Monday, August 22nd, 2011
There’s no hiding this belly any more, we are expecting! Baby is going to be an early Christmas present, due to arrive around December 7th. We are waiting to see gender until birth. (I really do love green anyways…) Getting pregnant wasn’t initially part of my plan for 2011, and to be totally honest the first few months, ok, 4.5, kinda sucked. I had a few weddings too near my due date I had to regretfully unbook and I just felt plain awful about that and the morning, no, ALL day sickness. But having your life turned upside down is just part of preparing for a little one’s arrival. Now I’m 6 months (24 weeks) into this whole adventure and things are going well and growing well too! I’m sure December will be here before we know it.
Between now and then, I have 7 weddings! Needless to say, this fall season is going to be lots of fun and will certainly bring some additional challenges. But I am preparing a great team of assistants and second shooters to help with things. Today I bought my official “pregnant photog” wedding outfit, including a support belt and compression stocking! (Luckily, no one will see those parts of the outfit, but they might be the most important! ) I’m use to being incognito and I pride myself on guests commenting to me how they “didn’t notice me” and such. Hopefully my belly won’t give me away too much. :) (Especially if it is moving to the music, as a friend told me her baby did!)
That said, I am no longer accepting weddings for 2011. But please keep the 2012 inquiries coming. I hear babies need lots of stuff. :)
Top photo by Ryan Chatelain (aka, the baby daddy), bottom, self-portraits.
Friday, January 28th, 2011
I love snow, for a few hours. Such a different experience walking around my neighborhood with everything pretty in white.
Java Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
More here.
Friday, January 21st, 2011
In November 2009, I attended Pictage’s PartnerCon in New Orleans. It was such a great event in many ways and I met a lot of great people. But just like with every conference or workshop, you leave so excited but a bit overwhelmed at the new information and the work you now must do. Better late than never, I’m finally implementing one of the pieces of advice I gleaned from a workshop by Atlanta photographer Shari Zellers. Shari suggested joining a professional organization like ISES or NACES which are composed of all kinds of special events vendors from florists, caterers to event planners and designers. She described how the connections she made with order vendors has helped her career and even more importantly also found her good friends. I was inspired at the time to join, but it just wasn’t the right time.
ISES
Since moving back to New York over the summer, I’ve been learning about the wedding and special events industry in New York. Quite a daunting, but exciting, task! I finally decided to check out ISES, International Special Events Society, and attended a networking event on Wednesday at the Helen Mills Theater with my new business cards in tow. It was such a great event. Should I have been surprised? The speaker Andrea Nierenberg was excellent! She even emailed everyone a list of tips after the event so we could better focus on what she was saying. A few things I learned:
- One should wear nametags on the right, not left, so when you shake hands it can be easily seen.
- Listen, more than you talk!
- Write Thank You cards. Just one a day, or a few extra emails a day can keep you on someone’s radar.
- Follow-up! Ask people what their preferred form of contact is.
The food by member Paul Neuman’s catering company, was delicious. (A reason to join right there!) I somehow managed to get the last cheesecake lollipop which was awesome. As were the mini lobster rolls, gruyere and mushroom pizzas and addictive flaky cheese sticks at the bar. Not that I had much time to eat, given all of the talking!
A yummy chocolate covered strawberry by Neuman's
Needless to say, I joined. I met lots of really interesting people and look forward to more events (with awesome food!) and meeting others who love what they do as much as I do. Somehow David Fletcher of New York’s Best convinced me to sponsor the next event in February!
Now to see what other gems of past workshop advice I can put to good use!
Oh, and the Moo cards were a hit!
Wednesday, December 29th, 2010
I was going to do a best of 2010 post, or something along those lines. But then I realized, I want to look ahead, not back. 2010 was a great year, but I am super excited about 2011 and some of the things I have planned.
First off, I am dedicating the year to sharing. I want to share more of what I have learned about the “business of getting married”, especially when it relates to photography, with my clients and other couples as well. Secondly, I want to share more of what I know about digital photography with my fellow pro photographers and amateurs as well.
How? Using this blog. I’m in the process of changing it a bit, but the goal is to have it be a distribution point for regular content on topics that I think will be of interest. (Hint, regular will be the challenge!)
Why? Because it feels good to help others and I believe in karma. So much so, that I have it tattooed on my lower back. (no, really!) Let the sharing begin!
So that is my resolution for 2011. (May I not look back on this, embarrassed, at the end of the year…. :)
May you have a fantastic start to the New Year!
Kristy
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010
Hadn’t planned to stay up and photograph this, but several factors aligned so I though, why not? Wish I could have photographed the whole thing, but I lost my view on the fire escape as the night went on. And there was no way I was going to hang out on the street that early! I now have bookmarks and small prints available here!
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