Weddings are now behind me
Starting afresh hasn't been the easiest of journeys. Leaving a much loved career in the wedding industry behind still makes my heart a little heavy. But recognising when something isn't a good fit and moving on is very important to sustain happiness. With a need for perfection and control over my environment weddings were never a good fit for me despite the love of photography, weddings and my clients. Too much uncertainty and change happens as a wedding day unfolds, and that is something I found hard to embrace. Most photographers might have a Plan B to their Plan A, but to cope with all the uncertainly my planning went further to Plan C and at times Plan D and E. Prepping for multiple plans was mentally draining and time consuming to prepare. And the constant living in the fears of the scenarios I had built around every wedding made it feel like I was photographing, and rehearsing for, ten different weddings for that one day. After seven years it was time for change.
The skills I learnt as a wedding photographer are so valuable to my new projects, and I will always be eternally grateful to all my clients who put their trust in me to capture one of the most important days of their lives as a couple. As a farewell to the work I'm so proud of producing for my clients, and industry friends, I've included links throughout this post to all the published styled shoots and weddings I had the pleasure of photographing.
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Sash & Veil Photoshoot
wedding archives ~ published styled shoots
Transitioning one to the other
Deciding on all the elements to put into a new career path wasn't difficult, but deciding upon how they would all fit together to create a financially viable business was. Probably a year of thought went into creating where I am now. It is still very much a work in progress. As with any new venture it can take two years in creation before the business even gets to a starting point. But the skeleton is in place ready to build upon and that feels good to me right now.
With my business on a clear direction the hard work really kicks now. Except for a very lucky few a successful business generally built from hard work and the overcoming of many obstacles and challenges on the path. Because of this, for me, the most important ingredient for any business venture has to be passion. Passion makes the hard-work easy, passion makes mountains look like mole hills because the climb is worth every effort. Passion for me is art, photography, crafting, nature, wildlife, fighting for a cause, sustainability for future generations, promoting empathy and compassion towards all that is living. These are my elements that make the foundation of the business, and will be infused in every decision and fine art piece I make.
And so to embrace my core I work alone, at home, surrounded by nature and all things I love. I work towards building a kinder more compassionate world to support future generations. I educate and share whatever I do and most important of all I tell the stories of those who can't in a hope of creating this wonderful world that I know is there.
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Briar Rose Photoshoot ~ Styling and making costumes was what I loved most in the wedding industry
“Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don't.”
The Present, and on to the Future
Learning is key to a successful well rounded sustainable business. It allows a business to continually grow, and never become stagnant or stale. Natures life-cycle can be very cruel even to a business and learning helps a business navigate the ebbs and flows and encourages a natural evolution to the environment that surrounds it. Learning is a business' best friend.
Moving into the world of fine art to me means understanding my craft and understanding the workings of the world. My days are currently spent in the suspension of learning to bring me up to date with all things worldly and to learn new skills. From crafting the art of paper flowers making and building miniature sets for composite photography, to understanding the issues and problems the world is facing, no day is ever free from taking in huge amounts of information.
Progress is made everyday towards future projects, although nothing is set in stone as yet. My first fine art series is starting to take shape through ideas and the research will start soon. What I do know is it will be inspired by nature and will embrace what is taken for granted and thus undergoing a slow death before our very eyes.
Wedding Archives ~ Published Real Weddings