I'm Wide Awake | Stylized Winter Session

Very rarely do I get time to do something for me. We were in the middle of moving, life was crazier than it had been in months, it was the worst time to take two seconds out of my day to just play. That's when I KNEW this session was something I HAD to do. You should never be too busy to do things that are good for your soul.Taylor and I had been planning this session for a few weeks, waiting for the weather to break, waiting for me to make the feather jacket for her wardrobe, waiting on everything to be perfect. Another lesson that I learned during this- If you always wait for things to be "perfect" you will never do them. So on a a 20 degree, windy, winter day we headed out to capture a vision I had swirling in my mind. It felt so good to let go, be me, have no expectations, no results I HAD to get. It was just me, my model, and the camera. This is by far one of my favorite sessions I have EVER done. I find that when I am truly allowed to let go, I fall in love with my craft all over again. As time passes this year I am learning "photography" all over again. I am learning ME all over again, and it feels refreshing. I know not everyone will follow me on this journey, and that's ok, but I want you to take a look at what it looks like before you turn back:

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Special thanks to Taylor, my beautiful model, for helping me bring my vision to life and for providing the remaining wardrobe. You allowed me to feel alive again.... that means more to me than you can ever imagine.

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Photographed in Fort Gratiot, MI   |   AJBC Photography 2014

For the Full Beauty Gallery <---- click here!

Check out Brooke's Dark Beauty Gallery here!

For some magic beauty check out Katie in the red Dress!

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I deserve not to starve

I've read TWICE this month about 2 photographers, one local and one not, closing their doors FOR GOOD. WHY?

Because they BOTH said they could NOT survive and support themselves off their FULL TIME self employed photography income.

I checked both of them out on facebook. One had an ok number of likes with ok work. Alright- so that makes sense, perhaps there was room for improvement, on marketing and on technique. I've seen worse though! One had 5,000+ likes and beautiful work. Clearly people saw the beauty in her work and she had quality images!!

So what gives? How can 5,000 people like your work and you not be able to live off that? I don't KNOW, but I can make an assumption... These photographers were not charging what they were worth. Plain and Simple.

As Artists we love what we do- but this is also our job. We're here to have fun but we don't have hours to throw out the window either. So to anyone who wants something for free, or next to nothing- remember- we aren't just selling paper, or are required to give away digital copies bc they are "free." That "paper" holds cherished memories never to be seen again, those files took us hours to envision, capture, and artistically perfect, AND we have to survive just like you.

We have thousands of dollars in to our gear (and if you don't, I honestly don't feel as though you can call this your REAL profession... I'm not talking about hobbyists who have another job, I'm talking about the people who give it their ALL EVERY DAY.) We have years of knowledge. We have a talent no one else has. We have an eye and artistic mind you can't just borrow. And yes- if you want a custom, specialty service, you have to pay for it. Just like a painting, or a limited release item, or a product built just for you!

The SAD part is- I'm still not saying you have to charge $10,000 per session but you can not be the photographer shooting, editing, burning, and gifting EVERYTHING for $100 either.

WHY? Because you will SINK just like these people did unless you have another job or have someone else to support you. AND bc you have a GIFT that is worth more than what it cost me to buy a pair of over priced jeans from the Mall.

Please think of it this way- $100. approx. for 10 hours broken down in to emailing, meeting with a client, shooting, editing, viewing, making a disc / prepping ordering, (whichever you do), delivering products. Done. $100 divided by 10 is $10 an hour. Then uncle Same takes out 30%. $7 an hour. Then you have to pay all your studio bills, your business insurance,  sales tax, or... or... OR.... the list goes on. SO NOW you are working for yourself for like $3 an hour. Really!?

NO! STOP IT! YOU STOP IT RIGHT NOW! YOU are worth more than that and so is your work, and so is your time!!!!!

To all of my clients- THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for seeing the value in what I do. Thank you for accepting the fact that I LOVE having fun with you but I am NOT here to play all day and that I create beautiful things for your home to support me in mine. YES- I love what I do but I am also very proud to say my full time job is a business I built, myself, from the ground up, and that it's in a field that many put the word "starving" in front of.

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(self-portrait created during my 365 project in 2011)

Think of it this way- I have the drive and the fire behind me that a starving artist does, except I choose to eat, bc I deserve to.

90 and counting.

2012 was a beautiful year.

I turned my love and passion for photography into an official company-  A.J.B.C. Photography

My husband built me my own inspiration get away- what most call my studio.

And I learned MORE than I ever could have imagined about myself.

I also had the support of so many wonderful people- my family and my friends and my dedicated clients, who most now fall under 1 of those 2 categories :) I've had the pleasure of working with SO many great people! And I can honestly say I've had fun on every single one of them!

All 90 of them. 

Yep, that's right. 90.

In 2012 alone I had 90 sessions- which blows my mind.

I know it may not be a lot to some companies but knowing I started this business MYSELF and knowing I did the work alone, well, 90 seems like 2,000 (and believe me, some days it DID feel like that, rushing to meet deadlines, completing last minute orders, driving hours away to return hours later- yeah, I know, I know, I secretly love every minute of it!)

I wanted to post an image with this entry and I thought there was nothing more fitting than, literally, the last couple I photographed in 2012.

Do they know I photographed them on the beach, arm in arm, walking into the sun? No.

And I think that's what makes it even more beautiful for me- how ironic that fact is. 

Thank You, from the bottom of my heart, for an amazing year!

I couldn't be MORE excited about 2013!!

Here's to 180!