{Madness}

That is simply what I’m feeling at the moment. I think that sometimes I feel like I want to try it all. I get myself all crazed out trying to do too many things at one time, when I forget that I have more than just this photography business to get up and going. So I create myself a huge mess of madness. I have the contest going on and I’m trying to put together a Valentine’s Day Mini Session and still go to school, take care of myself {while pregnant}, and my family too. I don’t know why I do this sometimes but I do. I simply want to capture moments for families and I don’t want to put it on the back burner anymore. My husband is supporting me 100% which is great, but I have to remember to slow it down.

I cannot create all this madness for myself because it will only slow me down in the end. I don’t feel that I’m going to do the Valentine’s Day Mini simply because I have not been feeling well and I’ve not gotten many interest on it, so we will see how that goes. But the Cutie Pie contest ends soon and that will keep me busy enough!

My lesson learned through my own recent crazy actions: don’t over-do it and don’t expect to make it all happen at once. I simply can’t make it all happen so fast and it’s going to take time…time…time..time!!! My advice to those who might try and make it happen fast and get disappointed when things are slow? Give it time..it will get better!

Well, that’s all for now.

Thanks for stopping by!

{I’m getting there}

So I decide to try and drag in business by doing a “cutie pie” contest for my area. The last one I tried {last year} was a complete failure because no one entered but two people and it got me nowhere. However, this time it’s already going a little better. I’ve learned that if I offer better prizes it helps. Last time I offered a small mini session with no extras and that is mostly why it went nowhere. This time I offered much more and advertised it like crazy. And although I have only 6 entries it’s an on-going contest and it’s getting people to see me & my work on Facebook and that is bringing in business. The kids are adorable and the families are tagging my page all over the place! Even though I may never photograph many of the people that will be added to my page I feel that it’s still great for business because it gets my work seen! It’s a great tool for spreading your business and getting noticed. I feel like I’m getting somewhere with this whole thing and that I’m not just staying at one pace anymore. Every morning when I wake up I have at least 5-10 more fans and though that may seem like a small number, for me its DAILY progress.

I feel that is the only way to get your photography out there is to bring in new daily fans. For every new fan you get just think about all the people that you are being seen by on their page. That is huge and you never know when it might bring your business, business. This contest has brought me new local fans as well and that means more chances to make profits and capture memories and that excites me. And maybe the next one will be bigger and the next after that even bigger! But I won’t stop and I’ll only keep trying to do better and that means I’m getting somewhere.

So the contest is still running and so far it’s going great! I don’t have tons of entries but that’s not what its all about. To me once this is over and these families see what great photos I bring in for their babies, they will likely want me to photograph them again in the near future and that mean great business. So we will see just how it ends and what can I learn from it all! 

Thanks for stopping by! Please check out the Cutie Pie Contest and vote for your favorite! 

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Forever-Tymeless-Photography/115164341905068

{Do I have what it takes?}

This is not to doubt myself. Because that I do not! However, it is to see into my dedication and motivation and love of what I do a little better. I feel it’s a good idea to every now and then take a step back and look at yourself {or your business} and see how things are going. So here it is..my view on if I have what it takes and what I feel it takes to do what I do. 

“the photographer’s primary purpose is to display their own unique perspective” {author unknown}

I found this quote and it stuck out to me. I think it’s a true statement. Isn’t that what we’re doing? I know it’s what I want to do.  When I first started out I wanted to offer something that no one else does. But what is that? I can’t really tell you because everyone offers something wonderful, so instead I changed my way of thinking and decided that I want to offer a unique and unforgettable experience {along with images} for my clients. Do I have what it takes to achieve that? I’m not 100% there yet but I’m getting closer. I’m learning all that I can, shooting every moment I get a chance too, challenging myself, and never stopping! 

However, I do feel that I am staying true to myself and that I have a true talent behind the camera. I always do my best when on a session and always give my clients the very best images that I can. I see things in a different view when I have my Nikon in my hand and is see it from so many different angles. I never simply settle for OK images. I always push for the best that I can capture. It’s important that they {the client} love them yes, but its’ important that I love them too. Does that mean I have what it takes? 

Passion~any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.

Passion is unbridled enthusiasm one person has for something or someone they love. It is and has its own energy~~ an energy that can be transferred and observed into that something or someone that you love. 

Most people run from passion; not knowing what to do about such a deep feeling. I feel this for my photography; passion~ an unbridled enthusiasm. We all have it inside us; passion. But it’s up to you if you act upon it and follow it. I know I am following it til I am no longer able. I will not let myself or something or someone get me down and pull me away from my passion. I would be out on a photo shoot every day if I could. If I had it my way I’d be half with my family and half on a session. They are the 2 things in life that make me..me! 

I still have a lot to learning technically; such as better ways to use my camera, studio photography, Photoshop, and probably more. But does this mean I’m not good? Nope! I’m a great photographer. I’m not the best oh there are so many photographers that I admire and aspire to be like! I will share them with you soon! :)

But I know I have the willingness to learn and grow and be taught for that matter. But along the way I hope that my passion, love, talent, and unique and creative eye shows through my images. I hope that I can continue to bring all these things out in every single image that I capture. 

I have to be able to put in crazy hours, tons of thought, a good bit of money, sacrifices, patience, and more. This I am aware of and I plan on doing all that I can as fast as I can to get where I want to be. Where is that? 

Simple. 

To be an established, sought after, admired, inspiring, creative, & passionate photographer. 

I feel that I have the last two already knocked out so I just have a few more to go! 

And I will get there! 

So with all that being said do I have what it takes? YES~! 

I do and I know that if I continue on the path I’m on I will get to where I want to be like the many photographers I aspire to be like. {Again, I can’t wait to share them with you} 

So do you have what it takes? Please tell me about your thoughts!

Do you know a photographer that is all these things and more? Please email me or simply tell me who it is and why you feel about them the way you do? I’d love to add them to my list of inspiring and admiring photographers. 

You can always email me @ candace@4evertymelessphotography.com with any questions or comments! I’d love to hear them. 

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Thanks so much for stopping by! And I leave you with an image that is filled with love, passion, and spunk!!

{The Ugly Beauty of Business}

Well, now that you know where I started and that I’m still learning I thought it would be nice to talk about the unseen beauty of business. Why am I calling this the “ugly beauty” because honestly it’s not that beautiful, the parts that you don’t know about if your starting your photography business OR the part of what you don’t see your photographer doing. Now, am I posting this to say we have the hardest jobs? Or that we shouldn’t do it at all? No way possible! I just want you to see what we put into our business so that you know we are doing the best we can to bring the best to you! Please note that all the following statements are simply in my own opinion and from my own experience so far! J

What do you think the first thing you should do is when starting your photography business? Buy a camera? In my opinion….. NO! Know that you love it! Know that you want to spend your time bringing beautiful images to beautiful and amazing people. Know that it’s more than just your hobby. Being a hobbyist is different than being a professional. Why? Because as a professional you’re going to want every single person that steps in front of your camera to get the best image {s} possible! And you’re going to make sure you do all that you can do give them just that.  

Don’t just want to be a photographer to make “profit” want it because you love everything involved with it. The fun of being on a shoot or in the studio, capturing every single possible image of that newborn baby who still has flaky skin and you find it beautiful, seeing the look between to love birds and having the chance to photograph it, the chance to be a part of a young woman or man on their own journey of always being in front of the camera. Because if you can’t love these all the time you’ll want to give up when it comes to view of what it takes to get all those images. Spending all day in the studio with a newborn baby simply to get only 100 good images, then another 3+ hours editing them to perfection for your clients, being outside in the cold with a family who loves to take pictures in the snow and freezing are a few examples of what I mean.

The money it takes to be a professional..to really be professional..your camera, the camera extras, the software, the gas (for on location photographers), the studio equipment for studio based photographers, times of slow- almost no business, tons of advertising, and tons of clients who want free to extremely low fees for your work. Again these are just some of the things I’ve dealt with or talked about with other photographers.

The hardest part? Trying to explain why you don’t do photos for free or why your prices are not unfair. I meet so many photographers {new and pro} that talk about clients wanting free or low, low, low cost investments. Notice I say ‘investment’ because that’s what the client is doing, investing. For example, if you’re looking to get a new car and you invest $0 in that car such as not paying for new tires, oil changes, brakes, power steering, engine, etc what’s going to happen? You’re going to get just what you paid for….nothing!!! It’s the same way with a professional photographer. If you always want super low prices from a photographer you most likely going to get low quality photos. If you’re ok with that then go for it! When a photographer quotes you prices know that they are quoting you on more than pushing a camera button and giving you images. 

They are quoting you on time away from their family, their time, sometimes travel, post processing your images {editing}, the quality they are going to delivery to you, their experience, all they have put into their work and much more! It’s important to understand that there will be times {early in your photography journey} or from time to time that you will find a photographer willing to do your family photos for free or that you’ll find yourself doing them for free. And if truly feel that’s best then maybe it is. However, I feel that until you’re ready to put a price on your work and until you’re ready to put a decent price into your images {for clients} don’t go looking or don’t try to work as a professional. That last statement is not meant to be mean, it’s meant to help you and keep you from cutting yourself short on both ends of the spectrum!

The ugly beauty is that you’re going to put A LOT of work into your business and it’s probably going to take a long time before you see any real profit! And the other ugly beauty is that you’re probably going to put a good size investment into your photographer..but rest assured you’re going to get great images in return! They will both pay off in the end no doubt about it! Just keep working until you’re ready and keep looking until your satisfied! But don’t cut yourself short!

Remember there is beauty even in the ugly!

And that’s why even the unseen ugly beauty of photographer{s} (on both sides) is beautiful…because the beauty is you will get where you need to be & what you deserve and you will the quality images you’re investing in J all without cutting yourself short! 

{The Beginning}

The Beginning { You have to begin somewhere, right? 

I’ve thought about how to start this blog for many days now. Do I jump right in & start posting bout what’s going on in my photography world? Do I give a little history on me and how I got to where I am? Do I tell you why I love photography so much & how important it is to me? How do I make my very first entry interesting enough to make you want to come back???

Truth is I’m not really sure!! I don’t know if you will come back and see me again! But I sure hope that you do. So I guess I’ll get started and just see how many come and see!

I am a mother of 3 beautiful kids! I am also due with another in April 2012 and I know I'm truly blessed! My children are my life! I'm married to my best friend and high school sweetheart, Jon, and we've been married for almost 8 years! I'm going to college online and love that too :) I want to be the best I can be for my children! I'm a daughter, sister, friend, and PHOTOGRAPHER :) 


So there's my short lil tid bit on me :D Now, on to what I've started this blog for. 


Where did I start? What made me decide that I wanted to be “photographer”? I know these are some of the questions I get when I’m talking to someone new about what I do. I can’t really say that it started just a few years ago because if you knew me from back in the day you would know that I’ve always been the one taking pictures of everything and everyone! I have tons and tons of pictures in a box that I took while I was a kid and teenager. Some of which NO ONE EVER gets to see! J Only because I looked a mess J hehehe..Maybe I’ll have to post some of them one day. Maybe!!! So I guess the love of photos has always been inside of me. I don’t have many pictures of me from my early childhood and that is something I wish I had more of. I wish that my mother had been given the chance to get the kind of images taken that I take or that even better photographers take…I’d love to see more images of me as a baby/child..so when I had children I knew that I wanted to be able to take all the photos that I could and keep them for them when they got older.

Then I got my first GOOD camera. Nikon CoolPix L100.  It wasn’t anything too special but it sure did take much better photos than my Kodak camera. It was the best camera I had ever gotten and it was too bad for a digital point and shoot and it was a great start for a non-pro photographer. You should check it out, you never know you might know someone who is looking for a good quality camera and an affordable price. Here is a great un-biased review on it: 
http://topreviews.me/nikon-coolpix-l100-review/

Anyhow, when I got this camera I was using it like crazy. Then I had a great friend of mine, Michelle,  talk about getting family pictures done and because I was going crazy wondering if I had what it takes to be professional I volunteered my services. Yes, for free! It wasn’t about the money for me it was about seeing if I could really be a professional photographer like I wanted. And well they turned out great! I was learning to use Photoshop Lightroom that had been given to me from a friend’s husband who was an extreme hobbyist. I knew enough to have her photos turn out great.

Here are some shots from my very first photo session! Michelle's photos. 

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However, I must admit she never got the photos because my life got too carried away and I didn’t get them to her! ( Eventually I sent them to her on a CD). This was my first sign that I wasn’t ready to be a professional! On the flip side they were great photos and I love them still to this day. I knew I had the talent and passion. I just needed to learn more about how to be a professional. With all this going on that same friend encouraged me to make some ads on craigslist for my work and see what happen. I did and it turned out great. I priced my services at $50 for unlimited amount of photos on a CD. WOW~! Seeing that in written words make me realize how far I have come. I did a shoot of 2 teen boys looking into modeling. This is when I found I really liked modeling photography. Which brings me to where it ALL really began!

I wouldn’t be where I am today without the friend I mentioned above and the friend I’m about to talk about now. These 2 women encouraged me and helped me in many different ways. Dee, was one of the people who contacted me from my ad on CL. I remember our first conversation like it was yesterday. She had asked me if the price was right that I had listed on CL. “Only $50 is what it says, is that correct?” Yes ma’am just so long as you feel that’s fair but if you think that’s too much then I can work with you. J She then tells me, “Do you think your work is worth $50? Do not under quote yourself! If your worth it then stick to it! Be proud of what your worth even if it is low or high for that matter!” I was shocked that this woman was so up front with me!!! Well, that very woman is now one of my best friends and the person who taught me most of what I know about photography. Dee is a photographer as well and might I say she is AMAZING!!! I’m very lucky to call her my friend and someone whose work I admire a lot! On my list of inspiring photographers; you’ll see that list soon!

She asked me to come and shoot with her on a model/fashion shoot. She was doing photos for a previous client and she was bringing a friend! So she thought I’d like to come and take a few shots and then the madness began! I was lucky enough to be taking photos of a down right beautiful school teacher who was obviously meant to model and teach J

Those photos were some of the best photos I’ve ever taken. I still get compliments on them today and I’ll never take them out of my portfolio. They are beautiful and I’m very proud of them. Every shot was something amazing to me. I knew that modeling/fashion photography was going to be great strength for me and that I really enjoyed it. After seeing the pictures on a final touch, post editing and all I couldn’t help but feel like I was finally getting where I needed to be. 

One of my all time favorite sessions. I love her photos. Here is some of Jolene's photos from my first Modeling Session. 

And here are a few I got to capture of Katie (the girl Dee worked with)

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That’s when I got my CAMERA!~ What takes all the great photos today. Dee, helped me choose and get it for a wonderful price and I was completely overjoyed to get it. My Nikon D70! Love it love it love it! My first DSLR! WoW! All these buttons and settings and ways to take photo can blow you away. Well, that’s what books and the net are for; learning all you can! I did just that and now I finally feel confident in whom I am as photographer.

I have passion, talent, know-how, willingness to learn, creativeness, & heart. I think these are the best attributes as a photographer that I have. Do I have more to learn? FOR SURE? Am I the best that I could or want to be? NO WAY! But because I WANT to learn more and because I feel that I SHOULD learn more this makes me even better. I won’t ever stop trying to learn better ways to bring my clients great images and the best services possible. I’ll always keep trying to make them happy and still stay true to me.

I will first and foremost forever be thankful to God himself to letting be able to do what I love so much!

I will forever try to always become better.

I will forever keep my passion for photography in my mind and heart.

I will forever be thankful and grateful to and for all those who have taught me, teach me now, and are willing to be a part of my journey.

I will forever keep bringing all I got to every single photo session and every single detail that it takes to be a professional.

I love what I do and I hope that you love it too J I can’t wait to share more and more on my journey. Thank you so much for stopping by and getting to know me a little better.

I would love to hear your comments or thoughts! Starting out on your journey too? A seasoned pro on yours? Please share your thoughts! That’s what I’ve started this thing for is to learn and hopefully teach someone else!

coming soon

coming soon!!!