Hello, and Happy Thanksgiving!

For those who celebrate it, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your family, friends, and loved ones.

Normally, I would be taking today as a day off from doing any work, but since I am here in my home office and feeling inspired, I thought I’d have a few moments to share with you all my thoughts for this holiday.

First, I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has been so kind and patient as this has been an extremely busy last few months for me. Here’s a brief summary of what’s been going on:

-From May through July, my family and I had a challenging few months in light of my grandfather’s passing. While my parents and family members were in the Philippines, I stayed here in the United States to help care of my brothers.

-In August, I attended Superstar Anime, and not only made a new cosplay, but had more opportunities to have photography sessions with new cosplay customers.

-From September through October, my roommate and I prepared to move to a new apartment, and we are much happier where we are now than we have been in the last couple of years. I’m also loving the new setup in my home office that is now located in my bedroom as well as my Atelier for cosplay projects.

-In the beginning of the month, I attended Nekocon and had a busy schedule; this includes a sold out weekend of photography photoshoots with cosplayers and participated in this year’s cosplay Masquerade (blog post incoming later this week).

-Last weekend, I hosted my first gathering in our new home where my family and many of our friends came to have a feast in celebration of housewarming and Friendsgiving.

-And earlier today, I was able to celebrate Thanksgiving with my partner and his family.

There is certainly much to be thankful for, and I wanted to share with you the things that I am thankful for pertaining to my photography business:

-Partnering with local creatives: I think the biggest part of my success as a photographer is being able to network in social platforms that connect me with photographers and models in my local area. Since the beginning of this year, I have participated in more opportunities to do both, and work with and alongside creative artists. Being on both sides of the lens helped me to see myself in new ways, including my self-confidence and self-esteem, and in turn, it inspires me to share that with others.

-Mentors: In junction with being part of a local creative community, I have made a small handful of friends who I work well with as both model and photographer who help by pushing me out of my comfort zone. As an artist (and in life), it is important to get out of what’s comfortable for you in order to improve in your craft. Whether it be trying out new equipment, learning new techniques, shadowing and learning from a photoshoot, or learning the tricks of the trade, there are always opportunities for you to learn and grow. It’s more advantageous when you have someone (or a few people) who are willing to grow together with you with collaborations and/or mentorship. I highly recommend to seek out a mentor or two from those who you admire their work and/or work method, and even if it will take some kind of investment, having the accountability to reach your personal and business goals will help take you to the next level.

-Nature, people, and experiences: One of my favorite things about photography is being able to see and experience many things that connect to the heart and soul. It can be as simple as taking a walk in the park on an autumn day, capturing the connection of 2 people in love, the joy of being in the moment. It sparks emotions that you’d want to recall again and again, and how amazing it feels to be able to experience them again when the moments are captured in fractions of seconds.

-Technology is challenging, but it is also your friend: The world to technology is ever-changing, and it continues to help us grow as artists. I have learned so much in the last year in terms of getting to know how to operate my camera and equipment, and I have done and learned how to utilize Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop than I ever did even before starting my photography journey. There are times when learning these tools can be challenging and difficult, but in the end, they help produce the final product that makes our photos masterpieces.

-Remembering where and why you started: Over the course of the year, I built the courage to share my work from previous years at anime conventions and cosplay photoshoots with my friends. In retrospect, I didn’t really know what I was doing in terms of handling my camera, and knew that I liked to take pictures of people to capture how I see them through the lens. I didn’t think too much on it either because I knew that doing this was FUN. When I looked at my old work to display on my Instagram page, I was in awe of how actually GOOD I was back then… and wished I had pursued this more. I’ll talk more about imposter syndrome as a photographer in a later date, but I will say that my biggest advice to my younger self is to keep shooting.

Of course, I do owe a big thank you to Lolo Alvaro for inspiring me to pursue photography as a career. I never expected that this would be something I would do for a living or even a hobby. I am loving the journey even more knowing that the apple didn’t fall too far off the tree, and that he would be proud of what I have been able to accomplish thus far.

Finally, thank you, the one reading this blog entry. Yes, YOU. You are one of the pieces that make my photography journey whole, and your support pushes me to be a better person and artist every day. Thank you for being here, and I’m looking forward to building and capturing more new beautiful memories together.

Cheers!

With love and gratitude,

Jenni