Best of 2018.... WHAT A YEAR!
2018… THE BEST OF
I have procrastinated with making two cups of tea, eating one mini-roll, reorganising my office, scrolling Instagram and a fair few more tasks before I can finally sit down and try and concentrate on the mammoth task of writing about my year, and sharing some of my favourite images from 2018. And the reason for this is, 2018 has genuinely been the best year yet with my wedding photography and I am just not sure how to sum it all up. Feel free to skip all the chat and just go straight to the slideshow but if you’re bored at work go and make a cuppa and read on….
SO I was looking at the numbers to try and sum up 2018 that way earlier, until I realised that actually the number of weddings, engagement shoots, family shoots and other random things i’ve done this year doesn’t actually do any of those things justice at all. Each individual person that i’ve met along the way who’s trusted me to take their photo (even when they really, really hate it!) has been so important to me and to my business. So firstly, a huge bloody thank you to all of you.
I have met some incredible couples, photographed at some spectacular venues, battled harsh light and incessant rain, sometimes experiencing all four seasons in one day, I’ve had super early mornings and super late nights, I’ve had local weddings 5 minutes down the road and weddings that took a 12 hour round trip - it’s been as varied as anything and I am so glad. This job is anything but a 9-5 and the constant change definitely keeps me on my toes as well as keeps me pushing myself personally and creatively. People always say at weddings that I have the best job in the world (admittedly it is great which is why I do it!) but it can also be very difficult too and I’m pretty proud to say that this year I think my business has really grown a huge amount. It’s very hard to big yourself up as a small business as you’re naturally drawn to criticise yourself however this year I’ve been trying to celebrate my wins and learn from my losses to strive to be better and better at every wedding I shoot. And the next point has also helped massively in me trying to keep me being positive about myself, my work and my business…
This year I have received SO many thank you cards from couples too (with their lovely photos on the front!) as well as bouquets of flowers on my door stop and even an amazing sparkly jacket from Rosa Bloom in the post! Honestly every time I get one of those, or a lovely worded email someone has taken the time to write it makes me well up with happiness about how much people love their images. I really do put my whole heart into my job to do the absolute best I can and to know that couples now have images of themselves and their loved ones to look back on for the next 10, 20, 50 years is an amazing feeling. I also keep every place name I get given when seated with the guests too, my office is adorned as you can see below! It means to much to me that so many of my couples see me as an extra guest with a camera and not a stuffy professional.
And finally I want to do a big shout out to my ace second shooters I’ve had this year - Laura Rhodes, Faye green, Charlotte Eagles, Katy Jackson and Larissa Joice for not only shooting brilliant images while I’ve been doing my highlight films but also bring me water / snacks / moral support at all times. You guys rock.
So what’s next?
Well 2019 is very, very nearly full with only a few more wedding slots left and 2020 is booking up quickly too. I’ve got so many lovely SNAP & CHATs booked in to get to know my couples a bit more as well. There’ll be some family shoots which I adore doing - all the photography and much less of the pressure! and usually some other random little bits like clothing, small business and product shoots too. Keep your eyes peeled on my Instagram and Facebook to check out all the loveliness I get up to this year…