2018 In Review
My Year in Photos
I know this is what you really came here for… See the year through my eyes with one favorite image from every gallery I delivered in 2018 :D (except 5 of my ladies boudoir sessions that couldn’t be included for privacy reasons)
Summary of Accomplishments
January 2018
I started the year out with a quiet mind after a trip to Cuba arriving home just in time for Christmas, and moving into a new space with my boo on Boxing day. There were a lot of home improvements upstairs to create my office space and studio. Made the decision to go big or go home with my photography, began researching like crazy on how to create a profitable business.
February 2018
Participated in ‘Tie the Knot’ wedding show, my second wedding show, only booked one wedding from it. Decided I needed to quit my day job if I wanted to make a real go of my business.
March 2018
March 10 2018 is a date that will stick in my mind for years; this was my last day as a full time employee with a great salary, benefits, vacation days….Lost a lot of stability in my life walking out of there, but I don’t regret it a single bit. My goal was to never be a full time employee again for anyone but myself.
So many meetings this month with the bank, mentors, and insurance brokers and a slew of online workshops filled the rest of the month to get my business functioning properly.
April 2018
Continuing efforts from March, made the switch over to squarespace to begin a brand new site, began blogging, branding photoshoot.
May 2018
Prep for the beginning of wedding season, getting new equiptment (and exploring Toronto.. I got to spend 2 weekends in the GTA this month!!), beginning of Cherry blossom season (my FAV), and shot the largest wedding I’ve had yet to open the season at a stunning manor in Oshawa!
June 2018
I took an intensive business course through Invest Ottawa to continue learning and work on improving my business operations. I also organized and executed an entire styled elopement that I shot in the field across the street from our house :D Oh and it got published by ‘So This is Love’ so I’m pretty darn happy with that.
July 2018
So much LAVENDAR <3 I had the pleasure of shooting portraits for a lovely lady at Maison Lavande near Montreal as well as my lavendar farm wedding here in Carp! I also got to visit Quebec city and spend some time appreciating the beautiful old city. Oh and I released my new branding and website changes as well!
August
Took on some part time work with Frid Events and got to visit and work at (I did a little bit of everything from florals to set up and coordination) lots of beautiful venues around the city including Le Belvedere, Stonefields, Billings Estate, and the museum of Nature. More focus on boudoir this month with a few outdoor sessions featuring sunflowers as well as waterfall shoots! (can you tell I like flowers?)
September
More weddings and fall engagement season began, oh how I love the leaves…
October
Simply an insane month.. One last wedding with Frid, 3 wedding days of my own, a stunning clifftop elopement, and a styled bridal session included in a month I will forever hold dear. My city hall/downtown wedding was with one of the loveliest couples I have yet to work with, I’ve already blogged their big day so go check it out if you’re wondering why it was my fav :)
November
Catch up and editing consumed most of this month in order to deliver all those stunning galleries before Christmas! I also participated in a wedding show at Temple’s Sugar Bush and am very much looking forward to the weddings I booked there next year! (Very pleased to have booked 4 weddings from this small show, can’t wait to see how I do at Capital Wedding Show in January!)
December
Christmas orders, catch up, working on my business plan, and preparing for the Capital wedding show in January at the Shaw Centre!
So now what?
Tons of big things!! That’s the short answer, I really do need to finish this post and get on with the rest of my work, so I’ll summarize what I’m most excited for this year so far. I have to be honest, I’ve been working on putting this together for 3 days now. It was a great chance to go through and organize my hard drive, reminisce on all my sessions, and reflect on the things I’ve learned this year.
1) I am currently working on (ahem should be doing that right now instead of blogging…) a paper that will be larger than anything I had to submit during my undergrad (crying) and preparing for a big presentation that will be at the end of January. This grant pitch program is associated with the business course I took back in June and would help me to continue learning and growing my business in 2019.
2) My trip out west in May (obvi) It’s both for work and pleasure as I decided to extend my stay and do some exploring on my own after the workshop I am attending in Banff (and I’ll also be shooting while I’m there, don’t worry :D). I have booked flights and am in the stages of starting to plan out individual days and where to stay, so hit me up with any recommendations or must visit places :) I’m doing a couple days in Calgary, then Banff, Vancouver and Victoria before heading home.
3) Wedding season! As crazy as it is I very much enjoy weddings and working with my couples. Without spoiling too much I will just say that I have some this season that are going to be absolutely beautiful, and all my couples are absolutely wonderful human beings :)
It’s been a truly awesome year. I don’t really know how 2019 is going to top the gorgeous sessions I had this year, but I can’t wait to see it happen.
<3
Kris