So…

I just deleted everything from my Google Reader.

Earlier this week I started dumping all the crap out of my house in LARGE BATCHES.  I – meaning my husband – hung new blinds.

I’m moving all the books in hte house to the empty back room, personal library anyone?

It seems like right now in my life I am all about resetting, restarting. Becoming the person I want to be.

And I feel like I say this ALL THE TIME. And maybe I do, but I think everytime I get closer to who I wanna be so I am ok with that.

I am not going to put a picture in this post. I am not gonna promise to post more. I am just gonna blog today. Thats better than yesterday.

one of the things I complain about, A LOT is the lack of drive in poets and photographers. Poets don’t read poetry, just wanna write a poem and jump on a stage and perform. Photographers just wanna grab a cheap digital camera print some business cards by vista print and then say they are professionals.

I could start a rant right here, but in 2011, thats not my goal. The problem isn’t how many photographers there are hanging shingles, its what they don’t know that is the problem. And while I hate, and I mean HATE the way most new photogs approach people about learning. I mean really, sore spot – don’t tell me about your passion for photography, EVERYBODY is passionate about photography. Don’t tell me how much you wanna learn so you can rock your business, training my competition isn’t high on my list of to dos – end sore spot. It is my responsibility to give back, and I really LOVE to give back, I love networking and meeting other photographers. I love to share ideas and learn with others. But in the words of my awesome partner in crime Jerren…

• I want my work to say something about me or the subject. Not just be random clicks. —Jerren

That being said, I wanted to find things that were tangible and share them books, DVD’s things that I ahve invested in and have helped me grow, technically. We’ll work on other aspects at a later date. Today I am gonna recommended that every person would would like to get past person with camera to photographer who makes a living with their camera, start by joining PPA. Its not horribly expensive. It has a ton of benefits, and once you do that you can look into getting certified. It is one of my personal goals to be come a certified master of photography. And at a recent workshop (we’ll get to the value of those later as well) the speaker Sandy Puc talked about feeling a lot like how I feel about the photography industry and spoke about being certified. she has created this tool to help photographers get there, its called Ceritfy With Sandy

http://certify.sandypuctours.com/

Go there read it and get started!

I love these two. Like totally. They remind me of everything you want your daughters to find when they grow up and meet a boy and fall in love. He just looks at her and you know he is gonna be there. And shes just the sweetest girl, you can just see why he’s so smitten.

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Aren’t they just the cutest thing?

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Beautiful flowers from Marry Me Flowers!

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Who knew JCrew was doin it like this with the wedding dresses..

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I loved this moment during the ceremony, just so sweet.

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awesome portrait of the groom…

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”

heres our questionnaire from the bride and groom! Super sweet day! Thank you so much for letting me capture it for you! This was easily one of my favorites for the year!

hair | the talented Marie Simone at Shi Salon
florist | marry me flowers
ceremony/reception venue | forest park’s jewel box & windows on Washington, 8th floor
DJ | Lagarius criss (dj koncise)
cake | Francie @ encore bakery
Brides Dress | j crew
bridesmaid dresses | j crew
tuxes |savvi

What was the most memorable moment of your day?
Groom: when I first saw Jamie coming down the aisle. All I could think was ‘wow!’
Bride: when rod and I had our first dance. He picked me up, spoon me around and I just felt like a princess. I also loved my serenade from all Nupes. (love u guys!)

What was your favorite detail?
Groom: the intimate setting in the jewel box. I could look around and see everyone so clearly. It was perfect.
Bride: i absolutely loved my flowers and the hostesses dresses. They all just looked so beautiful in the jewel box

Funniest memory from your wedding day?
Groom: the faces of Madison, the flower girl and Joshua the ring bearer while waking down the aisle. Hilarious. And also my cousin Bobo killing the dougie on the dance floor. The ladies were going wild.
Bride: seeing my mom on the dance floor, because for about a year she had been practicing all the moves she would do at the wedding. And she was finally been able to get them all out her system…she looked beautiful and was boogying the whole night!

Any advice for future brides/grooms?
Groom: give the bride whatever she wants lol, and most of all be there to support and comfort her during the stressful moments of wedding planning.
Bride: to just really let loose and enjoy your day and just soak up all the love from everyone

What was your favorite wedding purchase?
Groom: buying Jamies ring. After months of searching I walked in and bought her ring within 5 minutes. I knew it was right because I couldn’t stop looking at it.
Bride: my dress, it was just my style!

What are your honeymoon plans?
Groom: to enjoy the beaches of Hawaii and relax with my baby…excuse me WIFE!
Bride: we are currently sitting on our hotel balcony enjoying the views of Waikiki beach in Hawaii. It’s so breathtaking. We have 6 wonderful days here.

I opened my big mouth on Facebook and I said I was gonna blog everyday.

This is a major thing for me. I miss my blog, I have a personal blog out there somewhere and the boudoir blog. I do use “the Facebook” as a friend refers to it A LOT, and I twitter a lot. But nothing is quite the same as blogging, actually sitting down with my thoughts and writing them out. And since I miss it so, I was talking to a friend who I told needs to blog more (pot? yeah this is kettle!) and she was all i’m gonna blog everyday for 30 days… and I was like ME TOO!

Then my site went down. Its been down for like four or five days. Which Sucks. Royally. But now its back and we are building everythng back in, and my blog is back up, so now I am blogging. YAY! so do be prepared. Blog is back baby! 2011 is the year for me to rock and roll it!

I’m being optimistic, can you tell?

Before I post their wedding I thought it would be who of me to post their wonderful engagement session. We had a wonderful afternoon together wandering the gardens, and hanging out in beautiful Lafayette Square and basically just enjoying a beautiful day. My favorite thing about these to is how comfortable Rodrick seems to make Jamie. she just seems so ease into her skin, and he seems so much happier, more relaxed, when she finds that spot. I don’t know if htey know how easily they effect each other but I so hope their engagement pictures remind them how well suited for each other they really are.

Vote for your favorite! and leave a comment letting the bride and groom what you think!

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our wedding crasher photo

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check back with us in a few days to see the wedding images, and please don’t forget to vote for your favorite images!

Just a rive by cause I went to a small local bakery for breakfast and brought my camera to take a few shots of my girlfriends brother. He needed a head shot and I was game for a piece of quiche.. WIN WIN for everybody. Her brother Lucas is a key part of the North Saint Louis Farmers Market. I hope to get out to support them all very soon! I am a fan of anything that helps get fresh fruit and veggies out and into our kids!

Breakfast however was at Sweet Art Bakery in my neighborhood (Shaw, its a great place to live!) I took a few pictures of the wares. I don’t get to shoot food as much as I would like but its always fun, cause you get to eat the models when you get done! if you stop by tell the Bayoc’s we sent you!

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Dorona is a former coworker at AT&T and when her birthday came around she really wanted to do a special set of images for her milestone. This was one of my favorite session types out side of the boudoir offerings I do with Its Intimate. She didn’t want to do a boudoir just yet but still wanted to do something Just For Her. And when was the last time you had a photo shoot with pleasing yourself in mind?!? EXACTLY! As a human I think people should spend a little more time thinking about doing things to make them selves happy, whether that is a personal photo shoot or goin fishin for a random afternoon!

Thank you so much for choosing me to document this beautiful new phase in your life! I cannot wait to shoot your next beginning!

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I want to let you in on a secret…

I am not as organized as I want to be. I have the best take off and I can get the triple back off with out a flaw but I usually don’t stick the landing in my execution.  I have found that this season, this weakness has been more exposed since I have tightened up so many other areas of my business and has become the thing that I feel the most drive to correct.

Being Pregnant with kid number three has throw some bright lights on the things that will be a hindrance if not corrected, and pose hurdles I don’t think I can over come on the strength of being cute. Giving birth won’t remove as many of the hurdles as I would like to think. Babies, as I recall, make you tired and a bit spacey – pregnancy brain is really just an introduction to Newborn parent brain which morphs itself into oh my god there are three of them now brain.  So, I’ve decided to kick some things into high gear and while on maternity break I’ll be revamping Pinxit Photo, from top to bottom.

Hence why I said maternity break, not leave cause I don’t expect to leave much work undone here.

The first thing I will be implementing will be a scheduled work week, my family needs me to be mom, more consistently. Which means not changing plans at the last minute to accommodate every request my clients call with. Knowing when I am on call and when I am not, when I can take a last minute session and when I can’t,  When I am available for phone calls and when I should be tucking people into bed and paying attention to my husband. You know, the basics.

So introducing my new hours effective immediately

Studio Hours
Tuesday and Thursday noon to 7 p.m. (available for client meetings by appointment and portrait sessions)
Wednesday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (available for client meetings by appointment) and (available for for portrait sessions by appointment til 7p.m.)
Friday noon to 4 p.m
Saturday: Reserved for weddings & sessions. No Office Hours. All calls and emails will be returned on Monday.
Closed Sunday
Mondays are my administrative days, so I won’t be taking client meetings but I will be working on all the fun stuff (i.e administrative stuff -the joy! )

I am hoping that with this new schedule I am leaving enough time for clients who work  9-5 to be able to still come in on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which have always been my target meeting days anyway for some reason, and with Mondays being my admin days I can get more of the daily grind stuff done early in the week and not feel like I am playing catch up come Wednesday. The beauty of this is nothing is set in stone, and I have the choice to be flexible – which I am hoping to employ with a bit more selection than I have in the past, as what is the point of boundaries and schedules if you throw them out at first sign of any difficulty. Except for Sundays, I feel like I need to place a renewed focus on my faith and making time to pray and worship is paramount for me right now, so I will not be taking any additional Sunday portrait sessions at all. Sunday weddings are available at a price premium.

I’ve also decided to minimize my time in my email box and returning calls. The primary number for all clients is 314 827-4686, if I don’t answer this line, it truly means I am involved with something that requires my full attention, and I will call you back during my scheduled time in the day for call backs and email returns, unless the office is closed. If the office is closed I will return your call or email on our next business day.

My clients truly mean the world to me, I LOVE that they trust me to create such awesome images, and I take that trust very seriously. Which is the number one reason why I feel like I need to make these types of changes to my business. As much as I love what I do – it is a business, and I cannot treat it like I am working for my buddies. Much as I hate to admit it, i do feel like my clients are family by the time we get to the album. I am working for you, and you deserve a business that acts and respects the investment you have made. One that is working to build the value of your investment. It is what I look for in the businesses I choose to patronize. It is what I want for my clients, most of all, I don’t want my businesses business to kill the fun and passion that I have for my work. In talking to other photographers this is the thing that I fear kills more new businesses, when the new car smell of entrepreneurship wears off.  And I want to be prepared to keep the fires burning in my belly.

Alas, I guess This is enough business talk for one day, I think I wanna get on top of this new burst of energy and kick butt for the rest of the day.

Speaking of which I’ve got a new Senior Rep, who I am excited about shooting this week, and I am looking for several more so if you know a high school junior, (i.e. going into 11th grade this fall) please feel free to send them my way, they can earn free sessions, prints and cash! And get great images to boot! And to close out this post I am going to post a shot of St. Francis Xavier that i took with Lance Omar Thurman earlier this year, I’ll be blogging that wedding soon!

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Ronya and Preston are the kind of cute couple you hope your kids grow up to be. They met in high school so the story goes and dated a little but went their separate ways – and met up in their adult life at a bread company and thought they should give it another try. They got married this past April on one of the few BEAUTIFUL spring days we had this season. And I thought their wedding would be a great place to jump back into blogging.. I’m also trying out a new feature please vote for your favorite image!