Happy New Year!

...and it's back to work again!

I hope all my readers have had a wonderful Christmas and New Year period, and you're feeling refreshed and raring to go with 2012. 

My own festive period was quite busy. Just before Christmas, I had the pleasure of photographing a civil partnership in Glasgow, with two wonderful gents. Their ceremony was held at Park Circus, which was my first time shooting there. I'd seen lots of photos from other wedding photographers, which was great for a bit of research and idea generating for photographs.

Afterwards, they had their reception at the Premier Inn, on Ballater Street. While the couple had booked me back in the spring of 2011, I was keen to wait until closer to the date before doing a recce. The reason being I knew with it being close to Christmas, I wouldn't really get a feel for the decorations or the light availability until around the time of their big day. Visiting in the summer would have been misleading for my photographs.

Despite some rather worrying weather forecasts, we were lucky - the worst of the weather didn't appear, and we managed to get a crisp sunny winters day, with a few showers later on. That meant we were able to have quite a few group shots outside, which I prefer for the quality of light.

I was also thrilled to receive my latest copy of the Scottish Wedding Directory. I've decided to sign up to be listed as an Edinburgh and Lothians wedding photographer, and they've also started producing the magazine on a quarterly basis. And, to make it even sweeter, they've included four of my photographs, with credits of course.  It was a really lovely thing to find at the cusp of the New Year, and a great feeling to celebrate for 2012.

The coming year is looking particularly busy, and I'm really looking forward to all 2012 has to offer. But, even with business, I think there's room for some resolutions to be made.


So, some of my good intentions (we shall see which ones last!), both personal and professional:

Professional Goals:
1. To provide my new 2012 bookings with a useful information pack. I've been working on this over the autumn and winter, and it includes all sorts of useful things for any couple getting married and thinking about their wedding photos. For example, information about what to expect and anticipate with the engagement shoot; a schedule to help plan for group shots and allocate sufficient time for photographs.
2. To participate in the 2012 Murrayfield Thee Wedding Show this spring.
3. To hopefully produce more sample products for my wedding show, and showcase some of the gorgeous images that have made me proud of what I do from 2011.
4. To do more photoshoots. I've got a couple of ideas running round in my head at the moment, and of course a couple of collaborators who are as excited as I am at the prospect of working together. Photo shoots are a bit like training, it's an opportunity for me to get creative, but also try out new techniques, and when they work I can then transfer those new ideas into my work easily.
5. Redevelop and assess my website and blog.

Personal Goals:
1. To shape up, so that I can complete a 10k run in the summer. Last summer, I managed my first 5k, so it's time to up the ante, and lose the Christmas pudding shaped tummy!
2. To read more books. Pretty much a straightforward one, but it's something I neglected a bit, and it's something I think that's a good release, escapism, but also reinvigorates my creativity from a slightly different angle. Also, I'm a compulsive book buyer - I love browsing bookshops, I love the promise of a new book, but right now, I actually have around 40 which I still haven't read. I can't justify buying any more new books until I've chewed through that list. Figuratively speaking.
3. Sleep more! Or rather, get a better sleep pattern developed. Most photographers I know share a night owl lifestyle. While it's great to be able to get on with processing images when its dark and quiet, I also dislike missing the morning hours and the productivity that I can achieve (and the satisfaction of feeling that I've had more productivity as a result of waking up early!). I'm hoping that 1 and 2 together will help that a lot.

If three personal goals seems... scant, well, trust me, I will think up more. However, my aim is to keep things interesting and achievable. A few years ago, I decided to only have one resolution, but I added a new one each month. That meant I wasn't trying to do everything at once (and feeling like my life had somehow become boring as a result). It also gave me time to get better at doing each one, become more disciplined. Some were intended only to last a month, others were intended to last longer. Anyway, a big long list of self-inflicted commandments just feels very daunting.

So here's to 2012, hoping yours will be prosperous and fun filled!