2016 Year In Review

New Years is my favorite time of the year. My favorite holiday. Not because of the partying or dressing up, but because I love the whole idea of it. I am so goal-oriented and I love the concept of having a clear beginning and a time to check-in. I love setting goals and intentions for my year (I hate the word resolutions) and then looking back at the end of the year and seeing how far I've come. And then doing it all over again. Those same reasons is exactly why I love doing a "year in review" post. I LOVE taking a few days and going through all my old harddrives from the year and picking my favorite images. Putting them into a collection and seeing how my work progressed over the year (and how it compared to last year!). It's like losing weight; you don't really notice it happening day by day but then one day you're like 'OMG holy moly I've lost 20 pounds when did that happen?!' Right? Right? Or like watching your hair grow? It feels so short until one day you've noticed it's grown, like, 6 inches? Idk, but that's how I feel about my work over the last year. I really worked hard to define my style and my brand and develop how I want my work to look. I put a ton of time into developing my own editing presets so I can really define my style. I didn't notice it happening shoot-by-shoot, but I can really see it when I look through my images from the entire year. I curated the gallery in chronological order because I love to see the progression. It was sooooo temping to re-edit all my favorite images in my new editing presets I've been working on, but I like it better this way. A more honest representation of where I started this year and where I ended it. 

2016. I delivered 132 client galleries, photographed three-dozen weddings, hosted two sold-out boudoir bash events, attended my first photography workshop/retreat,  traveled solo for the first time (twice!), participated in my first wedding show (and then did it again 6 weeks later in San Diego), expanded my business to Southern California and shot my first California wedding. I fell in love with all my couples and can't believe how much fun I had working with every single one. I feel so lucky to have attracted such dope clients with such amazing hearts and love for each other. I had more fun at my weddings this year than ever before. I met and exceeded so many personal and professional goals I set for myself in 2016. On a personal note, I took better care of myself, gave myself days off, worked less hours, traveled more, read a shit ton of books, cooked more, exercised more, hung out with my husband and friends more... and as a result I was a much happier person and my work probably reflected that. We can only take care of others after we've taken care of ourselves, something I am constantly reminding myself and battling. So taking time for myself and focusing on self care only makes me better at my job - something I'm reminding myself daily. 

So what's on the radar for 2017? Continuing to work on my personal health, work/life balance and self care. I am SO excited for the weddings I have booked this year and the couples I'm working with. I am hosting two Seattle boudoir events again, and bringing the Boudoir Bash to Southern California for the first time this spring. More traveling work - I will be splitting my time pretty consistently between San Diego and Seattle. I am so stoked to spend more time in the sun and photographing in that amazing California landscape. I have partnered with a wedding magazine in San Diego for the upcoming year, so I will have some styled shoots and fun projects to share. Hopefully I will go to another workshop because that was the best thing I ever did for my business and myself as a creative person. There's so much to be excited about and to look forward to in the upcoming year.

Enough of my rambling, here are my highlights from the year. Enjoy!