Entering a New Chapter
Hello everyone! I hope your holiday season has been wonderful to you all.
At the date of this post, I'm sure many of you have already sat down and reflected on this past year and anticipating a hopeful and fruitful new year. Naturally, I too have done the same, and admittingly, as you will soon see in this post, I have a few hopes and dreams. It's scary to confess and share goals and dreams with people that you know or even with those you don't know (yet!), but at the same time I know that having accountability is important to making things happen. And for those who have not done any planning or reflection just yet, don't worry. No judgement here. However your approach to welcoming the new year, I have a feeling it will be full of success and wonderful surprises.
For those like me, though, who do have particular goals to make come true... That's why you guys are here. I'm feeling energized and motivated, as well as nervous. Statistics tell us that by February of a new year, about 43% of those who made New Year resolutions have already failed and never picked up again. And by the end of the year, only 9% have accomplished their goals. Now, I don't know how I will do in the year ahead, but if there is something I can work on is that even when the times do get tough, my intention is to KEEP. ON. GOING!
This past week, I have been working through my backlog and I feel very accomplished in the work I have done. This holiday season has been very rough on me - I lost my pet bird of almost 9 years that my partner and I had together, and I had a lot of family woes. My self-esteem on top of my depression from loss really weighed me down, leaving me not even motivated to open my laptop to work on edits (and as embarrassing as it is to admit, I didn't want to be around anyone very much either). I don't know what happened, but in the last couple of days I started picking myself up and building a bit of momentum. And I've been at it for a while that I am excited to say that the final goals that I set myself for this week to end the new year are in sight.
As I sit here taking a break with some Earl Grey tea and leftover holiday cookies, I thought I'd share my thoughts and experiences here too.
So... Goals. Where to start... I think it would make sense to start with the small goals and work our way up. I have pretty scary audacious goals, but I think it would be best to talk about things leading up to that. With that said, here are some goals that I would like to be able to make happen in 2023:
Goal 1: Learning new techniques and tricks of the trade
Although I have been taking pictures for some time, the thing that I know I'm not doing right is getting to learn and know my equipment better. Sure, it's nice to have the nicest cameras and gadgets, but that doesn't mean a thing if you don't know how to use them properly or even use them at the maximum potential. I have already enrolled in a couple of online classes via Skillshare, an online community for aspiring creatives. They offer classes for business, languages, Photoshop skills, and photography... And that's just a small chunk of some of the classes that they offer. I have taken classes previously for building my upcoming return of my Youtube channel, and I even found some classes that will help me better my skills in photography and editing. I'm excited to give my new skills a try, and I aim to better in my craft in my first 6 months of the year.
Goal 2: Start photographing at larger events/conventions
In the past couple of months, I photographed my first wedding, took pictures of my cosplay friends during a local anime convention, photographed my first full styled shoot, and even did fun holiday mini-shoots with my friends. It has been a lot of fun having the opportunity to be able to participate in these events, and each time I hold my camera, I continually learn something new. It exhilarates me when I am in the moment of taking each picture, and being around the people that make the magic happen.
I still have a lot to learn, but I know that with time and practice I will get better and better.
For larger events, I would like to try photographing 2 weddings. Wedding photography is a pretty big monster and for me being a Level 1 Alchemist, I'm going to need some leveling up. I am also interested in getting back into network marketing and going to local meetups for photography and business. Referrals help me greatly, which was how I was able to photograph my first engagement session with my friends leading up to their wedding.
For conventions, I am already planning to come to a large convention in February 2023 called Katsucon and aim for my photography there. I will be making a future post for the convention appearances that I will make in 2023. I aim to do photographs at 5 conventions. If you are a cosplayer and would like to get your photos taken, let's do it!
Goal 3: Set up my own styled shoots and meetups
In the last few months, I had the opportunity to participate either as a model or photographer for styled shoots and meetups. They have been a lot of fun, and I even got to meet and be inspired by local creatives. I realize I hadn't seen much of anything like that in my particular area, especially for cosplay, so I plan to do my own styled photoshoot meetups this year; this will give a chance for friends and cosplayers who would like to get photos done with local photographers build friendships and community. My goal is to have 2 styled meetups and 2 cosplay meetups. There is also works for my femmes and thems for doing boudoir. More info for those events to come!
And now... for the big scary goal, and that is...
DRUMROLL PLEASE!!
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I want to be a published photographer by July 1st.
PUBLISHED. Like, getting my photos of my amazing models and have them in a digital or physical magazine! How cool would that be?! I have seen many photographers that I met in the last couple of months get their work published and I thought it was such an honor to have their work for all to see in something like that! So... sure, why the heck not? What have I got to lose, right? I need to do my research and see what local/glamour magazines are out there, but I think it would be a lot of fun! The bonus would be to add credibility to my work, which will be very helpful for future endeavors with my business.
A bonus goal...
Building in my craft as well as my business will take a lot of time and planning. These particular goals that I just shared with you are just the tip of the iceburg, and specific to this year.
If I had another goal that I would like to accomplish this year, whether it'll happen this year or the next...
...I would LOVE to have my own photography studio!
Whether it is a place for me to rent or when I have my dream home to build the space that I want, I truly would love a space to call my own and make even bigger magic happen! So many possibilities could happen, including a proper place for makeup and wardrobe, and have themed and styled rooms depending on the shoot. I'd also love to have it so that other photographers can collaborate and have an opportunity to rent the space as well.
Another scary and audacious goal, but a girl can dream... and make it happen too!
And there you have it!
Again, whether I fall short of my goals or even with obstacles along the way, we're going to keep on going!
We will get there... together!!
Cheers to the future! Cheers to 2023!
With love,
Jenni
