March Reading Wrap Up: A Month of Diverse and Engaging Reads

Did I intend to spend the whole month reading books from female authors? No. Did it happen? Yes. Do I regret it? What do you think?! Heck no! It was a great, insightful month of reading, filled with diversity, struggle, mystery, and wanderlust. This post details every book I read this March with brief little bullet points. To see my full take on these books, watch my YouTube video (linked below!)

— Disclosure: I may receive a commission from purchases made via the links in this post. —

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
https://amzn.to/3Kexp6n

• YA/Middle School

• Thought-provoking novel

• Incredible, and I don’t know why I didn’t read it sooner

• Features both faith and science
  

Educated by Tara Westover
https://amzn.to/437ijYX

• Memoir

• Gritty, and at times unbelievable

• Inspiring, story of over-coming

• Themes of abuse

Paris Letters by Janice Mcleod
https://amzn.to/3maaG3l

• Memoir

• Inspires sense of wanderlust

• Addresses budgeting for travelers

• Sweet love story
  

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Bully
https://amzn.to/3KCTrRz

• YA Novel

• Themes of injustice spec. towards indigenous people

• Thriller/mystery

• Long read >400 pages
  

Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young
https://amzn.to/3ZOuB5F

• Novel that shifts narrators

• Witchcraft themes

• Love story meets thriller

• Set in Pacific Northwest

Becoming by Michelle Obama
https://amzn.to/40N2Jjt

• Memoir

• Thought-provoking

• Insightful and inspiring

• Comprehensive (covers Michelle’s upbringing to life post-White House)
  

I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet by Shauna Niequist
https://amzn.to/3UmyT36

• Memoir

• Vulnerable/relatable/encouragement

• Inspires wanderlust/foodie feelings

• Themes of faith
  

Heart Berries: A Memoir by Terese Marie Mailhot
https://amzn.to/3Kf22ID

• Memoir

• General themes of abuse, substance abuse, mental illness

• Features indigenous people/culture

• Heavy/dark read

Simple Paths to Self Care

Self-care has become a buzzword in recent years, and for good reason. Taking care of ourselves is vital to our overall well-being. However, sometimes self-care can feel like just another item on our to-do list, something else we need to find time for. That's where bubble baths come in.

Yes, bubble baths are a bit of a cliche when it comes to self-care, but they can actually be a great way to take a break and pamper yourself. And who doesn't love a good bubble bath? It's a simple and affordable way to take care of yourself. But self-care is not just about bubble baths, it's about taking time for yourself so that you don't become a monster to other people. It's about knowing that you are worth something invaluable and taking care of yourself as a result.

One way to achieve self-care is by creating a daily routine and finding time to be alone with your thoughts. For example, having a quiet time in the morning can help you start your day in a calm and centered way. This can help you feel more stable throughout the day, being more emotionally prepared for the unexpected when it arises.

Another way to pursue self-care is by paying attention to the things that bring you joy. For example, if going to the library makes you happy, make time for it. Reading is another great way to take care of yourself. It's a way to escape from the stresses of everyday life and get lost in a good book.

Bubble baths can also be a great way to take care of yourself. They can help you relax and reset, mentally preparing you for whatever the day or week has in store. You can add some bubble bath, light some candles, and listen to soothing music to create a spa-like atmosphere.

Finally, feeding yourself well and staying hydrated is an important part of self-care. Eating healthy food and drinking enough water can help you feel good physically, which in turn can help you feel good mentally.

Remember, self-care is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It's about finding what works for you and making time for it. You don't have to do everything at once. Start small and add things on as you go. The important thing is to take care of yourself, so that you can be the best version of yourself for those around you.

Watch my full video on the topic below!

My Camera Gear for a 4-Day Road Trip to New Mexico

If you're like most photographers, you probably struggle with deciding what camera gear to bring on your travels. It can be overwhelming to choose the right lenses and bags to take, especially when you're limited on luggage or bags you can bring. In this post, I'm going to share with you what I brought on my recent four-day road trip to New Mexico and why.

— Disclosure: I may receive a commission from purchases made via the links in this post. —

First off, I brought my Fujifilm Instax Mini camera. It was a last-minute addition, but I'm glad I brought it. It's great for making immediate mementos and was perfect for my friend's bachelorette party. I only used it once, but it didn't take up much room, and since we were driving, I didn't have to worry about luggage space.

Next, I brought my GoPro Hero 11, which is my newest piece of gear. I also had a hand grip and another grip that I could mount directly to the dash. I used it for time-lapses and captured steady video around different things. The internal gimbal feature made it super handy to put on the dash to do some time-lapses when we were just driving around.

This was my first official trip breaking in my WANDRD PRVKE Lite hiking photo bag. I love it because it's super discreet and actually functions as a day pack. It has an upper compartment where I packed some extra clothes for when we went on a snow hike, and it has a nice padded compartment that is removable that I put my photo gear in. This bag also has an access panel, so I can get right into my camera and take it out. I used this while I was hiking and had the hip straps on, so it stayed on my back.

Finally, I brought my Burton Multipath 5L fanny pack. It's not a camera bag, but I added it to my professional lineup because I wanted something big enough for me to put my camera in. I initially bought it to be an easy access bag so that I could put extra memory cards and maybe a spare lens in there for when I'm shooting weddings. I took this with me on hikes, and it was really convenient. Occasionally, I put my camera in there while walking around Santa Fe. It's weatherproof and has a rain-resistant zipper, making it perfect for carrying essentials while hiking.

Of course, I photographed everything with my Canon EOS R6 and 24-105mm lens.

All of the gear mentioned in this video is available on my Amazon Storefront here.

All in all, these were the perfect camera gear choices for my 4-day hiking trip to New Mexico.

Watch my full video on this topic over on YouTube!

My Daily & Weekly Routine as a Freelancer

Work-life balance might be a myth, but we're going to talk about how I theoretically achieve it daily through the various routines I’ve set in place in my life. The thing is, being a freelancer means I spend most of my time working from home, but working from home can be… complicated. For those of you that don't know, I am a new stepmom as of this past November 2022. I have two girls who are currently six and eight, and my husband and I have them half the week, every week. That means I kind of have to adjust my rhythm every single week, throughout the week, getting work done, taking care of myself, and also figuring out how to be present with the kids.

On top of that, my schedule really varies throughout the year due to my being a photographer. I could have times of the year where most of my work happens between nine and five, and then I have times of the year where I'm gone on the weekends or I'm gone on the evenings at photo shoots. Because many aspects of my life are almost always in flux, I too have to be flexible. With that in mind, I’m going to walk you through my routines and workflows, knowing that not everything happens the same way everyday. As some endearing pirates once said, they’re really more like guidelines than rules.

My Morning Routine

First, let me walk you through what I do every single morning. I normally get up about 6 or 6:30. I then have a quiet time, during which I’ll make coffee, take care of the dogs, read, and journal… and mostly try not to talk to anyone. I am a huge introvert, so carving out time during the day when I’m alone and unbothered is tremendously helpful. Most mornings, I hide away in my office, light a candle, and ease into the day in a thoughtful, intentional kind of way.

When we have the kids, I might squeeze a bit of my morning routine in while I’m still in bed, as it seems getting up and walking around the house will wake up the children. Even if they do wake up, I try to help them by meeting their immediately needs, but we mostly attempt to keep things pretty mellow until about 7:00 AM when they have breakfast and start getting ready for school. The needs of children vary day-to-day, so believe me I say—my routine is fluid. However, I almost always try to squeeze things in once any potential craziness settles.

My Work Routine

Being a freelancer, I've found that having good boundaries on stop/start time are super effective. This means that when work is slow, I’m always finding myself at my computer to tend to things and create content. When work is busy, I have strict cut-off times so I don’t over work and maintain healthy boundaries. Every day at 9:00 AM, I sit down to my computer. At that time I’ll take care of admin, and assess what I need to accomplish for the day.

Around lunch, I’ll break for a healthy lunch and watch a little Netflix. Normally this is a nice non-office period of screen time that gives me a break to look forward to mid-day. After lunch, I assess what I need to accomplish, and wrap up work when my either my main tasks are done, or it’s around 5:00 PM.

During the warmer months, I often work evenings and weekends for photo shoots. On these days, I might spend a little less time in the office, knowing that I’m going to be working more in the evening. Because I still want to protect my evening hours for family and downtime, I will often times wait to look through images until later when I have more energy and focus. I began to find that rushing to send previews to clients meant that I was sending photos with edits I wasn’t entirely happy with, because I edited them when I was rushed and tired. While it means my client has to wait a little longer, ultimately, I believe I can deliver a better product and be a more rested, fulfilled business owner overall.

My Evening Routine

When I’m not working evening and weekends, my focus is relationships and restoring myself. That looks like spending time with loved ones and doing a decent amount of self care. Personally, I love using said time for reading, rest, and few commitments. Evenings for me aren’t complicated. They’re low key, and low stress, so that they can make space for whatever the next day has to offer.

While I’m not sure if you can ever truly have work life balance, or what that even means, I am relatively certain that having healthy boundaries on all sides of the equation makes a big difference in terms of productivity, relationships, and living a wholehearted life.

Watch my YouTube video (below!), where I unpack more thoughts on the topic.

From Inquiry to Booking: How I Simplify My Client Workflow

Let’s talk about how to automate your client workflow and simplify your business process! It took me years to come up with a good system to automate the pieces of my business, but once I did, it legit changed everything. So, today we’re going to talk about how you can automate your client workflow so that you can put pieces of your business on autopilot, and give yourself more time to focus on the parts of your business that you love the most—or, I don’t know, have time to have a hobby. ;)

For the sake of this video I’m going to talk about how I use Honeybook to automate my processes, but most of the processes can be translated over to other systems. For example, e-mail templates and scheduling can be done through G-mail, Calendly offers a free scheduling platform, Wave for sending invoices & payments, and you can use a contact form directly through your web-site provider or by embedding one through a service like Jotform.

However, I’ve found that using an all-in-one service like Honeybook helps me keep track of everything a lot better, and using one software for everything makes it a lot easier for me to actually make use of all of the automation systems instead of switching back and forth between different web-sites, programs, and applications—and likely forgetting to put something to use or losing motivation to do so.

Now, let’s get into the nitty gritty of my client workflow from initial inquiry to officially booking.

Step 1: Initial Contact

My web-site is hosted through Squarespace, and I’ve embedded the Honeybook contact form into it. What’s great about this, is as soon as a client makes at inquiry through my web-site, it creates a new project in Honeybook.

Step 2: Send Pricing

Depending on what the inquiry is about, I have an e-mail template that’s pre-loaded with a PDF of the pricing guide. While Honeybook does offer what they call “brochures”, I prefer to make my own pricing PDFs in Photoshop and upload them to the Honeybook server, pre-attaching them to e-mail templates. So within a couple clicks, adjusting the e-mail to the client’s inquiry, I’ve already formulated a reply.

Step 3: Scheduling

If after viewing the pricing the client decides to move forward, I’ll respond with a link to my scheduling calendar where my client can choose their session date, at which point it automatically be shared to my iCalendar. The way I’ve found to make this most useful is to decide ahead of time which days I’d like to schedule photoshoots, and then I block out days on my scheduling calendar accordingly. This has been so helpful, because it takes away the back-and-forth conversations and guesswork that goes into finding a time that works for myself and my clients, because I’ve already decided which days and times work best for me. Honeybook makes sharing scheduling links super easy by adding a little button to the bottom of their e-mail composer so all I have to do is click the appropriate schedule and just like that, it’s in the e-mail.

Step 4: Invoicing

Once the client selects the date, I’ll go to their project and update their date & project type in the details.

I’ll enter the services into the invoice, adding sales tax, and making sure the payment section reflects a payment plan appropriate to the services selected. Then I’ll hit share, again using a templated e-mail detailing the session so that I make sure my client and I are on the same page about our session. Honeybook will auto fill some sections with the clients’ details, and then I’ll fill in whatever else I need to.

Step 5: Confirm Session in Calendar

Once the client receives their invoice and pays their deposit, their session is officially booked (hooray!). At this point, I head to my calendar to ensure that I have the date and time blocked off and then confirm any needed session planning, outfits, and locations from there.

Again, using automations not only makes things easier and faster for myself and my clients, but it helps to ensure that everyone is on the same page about session expectations and payments are made on time, keeping everything running smoothly, and allowing me more time to underwater basket weave or, more likely, read a book.

Use this code for 20% off your 1 Year membership to Honeybook! http://share.honeybook.com/gLtrR

Watch the video below where I show you how I do this process live in Honeybook!

7 Reasons to Love Honeybook

This year will be my seventh year using Honeybook so today I’m sharing 7 Reasons to Love Honeybook with a referral code at the end so you can save 20% on your Honeybook subscription!

For those of you that don’t know, Honeybook is a client management system for those in service based industries, and it integrates and automates so many things that business owners need to handle in the day to day tasks of keeping things afloat.

Through the years, I’ve seen so many iterations of Honeybook, and with their recent unrolling of the “Smart Files” feature, it’s literally better than ever. Today I’m going to share all of the ways I use and love Honeybook, and I’ll only be talking about the features I actually take advantage of. Trust me when I say… there are more… which seems crazy because I’ll be mentioning… a lot…. D:

So here we go, these are seven reasons to LOVE Honeybook!

1. Invoices & Payment Plans

This is hands down my most-used feature in Honeybook. Apart from a handful of clients, I pretty much use this for every single invoice I need to send to clients. They allow you to customize your invoices according to what you’re selling, including descriptions, and saved products/services. Of course you can add sales tax as necessary, and the best part? All invoices include a payment portal, so clients can pay directly through their invoice. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked to clients who actually seem relieved that I’ve made purchasing so easy.

Even better - should you invoice involved payments at different times - I for example require a 50% deposit for sessions as well as the remaining 50% one week before a session - Honeybook will automatically e-mail a reminder to your client and send them a payment portal when their payment is due. The seamlessness is to die for darling.

2. Contracts

The contract system in Honeybook is a fillable form that clients can fill out right on their computer. You can customize any contract by adding whatever you need, and they have a variety of options for adding information that suits your needs. Which brings me to my next favorite feature of Honeybook:

3. Proposals

Proposals bundle the invoice, payment, and contract so you can send your client a single document. They’ll be able to review the services requested, the total cost and payment plan, as well as the contract. This makes booking as transparent as it is seamless.

4. Contact Form

Just this past year I started using Honeybook’s contact form. I’m able to customize it as much or as little as I want so I can gather all the necessary information I need from clients before we even have our first conversation. And the bonus? It works beautifully with my Squarespace site, so I can embed it right onto my booking page. This automatically integrates with lead tracking, so that I have better data in regards to where my sessions come from as well as what types of inquiries I typically get.

5. E-mail Integration

Honeybook’s e-mail integration pretty much goes hand-in-hand with the contact form. As soon as someone contacts me through Honeybook, it creates a new “Project”. My e-mail is seamlessly integrated between my business e-mail and my Honeybook account, so I can message directly through my account when I get an inquiry, and it will also synchronize with my e-mail account. This means that more data is stored and organized in Honeybook.

6. Automations & Templates

With the introduction of Smart Files, Honeybook now allows it’s users to have an array of automations and templates. For me, that looks like having an e-mail template for every session and invoice I send, which integrates data from the client’s project. Typically when I send a session invoice, I like to also include the details we’ve agreed upon regarding their session - and you can use Honeybook’s features to automatically integrate that into e-mail templates you’ve created. It saves me time, and it also helps me communicate more clearly with my clients.

I also use this feature to automatically include files with people are inquiring about prices. In Honeybook, I’m able to store my client guides (which I make separately then upload to Honeybook), and then I use their nifty e-mail template to ensure that my pricing guides are automatically added to my e-mails. Wedding inquiry? Hit that wedding e-mail template, adjust information according the inquiry, and automatically have that file added to your e-mail. No more awkward “forgetting to attach a document” shenanigans.

7. Scheduling & Calendar Integration

What saved my quality of life as a photographer last year, especially during the busy fall season while planning a wedding, was taking advantage of their scheduling and calendar integrations. Their scheduling system allowed me to create a dedicated link for all of my fall sessions, so that when a client reached out to book a session, all I had to do was drop a link (which was included in my e-mail template made specifically for fall sessions), and it led them straight to the scheduling platform. It saved me SO MUCH TIME, because we weren’t going back and forth trying to figure out what time worked for both of us. They could simply look at my calendar, find what worked for them, and then voila. Once they scheduled a session, I’d invoice them (through Honeybook of course) so we could make it official. And all of that information - our communication, the info & invoices I sent them — would be stored in their project folder.

While setting everything up took me time, in the end, it simplified my process, allowed for more clear communication with my clients, and made everything easier for both of us. Thankfully, Honeybook is really focused on a beautiful, user-friendly experience so that things can go as smoothly as possible for both business owners as well as the people they’re serving.

Honeybook is just one of many client management systems out there, but it’s the only one I’ve used, because I love it so much. If you’re ready to simplify your workflow, I’ve added a link in the description to a code which will grant you 20% off the purchase of a one year membership to Honeybook.

In the meantime, keep finding beauty in the everyday, and growing in business, life, and love.

Use this code for 20% off your 1 Year membership to Honeybook! http://share.honeybook.com/gLtrR

See the full video on this topic over on YouTube (below!):

February 2023 Reads & My March TBR

This February, the most magical thing happened. While I didn’t read as many books as I did in January (which is probably to be expected because February has, you know, less days), somehow, I managed to read nine books, bringing my total books read for the year up to 21 books - which if I didn’t mention it previously, is my total number of books read in 2022. So that means, if I read even one book this March, I’ll beat my reading count from last year, and it’s ONLY March!

Something difficult I've encountered in my newly found pursuit of reading has been that I keep thinking I want to raise my book count above all else, and it’s deterring me from buying longer books. However, considering the 500+ page read like Babel by R. F. Kuang and the 13 hour audio book that was Crazy Rich Asians, I would have really missed out had I chosen not to pursue those books. Still I struggled with reading them, thinking the had I chosen shorter books I’d have had a higher book count this month.

I’m slowly (and mostly failing at) trying to accept that it’s not about how many books I’m reading, but rather that I’m reading at all because ultimately, pursuing reading grows my heart, my intellect, and my understanding of people and the world. Now, without further delay, let’s chat about the books that I read in February 2023!

— Disclosure: I may receive a commission from purchases made via the links in this post. —

My February 2023 Reads

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Whoops, nothing like started off the year with a memoir about tragedy and grief. I had never read any Joan Didion, and I went into the book knowing nothing of its content.

While I expected it to be something akin to Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert for some reason, it was, most certainly, the furthest thing from it. But that’s alright, because Joan’s writing is incredible, and she sews her knowledge and experience into her memoirs like a common thread and it’s… well… kinda magical. This book struck me as something that would be very helpful to someone going through grief—maybe not right away, but certainly over time.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Oh, another book about grief? Who knew. What a lucky and upsetting way to continue into February. This book speaks on grief, and food, making me want to make kimchi, but also maybe just buy it at the store because the process seems lengthy and smelly.

This book in particular sparked in me an interest for Korean culture and gave me a deeper understanding for those who are Korean or children of Korean immigrants to the US. There was something very rich about this book, and I think it extended beyond the explicit explanations of food, but rather the importance of relationships, family, and how those relationships shift over time.


Wintering by Kathering May

I randomly saw that a friend was reading this book, and I liked the cover so voila I put in on hold at my library. This little one was such a gem, I immediately purchased two copies as soon as I was finished with it. One for a friend, and one for myself.

This was my third memoir of February, and I was actually surprised to find it was categorized as such. From the title, I assumed it would be more along the lines of a self-help book, but really it was about how the author, Katherine May, navigated winter one month at a time, taking personal explorations into herself as well as other countries that seem to winter well.

I felt like it was packed with wisdom and insights that I can so easily forget when winter feels long and difficult, hence the purchase I made with abandon!

The Genesis of Gender by Abigail Favale

After hearing about this book on a podcast and hearing an interview with the author, I became curious about what this educated Christian had to say about the perspective of gender in light of culture’s current approach to the topic. While the book would probably be considered progressive in Christian cultures, the general public might see it as being somewhat conservative.

This book helped me understand gender on a broader scale, not just from a Christian perspective, but I thought that ultimately, as a Christian book, it was rather open to acceptance of those who are non-cis and non-hetero. Without spoiling too much of the book, it did walk a fine line between being informative about the topic while also being cautious to those considering sexual reassignment surgeries.

Favale most definitely had a bias, but I think that for many in the church, it could a beneficial read to understanding and loving those who differ from the “norm”.

The Witches of Moonshyne Manor by Bianca Marais

Did I follow a Christian book with a book about witches? Why, yes I did. But would it really be a reading list from me if I didn’t?

The Witches of Moonshyne Manor was all in all a delight, and much to my surprise, also confronted the topic of gender. Many of the characters were much older in age that most books and movies that I’m accustomed to, and that was unexpected but also quite refreshing. Seeing women who are written to be beautiful, equipped, and live with purpose, while also being in the winter of their lives made me feel as though the entirety of life (not just the times when our bodies function well, and we’re culturally seen as beautiful) has meaning.

The story was just lovely, it was an easy read, and it read like watching Charmed feels—except it was quite a bit less cheesy. I’m so glad it wandered it’s way into my February reads!

Babel by R. F. Kuang

Fun story, I was listening to a podcast when the host mentioned this book. I knew absolutely nothing about it, and I certainly had no idea that it was such a popular book. I placed in on hold at my library back in December, and I was elated the day it became available—some six weeks later.

Did I know it was 500+ pages? Lol no. No I did not. But I’m not sure R. F. Kuang could have adequately told the story in less. While the book is categorized as Science Fiction or Fantasy, it felt more like a historical novel. To me, the otherworldly aspects of the book were merely something that steer the plot. The larger focus was one of elitism, racism, and bias overall.

This is the kind of book that got my wheels turning and had me asking many questions about the influence of trade of the cultures of the world, and also what that looks like today. I would hate to spoil anything, but I’ll just say, while this book felt like it took me a while to get through, I was largely grateful for what the author felt compelled to tell us. You better believe I’ve put myself on hold at the library for her next book, Yellowface!

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

This book was on my mental TBR for quite some time, but seeing as I wasn’t a big reader, I didn’t imagine I’d ever get around to reading it. Since I had a few trips booked out of town for business, I was decided to finally read it as an audiobook while I was on the road. My goodness, it was a true and utter delight.

It opened my eyes to what it means to be like… really rich. Like reeeeally rich. It made me wonder how much of the book aligned with the reality of the super wealthy of the world, because seriously, what they talk about in this book far exceeds anything I could have fathomed.

All talk of riches aside, it was just freaking fun, featuring romance, shopping, and culture, and because of that, I think it’d be a super great vacation read (especially since the book involves a good amount of travel).

As a reward for finishing it, I decided to watch the movie, and I kinda hate that I’m saying this, but, ahem… the book was better.

The Audacity by Katherine Ryan

As my fourth and final memoir of February, and by no means my first comedian memoir, I was just so deeply happy with this book. Katherine Ryan was someone I was first introduced to via her Netflix show The Duchess, and then her stand-up. Something about her humor was really unique and honest to me, so it really piqued my curiosity when I saw she’d written a memoir.

Something that sets her memoir apart from others is the way she just seems to be… real. Even though she has wealth and fame, she still seems oddly down-to-earth. The way she spoke about plastic surgery (which I’ve never had), pregnancy (which I’ve never had), and complicated family dynamics (…) felt so honest. I didn’t feel like she was being gratuitous or self-serving. She was just sharing, and I’m honestly grateful that she chose to be vulnerable and forth-coming in that way.

The White Friends I Couldn’t Keep by Andre Henry

A friend of mine posted about this audiobook, so I too, once finishing Crazy Rich Asians, decided to do give it a listen. It was an informative 7 hours of healthy perspective regarding the Black Lives Matter movement as well as what it looks like to a black person in America.

As a white lady, it was just good to hear, it was healthy to know, and it kind of sucked at times too, but I think as a whole, much of what he wrote about needed to be heard. Because I feel I can’t really speak to the issues regarding racial injustice, I feel I can’t say much about the book or about the issues it raises, but I will say that it strengthened my personal convictions and provided healthy perspectives I wouldn’t have found otherwise.

My March 2023 TBR (To Be Read)

1. Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
   I saw this on a list for books regarding indigenous people, and with a cover this beautiful, I feel like it’s got to be pretty great.
   

2. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
   I’ve never read this classic and am super pumped to be diving into it. I’ve only read one of L’Engle’s memoirs, so reading her fiction is like, super cool. I’ve already started it, and just adore it.
   

3. The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith
   I have no clue how I found out about this author, but the cover is cute and so is the title, so hey-oh.
   

4. Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young
   My library had this book listed alongside some other witchy books, so we’ll see how I like it.
   

5. Paris Letters by Janice MacLeod
   This book was on a shelf of recommendations at my local library, so I snagged it. As someone who a) wants to travel to Paris, and b) loves memoirs and the concept of going slowly, I’m really excited to see what it’s all about.
   

6. I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet by Shauna Niequist
   This one had been on hold my library for ages, so I’m really excited to finally be reading it, as I’ve read and loved Shauna’s memoirs in the past.
   

7. The Modern Cottage Garden by Greg Loades
   I’ve already read parts of this book, but as gardening season will be here before I know it, I plan to probably divulge in all it has to offer and hope shape a truly magnificent garden at my current abode.
   

8. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
   This is a book I’ve heard about over the years and have been resistant to. Probably because I didn’t like the… cover? I have no idea. But after watching a couple YouTube videos on morning pages, and hearing that it resulted from this book, I decided to look into it.

Watch the full video on YouTube detailing my reads from February as well as my March TBR! All the books mentioned in this post are available for purchase via my Amazon Storefront.

Best Camera Settings for Real Estate Photography

As with many settings, these are kind of my home base and might adjust slightly based on lighting and circumstances, but for the most part, this is where my settings live. Every photographer might have slightly different preferences, but overall, these settings allow me to get the shots that I want and have worked really well for me.

— Disclosure: I may receive a commission from purchases made via the links in this post. —

Aperture: 8.0

I use this aperture to get most of the photo in focus since designers typically want to highlight all of the details in a space, as opposed to focusing on one thing and having the rest of the background/foreground out of focus.

ISO: 400

I use this ISO because it has low grain. I could use ISO 200 or 100, but the lower my ISO, the slower my shutter speed has to be, and even though I’m using a tripod, I’m often not fond of waiting extra long for my camera to take a photo.

Shutter Speed: Varies

After I’ve adjusted the aperture and ISO, I then find the shutter speed that creates a proper exposure. Due to the high aperture, this typically means I’ll have a very low shutter speed and will have to use a tripod, but it makes for the dreamiest natural light photos!

Head to my Amazon Storefront to purchase my go-to gear for real estate photography, and be sure to head to YouTube to watch my video unpacking my complete photography process on this topic.

How to Photograph Interior Design and Real Estate Photography with Natural Light

Have you ever wondered how to capture well-lit, gorgeous photos of a beautifully styled living room like the one below? Today we’re going to go over my top tips to do just that!

— Disclosure: I may receive a commission from purchases made via the links in this post. —

A lovely home I recently photographed with the dreamiest living room.

For six years I’ve been taking photos for real estate, interior design, and home remodeling companies. Obviously, it differs widely from portrait photography in that it’s a static subject. My main goal in capturing every space is to get it as close to reality as possible, with the ultimate goal of capturing not just how the space looks, but how it feels.

Best Gear for Real Estate Photography

However, before we talk about how I photographed this space, let’s chat about my gear besties for all interior design and real estate shoots.

• Canon EOS R6 with a 24-105mm lens

• Manfrotto 055 with a ball head mount.

• Collapsible black and white backdrop

My Process For Photographing Real Estate & Interior Design

Now that you know what gear I used, let’s talk about my process. The very first thing I do is turn off the lights.

My goal is to have one color temperature filling the room, and since natural light and artificial light sources have different colors, I turn off all the lights, even those in adjacent rooms, so that there isn’t any spillover.

Then I open as many blinds and curtains as I can.

Once I have my camera set-up on a tripod, I set my f/stop to 8.0, my ISO to around 400, and then I’ll lower my shutter speed until I find the appropriate exposure. Typically, because of the high f/stop I’m using, I have to shoot at a pretty slow shutter speed, which is why I always use a tripod. This allows me to let in as much natural light as possible without the need for artificial light or boosting my ISO too high, resulting in a grainy photo.

My camera is normally placed at around chest height, and in an ideal world, I’d be able to back up as far as possible and zoom-in in order to compress the image and make all of the aspects of the room feel more true-to-reality and proportionate.

Photos to Get, Especially for Interior Design

Now that we’ve laid some groundwork, let’s talk about how I photographed the space.

The main photos I’m aiming for are:

1. Overalls (like… the whole room… not the clothing)

2. Details/Vignettes

3. Multiple Viewpoints

I always start with getting an overall of the room, so that I know my client has a photo showing as much of the room as possible. From there, if I see any alternate angles or details I’d like to capture and from there, as you probably guessed, I photograph them. After that, I’ll move to a different location in the room to get another perspective and repeat that process.

Once I’m finished, I might go back through the room and capture any details that I think would help tell the design story of the room and also give my client more content. Because let’s be honest, at these shoots, we’re always doing it for the gram. ;)

The process is pretty straight-forward and you can replicate it for any room you visit. The hardest part to get the hang of is composition and camera placement in the room, and that comes with practice. As with many other things in photography, the more you photograph this type of work, the better you’ll get at it. For me it’s very-rewarding, even if it does fill me with a sense of dread that should I ever remodel my own home, my standards will be incredibly high because of all the gorgeous homes I’ve visited!

Hopefully you enjoyed this post explaining how I photograph homes and living rooms specifically! You can purchase the gear besties mentioned in this post from my Amazon Storefront.

Meanwhile, go take some pics and if that’s not really your thing, take a nap, and don’t forget to watch the video on this topic over on YouTube!

4 Office Accessories From Amazon + An Office Tour

I’m a firm believer in having an office that's as aesthetically pleasing as it is efficient, so today I’m sharing my favorite office and desk accessories with you. They’re all centered around efficiency and beauty. While many of the things listed are investment pieces that I’ve slowly accrued, they have really helped to perfect my set-up!

— Disclosure: I may receive a commission from purchases made via the links in this post. —

So let’s dive in! These are my four favorite desk accessories that have perfected my tiny office set-up!

#1 - My Ember Mug

Being a slow coffee drinker, I’ve really fallen in love with my Ember mug which keeps my coffee warm until I’m finished with it. This was actually a gift that I probably wouldn’t have ever purchased for myself, but my goodness do I love it so. I switch back and forth between this and my ceramic mugs (because sometimes a girl just needs to switch it up), but this mug, more often than not, makes it way to my desk every morning.

#2 - My Satechi Hub for my Mac Mini

Last year I made a big switch in my set-up, transitioning from a 13 inch laptop, which I worked off of for years to a Mac mini with a display. My laptop was having some issues, and the Mac mini was an affordable shift towards a more powerful machine. While I thought I would miss the flexibility of not being able to work in different places around the house or in coffee shops, I’ve found I really love working at a desk. It helps me maintain a sense of work-life balance.

While the Mac mini is great - all of the ports are in the back of it, so this Satechi hub is super convenient for me. It’s much easier to hook up my hard drives and plug in SD cards, and it also has a compartment understand to install a hard drive, so I can work with a little bit more space on my computer. It’s a tiny hardware adjustment that has made my workflow so much better, and dang it if she isn’t just so pretty.

#3 - My Minimal Monitor Stand

I got this little monitor stand off Amazon, and I love how it fits the vibe of my office, being super minimal and pretty. It was probably my best office investment (at a whopping $40) last year. Not only does it allow my monitor to set at a more comfortable height, but creates a nice little space underneath my monitor where I can tuck hard drives and odds and ends if needed.

Putting my monitor and computer on this stand also ensures that if I spill coffee (a somewhat regular occurrence), it doesn’t get on the precious electronics. :D

#4 - My Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones

My Sony noise-cancelling headphones are always at the ready, which is super helpful in a house with a noisy family, and also for when I just need to really focus. Since my husband and I share an office, and we both like listening to music, these headphones are super helpful to cancel out noise, get into a flow, and get stuff done!

So there you have it! Those are my favorite office accessories which help me keep things running efficiently, happily, and… well.. prettily! If you’d like a full tour of my tiny office space, I’m sharing it over on YouTube!

Meanwhile, I’d love to know which accessories in your office are game-changers and help you with productivity and aesthetics!

Why you should always shoot in RAW!

A before and after edit of a photo taken in Golden Gate Canyon State Park, Colorado.

Maybe you know exactly what I’m talking about, or maybe it sounds like I’m speaking Greek, but no worries, today we’re going to break down and explain why you should always shoot in RAW and kiss JPGs goodbye. Today we’re going to talk about why you should always shoot in RAW and also breakdown the difference between RAW and JPG.

So let’s kick off by describing the difference between RAW and JPG photos. RAW and JPG both refer to file types, and most cameras are able to take photos in RAW or JPG. But like, what does that even mean? Let’s start by talking about JPGs.

A JPG is a compressed photo file. It is smaller than RAW files and takes up less space on a memory card. Almost every camera can take photos in JPG, including everything from your iPhone to pro level cameras. You can typically choose different file sizes within JPG, but they will alway be “compressed” meaning the data within the photo has been limited. While the final photo will look fine if you got your settings right, the editing capabilities are limited. They can be edited in almost any photo editing software.

RAW files on the other hand are non-compressed photo files, so they contain all of the digital information in a photo. These photos will be a larger file size, but because they are not compressed, they provide a lot more wiggle room when you are editing them.  They can only be edited in software that has the ability to edit RAW photos, like Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.

If you over-expose a JPG, you cannot darken it to make it better. You are simply stuck with that photo. If you try to darken it, you’ll find that detail is missing, and the photo will just look… off. You also have much less wiggle room for all other adjustments, including brightness, white balance, contrast, shadows… I could go on.

RAW photos, on the other hand, are much more versatile. If you over or under exposure a RAW file, you can adjust it much more easily, darkening, or lightening as needing, saving a photo that otherwise might have been ruined if shot in JPG.

Shooting in RAW doesn’t mean you can rescue all of your photos if you made a mistake, but it definitely gives you a fighting chance, where as JPGs just kinda… don’t. Shooting in RAW also allows you to have a much more detailed, dynamic editing process of your photos and will, in the end, allow you to have much better looking photos—whether they’ve been over-exposed, under-exposed, or shot just right.

Hopefully this breaks down the difference better for you, so that the next time someone’s all “I only shoot in RAW,” you are not only not confused, but you will find yourself saying the same!

What are settings you wished you knew about when you were early in your photography journey?

See my full video on this topic over on YouTube!

3 SIMPLE TIPS: Be A More Confident Photographer!

Today we’re going to talk about three simple steps that helped me feel more confident as a photographer, straight out of the gate. Getting started in photography, it can feel super easy to have a sense of imposter syndrome, and sometimes, there can be a lot of unnecessary hate in our industry. While these tips won’t keep the haters at bay, I believe they will help you present yourself more professionally and feel more confident the next time you’re on a photo shoot or at a wedding.

—Disclosure: I may receive a commission from purchases made via the links in this video and description.—

TIP #1: Turn Off the Beep on Your Camera

My first tip for you, and you can do it right now, is to turn off the beep on your camera. Most camera’s come with a default setting where they will beep when you focus or take a photo. If you are someone who shoots journalistically and prioritizes moments, the last thing you’d want to do is draw attention to yourself and take away from the moment. Not only that, but turning off your beep is a small way to make it look like you know your gear just a bit better.

Every camera has slightly different settings, so I recommend looking in your manual, googling it, or looking up a tutorial video on YouTube for your specific camera. If you want to level that up: turn on silent shutter for premium stealthiness.

TIP #2: Get a Custom Camera Strap

My second tip for you is to get a custom camera strap. Most cameras come standard with a neck strap. While those are definitely functional, they can tend to give off the look like you’ve just gotten started in photography. While there’s nothing wrong with being a beginner, sometimes it’s nice to look a bit more legit and a different camera strap is a super easy way to make that adjustment.

My current camera strap of choice is this crossbody one from Amazon (I liked it so much, I purchased it a second time after losing it on a hike).

In the past, I’ve used a leather hand strap and double harnesses. It might take some trial and error to find what works for you, because this tip is both about appearances and functionality. When you find the right camera strap, you’ll probably find your camera easier to access and use, which means it’ll be that much easier to grab more photos you love!

TIP #3: Upgrade Your Bag

My third and final tip for you is to upgrade your camera bag. It’s not uncommon to get a pretty standard, run of the mill, camera bag. While this is handy for keeping your camera safe and carrying it around, it’s not always the prettiest or most comfortable to carry. You can definitely go down the rabbit hole of fancy camera bag options, but my favorite for over a decade now have been the bags from Billingham, specifically my Billingham Hadley Pro.

Not only are they classically designed, but they are incredibly durable—and as a fun bonus—they’re all made in England. My favorite thing about this bag though? It doesn’t look like a camera bag, which makes me look not only more professional and styled, but it makes me less of a target for theft. It’s also very comfortable.

These are things I did very early when I started as a photographer, and they always made me feel more confident and appear more professional. Why skill takes time to develop, these are tips you can change really easily to look and feel more confident and present more professionally.

Buy the gear mentioned in this post here:

My Current Favorite Camera Strap
My FAVORITE Camera Bag: The Billingham Hadley Pro

See the full video about this over on YouTube (below)!

A Stock Photography Fail: My Scary Solo Female Camping Trip in Aspen, Colorado - Part 2

When we left off, I had just arrived to Lost Lake Campground with no where to stay. It was too late for me to find shelter elsewhere, and I honestly didn’t know my options. Could I park on the side of a road and sleep in my car? Would I risk getting in trouble with local law enforcement if I wasn’t authorized to sleep where I parked? Would I be safe if I wasn’t within the boundaries of the campsite?

By providence, or grace of God, I struck up a conversation with a man who had a campsite there. I’m not even sure why we started talking or what brought him my way, but seeing my situation, he allowed me to park in the extra parking space in his campground. Because it was so cold, I decided to camp in my car, but not without sharing stories and dinner around a campfire with this kind, fellow camper.

Not sleeping well because of the cold, I rose early in search of a few morning shots before the sun rose too high. Afterwards, I swung back by the campsite, and was greeted with one of my favorite views of the trip - the mountains nestled along-side that glorious, lost, lake. I’m not sure if life will ever permit me to return to this spot, but it was quite possibly one of the most incredible things I’ve woken up to.

Lost Lake Campground near Crested Butte, Colorado at sunrise.

After grabbing a few photos, I brushed my teeth in the sunshine (a personal favorite camping activity) made coffee, said my good-byes and thank yous to my camping neighbor, and went on my merry way.

My next destination was the famous Maroon Bells just outside of Aspen, Colorado. Not knowing exactly how to get there, I made my way through more windy roads, incredible forest views, and eventually to a highway I recognized on the map.

After a pit stop in Carbondale, Colorado for local coffee, a stroll through a farmer’s market (which was kismet!), and the purchase of a warmer sleeping bag at a local used outdoor gear shop, I headed into Aspen to find my campsite. Aspen, if you haven’t been there, is a quite fancy, quite shiny, Colorado town. It’s very polished, and full of all types of tourists. Unlike Lost Lake Campground, it was quite populated. My campsite in White River National Forest was surrounded by changing Aspens, whose leaves were gleefully wiggling in the breeze. I read for a while at my campsite before driving a couple minutes down the road to the parking lot for Maroon Bells so I could see it in time for sunset. Much to my delight, it, as many things seemed to do on this trip, exceeded my expectations.

Maroon Bells in fall with sunburst.

When I returned to my campsite, I had dinner, and, due to the cold temperatures and eerie feelings that I wasn’t quite safe, I decided to sleep in my car instead of my tent. The campsite lacked the friendliness and hospitality that I felt at the previous one, and some of the fellow campers seemed… dodgy at best. Being a solo, female traveler who was car camping without anything to cover her windows, be it anxiety or intuition, I decided to flee in the middle of the night.

I drove 30 minutes back into Carbondale where every hotel was fully booked. Then I continued to Glenwood Springs and experienced the same situation. I was beginning to get very nervous, and, being as late as it was, I didn’t know if I could safely sleep somewhere. Unsure what to do, I continued down the interstate and decided to sleep at a somewhat occupied rest stop which had fellow travelers such as myself. There were cars, campers, and RVs alike. We all had the same idea, but my fears did not diminish. After covering the windows with tin foil (I didn’t have window covers), and then waking every few minutes for fear someone was going to knock on my car or try to rob me or worse, I decided after a couple hours there, that I would just drive home to Kansas.

By dawn I was in Denver, and while I was tired, my anxiety was diminishing. I got gas station coffee, and followed the highway safely home with the company of Brené Brown and Annie F. Downs podcasts. Thank goodness for those ladies.

Now, at this point you might be asking yourself, why was this a stock photography fail? Well, while I certainly got many beautiful photos and I had the loose idea of a plan, I came home and felt my photos were kind of… lacking. If I did something like this again, I would want to go with a shot-list in mind and possibly research other stock photos of the area. Then, everything after that is a bonus. I’d also bring my dog. And a large… can of mace. 100%.

Hopefully you enjoyed my stressful, interesting, and at times fun telling of my very interesting camping-stock-photography story.

Also, please don’t tell my mom about this.

For the expanded edition of my experience, be sure to check out the video over on YouTube!

A Stock Photography Fail: My Scary Solo Female Camping Experience in Kebler Pass - Part 1

Back in 2021, I had this wild idea that if I went on solo camping trips, I could slowly build my nature stock photography portfolio. I mean, in truth, it wasn’t the craziest idea. Camping = close to nature = epic photos. No brainer, right? The only drawback - camping, much less solo camping as a female can be a little scary, and mostly, I knew very little about shooting stock photography, the kinds of photos I needed, and the planning involved to make sure I came home with worthwhile content.

Historically, though, I’m someone who likes to just jump in the deep end and see what happens. Back in my gamer days, it resulted in a lot of bum-rushing and unnecessary deaths, and such a history should have informed me about what was to come. But alas, I naively marched onward.

Because I live in Kansas, Colorado was the easiest/closest/most epic option, and I had just heard that the aspens were starting to turn. For those of you that don’t know, Colorado is covered in Aspen trees, those epic, white-barked, trees that turn the most brilliant shade of yellow in the fall. Due to the climate, fall comes early in Colorado, and in the event of a sudden drop in temperatures, it’s not uncommon for the aspen trees to turn and abruptly drop their leaves. Not wanting to miss my chance, I didn’t even hesitate, and I loaded up my car and made my way for the mountains.

Colorado Camping by Joshua German, published by Moon.

Now, Colorado is no small state, and I needed to find the best location to a) leaf-peep, and b) camp. In an attempt to plan this trip in an analog fashion, meaning I would only use books and word of mouth references to decide on my destinations— I turned to two books to help me in my decision-making process:

Colorado Camping and Scenic Driving Colorado. I found them to be tremendously helpful and information.

—Disclosure: I may receive a commission from purchases made via the links in this post.—

Scenic Driving Colorado by Stewart M. Green, published by Falcon.

Colorado Camping helped me find some pristine camping sites, being ranked by accessibility and beauty while Scenic Driving Colorado helped direct me towards the best locations for fall sightings.

After driving all day, armed with ample water, fuel, and local beer, I found myself in the Colorado Rockies. At this point, I was still unsure if I would see aspens, having very little intel to go off of, but I drove onward to the Kebler Pass area.

It’s known for looking especially magnificent during the fall season, and one turn in the mountain pass at a time, that proved to be true.

I slowly started to see pockets of aspen trees, some green, but some bright yellow and absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, those roads made it difficult to pull over and stop, and I was relatively confident that my best views were ahead of me, so I kept driving, grabbing my last to-go coffee in Salida as well as some local beer and continued north to my destination.

Taking an unassuming left off the highway, I turned off the main route, which indicated to me: I was leaving the majority of civilization. By that I mean… cell service. But worried I was not. Except for one small fact I forgot to mention - the campsite I was headed towards was a first-come first-serve campground, meaning - finders keepers, and I would have no way of knowing if there’d be a campsite for me. I was a verifiable Lewis sans Clark.

The highway to the campsite was immaculate. It was partly paved - partly not - and included aspens a plenty, lone ranches, and a cow in the middle of the road… which I was not expecting. Occasionally I would bump into groups of photographers, getting their tree-photography on, I right along with them, pulling over, and soaking up the sights with our zoom lenses. This road did not disappoint, and I absolutely recommend the route if you’re ever in the area. While my shot count was raising, and I was certain that even at this point, I had enough content to make the trip worthwhile, I knew that I still needed to get to my campsite. To me, it was a race against time, and I had to hope against hope there’d be a spot for me.

Now, you might be thinking - Emma, why didn’t you prioritize getting to your campsite first? That’s a reasonable question, and I’m happy to answer it for you. My travel philosophy is to take the photo in the moment. There’s no way of knowing where the road of life will take you, and I had no idea if I’d ever be back on that road again. This happens almost every time I travel. If I ever hear someone say, “We’ll get that photo when we come back,” I’ve learned those are famous last words and practically a curse: you will NOT get that photo on the way back. You’ll be too tired, too rushed, too busy, too pre-occupied to do it. So, I prioritized taking the photos first and then went on my merry way.

Trusting my physical maps, and the hope that my cell phone, despite not having service, would somehow remember where I was and keep GPS functioning, I drove deeper into the aspen forest, filled with hunters, photographers, and uncertain roads. The sun seemed to be setting (it’s hard to tell in the mountains), and I had to simply trust that I was going the right way, that I hadn’t passed the turnoff for the campground, and that there’d be a spot once I got there.

With great relief, I came across the sign for my campground. I was actually going the right way! It was a secluded camping area, with around 20 or so campsites, nestled right next to a lake and practically making out with the mountains beside it. Lost Lake Campground did not disappoint. 9/10 stars for scenic views was merited.

The only thing it lacked? A campsite. I drove a couple loops, only to find nothing was available. The sun was low, and because I was so unfamiliar with the area, I was not about to leave and be stuck on dark, gravel roads in the hopes of finding shelter along the way. What I would do, I didn’t know, and blame it on a slight worry in my expression or the absolute grace of God, matters turned in my favor, and I’ll share the rest of the story and what happened on the rest of my trip in Part 2

The books mentioned in this post are linked in the article above. View the whole video (including many more photos as well as vlog footage) on YouTube here:

My Favorite Reads on January 2023 and my February TBR

Never did I ever think I’d be making this post I’m honestly not sure what happened to me, but in one fell swoop I went from being a somewhat sporadic reader to like… going hard on reading. This January I broke a personal record of most books read in one month. I’m not sure at all what my previous record was, but let’s just say… I wasn’t counting because there was no point. Maybe five? Maybe?

Last year I read 21 books. This past month I read 12. That’s more than half of last years books read, and guys, it added so much to my life. Not only did I find myself engaging in considerably less screen time, because… who has time to mindlessly scroll when you have a book to read?! But my brain was filled with so many good and shaping thoughts. My heart was stirred. My mind was grown. My life was better. No joke.

Ok—I’d hate to keep you any longer from your next read so here are my January reads in chronological order. Let’s go!!

—Disclosure: I may receive a commission from purchases made via the links in this post.—

1: The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn't, and Get Stuff Done by Kendra Adachi

  My first read of the year was The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi. This book featured super easy, concise, non-threatening ways to make life… just… better. I was introduced to Kendra Adachi through the Lazy Genius podcast, which was recommended to me by a friend. I thought her approach to life made a lot of sense - as in achieve things, but be chill about it. And being a new step-mom and wife, my life has encountered a lot of changes that require more efficiency and focus on what truly matters in my life, and this book was quite possible the best way to kick off a new year. I definitely recommend giving it a read if you’re looking for ways to live you life more efficiently that doesn’t leave you feeling like you’re behind the curve or have catching up to do.

2: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told: An Oral History by Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman

  I’m a huge fan of memoirs, and especially memoirs from comedians. The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Megan Mullaly and Nick Offerman was my first audiobook of the year, and getting to hear Nick Offerman and Megan Mullaly talk about their lives was just a real treat. Despite their fame, they’re surprisingly down to earth, and I more or less felt like I had just set down to a conversation with the two of them. It was funny, life-giving, a little life-advising, and I walked away feeling like I didn’t have to wax my eyebrows anymore. I mean, I might in the future, but still. Overall, a great read.

3: WayMaker: Finding the Way to the Life You've Always Dreamed Of by Ann Voskamp

  WayMaker by Ann Voskamp was a book I started on my honeymoon, which was really crazy because the first chapter is literally called honeymoon and about her honeymoon. That was a trip. No pun intended. It took me a while to get through it, but in the end, I was glad I made the final push to finish it. Ann Voskamp speaks and writes very poetically, so digesting her books takes me a little more time than the average read, but her journey in life, marriage, adoption, and her walk with the Lord was, not surprisingly, inspiring and informative. I walked away feeling a sense of hope that I didn’t know I needed.

4: A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backman

A Christmas gift to me from a friend, this book was a true delight. So as not to over-spoil the book if you haven’t read it, A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman focuses on a curmudgeon who has experienced many hardships and misgivings in his life, but is mostly a stand-up citizen. His rag-tag bunch of neighbors surround him and help him to find a sense of purpose when he feels he has none. This book made me cry and filled me with the feels. It also reminded me that connection can be found everywhere so long as we’re open to it.

5: At Home in the World: Reflections on Belonging While Wandering the Globe by Tsh Oxenreider

  My third memoir of the year, At Home in the World  by Tsh Oxenreider focuses on the journey of her family through several countries over the course of nine months. While I thought I would walk away from the book wanting to travel (and don’t get me wrong, I did), what I didn’t expect was that I’d find myself wanting to settle my roots into my home even further. I was grateful for her honest reflections of time spent away from home, and it had me eager to plan a trip with my family to an unforeseen destination to grow ourselves as individuals and as a unit.

6: The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth by Beth Allison Barr

  The Making of Biblical Womanhood by Beth Allison Barr was wildly intense for a theological perspective on women in the church. It had a very “F*** the patriachy” vibe, and it was a surprisingly good, Biblical defense of women teaching, preaching, and serving in the church. If you’re not a church-person, I’d give it a hard pass, but if you’re someone who likes history and stories, you might find yourself liking it. The appendix on this bad boy was lengthy, because it was heavily based in research. So, if you’re looking to learn more about this particular viewpoint in the church, definitely crack this baby open and get ready to have your eyes opened. It’s a minor, theological, and at times controversial hum-dinger.

7: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

  Hilariously, following my two books written by religious authors, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna was anything but. This books focuses on a young witch, who, isolated because of her powers, finds community in the most unexpected of ways. This is probably categorized as romance, which is admittedly not my favorite genre, but to me, it’s so much more than that. It’s about a woman who is finding her place in the world and finding acceptance within it. It wasn’t a perfect book (see: romance), but all in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It felt like a hug, and gave me deep desires to move to the UK and start a tea shop.

8: Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

  Oh my sweet goodness, Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri was incredible. Winner of a Pulitzer Prize, it’s not that surprising. Jhumpa Lahiri has compiled a handful of short stories, each detailing the experiences of both immigrants who have traveled to the US from Bangladesh and natives stories from Bangladesh. I walked away with a deeper understanding of other cultures and the hardships immigrants endure when they leave their homes. It was layered, complicated, funny, and sad, and I absolutely walked away from the book better for having read it.

9: Mating in Captivity: In Search of Erotic Intelligence by Esther Perel

  This is an awkward topic for me to talk about publicly, but as you can guess - Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel was about… well… sex… in the context of a committed relationship. If you’re looking to understand more about your partner and the at time complex nuances  found through intimacy, her researched based assessments of relationships - focusing on both gay and heterosexual couples - was highly informative. I listened to this as an audiobook, so getting to hear Esther and her amazing European accent was an additional bonus.

10: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

When I put Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin on hold at my local library, I had no idea that it was such a hot item. I literally found it because I was looking for books that were written about the French experience, and for some reason this popped up. I’d like to mention, this has nothing to do with the French experience, or France or… the French language. Nothing. But, much to my surprise and delight, it was about gaming! I used to be a gamer, so many things about this book felt right at home to me. It follows the journey of programmers as they flat out grind to develop and build games. The format was kind of interesting and felt like something akin to a movie. I didn’t entirely love where the story went or the directions it took, but overall, I’d say it was a work of art that I’m better for having read. I left feeling inspired to unabashedly pursue my own creative endeavors, and that made reading the book entirely worth it.

11: Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

  I had to fight to start this book. I had to fight to finish this book. But that last forty pages had me, folks. I’m not entirely sure why Peace Like a River by Leif Enger was so hard for me to get through, but keeping with a theme I found with a lot of books this month, the “finding a sense of home” vibes were strong here, and involved the journey of a family as they attempted to locate their outlaw brother and son. There are hints of the miraculous, coupled with utter sweetness, especially through the young, daughter character Swede. I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it, but overall, I’m glad I read it.

12: Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets & Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong

  My last book of January, I listened to Dear Girls by Ali Wong. I shouldn’t have been surprised, because I’ve seen her stand-up routines, but dang it if this girl isn’t dirty. She’s funny. But dirty. Because of that, I at times struggled to finish this book. Just being honest. It was written in the format of letters to her daughters, where she shares stories of her life. At times it was hard to listen to because she speaks so highly of her husband who she has now divorced, and also the nature of the book was just a little more crude that I’d typically like. However, for her intensely inappropriate moments, she also had deeply endearing things to say, and as with other books I read this month, I gained a deeper understanding for the minority and immigrant experience.

In conclusion, January was a beautiful beast of variety, books old, new, and informative. While I’m not sure if February will be quite as sturdy in terms of books read, I’m eager to see what comes my way this month. That being said, here is my February TBR… for now!

February TBR

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
The Audacity by Katherine Ryan
Babel by R.F. Kuang
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny -
I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet by Shauna Neiquist

All the books include links to Amazon so you can purchase them there. :) Storygraph and Goodreads are where I’m tracking my reading this year, and currently, I’m really loving Storyread for it’s analytics!

See the YouTube video on this topic here:

5 Ways to Fight Seasonal Depression

The winter blues is a real thing, and it can get all of us down. Today I've compiled a list of five simple ways to combat seasonal depression that have helped me, and will hopefully help you too!

Dress for the Day
While I don’t put on makeup every day, I do always get dressed for the day. Something about putting on real pants (even if those pants are joggers or leggings), makes me feel capable of accomplishing more than just watching Netflix. This has practically become a neurosis, because if I stay in my pajamas too long after getting up, I begin to feel a sense of discomfort from all the comfiness and must make my way to some brushed denim and mock-necks.

Drink Warm Beverages
My morning drink of choice is coffee always, but I can only handle about one cup per day, otherwise it’s too much caffeine. However, if I’m really hurting for some warm beverage comfort, I’ll graduate from decaf coffee, to black tea, to ultimately: herbal tea. You know I’m fighting off some demons if I’m brewing something that does little more for me than settle my tummy and fill my nostrils with a sweet, refreshing scent. That, friends, is the magic of a warm beverage on a down day. It warms, not just the esophagus, but undoubtedly the soul.

https://www.healthline.com/health/tea-for-depression#A-quick-look-at-the-best-teas-for-depression

Get Outside - The sun might be too far away to get ample vitamin D, but that doesn’t mean a little sunshine and time outside won’t still do its work in me. Especially after long days where I felt like I couldn’t leave my desk for hours at a time, moving my body in God’s green earth seems to reset me, remind me that I’m not a machine, and that I’m just a small part functioning in the great big world.

https://www.thesca.org/connect/blog/how-going-outside-improves-our-mood-and-health-even-winter/

Make Your Space Cozy
What better place to enjoy your mood-lifting tea than in a beautiful home.

Lighting for me is key. Now only did I look at every corner of my house and say, “You get a lamp! You get a lamp,” sheerly for the sake of ambiance, but I also started using a happy light. It’s something I keep behind my monitor and turn on when the days are feeling long and gray. Whether or not it works, I honestly don’t know, but I’ll try what I can in the winter months.

https://www.prevention.com/health/mental-health/a25940709/happy-light-lamp-therapy/

Connect with the Safe and Trustworthy
In my moments of extreme anxiety, it wasn’t chill Spotify playlists or eccentric throw pillows that got me out of my misery, but it was my support system. I found people in my life who were safe (as in, I could share things with them without fear of judgment) and trustworthy, and I could connect with them. Be it a phone call, FaceTime, cocktail hour, or a Marvelous Mrs. Maisel binge, connecting with those people could take me from feeling like I was in full on emotional-spiral-of-no-return to feeling completely grounded and like the day was suddenly doable and overall, things were not that bad. I keep these people on a short list in my phone’s contact list, so that when I’m at a loss for who to talk to, I just go to the list. That also just generally helps me stay connected with friends and family in the meantime.

See my YouTube video on this topic here:

Why You Should Never Leave Home Without Your Camera (Unless You Want To)

Today I’m sharing about the one thing you shouldn’t leave home without, and if you do leave home without it… what you should take instead.

I came up with the idea to cover this topic when I was driving to a nearby city, and I saw a pretty view, and I realized all I had on me was my cell phone. So if I wanted to photograph it, I would have to zoom in on my iPhone, SE 2020, and just deal with a super grainy not super awesome photo of what I was looking at, which was the gorgeous Flint Hills in all of their wintry haziness. Because of the lack of good gear—I didn’t even bother. In that moment, I was reminded of my personal photo rule: take your camera everywhere (if you want to get good photos, anyway).

Some of my favorite photos that I have ever taken are the ones that I have just sort of managed to grab while I was in route to something else while I had my camera on me. Very rarely do I go out and think “I’m going to photograph a really pretty view today”, or “when a fox randomly runs out in front of me, I’m totally going to get it on camera.” But rather, when I happen to have my camera and I see something beautiful, I’m fortunate enough to be able to photograph it. If I don’t have a good camera with me, I’m not going to be able to get a decent quality of whatever it is that I’m seeing—and the moment will be subjected to iPhone level quality or worse—MY MEMORY.

Speaking of, my caveat to this is that there are times when I choose to leave my camera at home because I don’t want the weight or I make the conscious decision to, in that day or that moment, simply enjoy the experience of being somewhere beautiful instead of feeling like I need to photograph it. Then, when I see something unforgettable, I’ve already made peace with the fact that I’m not getting a great picture of it. Sometimes, presence is more important than documentation.

But sometimes, that miraculously beautiful sunset calls for more than mere memory.

Often times before leaving my home, I ask myself a few questions. It’s really just a check-in with my gut, and rarely does my intuition steer me wrong here. These are the questions:

Does the sky look like it’s about to transform into gorgeousness?

Will what I’m about to experience be ideally captured on a proper camera?

OR

Would this situation be better served without my camera? Is presence more important than documentation?

Would a nice beautiful drive be better for me right now that a photo hunting expedition?

View the YouTube video I made about this topic here:

Headshots and a hefty headcount with the Green Family in Topeka, KS

It’s not uncommon at family sessions for parents to occasionally ask, “Can we update our headshot while we’re there?” It’s a perfectly reasonable question considering a) you don’t have a professional photographer at your disposal every day, and 2) you’re not camera ready every day. I mean, why wouldn’t you take that opportuntiy to update your headshot? That is why my answer is always, “Of course!” That was the case with the Greene family, who not only had a healthy round-up of kiddos, but both who had two parents needing to update their professional headshot.

Between meeting that need and also getting everyone, including their sharp-toothed German Shepherd puppy, to look at the camera made for a jam-packed photo session, but we made it happen one snuggle and bad joke at a time.

Give this Iliff Commons family session a peek!

Interested in booking your own photography services? Contact me, Emma, here.

Third time’s a charmer with Abram Masters’ newborn session in Troy, Kansas

Sweet little Abram Masters, you guys. Not only did he come into the world surrounded by two very loving parents, but he has two *adoring* sisters, who I am certain would in time sacrifice any of their favorite stuffies and/or books for him. Over the past few years, I’ve had the unique pleasure of joining Olivia and Peter on a photography journey, from their engagement to their wedding day, and for all three of newborn sessions with their sweet babies. It’s probably safe to say it has been a wild ride for them, as one can imagine with three little people, and I’m endlessly grateful that they let me hop aboard whenever a life changing moment comes their way.

Whether getting married or having babies, I can’t get enough of this sweet family, their eye for beauty, and their love for one another.

Interested in booking your own session? E-mail me, Emma, here.

Brand session with the joyful visionary, Myrna Scales

If I could describe Myrna, I would say she is a kind, enthusiastic visionary. She wanted me to join her on her journey of entrepreneurship, needing images that helped her show her personality and aligned with her brand. Photographing Myrna was such a fun experience, because she seemed deeply joyful and open to any ideas I had. Something unique about taking photos for social media use is that you want to show someone at work, capture the breadth of their personality, and also make photos that, quite practically, leave space for cropping and adding text on top. We did all three, and you’ll see examples of those in the photos below.

Soak up the vibes of warmer weather and brighter colors, and be inspired yourself for your own business and individual growth. 

You can also see more of what Myrna is up to on her YouTube channel.

Interested in booking your own session? Contact me, Emma, here.