I was told recently that "Your mood greatly affects the outcome of your creativity!"  Basically you crate better when you are in a good mood, unless you are an angry artist and that's your thing.  :)  This world we live in can really be a Debbie Downer when it comes to all the negative news on TV and social media.  We have such an amazing powerful tool in out hands called smart phones and a lot of times it is highly misused.  
I was looking at my S.E.O report from last month and the pie charts have finally changed showing cell phone searching my business is greater than desktop.  I'm actually surprised it took this long but it has happened.

We all are connected in ways that could be such a positive experience yet many still focus on the negative ways to live.  The news still follows the golden rule of, "If it bleeds it leads!"   I think it's time for a change in media.  I also believe you cannot have a voice about a topic until you are an active participant.  Meaning; most people complaining about the wall we are building for our borders have NEVER LEFT OUR COUNTRY AND RETURNED!  Go to Canada and see how they operate their borders.  It's just an example you get where I'm coming from.

I have a Youtube channel called "Focused with GK" and I'm practicing what I preach.  I choose to give a positive outlook on life while being creative for someone else in the world to look up to.  Someone needs you right now.  Someone is having a crappy day because nothing makes sense anymore. The best way to stay in a slump or a bad mood is to hang around people who love the same company.  STOP!  Stop thinking you are never going to get your life better, change the way your life is or just turn the corner of the problem you are having right now.  Life does offer something we need to all embrace quicker and quicker...it's called change!

Changing how your bedroom decor looks will help you enjoy your time in that room more.  Cleaning your house allows you to appreciate your home rather than wishing to move.  Start with the small changes you need for yourself before expecting the people around you to change for you.  When you close your eyes at night you are living with your decisions whether they were good or bad for the day.  If you know what I'm talking about then today you needed me.

I have a voice because I choose to take the lead and experience all the things this thing called life has to offer. I am a photographer who loves the human connection more than anything.  I love making you smile, capturing your victories and celebrating your new changes in life.  I usually get the phone call for weddings, newborns, special events etc.  All of these events are important to you and your evolving life you are experiencing. 
Yes, I just take pictures for a living...or do I?

Join me on my Youtube channel so we can add positive value to the newer generation of creators.  I truly believe people who have big dreams for themselves should be motivated not squelched.  When I asked my mom and dad about my photography business ideas they told me to go for it!  With that positive push and the offer on the table that I could always come back home, was all I needed to believe in myself, only blame myself for failure and celebrate all the efforts I planned to accomplish. I'm still working on my dreams because they just keep expanding. My parents love and support was the only fire I needed and today I'm telling you it's time you experienced the same.  

Whatever it is you want to change in your life, I'm giving you permission to take care of YOU. Those who support you will always be there for you...the others were never meant to be in your life anyway.  when you ride a commercial airliner they will tell you in case of an emergency, face masks will drop down for oxygen.  The stewardess will  tell you to take care of yourself FIRST in order for you to be able to take care of the people next to you.  Put that mask on yourself and take the deepest breath possible and lets get this thing!

OK, I have to get back to developing the 2 weddings I photographed recently.  

​

I was listening to a podcast today about being self employed.  The speaker was none other than, Gary Vaynerchuk. He said calling yourself And entrepreneur in your profile is like the new in thing to say without any real depth unless you've been at it for a long time. People don't realize everything that goes along with being self-employed. People think You have no boss but you do, it's every single person who enters your business, emails you or get you on the phone. The best thing he said was, "if your business is having problems you are the only one to blame because you own it along with all the decision-making that goes with job."  If you work for a company where there are multiple employees then you may have other people to blame for your problems, but if you are self-employed it all stops with you. 

 I personally think the best time to be self-employed is when you are young, because you have very few obligations such as health insurance, paying for your children school, feeding more mouthes than just you, etc.  When you have such a huge leeway to make mistakes and recover from them you don't feel the pain and the Sting as much as if you were older with so many responsibilities that lay on you.   By no means do I think this rule does not apply to someone older, I just think your grace period for recovering from steaks are fewer and shorter lived that if you were younger.  

If you haIf you have never listened to Gary Vee speak about business in today's world, then you need to search him ASAP.  We live in such a world of political correctness that nobody wants to hurt anybody else's feelings by telling them the truth, therefore they sugarcoat everything and just give you the real information by bits and pieces and hope you get their point. Gary V on the other hand will tell you as it is, as you should hear it, and as hard as you need to be told In order for it to hit you in the face and sink into your brain quickly! 

Is being self employed easy?     N O    N O    N O    N O!!!!!
Can you be successfully self employed and make millions while pleasing clients along the way?     YES   YES   YES!!!

My life evolves around so many obstacles that combine into one common flow for success.  I know that's a mouthful but it's true.  I absolutely love the customer service aspect of my business. I can truly write a book on how to handle clients and organize your life if I could only find time to write this book. HAHAHAH

The hardest part of being self-employed is not knowing where your next paycheck is coming from. You're always beating down doors, being up yourself with endless hours of hopeful marketing and when it's all said and done you pray for good results. I have hit it out of the park many times in my career so my optimism becomes an infectious even to myself. I think after a while you learn what you were good at and what your clients will purchase from you. I will leave you with this one little word to close out this post… Why!

Do you know your why? 

If you do not know who Simon Sinek is?  

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!