11 March 2016

What a week

It has been a great week... well that is my feeling as I sit here sipping my cup of Earl Grey on a Friday morning. So let's have a think, why am I thinking it has been a great week.
 
Firstly I was out and about with my camera shooting things this week - this always fills me with joy. Portrait, Architectural and Event Photography and a fabulous photo restoration were in the mix. Having work to do means invoices are being raised and that always makes me happy.

The beautiful Fiona

A rather splendid equestrian property in South Leicestershire gets the star treatment

Rain stops nothing

I have been speaking to my accountant to make sure I understand how my income tax will be affected by having become a Landlord at the beginning of the year. Seems all is in hand, I understand all that I need to do, what to look out for and I also cleared up a couple of things I didn't know about. Now I don't have to worry about this and I can concentrate on pushing my business forward. This really makes me happy. 
 
I started going to a new networking group this week and met some really rather lovely people who, after only that first meeting, are asking me to work with them. This makes me happy.
 
I also met up with people I networked with last year. We had all lost touch when the group closed so we planned to meet for a curry and it was great to catch up. I had missed them. It wasn't long, I think the poppadum and chutney's had been cleared away, before work was being passed around the table. Old networking habits never die. This made me happy. 
 
I have talked through a plan I have to rationalise parts of my business. Hearing myself say the words, rather than just having the thoughts rumbling around my head, has really helped and has made me realise it is the correct thing to do. There are parts of the business that are costing money but not bringing in any money. I have to say this is a little like asking a member of staff to leave - but I think needs must. So over the next few months I am going to be making the changes. I shall keep you informed. Sad as this is, it does make me happy.
 
On a personal note: I bought myself a rather large amount of wool this week, mostly purple, to add to my stash and have started working on a project with it. This makes me happy.
 
In summary: I think I can now see why this has been a good week and why I'm feeling happy whilst sipping my Earl Grey.

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07 March 2016

Scouting Locations

Sarah contacted me for some head and shoulders shots ready for her new business, new website and new career - all NEW hear!
She chose to meet outdoors near St Peter's Church, Burton saying "I want outdoors cos I'm an outdoorsy sort of woman". I like her style.
I arrived a few mins early and had a quick walk around looking out for nice backdrops alongside the River Trent. This structure was interesting. I loved the colours of the bricks, there was a good source of natural light and it would give us some shelter from the wind.

Shelter
Sarah liked the look of it too and this is my favourite image of her from inside the shelter:

Natural light and a little flash with a lovely brick backdrop

I also spied this spot with an ivy covered tree, the River and a moss covered wall:  

Mossy wall
Sarah had brought a change of clothes and so for this shot we chose the tweed jacket:

Mossy wall

I encourage my client to bring along a change of clothes (a couple of jackets, a scarf, different jumper) so that they have a few different looks. The reason for this is so they get more images from the one shoot that they can rota through the year. Sarah took this to heart and I actually have a shot of her in a tee-shirt. What a star and now she has images ready for use across all platforms for her new business throughout the coming year.

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