embracing morgan

I’m part of an online forum for KC photographers & came across this little piece of GOLD last night. If you’re a new photographer, or a photographer at all, read this & pass it along. 

Via Jason Domingues: (I bolded my favorite parts)

‎…….I thought it was a fluke when I got the first call but after the second and then also running into 2 bridesmaids (in the same week), saying “Is there a way for you to edit my wedding images, because I hate them” or ” Is there anyway you can re-shoot me in my wedding dress”? These brides are crawling out of the woodwork desperate because they had such a horrible experience with their photographer/images, that they are now trying to find a photographer who is actually reputable to fix things.

I want to break down every time I hear this. It seriously breaks my heart. 

So you might be wondering why I am bringing this up. You might be wondering what this has to do with me…or with any of the rest of us, for that matter. It’s someone else’s problem, right? Well, it WASN’T my problem, but now it is. Now, before I start shooting a wedding I have to answer these questions and justify why I am a true professional, and that I do, in fact, actually know what I am doing. Yes, I could just ignore it but would you?

I am not saying this because I want new photographers to stay out of the way. What I am saying is…just because you can afford a camera and put a craigslist add out there, doesn’t mean you are qualified to shoot a wedding. If you really want to shoot weddings, start shooting some for free (so that you can gain experience, but not have your clients be out a boatload of money if you screw it up). Then, after a while, charge a very small amount, and then, if you decide you really like it, and you are getting enough positive feedback about your work…THEN go for it. Don’t go out there and try to pass yourself off as an experienced photog, and charge the same as someone who has been doing this for years, and expect that things are just going to be all fine and dandy. You are messing with people’s memories of one of the most important days of their lives (and it can’t be re-done)! It’s not fair to your clients, and it’s giving the rest of us a really bad rap.

Johanna & Carrie via Blue Ampersand Photography

THOU MAYEST SEEK THY ALL IN ME. 
Lord, form this wicked heart anew & fill it with thy love. 

On my heart this warm Monday afternoon: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

God is telling me loud & clear that I need to put my finances under a microscope. Redeemer Fellowship just finished their 3-wk series on money and David & I are undergoing the 8-wk Dave Ramsy Total Money Makeover course. Not a coincidence. I’m trying to transform my ideas about money to 1) Understand and accept that NONE OF MY INCOME OR MONEY IS MINE, God owns all & 2) Learn biblical generosity. Learn a program, understand the purpose, and gain the power and blessings that only will come from being a Cheerful Giver. A “cheerful giver” only comes from those who believe God will provide for them abundance so that they will have sufficiency. I need to take God seriously when He speaks! And to analyze my spending because unfortunately, that’s where my heart is. God says giving is NOT OPTIONAL. You MUST GIVE. There are two roads to giving: Generosity and Greed. There is nothing else! Do I have what it takes to be generous, or will I continue down the path of greed?

Just because you live in the city doesn’t mean you should forget your small-town manners. You can still wave ‘thank you’ when cars let you cross in front of them; you can still let the mom with the screaming baby go in front of you in the drugstore line; you can still make small talk with the person making your coffee. When you start thinking you need to adopt the negative characteristics of the place you live, and forget the positive ones you grew up with, you are in trouble.

perfect depiction

• "How many hipsters does it take to change a light bulb?”
• “It's a really obscure number, you probably haven't heard of it.”

If you’re walking with someone, holding hands, and they trip a little, you tighten your grip to prevent them from falling. If you would let go of someone’s hand and just let them fall, you shouldn’t have agreed to hold their hand in the first place. So if someone you love starts to trip a little in life, you need to tighten your grip, your friendship, your relationship with them, to help prevent them from falling. If you didn’t want the responsibility of having to take extra-good care of someone when they are going through a hard time, you shouldn’t have agreed to love them in the first place. But please only let yourself love the right type of stand-up, honorable, kind people, that would do the same right back for you in an instance.