Alison’s immediate family was traveling to Alys Beach to celebrate her parent’s 40th wedding anniversary. It was a time that everyone was going to be in one place together, celebrating an important milestone. What made this trip even more special is that a recent health scare had them thinking that their dad might not be making this trip. Luckily he was okay, but this was a big reason behind the need for making sure they had tangible memories from their trip. During the session Alison and I talked about how scared they had all been. How her dad was such a key part of their family and how much these photographs were going to mean to all of them. Not only for the kids, but as the grandchildren got older.
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Vacation Family Session in Rosemary Beach
What better time to take photographs of your family then when you are on vacation! Everyone is relaxed, having fun, and in good spirits. It’s such a great way to document your family’s travels. I’ve talked to clients that hire a photographer every new place they visit and fill their home with prints of each place. I can’t think of a better way to fill your walls.
Read MoreLet's Finally Get Those Photographs onto Your Walls
How long have you been saying, “I really need to print these photographs and put them up”?
Be honest. You know it’s been a while, probably entirely too long.
Do you know why you haven’t done it yet? It’s too overwhelming. Let’s look at some possible reasons as to why you haven’t done it:
You don’t have the time.
You don’t know which photos will look good next to each other.
You don’t know where to have your photographs printed.
You don’t know where to purchase museum quality frames.
You don’t know where the digital files are.
You don’t know how to put a gallery wall together.
You don’t know how to get custom sized prints and frames for your unique space.
You don’t know where to start.
That's where a professional comes in. When I first started photography I just wanted to photograph the session, hand over the digital files, and be done with it. I started to notice that a lot of my couples, families, and boudoir clients had no clue what to do with these files. I would talk to them a year later and the files would still be sitting on their computer. This broke my heart and it was my job to come up with a solution. It's not fair to call myself a professional photographer if I'm not putting in the work.
Read MoreYour computer crashed and you lost all of your photographs
Yes, I’ve heard clients say this.
Yes, it makes my heart drop into my stomach.
Yes, this is your photographer’s job to make sure this never happens to you.
I would highly recommend that you use an online storage, while also backing up to an external hard drive. Here are my recommendations:
Read MoreYou Are What I'm Grateful For | West Palm Beach Family Photographer | Shannon Griffin Photography
As an adult, I don’t particularly get into the holidays as much as I did when I was a child. There isn’t the same sense of wonder and magic. It’s also the busiest time of year for me (I had a family session yesterday, on Christmas Eve). I’m also very aware that the holidays are not wonderful for everyone. There are a lot of people that don’t have family, friends, a roof over their head, etc. This time of year brings up a lot of depression and anxiety in many. There is no rule that says that you have to be happy and celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas or Hanukkah or any other holiday.
This is where I feel truly lucky. I’m working right up until being with my family, I suffer from anxiety and some depression, and I feel like I’m not getting any time for myself, but…I’m happy as hell. That’s a lot for me to be able to say that. I know a lot of that is because of you, my clients. A big part of my self worth comes from my business, it comes from holding time still for you. It always sounds clichè, but I couldn’t do any of this without you. You keep my passion alive. You keep me believing in myself and my business. You’ve kept my doors open and a fire in my belly for over 10 years.
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