A New Year

     Another year is about to end and it's time for reflections.  At least for me it is.  This down time after all the Christmas fuss is when I start to think about the year.  The people I've lost, the babies born and growing and about how I'd like to do things differently in the coming year.  I've been beyond blessed this year as far as work goes.  Backwoods Photography is growing slowly but surely and I love that I've found work that helps take care of my family and feeds my creative soul.
     I started in photography for the simple reason that with four kids, I could not afford to get their photos made every year as they grew.  From that basic start 12 years ago, my art and business has grown into something more than I ever expected.  I'd like to thank all of you that have had undying faith in me.  You pay me money and confidently wait for the images that will be part of your personal story.              At my core, I am a storyteller that doesn't have the patience to write books.  I tell my story and yours in images that will last a lifetime.  I love my work, it's embarrassing to call it a job because to me, it's so much more than that.
     I wish for you to fulfill your dreams in 2013.  I wish for you to find all those small things that make you happy and help propel you through difficult times that will come.  Thank you so much for believing in me and supporting Backwoods Photography through it's 2nd official year open.

Never enough time

     Nearly two years ago, we welcomed my oldest stepdaughter back home.  Just out of high school and 2 months pregnant, she moved back to Arkansas to make a new life, a better one for her and her coming son, our first grandson.  I knew she wouldn't stay forever and tomorrow is the day I prayed would never come.  She will be leaving to move 7 hours away and my heart is broken.   Today, I took the last portraits of my grandson before they leave in the morning and all I can think is, it wasn't enough.  Never enough photos taken or time spent to equal the time we will be away from them.  Never will we regain what we've all built together.  Never will these moments happen again.

Next time we see this sweet boy, he will have already worn this outfit for Halloween, his first.  

The plans of he and his auntie growing up as close as siblings is lost.

Despite these little heart aches, it's not a first for us as a family.  We've dealt with these comings and goings for years.  Despite the pain, I wouldn't trade watching this little guy grow for the past 9 months for anything.  Even now, as sad as I am, I'm already making plans for him to come home for regular visits with Granny and PaPaw and planning care packages to send his way.   Everything changes, for better or worse, but God has a reason for everything.  I'll just pray for their safety and happiness and know that every little thing is gonna be alright <3

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New Offer

     It's been a while since I've posted.  Its been a busy August in the Backwoods.  I'm blogging today because I want to share a change of heart I've had recently.  I did photo shoots this summer of two of my middle kids.  I edited them and love each of their personalities shining through in the photos.  When I printed them, I was very disappointed.  The color correction I had worked so hard on in photoshop was gone.  Mason looked yellow in the photos I received and Tabitha looked grey.  I have them on my wall anyway, but it still pains me to look at them because I can still look on my computer and see how they should have turned out.  I'm afraid that is happening with my clients also.  I work hard to give you the best I can and to know that you may be disappointed after printing is driving me nuts.
   

                    * Notice the color differences in the After Printing and the actual photo I edited


    I recently read a blog from Paint the Moon Actions that shed some light on my problem.  In it, she gives details on different print companies and makes a very good argument for using professional printing services and the reasons why this is important.  If you like feel free to read it here.  Because of this article, I'm an currently working on setting up ordering options through Backwoods Photography.  No client will be under obligation to do this, but I feel it's important to offer it.  More important than I ever thought before.  I feel by giving you the disk, I am saving you money, giving you art for a low price.  Many of my clients wouldn't have beautiful portraits of their family and children any other way. I want to keep offering that but I feel like I'm doing my clients a disservice by not providing more.
     Before October, I will re order the photos of Mason and Tabitha I loved so much from Simply Color Lab, I will also be ordering a sample book of their printing work.   If I am happy with their print work, I will be providing their service through Backwoods Photography.  This is a professional service so unlike Snapfish, Walmart or Target, you'll have to go through me to get the prints.  I won't be upcharging much for this service.  I just want to make sure that clients have access to the very best.
     By spring, I will also be offering other specialty print options.  Metal, wood and canvas printing and I'm working on a package that will include these in the offer.

Let me know what you think of this option

Thanks for keep up with Backwoods Photography, be sure to like us on Facebook

Renewed Passion

     Its easy to get caught up with life and let the things go that make you truly happy as an individual.  It's even more difficult to cultivate passions when you have children of all ages needing you in different ways every second of everyday.  I wouldn't change anything that has happened to me in the 15 years I've been with my husband, raising five children.  Now though, looking back, I would have been a happier person at times if I hadn't let my passions slide in favor of the mundane chores of life.  The past year and a half has been a difficult one for my family.  We found out in January of 2011, on his birthday actually,  that my husband has leukemia.  Though manageable, its not curable at this point.  Since then, it's felt as though I'm trying to hold my family together during a tornado, hoping that no one gets sucked away in the storm.
     We are starting to see the sun again here in the backwoods.  My husband's condition is stable, he's doing well and the kids are doing well now too.  It's amazing how one event can nearly domino years of stability for a family.  During this tough time I realized how important it was for all of us that we follow our own dreams.  I decided to lead my example by following my own.
     Backwoods Photography is doing great and for the first time in several years there is hope here at home.  Not just because of photography but because by following my dreams, its leaked onto other members of my family.  My oldest daughter is now a CNA, my husband is playing music again and the younger kids are also pursuing hobby's again that they are proud to show off and talk about.
     To that end, I'm working to launch a different photography project this fall.  I have always loved "concept shoots".  I'm not booking these yet but I am working to build my portfolio over the fall to start offering these shoots by winter or spring.  What I wanted to do in this post was share some ideas I'm working with and get feedback on other ideas or things I could do.  Of course, that was before I started rambling about family.  I am very proud of them though and I'm pretty happy with life right now too.  (could use someone to clean my house though, my happiness hasn't extended to cleaning much yet)
     Anyway, I'm setting up a few concept shoots this fall with family members and special backwoods friends this fall.  A few that I'm working on are a "Little House on the Prairie" type shoot at an old log cabin.  Boys in suspenders and girls in bonnets and prairie dresses, that type thing.  Another is a mechanic shoot at a location with old gas pumps, and metal signage with some cute little mechanic dressed boys.  These are the kind of things I'm thinking of in my concept shoots.  These type of shoots are a lot more time intensive but I love planning them and finding the costumes to fit my vision.  I need a reasonable priced seamstress if anyone knows of one.  What kind of things would you like to see?  Would you pay for a shoot like this or as a customer do you prefer regular props and you pick your own clothes kind of shoots?
     This photo below is a similar finish that I'm loving, probably because I adore history and old rusty things.  Pretty sure there is a concept shoot in the future with this beautiful old car as the centerpiece.

I never plan to write a blog, something just pops into my head that inspires me or excites me and I come here and write it down.  Thanks for being a sounding board to my ramblings.  Be sure to check out my work and like us on Facebook!

Everything changes

Lots of changes have been happening this spring and summer here in the backwoods.  As a family, we decided to no longer home school.  For those of you wondering why, as the kids got older, it became harder to continue.  More of a fight than fun every day.  I will cherish the memories of the four years we home schooled together, they were some of the best in my life.  I took the choice not to continue home schooling very hard this past year, but by God's grace, have filled it with something new and equally exciting.  Not home schooling three children has given me the time and passion to pursue my photography business on a more full time basis.
To that end, this summer has been one of growth.  New advertising opportunities, new clients, new equipment and I'm not finished with the changes yet!  I'm currently renovating an old TV cabinet into a wardrobe for all the props I've been accumulating.  (thanks Pinterest for the idea!) I'm still working on props and backgrounds here in the backwoods and I'm set to put in an order for my first studio lighting and backdrops ever!
 I am also busy planning my first mini sessions.  I've had a lot of requests to do these and I'm excited for an opportunity to give people quality photos and a discounted price through this.  I'm going to call them Backwoods Bits.  Small sessions in one location, for a smaller fee.  I'll do these based on theme throughout the year.  Our first will be in October and will center around fall or Halloween whichever the client chooses.  It will be here at my home in the backwoods and there will be at least 5 different backgrounds to work with.  You all reading this are the first to know the details and if you'd like to make an appointment early, feel free to call to schedule your slot.  You can find my contact info on my facebook site.  I will be offering 12 slots total for this first Backwoods Bits.  Backwoods Bits are for 1-3 people, you get 30-45 minutes of shoot time and you'll receive 10-15 high quality images to print as you please within a week.  The cost is $40 and for this special there will be no scheduling fee.  I will be doing the first Backwoods Bit on October 6 and October 28th for those interested. I was about to burst from not telling anyone about this yet, the actual release onto facebook is set for August 1st but I wanted to thank you loyal readers.  You come here and read whatever is on my mind each time I post and I thank you for letting me ramble.

thanks for reading!  Be sure to check us out on Facebook or check out our work on our website

Business Decisions

     I'm not exactly business minded.  I'd rather barter or give away than set a price.  This past year as Backwoods Photography has taken off, I've been forced to learn more about how I want to run my business.  That's what it is now, its not just a hobby anymore and that's so strange to me.  As I've moved more towards photographing the way I enjoy to and not pushing myself into a box to suit every taste, I've watched my pride and business grow.  I'm on the right track and it feels good.
     I get a lot of questions about what I do, and I'll tell you the truth, I wing it.  I've never paid someone to do what I do or even talked to another outdoor portrait photographer so I have no scale to base myself on.  Primarily, I try to think of what I would want as a mother, bride, grandma, ect. and deliver that.  Determining cost has also been a difficult choice, so finally, I sat down and decided to give myself an hourly wage for all the work I do that goes into a normal photo shoot.  When I did that, I realized my hourly wage IF I charged my regular rate (which at the time was not very often, as I've said I'm bad with talking pricing with clients) was $7.50 and with the massive amount of discounts I was giving, I was making $5.00 an hour.  That was not counting in the times I would spend an hour making one shot perfect or balanced my family time with dragging my kids to a new location shoot I needed to scout or the time I take to do paperwork and promote myself.  I'm getting better with the money side of things, frankly when I look at it that way, I'm worth more than minimum wage.
     To that end, after much consideration, I'm going to start uploading some of my new and favorite location shots onto facebook so that clients can decide where and when they want to do their photos.  I hesitated to do that because of the worry that clients or other photographers might steal the location or the idea.  I then decided I didn't care, its not like anywhere I shoot is a hidden location only available to me (except for the newer props here in my Backwoods)  and it goes back to my new business motto, if you like what I do, you'll hire me for my talent.  I'm hoping that doing this will build business even more, plus I like nature photography too!  Win, Win for me.
     Even with the little rain we've gotten lately, it is still very hot and dry in Northwest Arkansas so outdoor photography becomes very sweaty this time of year.   Even sundown is too hot for young children, they get cranky very quickly at nearly 8:00 at night.  Add in the heat and its too much for my little models.  To that end, I drug myself up and out of bed at 5:45 this morning to see about locations for early morning shoots.  It was a beautiful 68 degrees and the light was perfect.  My advice for any clients through August would be to wait until fall or do an early morning shoot.  By early morning I mean starting between 7-8am with the plan of finishing by 10am.
Here is an example of a photo I posted today

     Please check out my Facebook and let me know what you think of posting locations.  Will is help or hurt my business?


Thanks for hanging out in the Backwoods for a bit, have a great day!

Birthday Wishes

     Today is my youngest daughters 3rd birthday.  We never expected to have her; we'd tried for 7 years to have another.  We lost 8 babies during that time, most to early miscarriage.  The last one though, nearly ended my life and indeed ended our 13 week old baby's life.  I was told that I couldn't carry to term and to consider getting my tubes tied before the next pregnancy killed me.  It took me over a year to decide that yes, I was ok with not having another child.  My husband and I figured that God had a reason for not giving us the child we had wanted so badly and began to talk about the possibility of becoming foster parents.  About a week before my dr appointment to schedule the tubal ligation, I realized I was late.  That dr appointment became the appointment where I found out that indeed I was pregnant again.  It was not a happy day, we were terrified of losing another baby, my husband was afraid he was going to lose me.  I would not terminate the pregnancy to possibly save my life.  I could live with a miscarriage or hysterectomy but not abortion.  Though, I wasn't at all sure I could live through another loss like this.

     We lived in fear for the next two months; I took prednisone shots weekly and was not allowed to do much more than 30 min of standing at a time.  I cramped a lot and felt very sick all the time.  By 20 weeks we were very excited; it seemed that beyond all odds I would be able to carry this child to term.  The kids, my husband and my mom went to the ultrasound to find out if we would have a boy or girl.  It was a girl, but the tech was not acting happy.  I had a bad feeling; I'd seen that look before on the same techs face many times and knew what that meant.  My family was thrilled and my husband could not figure out why I wasn't until the call came later in the afternoon.   My Dr called to tell me that I was dilating and nearly completely effaced.  If they didn't do something, I would go into labor within the week and that the baby would not survive.  The next day, I went in for emergency surgery to stitch up my cervix.  The hope was with that and total bed rest, the baby would have a chance to grow enough to be viable outside the womb.

     For the next 84 days, I only got out of bed to pee or go to the dr.  Every time I went for my appointment he would say "If you can make it to 24 weeks",  "just make it to 28 weeks", "you hang on until 30 weeks" and we made it to 32 weeks.  I have never had to totally rely on anyone since adulthood but during the bed rest, I was at everyone's mercy.  I had to drink a gallon of water a day, endure nausea and headaches daily and try to keep my spirits up looking at the same four walls day after day. 

      Grace Abigale was born at 32 weeks, weighing 4.2lbs and spent 26 days in the NICU.  She received physical therapy for her first year and learned to nurse by 2 months old.  Grace is now 3 years old and to see her today, you'd never guess the struggle it was for us to bring her into the world and the struggle it was for her to thrive and grow.

     I believe that we can want something so badly that we hamper God's work in our lives.  I believe that I had to be happy with what He'd already given me to be able to appreciate anything more.  I know the 10 year struggle to have children was the hardest years of my life, but also some of the best as I raised another's children and my own.  I know that the pain and waiting is sometimes the best thing even on the darkest days.  The bed rest even taught me patience that I never possessed before.  I don't see these things when I look into Grace's big brown eyes anymore.  All I see is a beautiful, smart child, aptly named, she is the Grace God has given me.


Thanks for reading and keep following Backwoods Photography on Facebook!

   

Worth Keeping

     I am sitting on my back porch, listening to the music of night in the backwoods and editing a photo shoot of my kids tonight.  Nothing depresses me more than trying to do a photo shoot with my 2 year old daughter.  She has an knack for making the shot as stressful as possible.  I always finish the shoot wondering why anyone would trust me enough to pay me for their families memories when a 2 year old can nearly bring me to tears.  That was yesterday.
     Today, after looking through the edits, I saw that, though she gave me several more grey hairs, the photos themselves were ok.  As I was going through them, I even laughed at some of the funny shots that were taken.  Funny how quickly the stress can melt away, when I start looking the photos and remembering how that sweet face can be so contrary.

 
     The best ones, I even edit and save with the shoot.   If you've enjoyed a photo shoot with me you know I do the same thing for clients.  No, those candid shots will probably never be framed, but they are the true story sometimes of that day.  Personally, I scrapbook them separately from the original shoot.  I love the memories they bring.  They don't remind me of how difficult a shoot was, they remind me of how much, stress and all, I love my job.

Thanks for keeping up with Backwoods Photography!

Backwoods Dreams

 I've been busy the last few weeks getting a chicken coop ready for our new baby chicks.  Backwoods Photography is aptly named, though we don't live as far out in the country as I'd like.  If I lived as far out as I liked, I doubt my current project would ever come to fruition.  My dream for the past year has been to integrate photography locations into any new projects we work on on our land.  I have many plans and dreams that will take years to accomplish but I feel great knowing that some of the plans are starting to become real.  With the building of our chicken coop, I accomplished several things.  Its a super cool, secure place for our new family members, its made of 90% recycled materials salvaged from here on the land and three sides of it are very good photography locations. 
I've also become confident enough to photograph how and what I enjoy.  I figure (and I should have figured it out sooner)  either you like my style, or you don't.  If you do, you'll love what I do, if not, well you should find another photographer for your family.  The last makes me feel like a bit of a diva, but honestly, the times I've tried to photograph what doesn't feel "right" to me I'm just not happy with the end product. 

These are photos from my most recent shoot.  Both are taken at my chicken coop and I love them, I hope you do too.

Time flies

Last week I photographed my niece's engagement photos.  Its hard to imagine that the little girl that wanted to be the "lellow" Power Ranger and at four, was determined to only wearing dresses that "worked" (twirled properly when she spun) is old enough to have made me a great-aunt and is getting married.
It's made me think about how many other rights of passage I have photographed for my family over the years.  I've photographed our elders that are now gone and babies that left us too soon.  I've been there for momentous occasions in their lives and documented them for over 10 years now.
I am the archivist for the family.  I scrapbook and keep all the photos and memories associated with all the ebbs and flows of over 50 people that I am blessed to call family.
Its a humbling realization that I don't take lightly. 

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Forever Memories

Since 2000, every portrait of my 5 children has been taken by me.  I'd always taken photos and loved it, but when I met my husband and his three children in 1998, I quickly realized that paying for children's portraits every year was going to run me more than I could afford.  The places I could come close to affording (discount retailers, school photos) were not equiped to do anything creative or original.  I was dismayed that I couldn't even afford "cookie cutter" photos of each child every year. 
With the birth of my son in 2000, I couldn't take it anymore, I was certain that I could do as well as what I'd been paying for.  In the fall of 2000, equiped with a 35mm point and shoot canon camera, I bought haybales and mums and photographed my kids in the front yard.  When they were developed I realized that not only could I do as well as what I'd been paying for, I could do better.  I didn't look back.

 My daughter 5 years old with my 35mm Canon Rebel SLR

My daughter 14 years old taken with my Canon Ts1 DSLR

Now, after years of taking photos of other families memories and my own.  I'm astounded to think how many of my photos grace the walls of homes.  It freaks me out and makes me proud.  

Something New

I've never had a blog before and I've really gotten interested in Pinterest and reverie the blog.  I've been moved to share my experiences in photography with you.  I have a Backwoods Photography and a facebook fan page but those are really more for advertisement purposes.  I wanted a place to share my ideas, triumphs and disappointments with friends and other photographers.  We'll see how this goes I guess.