Giving Thanks

I am sooooo ready for the holidays. I have gotten all of my decorations and I am now ready to put them out. Before any of that happens, I still have a portfolio to complete. I have two more class sessions left before the semester ends and OMG! I can't wait.

November makes my 6th month anniversary for being in business for myself. Yea! I made it through a 1/2 of a year mostly doing portraits and I am thankful for all of my supporters, because without the help of you all I don't know if I would have made it this far. Thanks!

Thanks to Tasha Prescott for all of her business advice, Special thanks to my husband and kids for supporting me in this endeavor, all of my family and friends that helped out with everything from modeling to listening. Wow! I have so much to be thankful for and so many people to thank, I can't name them all. You know who you are, and to all of my clients, you will continue to hold special places in my heart, because you were the first ones there to make all of this happen for me. I am ever so grateful for you. THANK YOU.

I have come along ways, but I still have an even longer journey ahead of me. I will continue to put God first and allow him to lead the way, because without him none of this would have been possible. I am eager to accomplish things, however I know that patience is a virtue. With that I will continue to research, read, study, and learn all that there is to learn about the business of photography. My ambition is to one day be one of the best photographers known in the state of Louisiana and where ever else the Lord sees fit.



This 

Holiday Season Yea!

 I love the holidays, all of them but most of all Christmas.  I am one who is always ready to shop, I love love shopping, most of all I love shopping sales. (Lol) I will walk from one store to the next trying to get the best price for the same exact item. When I go shopping I tend to shop alone, because most times my tag -alongs get tired and start complaining. Nope you can't hang with me.

Black Friday is my favorite shopping day of the year, there may not be anything in the sales add that I really want but I'm going anyway. I usually go to my husband's aunts house  for Thanksgiving stay till about 6:00p.m. then I leave him and the kids, I go home take a nap and get back up at 12:00 a.m (Yep I am one them, I spend the night in the 24 hour Walmart and scope the store out so that I know where everything is) Since I am there so early I am able to get what I want get in line and out the store by 6:30a.m and on to the next one. I will normally finish shopping around noon, once I am done I will come home wrap my gifts, then put out decorations and decorate my Christmas tree. Yes my house is one of the one's that's all decorated the day after Thanksgiving. I look forward to this every year.

 
So while I am planning for next week I have created some of the Holiday Greeting Cards that will be included in my holiday packages. Here is 4 of 10 designs that I will be selling.

The end is finally here

The semester is finally coming to an end, two more weeks of school and the fall semester of 2010 closes. I am soooooooo glad, because now I can focus 100% of my time to my business. Networking, passing out fliers and placing myself in places where I can be found or seen. Shooting more, spending more time with my camera if you know what I mean. I have approximately four weeks to enjoy my camera before the start of a much more rigorous class schedule.

I will be taking 12hrs next semester and for those of you who have been in graduate school you might know that this schedule will take up most of my time, however it has to be done. This is my last year in graduate school these 60hrs seemed like a lot, but the time has flown by. This will be the only semester that I will have to take 12hrs so I am going to be a soldier at it, because hey it's only a few months. Four to be exact, like Thomas the Trains always say I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I know I can do it.

I have planned for a lot to happen in 2011 and I hope the Lord gives me strength to endure it all.  So to my fellow classmates congratulations on completing your 600 internship hours and I look forward to seeing you all walk across the stage in December. I can't wait to grow up and be like you. May of 2012 here I come I know that you are right around the corner, and I will have to be strong and complete this journey while maintaining my business at the same time. Lord be with me!

Awesome shoot with a baby boy today!

Today I shoot a beautiful toddler, who was just as serious as they come. Although he loved to play peep eye and blow kisses. I followed this little man around as if he was telling me what to do.

Finally Matching

Today I was able to redo the shoot of my cousin and while I think the photos came out very well this time, I will only post a few. I found some awesome new locations for my wedding shoots, I can also use them for portraits too. The lighting out there today was immaculate, while scouting the city for new spots my cousin and I were able to spend some much needed quality time together. She's the best Love ya Shalida.










After finishing that, we came back to my house and I showed her some more features on my olympus camera and allowed her to take it with her for the rest of the week. Have fun with it girl!

I also took the time out to complete my brand and finalize it all. My Blog now matches my website. I would love to hear what you think about it.  Thanks guys! Good night all.

Very Productive!

I had an awesome time BY MYSELF, felt a little overwhelmed at first. I actually thought about leaving and going back home, but I stayed and I'm glad that I did.  I meet some wonderful brides, although the show was a small one progress was made.

I also did some networking, Shouts out to Zonda B. of L.A's Finest a makeup artist very down to earth and her makeup was the BOMB! To bad I don't wear it:)  If you need her number feel free to message me on my facebook page I will inbox you her number.

Another shout out to Vonda Franklin an Event Coordinator. She offered to take some of my cards and put them out for me at some of the shops she deals with, along passing them on to her brides. Thanks Vonda I look forward to working with you.

After meeting them I started talking to other people as I always do, and I was able to give out quite a few of my fliers. So I'm feeling really good about the way the day went.

Today will be the bomb!

I will be attending event #2 a bridal show another event that will help determine which way my business will in which turn. I am so excited, even though I will be attending this by myself.  (Readers I am a Mental Health Counselor Graduate Student and I have many issues with doing things on my own and I am not afraid to say it. Hello, my name is Natasha James and I am afraid of doing things on my own. I have been with my husband since I was 13 years old. When we reached a age were we were able to go out on dates I have never had to worry about lifting a finger, and it is still that way today).

I have never traveled alone, everywhere we go, he leads the way, and everything we do he guides us. I have the best husband in the world but I think he has made me dependent upon him and Nope I am not afraid to say that either. He is my chemical and I am dependent on him. I have learned that this is not good, but it wasn't that I didn't already know that I just never worried about it. Until now there are things that I have to do for my business that only I can do. So I have taken my own counseling advice and I am breaking the leash.

No longer will I depend on my husband to guide me in the direction I want to go, I will take the initiative and direct myself,  I will travel where ever I need to without him, and the uneasiness that I feel about it. I am a completer (meaning when I start something I have to finish it). So failing at this is not an option.

So with all that being said, it brings me to this: I ordered some fliers for today's bridal show and I plan to give out at least 200 of them, I asked him if he would go with me and he says "You don't need me, that's something you can do on your own". Well I know that, I just wanted him to tag alone with me. Ha Ha.

So lesson learned make the move. I will do what my horoscope tells me to do today;


You feel threatened by a different way of doing things. This isn't about you. Progress will have its way no matter what you think. Help the changes happen instead of trying to block them. Thanks Daily Horoscope. Mwah

Happy Shooting readers! Have a wonderful day:)

Holiday Mini Sessions

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Still learning! Wow :)

Hello,

To all my readers. Today I realized something, yesterday I blogged about a playful and educational photo shoot with my cousin. At the end of the post I said "I will post pictures later". Blogger wasn't letting me post any within my blog. Well it's still not allowing me to post within the blog and I wish that it would, but I'll figure something out by the end of the blog. Anyway what I learned today was awesome. ALWAYS check the settings on your equipment before you begin a session. Small but necessary.

I said that my cousins pictures looked better than mine and I really meant it! She used my old baby the Olympus E420 and she shot everything using auto just to get a feel for using the camera. I shot with my Canon, because of course I'm still familiarizing myself with it and its features. Hey it's only 1 month old it's still my little newborn.

Well I received some positive criticism on them which is how I learned the lesson. The night before my cousin was at my house playing with my camera and so was I. I was trying out the different white balance settings and realized that auto was not what I should always be using, however we were indoors so I put the white balance on tungsten light. When we finished with the camera I turned it off without putting the white balance back on auto duhhh.

So for the shoot we did I thought she blended in with the atmosphere to much, she had on a green shirt, blue jeans, pink scarf, and camel colored boots, don't sound to spiffy but it was cute. The sky was a beautiful blue color, it was nice and windy, and for the shoot we decided to use the teal blue poles that were located right in front of a awesome waterfall with clear blue water that reflected off the sky. Back to my pictures, although the day was beautiful my pictures looked very blue. Because I have had no formal training in photography white balance wasn't something I would have thought of.

One of my face-book friends caught it and told me. Thanks, Mr. Carter and that's when I realized that I had totally forgot to change the white balance back to auto when I finished and to check my settings before I began a new session.

That's something I never worried about because I would only change my shutter speed, iso, and fstop. In manual those are all changed on the top of my camera, so I would basically get my settings right and go. Never realized that there was a little icon on top with the settings to tell you what your white balance was set on. Another Lesson hummmm!

So there you are:) My little goof up for the week. For my fellow newbies here is my mistake I'm sharing it with you so that it's a mistake you won't have to make. By the way for those of you who can't see what I am talking about the pictures of and her pictures were taken in the same place just a different area. Mine is a bit bluer than they should be. 

To everyone else,
Thanks for reading

P.S. Still won't let post pictures here see them at them bottom of the page:)

 Finally able to post the pictures.  11/6/2010

Having Fun!!

Today was a beautiful day, windy but beautiful. I think I have convinced my cousin to purchase herself a camera. She was off today, and because it was so nice out we decided to go play with my cameras.

She enjoyed every minute of it. I told her that it was contagious and that she need not put her hands on the camera if she ever wanted to use her Kodak Point & Shoot again. I told her that shooting with a DSLR changes the way you look at taking pictures.

She took very nice pictures of me and if you ask me hers look better than mine;) LOL. She wore a green shirt and blue jeans which blended in well with the beautiful blue sky, the teal green poles and the clear blue water in the fountain. She had on a awesome pink scarf that I wished she had left in my truck.


I really enjoyed the shooting time we shared today. We had so much fun that we really didn't want to stop but of course we had to go pick up the kids.

Here is some of the shots we took of each other. Maybe later pictures won't post OMG!

Risk Taking

last night my cousin and I were sitting at my house researching and looking at different photographers work in the Atlanta,Georgia and Dallas,Texas area. We ran across some wonderful photographers. While searching through the different websites I ran across a you tube video and in the video it gave a lot of information and it was very detailed. One part that stuck with me it the part about RISK TAKING.

The interviewer asked the interviewee if she had any regrets? Her reply was that she wished she had invested more in herself when she first started her business and had not been so scared of failing. After hearing that I realized that I had not made any mistakes in my investment. I wondered if I was making a mistake buy purchasing the most expensive equipment on the market just starting out. I had a camera an Olympus E420 but I wanted a more professional camera. I am glad to know that I didn't, even though I changed brands (Olympus to Canon) the is very different in all aspects but I think I have learned a lot while using my new camera within a months time.

Because I am here in Louisiana and basically teaching myself as I go, using the internet to learn from others gives a great pleasure, in knowing that I'm not alone.

So for those of you who are scared of taking that BIG step, don't be I stepped out on faith and God has not led me wrong so far. Don't be afraid of making mistakes, because we all do. I have always been told if fail at one thing keep trying till you find that one that you could master and be good at.

We have to work for anything worth having and if you give up because something didn't go right, you will only be giving up on yourself.

Continuing in an upward trend!

To learn is to acquire knowledge or skill. Learning also may involve a change in attitude or behavior. Through this one should educate themselves, while acquiring and applying the skills learned. One should never give up on trying something, because they have been told they can't.


Today I have come to the conclusion that if I want my business to move forward, I have to be the one to move it. So here goes. I have assessed my growth thus far and through my assessment I am not where I was six months ago and I plan to be a bit further six months from today, no matter what it takes to get me there.

After completing my first wedding, I was in AWE about what I had accomplished it was done totally by me with no help. Even though I was a limited in my equipment the bride loved her images and so did at least l00 of the 200 quest that was there. I say at least 100 of the 200 because 100 emails were collected from her quest viewing her pictures and returning to view them over and over again.

Since then I have been thinking about shooting weddings and well guess what? I am! Some might say I am not ready, Some might say I am not good enough, Some might say I don't have what it takes to be a wedding photographer, but hey it is what it is! for everyone that says I'm not there is someone who says I am. I believe that God places people in your life for different reasons and I had been praying to God and asking him to send a wedding my way and as a matter-of-fact he sent two my way one was a combination of a baby shower and wedding and the other was a large traditional wedding. He answered my prayers. Thank you Lord, because you gave me what I asked for and more. Though all of this came about, because someone had been watching me in the background silently. I believe that God works in mysterious ways.

So for me, I think the only way for me to get better at it is to do it. I have read tons about the subject, obtained the necessary equipment and now it's time for me to implement what I have learned. Hey if I don't practice how will I get better. As my husband would say Rome wasn't built in a day, and I know that I won't be perfect overnight.

I think I have it and one day I'm going to be well known as a wonderful Wedding Photographer. So until then I plan to start booking weddings for 2011 as of Now:) This will be my first attempt to move my business in a new direction. Soooo, with that being said The first few brides to book a wedding with me it will be well worth the investment.

Cheers to the New Year