a new heather/a new business

I’ve been bursting at the seams to tell this current story God is writing, but I’ve struggled to find the words, to find the balance of sharing it, and quite frankly the time. Here I am:  A stay-at-home mom, a wife to a pastor, and a newly part-time business owner.

I’ve had so many ask about my business, how it’s going, and why I chose to move out of the studio space.  Most look at me funny when I tell them that I stay home with Harper, and only work very part-time now.  I’ve worked so hard the last 5+ years to build the business, why stop the momentum?

This transition from fancy-artist-photographer to broom-holding-diaper-changer has been humbling to say the least! Today if I’m honest, I’m struggling a bit with finding my identity in photography. No specific reason, just the feeling of being a has-been. Unfortunately, I’ve secretly feared people forgetting about me and forgetting about my photography work. But I pause, and remember what’s really important.  Keep your eye on the prize Heather, He’s called you to so much more.

September 30th was the last day that I had my beloved studio space…with the option of renewing the lease I knew that God was calling me away and in a different direction. A direction He’s been pointing me in for what seems to have been 5 years.  I was building my business with a great plan while He knew that it’s course would be changed.  I reflect fondly on how God has worked in my business. I went from no work to always being busy the first two months of officially launching. I even had the joy of teaching and speaking at a couple of workshops, a long time dream of mine and one that I hope to keep accomplishing. I’ve had the opportunity to travel to other countries to photograph weddings. What a blessing!  Fast forward to now, and I know that this is not the season for me to seek more praise of my work, but to be homeward focused and to do it well.

I’ve made a billion mistakes in this last year, but I think I’ve finally learned the balance of home-life and business life. I’ve learned that this delicate balance is redefined each month as my family has different needs. I want to greet my husband in the evenings with a sweet kiss, and a happy hello. I don’t want to miss one minute of loving on Harper and teaching her through each milestone. I want to make the time to encourage, and spend quality time with my friends.  I wasn’t always good at being intentional with my friendships while running my busy business. I’m thankful to have strong friendships that I now value, instead of expect. Being too busy makes it quite easy to become self-important, and excuse regularly serving others, you know?  It sure is for me anyways…I’m thankful for gracious clients, a gracious husband, and a gracious God that allow me to stumble my way through!

So…all of this is what I’ve spent the last year learning…and yet still learning. I’m having to give the photography business back to Him over and over again. When things get overwhelming, I simply remember what I consider is success for me according to what He has called me to in this specific order…

Am I seeking the Lord?

Am I being a good wife?

Am I being a good mom?

Am I being a good friend?

Am I being a good business owner?

Do these things well, and do them to the glory of God.

Thank you to my friend Arden Prucha for the photo of me in the studio.  How proud and thankful I am of the accomplishment of my own studio.    It was a wonderful 3 years in that space!

And thank you to my sweet friend Kim Jones for the lovely portraits of our family!!

birth photography

over the summer i had the most wonderful opportunity to document two of my good friends home-births. if you know me, you probably know i’m passionate about birth! i gave birth to harper at a birth center almost a year ago and the experience was absolutely life changing.  you can read all about it here .

i honestly don’t think i’ve ever been so moved by photos. not because of my skills, but because i got to document life. the relationship between husband and wife, the amazing endurance that God has blessed women with in order to persevere through labor. it’s amazing!

as a photographer i sat back and watched the story unfold. typically, i have some control over my work. i place a bride and groom just so, i use a cute chair for a portrait with a child. but with this photography there was no interfering. i was challenged to not only document the mother in labor, but to find details that moved the story along. i used the movement of fans to represent time, and photos of clocks to give the viewers perspective as if they were there. i used photos of a tree in color to show what time of day it was. it was so wonderful to view photography in that way. this is why i love home-births. they’re so personal and intimate. i’m truly thankful that my friends, my dear friends allowed me to witness their births.

be sure to check out their slide shows.  there’s just something about photos set to music…

audrey’s slide show

arden’s slide show

here are a few of my favorite shots from audrey and arden’s births

and arden’s

this image above might be one of my favorites of all time.

you can read audrey’s birth story here

and

arden’s birth story here

2011 Christmas cards!

here’s a little look at a four out of the eight of my favorite designs from this years art-is christmas card templates.  we’ll be releasing them this coming week so don’t miss our big announcement and your chance to get them at the launch price!

i really challenged myself to incorporate some colors and textures that i haven’t seen in template design…i’m super excited about what transpired! all very different in design. i hope you love them as much as i do!

AND this year the templates are drag and drop, so all you’ll have to do is scale your photos to size, super easy and quick!

i can’t thank you all enough for telling your fellow photographer friends about these templates. without you all i would never sell a set, so a BIG THANK YOU from me!

harper part 2 {9.5 months}

i had so much fun editing miss harper’s photos.  i know how much personality she has, but these photos really captured her!

harper is:

super happy

ticklish

lover of animals (especially dogs)

baby kisser

an explorer (hates sitting still. ever.)

strong

really funny

mama’s girl (the way she wraps her arms around my neck so tight melts my heart.)

a definite extrovert (loves-loves people. large crowds are her fave.)

a fan of the word “duck.” (she says it all day long and it applies to everything (obviously). and she has her own duck-word language.)

most playful with her daddy. (she can’t get enough of him tickling her.)

not a very good shopper (i’m convinced one day this will change. i about have to put on a circus show to get her all the way through grocery shopping. however, to her credit i am quite thorough in my grocery shopping.)

as her proud mama, i can’t wait to see her grow. i learn more and more about her everyday. i pray for her heart, and i pray that God would show me what He’s gifted her in so that I can point her there, and facilitate what He’s trusted her with.  i already know He’s gifted her with a sweet love of people.  i’m so thankful He’s entrusted her to me!

as it turns out, harps is much better at the self timer portraits then her ol’ mom and pops…she looked and smiled on every one. we however, were a hot mess…:)

hannah {graduate}

i wanted to do a little something different for hannah’s graduate session…so we decided to hang books between trees.  she loves reading, and she loves everything vintage!

for the photographer: i used “dreamy”, “warm dreamy”, and “purple haze” from my in the works Art-is action set.  once i’m done tweaking, these will be offered on the site .

jacen + nakeia {jamaica destination wedding}

what an amazing time we had photographing jacen and nakeia’s gorgeous jamaica wedding! nakeia and jacen are from baltimore, and their wedding was the first time we met in person. nakeia and i bonded over our love of the ocean during our first phone consultation. we hit it off, and i couldn’t have been more excited to be a part of their beautiful day!  one thing that i absolutely love about photographing destination weddings is that i really get a chance to know the couple and their friends and family.  jacen’s grandfather is a retired photographer and shot medium format film. he and i got a chance to chat film and how there is nothing better than spending hours printing in the darkroom. something you miss with digital photography.  thank you to my amazing second shooter and husband, jim he captured some beautiful moments of the bride and groom!

don’t forget to check out their wedding slide show at the bottom of the post full of more beautiful story telling images!

seeing each other for the first time! such a special moment…

these “first sight” photos are everything that’s great about the bride and groom seeing each other before the ceremony!!

nakeia and jacen, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for having us document your wedding. it was such a pleasure!

THE SLIDE SHOW!! <——click here

a workshop for moms! {mothers day special}

MOTHERS DAY SPECIAL! Now through May 8 pay $125 {seats are limited}

hey friends, we’re hosting a workshop for moms and their big ol’ cameras. this workshop is for those who want to learn how to use their dslr cameras and take better photos of their kids! it will be held in our beautiful studio in the near southside of fort worth on may 21.

*i will teach you the best places in your home to photograph your little ones, as well as the best ways to capture them outside! when to use your flash and when to turn it off. and what tricks to use to get them to laugh and have fun.

what you’ll need: nikon or canon dslr camera (sorry, no point and shoot cameras)

the session will last about 2 hours and will include a mini booklet with all the information we’ll discuss during the workshop, as well as a little goodie bag! send us an email at heather[at]heatheressian.com to register. hurry, because the seats are limited and will fill up quickly. tell your friends!

**After Mother’s Day the price will go up to $150

the business of wedding photography

i absolutely love it when other fellow photographers write me asking questions about photography…i had so many photographers share their time and work with me when i was just starting out that it’s only natural for me to want to share my experiences!

i’ve spent a total of 7 years out of my 10 years of shooting, photographing weddings. i spent much of that time in the early years either shooting for other photographers or dragging their bags, and I learned so much during that time.  i’m now in my 5th year of being a full-time photography business owner. one question i was recently asked from a photographer was: “is there anything you know now, that you wish you would have known then?” (in regards to wedding photography.)

i’m sure there is a lot! but one of the first things that comes to mind is how different the business of wedding photography is from that of portrait photography. weddings are a big deal! a big deal to all that are involved. the business of wedding photography requires immense attention to each bride. to show them that they are special and to make them feel that they are the only bride you are serving.  this is expected in the wedding industry. because most brides plan their weddings a year in advance you’re planning your business a year in advance. if you’re new it can be tempting to overbook yourself because you’re excited about the work. that’s what i did anyways. i think my first year in “for real” business i traveled out of the country for destination weddings 3 times in 3 months while shooting many weddings and portrait sessions before, between, and after. needless to say it got tough for me to make each bride feel like my only bride.  my new business certainly suffered because i was overbooked, not to mention i was new to running a full time business. my first two years was a crash-course in running a business!

My advice to all photographers who own their own business is, DO NOT OVERBOOK YOURSELF. every one of us functions at a different level. some can handle more work then others and do well at it, if you’re like me less is more. take the time to learn your comfort level of business. if you have more clients or work then you can handle, it doesn’t mean you’re successful. it means you’re too busy to run a successful business. don’t worry about your other photographer friends and how many weddings they’re shooting. you do what works for you. consider raising your prices and take less work so that you can keep your clients believing in your art-work and in your business.   i’ve always said that just because you’re an amazing artist, doesn’t mean you should run a business. it’s important that we work just as hard on our business skills, as we do on our artistry.

with weddings, we have the pleasure of working with the brides for up to 2 years, or even more sometimes. i’m still fulfilling album orders from previous year brides. so remember that last years clients are often still this years clients, which means each year you have more and more clients to tend to. this is a great thing if you are well structured and know your limits.  it definitely takes time to learn how much work you can handle so don’t be too hard on yourself and take responsibility where need be. be open with your clients and be sure you keep them in the loop on the work you’re doing for them.  i’ve been so blessed to have such gracious brides that allowed me to take the time necessary to make their wedding photos even more beautiful in the editing process.  i found that they were very supportive of me when i explained the lengthy editing process to them and gave them a reasonable (for me) time-line of expectancy. communication is key. you don’t want to get into the habit of setting time-lines that you know you can’t feasibly meet. you will then find yourself either A. staying up all hours of the night possibly neglecting yourself, and perhaps your family, or B. not keeping your word and not fulfilling the work when you had promised.  of course at times we all have to learn the hard way. i’m not saying these things are bad, i’m just saying that once it becomes a habit, no one is happy . and believe me, your brides will talk. because the average person has no idea how long it takes to edit a wedding, and because every photographer takes a different amount of time, your brides just might get into a discussion with their other bride friends, and begin comparing their photographers work ethics.  yikes! so be sure you communicate to them the way you work best.

just to recap: “is there anything you know now, that you wish you would have known then?”  i wish i had pursued just as much knowledge in running a business as i did in learning my craft. i also wish i had taken advice from other professional photographers who had been in business longer. for example: my pricing.

cheers to you and your adventure as a photographer/business owner!  it’s okay to mess up, and it’s okay to feel like a failure at times. those moments press us on to becoming even better, and remind us of why we do what we do. keep the questions coming, i hope i can help!

stay tuned for a post about “day of wedding tips”

a few of my favorite images from a barcelona, spain wedding

Thank You!

Thanks so much for signing up for our first ever Moms workshop! I promise we’ll have lots of fun, and you’ll leave with tons of new tricks to try out .

Saturday, May 21st
1:30pm

:: Details ::

- What you’ll need: nikon or canon dslr camera (sorry, no point and shoot cameras)
- Recommended lens: Canon 50mm 1.4 or 1.8, Nikon 50 mm 1.4 (Not at all mandatory. This lens is a great portrait lens)
- Start time: 1:30 at our Near Southside studio. 1208 West Magnolia Ave, suite 224, Ft. Worth TX 76104
- Seats are limited, all sales are final.

pictage u {photographers}

photographers, if you haven’t heard of pictage you’re missing out. pictage is one of the largest proofing companies in our industry.  i’ve been with them since ’06 and have been super happy to be one of their clients! jim collins (pictage ceo) has really helped to take pictage to a new level.  they really care about their clients, and sincerely care about our experience with them.  they are ever evolving and working hard to out do themselves each year.  i like them.

they are putting on a family and kids photography conference/workshop next month called pictage u and i’m speaking and teaching at it! when they contacted me about being an instructor i was humbled and blown away…and then nervous.

i will be teaching right along side some amazing photographers who i know i will definitely learn from as well.  one thing i love about this conference/workshop is that it’s affordable!

you get to listen to each instructor speak on subjects that they are passionate about and ways that have helped their business to succeed.  i’ll be speaking on creative products, how to offer them, and how to sell them. as well as our studio space and why it works for us, and loads of more business info! we will also be doing a demo shoot where each photographer will spend time shooting a family or child demonstrating the way they approach that type of session.  and even better, the next day you all get to spend time directing and shooting the models.  great portfolio opportunities!  it sounds like the perfect workshop to me. and i get to be a part of it!! there will also be mentoring sessions available for individuals as well.   i’ll be giving a mentor session on retouching and overall image improvement in photoshop. a crash course if you will to make your photos look even better! mentor sessions are a great way to learn quickly what you need to learn without spending loads of time and money in a classroom.  i’ll be offering mentor sessions to photographers in the months to come  covering many different aspects of photography. contact us for more information. we’d love to chat with you about mentor possibilities!

CLICK HERE go to the website to get more info and to learn about the other instructors.  i hope to see you there!

to read a recent blog post i wrote on products on the pictage blog go HERE.