14. Read five books for fun.

15. Read five books for my business.

Almost a year ago Jason & I made a trip out to Phoenix for me to attend a workshop taught by Melissa Jill. I learned a lot from her while I was there. A LOT. (PS-I highly recommend her workshops!) But in the midst of all the “photography talk,” Melissa mentioned that she read every night before bed. You see, when you own your own business, chances are good that you are constantly eating, sleeping, breathing and thinking about your business. It’s kind of hard not to sometimes. And this can  make it hard to sleep at night. But by reading, you are able to kind of “escape” from the rambling thoughts in your head. (of course, I’m a bit ADD so my thoughts do actually “ramble” :)) Plus, you can learn a lot from reading. So it’s a win-win as far as I can see.

With all that in mind, when I sat down to create my 36 in 365, I knew I needed to add reading in as a goal. So I set out to read 5 books just for fun as a means to help me escape the constant business thoughts and then 5 business books as a means to help me better focus those rambling thoughts in my head. Clear as mud? Good :)

I also joined Goodreads.com –It’s a great way to find new reads! It’s kind of like an online book club with tons of reviews. If you love to read, I definitely recommend it.

9. Master the use of off camera flash with Zack Arias.

It’s AH-MAZING what you can do with your camera and one single off-camera flash!

As most of you know, I have been a natural light photographer up to this point in my career…. which means I rarely use flash (except during times like wedding receptions). I use whatever available light is in my shooting environment. This kind of photography can be challenging and definitely limiting at times. So because of this, I wanted to get over my fear of those intimidating flashes and master how to use them both correctly and creatively. There’s nothing worse to me than a pic that screams the deer in headlight look of “I used flash in this pic.” I hate flatly lit images too. And I think that’s why I’ve shyed away from it for so long. But after I started following photographers like Zack Arias, I knew that there was hope for me. So I signed up for Zack’s OneLight workshop. As soon as he posted the dates I jumped on it because his workshops usually sell out quickly. And I can honestly say, it’s some of the best money I’ve spent this year! He’s an excellent teacher!

I’ve been looking for inspiration to take my skill to the next level. I feel like I am still searching for my “corner” in this field. And after this weekend, well, I think I may have found the path towards it :) The use of one off-camera light makes your creative options endless. And I can’t wait to get out there and have fun!

FYI for the photographers reading this: I’ve done NO edits to these pics. They are straight out of camera.

The workshop was held in Jeremy Cowart’s studio. And I think we all fell in love with the red velvet drapes he had there!

This above image was literally taken in the middle of The Factory’s lobby. The lights you see behind him are actually the lights from the shops.

This last shot was taken after 9pm. Outside. With a speed grid. I LOVE knowing I now have the option of shooting whenever and wherever! For those of you following me on Twitter, you probably saw that we were shooting outside as late as midnight!

I’ve already found my next willing model… so stay tuned to see what creative images we come up with!

1. Develop professional stationary and packaging.

This may not be the most exciting post… but since new packaging is on my 36 in 365 I wanted to be able to publicly mark it off my list!

I like simple, clean lines. Nothing too busy or distracting. And I like blues and greens. So I was super excited when I found these boxes in the 2 colors that perfectly compliment my logo! Below is a pic of the blue but the green is close to the same shade as the green in my logo. The boxes have a nice sheen & embossed texture on them that gives them a hint of elegance. And I have coordinating ribbons and raffia to use with them.

Check it out!

The stationary design, on the other hand, is still on the drafting table. I’ll post pics of it when it’s finished.