Most asked question

Regardless of the session, I'm always asked the same question. Every. Single. Time. So much so that I'm dedicating an entire blog post to my answer. And don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE when clients ask this because it matters so much.  What should we wear?!   

I don't expect anyone to pull this out as a specific resource next time they're getting ready for a photoshoot, and hear me out when I say photographers have their own, individual style and preference so full disclosure: this is my professional opinion and what I would tell you every time. But, hopefully it at least is a reference point next time you find yourself wondering.

For an engagement session:  

• Ladies- wear a DRESS. It doesn't have to be anything extra fancy but a dress automatically makes you feel good, makes you feel feminine, and when you feel good, you look good. Use your judgment when deciding how formal. If you're planning a black tie wedding, err on the side of more fancy. Go for a sundress if that better fits your style. But a dress adds the extra feel of delicacy and romance. 
• Men- now first I'll say, I have a husband, too. When it comes to pictures, he's 150% relying on me to make both mine and his outfit choices (thank God). However, he's probably pissed he's having to take pictures in the first place, and if pissed doesn't accurately describe it, we can atleast bet he's not level 10 stoked. So, I'm not going to put him in something that's going to make him double hate me either. (Uh, feel good = looks good) Basically, I'm not expecting suit and tie but, if I had my way, he'd be in a tucked in button up with a belt, nice jeans at the least, and dress shoes.  

Any session:

Incorporate pattern somewhere. If you're just not a dress person, find a blouse with a soft and romantic pattern. I always suggest choosing the staple piece first- the outfit that's going to tie all colors in together. In my opinion, the perfect balance for two people is one in pattern and the other in a complimenting solid color.  For three, one in the all-encompassing pattern/staple piece, someone else in a much more basic (limit to two colors!) pattern, and the third in a solid. For more than three, use the same thought process, but always stick to only one staple to avoid clashing. 

When we had our family pictures done for our Christmas card last year, I think my blood pressure was probably off the charts for a solid week leading up to them. I probably (definitely) put more emphasis on what we wore above how we looked otherwise. We didn't even shower! Totally kidding.  But, we went with this same thought process. I wore a long dress that encompassed my ideal color scheme. My son wore a simple plaid that pulled from my dress, and my husband wore a solid sweater. This way, no matter if it was a together picture, or pictures of just me and my husband, just me and my son, etc., there would be complimenting textures everywhere. I was SO HAPPY with the outcome, all stressing aside. 

I hope you find this helpful! If you've ever been, or will be in the future, a client of mine, you know I'm always more than happy to offer my advice. Send me all the pictures, I'll tell you what I think! :)  

I'm excited to say LTP is considering adding a clothing line for the use of our session clients. We completely understand that you may not love the idea of investing in something that may be one time use for you, but we also want you to get the most of your session experience. We're working out the logistics, but have this idea front and center of our current business planning. We would love to hear feedback on your thoughts, if this is something you'd take advantage of or not. Feel free to comment your thoughts! 

Thanks for following along this little dream of mine.

XOXO, Taylor  

Photos of my sweet family, courtesy of the extremely talented Layna Rae Photography. 

ENGAGED | JACOB + EMILY

Now that the weather is getting prettier much earlier than anticipated (no complaints here!), my schedule is filling up quickly and I'm getting back to my happy place sooner than anticipated... also no complaints here, either.

I was so excited to get back behind my camera for this session. When Emily reached out and I noticed she had a Longwood University e-mail address, I think my heart about burst. She's the second fellow Lancer I've had the privilege of working with for her upcoming wedding, and it's always a sweet reminder that God places you on a certain path that one day all makes sense. Did I think I would ever become a wedding photographer when I was in college studying Accounting and Management? Obviously not, there are few similarities between them (or none at all, really). But each time someone has booked me, realizing how our paths have previously crossed has been one of those most humbling experiences in all of this.

I met with Emily to go over her wedding contract just a week prior, and when she told me she wanted to do her engagement session so soon, at Longwood, I was like YES PLEASE. Longwood will forever hold a special place in my heart. It was the place that gave me some of my own individual friendships and memories that was the start of my own, unique story after 18 years of sharing life with my triplet sisters. The place that I started my career in accounting, and the place that also introduced me to my own husband- my favorite person on the planet. I feel so nostalgic every time I step back into this small town.

What I loved most about Longwood was that it seemed like everyone got plugged in somewhere, somehow. Emily and Jacob were both peer mentors during their time at Longwood. Those are the people who have such a deep rooted passion for the school, that they apply and serve as the first faces you meet as a potential student and then as a Freshman. They provide tours, and dedicate tons of time to being a positive start to one's college career. For this, peer mentors were always among some of the most cheerful people I came in contact with, and alumnae or not, their level of joy was no different during this session.

I couldn't wait to share these with you all. Here are some of my favorites. Stay tuned, Jacob and Emily become husband and wife in June!

(Click the bottom right of the frame to scroll!)

XOXO, Taylor

Motherhood, the scariest hood you'll ever go through

I saw this quote on a t-shirt this week and I got a good, much needed laugh. Granted, I have one child and he's 9 months old, so the worst thing we have going for us right now is teething. So for this season, I would replace scary with something more fitting... something I can't think of at this point because we're freakin' tired over here. I hope it's okay that I use this platform to be transparent at times. I never know if there's an unspoken rule against being personal on my business blog, but my clients invite me into some of their most personal moments, so wrong or right, it's definitely fair game in my opinion.

Today, the whole first half of my day was me practically hunkered down in Starbucks for client meetings, which was awesome. Few things are better than meeting new clients and coffee, so both at the same time ranks pretty high on my list of favs. But, my first client drove over an hour to see me, and we had our meeting, went through her wedding contract together, drank coffee and had good conversation, and then we left. And we didn't even sign the contract..... Yeah, I'm tired.

My husband's job is tough on our family. He has anything but a normal schedule, his already abnormal schedule often changes pretty last minute, sometimes he's home late, and most of the time after a long day of work, I come home to a home without him to hold down the fort, if you will. But, he's pursuing his dream, and him loving his job allows him to love our family better. This is important. That was more personal than I intended to get, but we'll all live.

If you're in the Richmond area, you'll know we're experiencing some pretty out of the ordinary weather this weekend for this time of year. WELCOME TO VIRGINIA. Between that and it being slow season in the wedding photographer world, I was itching to get my hands on my sisters and their kids for a project I'm working on, but it didn't work out. So, I came home, put my stuff away, and spent some time with my little love.

As I sat there watching him get into everything, I started to feel guilty. Life is busy. I work five days a week, come home, love on mister grouchy pants (it's usually close to bedtime when I'm getting home), have dinner if there's time, rush around to do my due diligence when it comes to getting ready for the next day and not letting the house turn too much into a pigs' pen.. then bath time, bed time and sleep. And repeat. 

Here I am, a photographer for a (part-time) living, and I spend all this time pouring into my clients and providing them with creatively documented memories, and I get home and somehow my life is different. Documenting these things for my own family isn't a priority, and it's not because I don't want to, there just never seems to be enough time. So, I got my camera (that I vowed to use often on our own family for justification for the expense of it). And we laughed, Ashton tormented the dogs a fair amount, and we just did life as usual for an hour.

When you book me, or anyone for that matter, or just in any way support the small business(es)of your choice, this is what's behind all of that. These moments are the cause you're supporting. I realize I work full time, but if there were no benefit to my family from all of this, I wouldn't do it. Because my time away from this guy has to be worth it for all of us. So, thank you. Thank you for loving me, supporting me, and being in my corner.

(Click the bottom right section of the frame to scroll.)

XOXO, Taylor

2017 goal: encourage others often

Owning a small business is tough. It's the most rewarding thing I've ever done, aside from birthing and raising a kid, which is a totally different ballgame and would be one of those apples to oranges, or more like apples to alligators type deals... aka no comparison here. 

Sure, there's a fear of not making money, competition, and the rest of the what I would consider normal and common fears when being one's own boss, but truthfully, the feeling of discouragement and at times, loneliness are what I feel are far worse. And to make it better (insert sarcasm), no one talks about this. Ever. These are the things you don't expect or even consider when choosing to launch your own business... Being your own boss is a dream for most, and when I look at specifically my own generation, it's an extremely common theme. 

When I launched my business, I was choosing an already very well-saturated market. Uh, overly-saturated market. Did I fear failing? Absolutely. Was I worried no one would ever book me? Yep. Were my extremely talented competitors intimidating? Yuuuup. But I was so excited, I was so motivated, and I was going to succeed if it killed me.

Another thing I didn't realize is all I would need to learn. I knew that based on the goals I had set for myself, effort was required. And a lot of it. I was more than willing to do what it took, and I made sure to prepare myself as best as I could. When I compare my current work to my beginning work from two years ago, it's night and day, but I know I've barely scratched the surface of my potential because I know I've only tipped the iceberg on education. But how much faster I could've achieved where I'm at had I felt like I had more like-minded people in my corner, cheering me on. I spent so much unnecessary time caring about what others thought, because I was made to feel this way. 

Dont get me wrong, I didn't expect or want anyone to give me all the answers. If you want to have a successful business, you need to show a willingness to learn. I recognized this (and still do, more than ever.) I can't tell you the amount of times I've witnessed people looking for the answers, without doing any of their own research at all. It's frustrating. And more because I didn't have the answers when I started either, but by chipping away and sorting through the wealth of knowledge available from the FREE internet, I was able to get somewhere. Anything I learned from someone else, I either personally sought out through blog posts, research, etc., paid for, or learned in the process of getting out there and getting my hands "dirty". This is not to knock someone else's hustle, just a general statement of the effort owning a small business requires. I knew it meant hard work, and I was up for the challenge. 

But post after post started popping up with memes of people buying nice cameras and calling themselves photographers, people going out of their way to make sure I knew I was at the low end of the totem pole, per se. And I saw them, I internalized them, there were times I let it get to me, and other times I was able to use it as motivation- but more than anything, I formed my own definition of what a leader and successful business owner looked like. And I was striving for that type of success. 

I hope my posts don't come off like I have the answers. There are days I feel so inadequate. Can we talk about Instagram? It's one of the most popular forms of social media advertisement, if not the most. I follow a few of my favorite big-name photographers for creative inspiration. Often times this is where I find the encouragement I (we) all so desperately need. But, these people have some of most beautifully curated feeds. And then I look at mine, and the party-pooper than is called comparison creeps in. It's easy to get on the downward path of discouragement, self-doubt and lack of self-worth... And that train is hard to get off. 

Point is, I'm finding myself at a new place. My foundational goals are still the same: show love and commitment to my clients, always do my best, never stop learning, never stop challenging myself, and make money. This is a business at the end of the day. But, I've learned about myself that if I spend time encouraging others, whether or not it's reciprocated, success takes on a completely different meaning. I don't want to be known for being busy, booked up, or rich. I'm human, all of these things are appealing to me, too. But I want to be first known for being an encourager. I've started to seek out ways to build other people up, making sure I'm making this an intentional part of my own business model. And truthfully, I could not book a single session and yet feel more fulfilled. I can tell you, going out of your way to show grace never killed a business. Owning a small business is hard. And fortunately, I can promise you you're not alone, and many others share the same challenges. I'm a firm believer that there are enough babies, weddings, and engagements for all of us... And I don't foresee there ever being a shortage here. Can I get an amen? 

Be an encouragement to someone today. I can promise you someone needs it. I know I do, and what a beautiful world it is to know you can join hands with others who face the same feelings, both high and low, as you. A beautifully curated feed is not directly related to a person having it all together. I'm preaching to myself today. Show love, grace, compassion and let's cheer each other on. I'm rooting for you, for what it's worth! 

XOXO, Taylor 

God's plan is better

I've talked a LOT lately about my journey with this business: developing a niche, branding, and overall just a lot of lessons learned. It's easy to look like someone has it all together in a nice, packaged up, well-worded blog post with a bow, but believe me, I'm far from having it all together. There are times (often) that I let my organization fall by the wayside, which is truly key for balancing it all, and things feel like they're spiraling out of control, times where I don't respond to messages within my committed 24 hour policy because ten thousand other things came first that day, where I doubt myself and my work... And my God. I'm human. 

Sometimes these human flaws present themselves on a given day and I just commit to making the next day better, it's the best I can do. But sometimes, it feels like I'm going through an entire season of things slipping through the cracks. About 4 months ago, I was in this season. I was coming off of 3 months of weddings almost every weekend, and I work full time... This was 6 day work weeks for months, and I was fresh out of maternity leave AND had taken a new job. I'm a planner to a fault, but one thing I had failed to do in preparation of that busy season of life was plan and I reaped the consequences of that. I didn't have time to slow down and get my feet under me. I didn't have time to do any focused education on things I felt I needed improvement. I didn't have time to step back and breathe, and as a result, I felt like I was really lacking creativity. I felt like God wasn't in my corner, which was far from true. Really, I had pushed him out of my corner in an effort to make it all work my way. Unintentionally, but nonetheless, this one was on me. 

The best part about working with brides is that they're pretty much living on cloud 9 every time you see them. Andrianna is that girl that just radiates joy. I was in high school show choir when I first met her, and I remembered that she was always so fun to be around, and never failed to sport her bright, white, contagious smile. Cue the feeling of hitting the jackpot when she booked me as her wedding photographer. 

Andrianna and I obviously share a love for pictures... Triple win. We did an engagement session, another slightly more formal engagement session, a bridal session, and then of course, their wedding. When it came time for their second session, we had plans to go downtown, golden hour, and she had a vision that I was tasked with bringing to life. After a series of events, the date wasn't going to work out last minute. 

 "It's not your fault, but I'm trying not to freak out. It just feels like everything isn't working out right now."  Was the text I got from her. What I wanted to write back was GIRL, ME TOO. But I opted to encourage her and let her know that I had full confidence our plan B was going to work out perfectly.

Plan B: a totally new location, different date, not golden hour, the perfect day for anything but pictures, but kind of hot and a sun that was enough to blind you. 

From here the details are kind of boring... We had our session, we left and I went home to edit. I loaded up the pictures on my computer and it was so overwhelming. This session was amazing. The look and feel was a confidence booster for both me and for her. It was nothing like what she had originally envisioned, and I was completely out of my element on the time of day alone, but God's plan is better. And it was that moment that I knew, as long as I trust in God and allow him to work everything out the way he intends, he will always provide. 

To you, it might sound crazy that I'm using such a simple example to drive such a strong point home, but to me, it was confirmation that came right on time for the season of self doubt that I was in. If you're feeling discouraged today, just know that you're not alone. I'm preaching to myself on this one. We all experience seasons of dryness, but trust and believe that He's got a better plan for you. He does, I promise. 

As always, thanks for following along on this little dream of mine.

XOXO, Taylor  

A few more that I loved from this one!!

To the new photographer

My last blog post talked a bit about the season of my business that I felt myself committing to couples-related photography, so when thinking about what my next post might be, starting from the beginning to hopefully encourage someone else starting out feels appropriate.

Starting this business was a challenge... No sense in sugar coating here. I could've benefitted from mentors, but that's a lot to ask of someone. A lot of it, for me at least, was trial and error, and what I would call focused education. I would be at a session and feel like maybe I struggled with X, or working on editing a session and feel like I could benefit from knowing how to do X Y or Z... Enter, stage left: Google. If Google didn't give me what I needed, Pinterest, YouTube, you name it, but I was adamant to learn.

"How to edit out someone's arm" "Tips and tricks of Lightroom" etc. etc., and it's semi-laughable now, but I was going to learn if it killed me. You would be surprised at how many video-based tutorials are at your finger tips.

Wedding photography felt like a challenging start. I mean, I had no real wedding work in my portfolio, and who in their right mind would trust me enough with their wedding without picture proof. It was hard, because I knew if I were thinking like a bride, I had a long road ahead of me, but I believed so much in myself that I was determined to find someone willing to take a chance on me. I could've never imagined it working out the way it did, but I ended up booking a wedding for $500, and within just a handful of months after adding some real work to my portfolio, I booked 10 that year. From one. WHAT.

But, looking back, it wasn't just about booking that ONE. That was a huge goal and was definitely necessary, but there were so many baby steps leading up to that point that were all necessary in their own way. So, if you're starting out and have a million questions, and aren't sure where to begin, here's a few things to keep in mind that helped me, to help you navigate a little bit better.

{1} Find what you love. I've said it before and I'll say it again.. You can choose to be average at many things, or incredible at a few. Like any kind of art, passion is necessary. Making extra money is really cool, but it's hard to have art without passion and passion, or lack thereof, is obvious.

{2} Business plan a little bit and figure out who you are as an artist, and then invest in your brand to reflect that. I put this as number two because I didn't do this in this order, but I wish I would have. It's one of those lessons learned for me.

Recently, I launched my new website. Old news to you if even news at all, because you're reading my blog post, and that's part of my website. To you, it's all kind of obvious, laid out in your face and at your fingertips. But for me, this was a key turning point. I knew this was necessary, but a website takes a lot of time and effort, and I often lack time. I remember when Ashley (Ashley Brown Creative!) sent me a list of questions to learn about my business in order to kick start bringing this website to life.

• What's your mission?
• Who is your ideal client? 
• Describe your client experience in words.

Um. If I were in a room full of people, this would've been one of those awkward silence moments. I'm almost two years deep in this business and I've been less than intentional about the direction of this business. Yikes.

Fast forward about 8 months to my website launch. I had defined who I was, where I wanted to go, and who my market audience is. This is impactful, but for more than just the fact of having a tangible website. I have a newfound confidence in myself as an artist, and really, a newfound passion because I'm being intentional. Long story short, define yourself. It's important.

{3} Invest in your business. Equipment is obvious, but I would venture to say that education is even more important. You owe it to your clients to stay fresh on your skill and to continue to learn. I promise, you'll never stop learning. I'm sitting here writing an advice-filled blog post and I KNOW I don't have all the answers. But the point is I've been through where YOU are, and luckily I have people more knowledgable than me to learn about the stage I'm in.

{4} Believe in yourself, set goals that challenge you and be willing to hustle. I'm in a season where I've checked so much off my initial list, but now that I've given myself some direction, I have a new, more relevant list of goals to conquer. I feel challenged every day, and I don't always have the time. But don't use that as an excuse. I wrote this blog post on my lunch break at my full time job. Find the time.

I hope you found this helpful, and if anything, encouraging. I'm only a little over two years deep into my own little business, but when you're seeking education and constantly working to be better today than yesterday, you'll surprise yourself at the rate of growth.

With alllll of that, I'm taking on FIVE mentoring dates this year, each for TWO hours and there are no off-limit topics! Availability is extremely limited, but if you know anything about me, you know focus and dedication to each client experience is huge. I book a limited number of weddings, and now a limited number of mentees, because I want to be able to have the time to give each person everything I have to offer.

Visit my Connect page for my email address and reach out for more information! Book a mentoring session with me today, and receive $100 off!

Meanwhile, I'll be over here cheering you on, every day. Thanks for being in my corner, too, and following along this little dream of mine.

XOXO, Taylor

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Engaged | Justin + Brittany

This was an exciting one for me, and I've been dying to share more. If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen this session recycle often and I'm just not sorry about that ;) There are so many cool things about this business, so many friendships I have been blessed with- new and old. I met Brittany and her twin sister, Victoria in high school. I honestly don't even remember how we met, because I feel like I've known them forever. We had lost touch through the normal motions of life... College, full time jobs, etc., but like many other of my clients, this business brought Brittany back into my life and I cannot tell you how excited I was the day she said she was choosing me for her big day. 

Like all men, Justin was way too pumped for their session (insert sarcasm here). I try my best to make it as painless as possible, and he was a trooper. There's something about the way these men look at their brides.... Contagious joy. And it is so refreshing. 

In January of 2015, I launched this business with a simple love for photography, a passion for building relationships and a camera. I thought I felt particularly pulled in the direction of working with couples, but I wanted to give a fair chance to as many aspects of photography as possible before ruling anything out. I thought because I was only a year and a half into my own marriage that maybe it was just comfortable for now (well, then) because I was in the same season of life.

Fast forward through my first wedding, my first bridal session, and my first few engagement sessions. I found myself committing to a niche and I loved that, but I've got some pretty great clients that are beyond this stage and I didn't want to let that go. And I haven't. But, I'm a firm believer that you can only have so many things on your plate before you drop to average at all of it... And I want to be great. 

The reason this feels important and somewhat related, to me, to Justin + Brittany's session is because this one was a turning point for me. Wedding season had slowed, and I was finding myself wanting to tackle all my goals at one time. There was this sense of urgency and readiness, part from coming off of my wedding season high (my happy place!) and part because I felt like I'd had a revelation of where I want to take this business... No, where I want this business to take me. And I felt myself be more confident than ever during this session because finally I felt like I had given myself clear direction with which to work. Freeing. 

Back to Brittany and Justin... (I ramble when I'm excited!) The energy at this session was powerful. Brittany was right in the middle of training for her first NPC Competition, and I'm not very knowledgable on the topic, but I know it takes a lot of dedication, hard work, and an intense amount of self-confidence throughout the journey. Throw in wedding planning and well, Brittany's my idol. We talked a lot about it, because other than wedding plans, this was the most prevalent thing in her life, and what I loved more than hearing Brittany talk about her passion was watching Justin beam with pride.

I've learned that this is the common denominator, the root , if you will, to the confirmation I feel leaving every meeting or session with my couples. She's always joyful, glowing and full of excitement... This is that chapter of life she's been dreaming about...  And he's always so proud to call her his. I get to play a part in so many fairy tales, and for that, I'm convinced I'm the luckiest girl in the world with this business. 

Stay tuned, Justin and Brittany become husband and wife in early September! 

 As always, thanks for following along with this little dream of mine. 

XOXO, Taylor  

 

Favorites of 2016

It's still January, even if only for one more day, so I feel like it's still relevant to discuss 2016. Don't be a hater, I'm excited about this whole blog thing, okay? Let me relish in it, at least for today.

Every day this business of mine stays at the forefront of my mind. I know you learned a little bit about me from my bio, but there was only but so much space. I touched on the fact that I'm a full time accountant, so you're probably wondering why (or how!) photography? If I had to describe my personality, aside from being a life-shouldn't-be-taken-too-seriously, coffee addicted, and all things Bachelor/ette lover, it would be that I thrive on success to a fault, recognizing that to me, success looks different depending on the circumstance, and can come in many forms. Success can also be momentarily, daily, weekly, annually, etc., depending on how you set your goals. From this trait, it's hard for me to talk myself down from an idea. Believe me, I annoyed my family for years, always documenting family functions to exhaustion. A whole year before I actually launched my business, I thought about launching my business. Dreamed. Talked about it... let up for a bit... talked about it some more.

"If all I ever do is walk away with a nice, paid for camera, I'll be happy"

This was the fear of failure talking, and that was my exit plan. Buy nice camera, potentially fail, take nice pictures of my family and call it day.

But there are 80,000 other photographers. All more experienced, all talented, and it sure felt like a solid 90% were right in my backyard. Competition is scary. But equipment is expensive, and what I need is top of the line, right out the gate, and that is a lot of money (and this is also not true, just a side note for all the aspiring photogs out there.) 

But what if I fail?

On Thanksgiving of this past year, I woke up like everyone else, thankful for so much. I try to be this way every day, but Thanksgiving is a time where we get to be truly (and publicly) intentional about being thankful. 2016 was a year where this business felt like an actual business. I was (and am) still very much in the "hustle" stage, but I began to reflect on all of the many blessings the year had brought me. Bottom line, I saw my business thrive. There were times I couldn't keep up with the inquiries, had to say no because of lack of availability (a bittersweet "problem"), and while in the moments it didn't always feel like a blessing, I spent many all-nighters trying to finish up the pile of sessions or weddings needing to be delivered.

I'm just so thankful. And I want my clients and potential clients, and everyone who stumbles across my work to know that I'm so thankful. I started this business on the foundation of giving. I wanted to be a blessing to people, and to do so using the gift God has given me. I wanted to spread love always, and make an impact every chance I could. What I didn't realize is how blessed I would be by my clients. It's truly come full circle. I'm blessed.

Here are a (VERY!) few of my favorites from 2016!

I'm so excited to start 2017 with a giveaway! SO many people entered my Facebook giveaway, so I chose two!! The winners are GRACE SHORT and KATHY PRIMMER! Thank you so much to the many, many ones of you who entered. Keep your eyes peeled on your e-mails over the next couple of days for a little something for each of you!

Thanks for all the support, always. Cheers to this just being the beginning. XOXO