Charleston for Creative at Heart

Ahh! I have so many thoughts in my head from this past week/weekend (my thoughts basically look a lot like these branches at the incredible Angel Oak right now). So, I got the chance to visit Charleston, SC for the first time, as an attendee at the Creative at Heart Conference Round 3! I feel like if you could track my feelings in a graph it would be a very wavy curve, up and down, as I mulled things over from the speakers, got excited, got frustrated, got motivated, started questioning myself, and repeat. I have a (rather adorable) book of notes to sort through which will probably give me more questions than answers at first, but I know this will be really good in the long run.

(Okay fair warning, this post got real long! haha And while this conference talked a good bit about consistency, I’ll just apologize in advance for skipping this week’s edition of “Links I like” :P because this might be a little more important!)

Actually, to be completely honest, the funny thing is that I had started having doubts before going whether this was really the right conference for me. But fortunately, I think what was so good about it though was having a set time and place to literally push pause on the daily grind of working, and just 1. take a break for a moment (this has been one of the busiest busy seasons I’ve experienced!) and 2. be a little self reflective. Oh, and 3. Get to explore a beautiful and adorable new town, which is one of my absolute favorite things to do.

I think one of the biggest thing I’ve come away with is to be more intentional about how and why I’m doing things, both in business and in other aspects of my life. One thing that really stood out to me, that Natalie Franke brought up during our panel discussion (and has since blogged about: the Greatest Struggle of being an Entrepreneur ), was the idea that essentially every time you say “yes” to squeezing in just one more wedding or a session, or stretching yourself just a little bit too thin, you are saying “no” to other things in your life. Things that should be a priority. And man have I felt that, and I can bet that a lot of you, even outside of being photographers or small business owners know what that’s like too. It’s easy to get caught up in our careers and every now and then we just need a reminder to try a little bit harder to have some balance.

I can hardly begin explain how much I love my couples and my clients. I love getting to know everyone and building relationships with them is my favorite part of being a photographer. & I think I’ve finally realized that I’m going to do a better job, both for my clients, and for my family and friends, when I start managing time a little better, and stop stretching myself too thin.

Whew.. I started this post thinking I wouldn’t have much to say until I’ve delved back into my notes, but there ya go! Haha :) But just know that I am excited (okay a little overwhelmed, but in a good way). I’m feeling like there are a lot of ‘next steps’ on the horizon that are going to be really great and also fulfilling. I want to spend more time with my family and friends, and I want the time spent with my clients to be really rich and deep too. And.. only slightly related, I really want to do more exploring! :)

Traveling and just walking around new places and seeing what they’re about.. I don’t know how to describe it exactly, but it just makes me feel like I’m getting to peek into a place and get a feel for what it’s like. I love being curious about what life is like for other people and in other places, so I definitely want to do more of this:

We walked around Charleston all afternoon on Tuesday. We walked past this bike and that amazing teal, the wooden box and that pretty brick building lined with palm trees?! I could not resist! I cannot wait to make a print of this one for our house!

I’m a sucker for checking out local markets :)

Britney being adorable! haha So many headshots coming your way soon lady!

  

Ahh so beautiful here!

Rainbow row is seriously the cutest little bunch of colorful homes!

I am 100% convinced that Charleston looks gorgeous in any lighting, at all times of day. Seriously if I could photograph here (hint hint anyone looking for engagement or wedding photographer! ;) I travel!) I would never run out of places to photograph! :)

Before making our final trek home, we stopped at the Angel Oak. We managed to get there first thing in the morning before anyone else. Having this incredible and peaceful and stunning spot all to ourselves was amazing. It was really the most perfect way to end the trip.

Look how tiny Britney is compared to the Oak!! Incredible and breathtaking are the only ways to describe it there.

If you are ever thinking about visiting Charleston, you definitely should! I loved getting to explore and take this time to breathe and reflect :) I can’t wait to start putting lots of new ideas into action, and I can’t wait for more travels! And of course, thank you to everyone that’s on this journey with me.. supporting me and being patient. So much love to my family, my friends, and all my clients.