See Ya Later 2016: Year in Review | Central Pennsylvania Senior Photographer

I truly believe that the older you get, the more time just seems to FLY by. I feel like it was JUST January 2016, but here I sit on December 30th, trying to process the past year and putting my thoughts out there for all to read.

This past year was a whirlwind. And I could easily come up with a top ten list of ways of the things I need to improve upon and focus on in 2017…but instead, I am going to focus on a few of what I view as highlights from this past year.

Have a seat, kick back, and read on!

Slice of Lime Street Team

Getting to know these girls this past year, getting to do fun things with them, getting to go out and cheer them on as they pursue their passions , and of course getting to do some fun creative shoots with them has without a doubt one of the highlights of my year.  I love that each girl is unique in her own way and that we don’t have a “cookie cutter” Street Team girl. I want to make sure that from year to year, our team keeps that authenticity and continues to embrace UNIQUENESS, INDIVIDUALITY and KINDNESS above all else.

Getting a Studio

Relationships and Connection are at the core of my Senior Photography business model. As such, pre-session consultations and in-person sales, are an essential part of that. As Slice of Lime grew, going to each client’s house or using Salon Noti as a meeting spot, became less and less convenient for me. After months and months of searching and months of months of compromising, Slice of Lime has a home in a beautiful old mansion right along the river on Front Street. The studio is not large by any means, but having a place to share with Landon Wise Photography, that we can bring our clients and where we can also do shoots at times, has been such a blessing!! So far I’ve been able to do several headshot shoots in the lobby of our studio building and I’ve had at least three street team shoots there as well. Can’t stress enough how awesome it feels to have a ‘home’! ( Sadly, I’m super lame and could not find many usable shots of the inside our studio in my files. I think some of that may be due to the fact that it is still a work in progress! But come the new  year, be on the look at for some actual shots from Landon and I of the inside of our Suite 208. )

 

Creative Shoots

Pushing myself creatively, trying to see things differently, and really aiming to continue to define my style as an artist was high on the top of my list of goals in 2016. Having a team of such awesome girls to experiment with and clients who trusted me during their sessions and didn’t bat an eye when I asked them to do ridiculous things, was essential to my growth this year. I also got a new lens, the 35mm and really pushed myself to shoot a lot with that lens to get the look and feel I wanted to achieve.  I got to do so many fun shoots this year so only being able to choose a handful of images for inclusion in this post was REALLLLLLY hard!!

Travel

Getting to shoot in different locations this past year has been such food for my soul.  2016 really fueled my wanderlust, kicking off last January with a cross country trip with an old friend. From Pennsylvania to Texas to New Mexico to Arizona to California…seeing the country along the way was just AWESOME. And while I got to do little to no portrait work on that trip, it lit the fire in me to just GO and travel.  So, getting back out to Seniorologie’s Conference Twelve in October was a dream. Because of that, I got to connect with some amazing souls again and as I type this I am two weeks away from flying out to California with some of those Conference 12  photographer friends to create without limits out in the desert. 2017 will be the year I finally get my passport and with some planning,  I hope to finally get to travel to another continent!

My TRIBE

There’s a framed print in my studio that says “YOUR VIBE ATTRACTS YOUR TRIBE”. I am sure if you follow me you are sick of hearing me say it. But relationship and connecting with others is essential for me. Especially in the creative world. We can waste so much time comparing and doubting ourselves, our talents, our visions…but when you find your PEOPLE…it’s a game changer. I have had the honor of connecting with so many genuinely kind, encouraging, beautiful souls, that I can call friends, that sometimes I sit and wonder how in the world I have gotten so lucky? I hear horror stories of photographers dealing with cattiness and nasty competitiveness, which can be so discouraging as you are trying to find your way.  To my tribe…you so, so, so, KNOW who you are and I can’t say enough, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU. Without you, this year would have been much more boring and I’d have spent much more time in tears and wallowing in self doubt. You each make me a better artist, a better photographer. Love you each beyond words.