. I always know where he is, what he's shooting and what I need to get. Feels amazing to not be stressed at a wedding anymore wondering if we have what we need.
16. We no longer design our wedding albums. It's complex and I hated using the program and I wasnt very good at it. It took a lot to release control of it and send it off to a designer...an amazing designer that I cannot imagine life without.
17. The word amazing. I use it way too much...I've got to start finding new words because saying things are amazing all the time is getting old and unbelievable. Things are amazing! But I'm a writer and I'm gonna find another way to say it.
18. Buy what you need, not what you want. When we first started our business I swore I wasnt going to take out a business loan. I bought a lot of things that I thought I needed and didnt, things I wanted and should have waited on and some things I desperately needed but didnt have the money for. This year we're really evaluating what we need to buy and want to buy and writing them on 3x5 cards. We're prioritizing what we need versus what we want.
*Breathe* I think that about scratches the surface of last year. I'm fairly certain that I left out a lot or at least a handful of things of importance, but 2010 was an amazing year. We've learned so much and come far last year as a photography business. Personally, we've come even further and changed just as much. There's a lot of change coming for this year. I'm terrified. I'm excited. I've cried. I've gotten angry. I've wrestled depression and anxiety and experienced a ton of happiness and genuine joy. There's a lot coming...
Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie
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