Bridal Spectacular and other ramblings

Phew! I made it through the weekend...barely. This past weekend was the Fort Wayne Bridal Spectacular at the Coliseum. Two days, a couple thousand brides, one Jess. Granted, I didn't talk to all of them, (I wish I had) but the ones I did speak with, I just felt I didn't get enough face time.

It's odd to me how I can walk into a wedding having never met the majority of the people there and not feel one ounce of jitter. But, toss me into a bridal show with other area photographers and I am a nervous mess. What will others think of me? Is my work good enough to stand up next to some of the area photographers I have admired for the last few years?

Then, just like it gets peaceful before a huge storm hits, I hear this quiet voice remind me that He gave me this talent and that He is stearing my ship and not to worry. Agh...peace.

I am not a patient person by nature, the Lord didn't bless me with that virtue for one reason or another. I wish he did a lot of the time. I see other businesses in this industry who have been around a shorter time than mine and they have exploded. What is it they have that I don't?

Again...I hear that voice. A reminder that my business QUADRUPLED in the worst economy since the Great Depression. Agh...peace again.

Why am I rambling about this you ask? Last night I had an amazing opportunity to sit and talk with some other fabulous photographers in Fort Wayne. While the majority of us "artsy" folks are laid back and go with the flow kind of people, I have had some not-so-nice experiences with others who slam shut in conversation if they find out I am a photographer.

I find this way of thinking rather silly in my opinion, I'm not out to steal someone else's ideas, and neither were any of the people I sat with last night. If anything,I feel we all become better individual photographers as a result. My new friend Anna Lynch McClary said it best last night during our conversation that at after a certain point, clients are not necessarily booking us purely on our work, they are booking us for US. Which is so true!

I have pink hair. I hope to have pink hair for a long time. But, I know, as a result, a potential client might not choose to have me photograph his/her wedding. I'm ok with that. I realize I can't be all things to all clients, and I think that realization has made me a better photographer.

Anyway, I'm not really sure where I was going with this, just some ramblings I have had going on in my head for a while now. So...to all the new friends I made last night, it was lovely. And thank you for your little piece of the world, and I was glad to share mine as well :)

Here's a picture of my booth from this weekend. It was taken with my cell phone so not the best quality, but you get the picture.

I have some new posts coming up soon too, so stay tuned.