I finally took time for myself yesterday morning and captured some cool imagery inside a graveyard.  My Youtube video will show you my experiences.  Happy October everyone! Halloween is right around the corner.

Yesterday was my business birthday of 24 years.  The single most important tool I had when I started my business is the ability to say "Yes I Can!"  when everything and everyone around you says NO you need to find your YES!  Look this is truth. Nobody in the world wants your success in life more than you do.  Your mom, wife, husband, best friends, Facebook followers can all say they believe in you and they support you but that has nothing to do with the personal battles you deal with in your own head.

I understand the thought of giving up or just saying why keep trying because i feel like I'm not getting anywhere.  These negative demons in your head can ABSOLUTELY b e vanquished. There is a web site I follow called www.positivepops.com
Jesse, the author, has ways of creating the reality within your possibilities and shows you how to accomplish greatness.  I can give you the exact steps for how to become successful but that doesn't mean you will get it done.  My path to success will be different than your journey.

The most important voice you need to create in your head is the one that will say, "Yes I CAN", when those negative thoughts come around and make you feel like you cannot. My reality is after 24 years I am well aware of my journey.  I know who I am as a person and an artist.  I know my limitations and my greatest strengths. I'm writing this blog today as a way to remind myself that I CAN keep creating the better version of myself. 

​Stay Focused on your dreams.

The other day I was thinking to myself, can street photography be done on a smart phone? Well I put this theory to the test and I was shockingly surprised at how well it works. I will say, my backstory to this is the one feature to my phone I really dig a lot. I can tell my Samsung galaxy 7S edge to go to pro mode and adjust settings like I would on my DSLR camera.  The image you see below was taken while waiting for my Huber in the rain after a job at Muriel's. While I was in my Huber driving to my destination I adjusted the image a tad in an app called Snapseed and posted it to Instagram.   Can a phone replace a DSL are at the moment… No, but the best camera to have is the one on you. If all you have is your phone on you when you see an image worthy of a photograph then just take the picture man and share your image with the world  

When I started my photography business reason I was excited to Be a photographer! In this day and age, I cannot believe how long the list is of things we do for our business that is totally outside the realm of actually taking pictures.  I have gotten to the point where my sessions are my creative break from being chained to the computer. 

The following is a list of tools for the business in 2018
Website
Blog
Instagram
Facebook
Youtube
Twitter
Linked In
Google plus
Podcast - coming soon
Emails
Lightroom
Photoshop
online hosting of images
online ordering
our labs
packaging & delivery
phone calls
Google Calendar
Business client software
Custom Flash Drives for digital images
Custom Boxes for prints and flash drives

Every single item listed is what I use on a daily basis EVERY SINGLE WEEK!
Did I mention it's all completed by just me, no employees!

Here comes the inspiration:
If you are 20 something years old and you want to create a business for yourself whether it's full time or part time then STOP making excuses and MAKE IT HAPPEN!
I'm 46 and still rocking my dream! All of the things listed can be a super pain in the booty, but seeing results of your hard work truly pays off.

If you are judging yourself by the number of likes posted on Instagram or Facebook, you are missing the point.  All of these social media outlets are FREE!
Do you have any idea how hard it was to start my business and all I had was a small listing in the phone book because I couldn't afford a larger ad. I was literally the small guy in town scratching to get by.  Now I'm a leader in my industry and a Ambassador to my city.

Photography is the knowledge of exposing for light.  These days your business, reputation and branding is all online. The simple fact that these free options can expose you to people all around the world is simply amazing, yet so many business owners aren't using them at all.  

I love my job. 

If you own a business and I hit some nerves because it applies to you, then this was your motivation. In the words of Casey Neistat,...DO MORE!

I have always loved working with just one light source while learning how to get the most out of the quality of light available.  The sun is a very unique source of light to expose for.  It is truly amazing to notice all of the color and quantity values the Earth gets throughout the day depending on the atmosphere.  As a working pro photographer I like to schedule sessions outdoors within the best times of the day for the best quality of light.  The difficult part of scheduling sessions like this is the unknown. Our weather here in New Orleans plays an acting role when we photograph outside.

The time of day is not only important for the sunlight but also the crazy heat and  humidity.  OUCH!!!!!  Today was 96 and the air was  filled with humidity as if you were breathing air inside a hot sauna.  The most important reason why I love working with natural light is for the mood and ambiance of the scene.  The above images are all exposed for the sunlight only.  The 1st image was the end of the day sun entering the room being filtered by the windows. How the shadows are exposed is important here.  If you underexpose the shadows are too dark.  If you overexpose the image looses the mood.
The 2nd image I used the sunlight for my highlights instead of the main light.  My brain sees the options of how to use the light I'm seeing in front of me.  The sunlight is behind the client allowing the sun to shine across them giving highlights in the hair and shoulders.   The best thing to do is walk around your client first and see the options you have for exposing the image.  Doing this one step will also add creativity to your images because you'll see options you didn't see before. The world is in constant motion so move with it.

The last image was actually during the middle of the day which is usually the worst time of the day to shoot.  The building however does a fantastic job of becoming one large soft box depending on where you put your subjects.  I was totally fine overexposing the window light because I wanted to showcase my clients not the trees outside. 

Natural Light to expose for:
direct light
shade
highlights
shadows and where do they fall in your image!

The next time you are outdoors pay attention to the above and you'll start seeing the world in a new light.   no pun intended.  :)

Are you engaged? Do you know someone who is? This video will give you 5 tips on choosing your wedding photographer!

Tyler and Andre had a spectacular wedding reception at the Audubon Tea Room. Tyler had family from all over the world at her reception including Belize!  I always love seeing so many family and friends celebrating the union of 2 people.   OK, the delicious drinks and partying DJ providing the ones and twos helped a tad as well.  :)
​I have to share more images with you so please click  here for the post to continue!

 Well it's a sad truth but yes we a working on this Labor Day holiday. Don't give me wrong, I love the family time yet the laptop is on my lap while I take care of emails and future constant contact advertisements for our business. The kids are in the other room doing homework and studying for upcoming tests.  Labor day used to have more meaning before the blue law was instated.  I remember growing up where department stores and restaurants were closed on Sunday.  When stores had the option of being open or not on a Sunday, we all knew what was going to happen.  Stores saw that extra day as a day of profits.  We all know what happens when money is the objective and greed settles in.

You know who I respect the most right now out of all the fast food places...Chic Filet.  They are closed on Sunday giving there employees time with their families.  I LOVE IT!
I love businesses that stick to some wholesome values when in todays world it is far and few! I know this world is fast paced but slow down and enjoy your time with the people in your life.  Make the best with your day off, if you have one, while clearing your own head of all negative thoughts.   Most of my thoughts that are negative are usually about making money.  How am I going to make the next dollar?  It plays in my head over and over again.

Today I'm not going to worry about anything because the kids are all home in the next room.  Yes we may be doing some work but it's so we can clear the rest of our day and get our grillin on!!!   Time to put some beers in the ice and get that chicken on the grill!  

Life as an adult can be very busy, eventful and lack of time for yourself.  I have always told my groom at a wedding to never stop dating your wife.  Well sometimes you need the take the dates when you have time for them.  Elizabeth and I found ourselves dating at the grocery store twice last weekend.  Our kids were with friends or family when we had to make a grocery run and we were like,...well this is our date this weekend.   We held hands and giggled in the aisles remembering the times we didn't have the limitations we do now.  

We smiled at each other as we grabbed some hormone free chicken, a stalk of parsley or the many other items we needed from our list.  We would see other people in the store doing the same but they were freshly dating or newly married.  We were smiling because life is meant to be shared no matter where we are. I remember telling this beautiful woman at the altar that I will love her through sickness, health etc.  I can tell you all of these things get experienced at one point or another.  We still remember how fast time flew by to get us here in this grocery store but I guess you can say we are fulfilling our promise to each other.

I wouldn't say time in Whole Foods is romantic by any means but having the time to make my bride laugh and she still looks me in the eyes as if we were new to dating...well that is her gift to me.  This world is insanely crazy and extremely difficult to navigate so link your arms together like a game of "Red Rover" and plow through this thing called life TOGETHER!

just saying   :)

When I tell you this beautiful little girl gave us this smile and it only lasted a second or so, I prayed it was in focus when I quickly snapped the picture! YAY!   It was in focus and what a memory captured!  Newborn babies are so fun for ELizabeth and I to photograph for a few reasons. 

1) Elizabeth gets to scratch her itch for those beautiful little bundles of joy
2) We get to work side by side and remember the days when are children were this age.
3) We love being your family photographer.  My job does not end after the wedding you know?  :)

​You really have to click this link to see the rest of my favs because Leila was a rockstar!