Over the last few weeks, I shot a lot of Oilily at home and at Hume Lake. It’s such cute stuff, so I wanted to share it with you here!
When people ask me about my business and what it takes to make it (ie. make money at it) as a photographer, there’s no real easy answer. Where I live, everyone is a photographer. With so much competition how do you set yourself apart? Again, so many answers to this question. Like being yourself, playing to your strengths, communicating your brand effectively. But, one thing so many people skip over is so elemental, it’s easily missed.
Doing what you say you’re going to do. And doing it WHEN you say you’ll do it.
I’m a big fan of under-promising and over-delivering. Which means, I’ll tell my clients they will view about 35 fantastic images after their photo session, the reality is they will view about 50. If I ever find myself in a situation where the photo session is a challenge, I know FOR SURE that I can get 35 fantastic images. That’s my bottom-line. But, I know my average photo session will yield about 50. It’s a pleasant surprise.
Same thing goes with time-line. I promise the photos will be delivered in 2 weeks. That’s if everything in the world goes wrong. 99.9% of the time I have them back in a week. Again, the client is pleasantly surprised.
These very simple things will do so much for your business. If you tell someone you will email them the paperwork tomorrow, do it. If you promise you will call in the morning. CALL. IN THE MORNING. You’ll gain the trust of your clients and you’ll just feel better about yourself, knowing you’re someone who is trustworthy.
Slight change of subject…doesn’t being a parent make this so much easier!? If we tell our kids we will be going out for dinner tonight, we better make sure that is going to happen. They won’t forget! They don’t forget when the friends are coming over or when you promised to play basketball.
This is Jillian and I on a fun girls night out, that I promised we’d do. 🙂
Gazpacho isn’t the only summer soup. I like a chicken soup, pretty much any time of the year. It’s hearty enough to fill you up, but the broth gives it a light feel. When you serve it with a biscuit, and possibly a local honey or jam…it’s so very summery. I make a very simple chicken soup and this time I tried to change it up a bit by adding orzo. Orzo is a pasta that masquerades as rice. It soaks up the savory liquid, but isn’t as cumbersome as your typical noodle. I’m a fan!
This recipe has a case of ‘no specific measurements.’ Here’s how it all goes down. I buy a roasted chicken at Costco (or the local market.) I roughly chop the meat after it’s been taken off the bone. Take what’s left and through it in a big pot. Add water to cover it. Boil it for a little as an hour or as long as 4. See, NO specifics! But, the beauty of it is…you can’t mess it up! I don’t add any flavoring or vegetables. The seasoned skin is enough. I strain the broth into another bowl and set it aside. Using the same pot, I chop whatever vegetables happen to be lingering in the fridge. In this case, I used 1/2 an onion, a few celery stalks and a handful of baby carrots. Add a little bit of olive oil to the pot and saute the vegetables. Add the broth and chopped chicken back into the pot. You may not need all the broth, depending on how much chicken and vegetables you are using. Simmer the soup until 10 minutes before you are ready to serve and then add a handful of orzo. Again, the amount is going to depend on: A) how much of the soup you made B) how much you love orzo and C) how much leftover orzo you have in your pantry. In the 10 minutes it takes the orzo to cook, you can pop some biscuits in the oven, because this soup shouldn’t be served without them!
Summers are mish-mash of playing with the kids, speaking trips for Brent, having friends to my home and frozen yogurt. Lots of Yogurtland. I do actually work in between all that, but I’m lucky enough to plan my own schedule. Sometimes I take a job wherever we are traveling, sometimes I just squeeze photo sessions into the days we are at home before we turn around again. Speaking of turning around again, this week we are at Mt. Hermon. It’s a camp near Santa Cruz. Last year was our first time for Brent to teach at the family camp and it was an unforgettable week! Part of the awesome-ness was being able to spend the week with our friends from the Bay Area. Our kids are all best friends, so a week of non-stop hang out time was like fitting a year of friendship into 7 days. It’s fun.
Last year I took a few photos of the kids having the time of their life…
Between trips to the beach and the local frozen yogurt shop, you need to head over to Rascals to Rebels. They are having summer clearance and the deals are crazy good! I pick up swimsuits for my kids at the beginning of summer and then when they start to look a little ragged mid-summer, I can score a new one for a great price. Especially with the Indian summers we have here…as in: we’re still swimming in October, one swimsuit won’t last all summer!
And speaking of Rascals to Rebels, I wanted to share a few backdrops from over the years. I love to create and these backdrops have been so much fun to make. I only use them for the store, so it makes it extra special for all the Rascals to Rebels customers! When I went through my photos, I forgot how many I’ve done! These are only from 2009 and 2010!!
You cannot let summer escape without making strawberry shortcake. It’s one of those things you crave as the temperatures rise. Sweet berries, rustic cakes and smooth whipped cream is where it’s at. I’ve tried many different variations from angel food cake to a dense pound cake. Biscuits are best in my opinion. You want something to stand up to all those berries! I found this recipe years ago on Food.com when it used to be called Recipezaar.com. How’s that for dating myself! It’s my hands-down favorite….here’s the link if you want to check out the original: http://www.food.com/recipe/strawberry-shortcake-a-la-treebeards-41156
Shortcake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 4 teaspoons granulated sugar, divided
- 3/4 cup milk
Filling
- 1 quart ripe strawberry, washed,hulled and sliced
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup sour cream
Directions:
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Preheat oven to 450 degrees; grease a cookie sheet.
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To make Shortcake, with knife blade attachment on food processor, process flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, butter and 2 teaspoons granulated sugar until mixture resembles coarse meal.
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Pour mixture into medium bowl.
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With wooden spoon of paddle attachment on electric mixer, add milk and mix just until it forms a smooth dough.
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Scoop dough onto cookie sheet in 6 equal mounds.
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Dust top of shortcakes with remaining 2 teaspoons granulated sugar.
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Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
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Remove from oven; transfer to wire rack and cool.
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To make Filling, in a medium bowl, mash one-half of berries.
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Mix with granulated sugar and vanilla.
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Refrigerate 1 hour.
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To make Whipped Cream, in a chilled mixing bowl, beat cream with confectioners’ sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla until it just holds soft peaks.
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Add sour cream; beat until stiff peaks form.
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Cut off tops of shortcakes; set aside.
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Spoon Filling onto bottom of each shortcake.
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Cover with Whipped Cream and remaining sliced strawberries; replace tops.
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Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream, a strawberry half and a sprig of mint.
As promised, here are some more beach sessions from earlier this summer! Love these guys!!
I photograph a lot of birthday parties and the reaction to eating cake and frosting for the first time undoubtedly makes some memorable pictures! Lincoln so thoroughly enjoyed his cake that the rest of us couldn’t help but just crowd around and be entertained.
Even Lincoln’s big brother Hudson got in on the fun!
Part two of Lincoln’s red, white and blue party…the photo booth! This is such a great way to liven up a party. Throw up a simple backdrop in a shaded area of the party, add some props and fire away! Adults and kids get into it. Fun times!
My good friend Laura of Ascot Friday recently threw super cute party for her one year old son, Lincoln. All the stars aligned (with a birthday right before 4th of July and a name like Lincoln) for a red-white-and-blue BASH. I’ve photographed several of Laura’s parties and she out does herself every time! I’m dividing the party into three parts for the blog. This will be the post showing the decor and party guests. Then the photo booth and a special post for the cake smash. Because it was that cute!
Laura bought an old presidential campaign book and used the pages to make posters as decor. The dollar store had a wealth of flags and red, white and blue accessories.
Here’s Laura and her sister prepping the hot dogs…Bryan’s mastering the grill behind them.
What’s more American than apple pie a la mode? I love this party tip…pre-scoop the ice cream and adorn it with flags, so it’s ready to serve!
Next up…the fun photo booth!
