Hey Everyone! 

I don’t know about you but this year has FLEW by.  Then again, I think most of us say that about every year, lol.  Life just flies by in general…I mean look, Christmas has just passed! Say what?!

A lot can happen in one year for a person.  We all have our own occupations, relationships, hobbies, interests and personal goals.  I had a ton that went on this year in my personal life and as a photographer and I want to share it with you!

This is my year in review. I think It’s always good to reflect back and see how you’ve progressed. I like to set goals, learn new techniques as a photographer and share my accomplishments towards my goals.

LETS GET STARTED!

1. I photographed a wedding with a second shooter. I was the primary photographer and I had a partner work alongside me.I REALLY enjoyed this for a few reasons. My first reason is perspective. This is a pretty obvious.  With one photographer, which is how i’ve done most of my weddings (hoping to change this in the near future) you have one photographer capturing your day, with two photographers…one can be standing in the middle of the aisle getting pictures at the ceremony, but then the second shooter can get a different angle looking out at the crowd, or from the side at the same moment.
   Note: When i don’t have a second shooter i DO walk around a lot and i get different perspectives, but can you imagine two people doing this at once? It’s completely amazing! 🙂

   The second reason is simple,working with another artist is so fun!  We get to both discuss different ways to set things up, talk about our equipment, our experiences and shove ideas in each others brains. All at the same time of having a similar style for cohesive photos for your album!  With this being said, I now have a wedding collection that includes a second shooter. I really enjoyed working with Collette Bookwalter Photography and we have agreed to work together in the future 🙂

   While I was shooting family portraits, my second shooter captured these beautiful shots of the ring bearer and flower girl. These are definitely priceless! I wish I had photos like this as a kid. These are perfect to add to a wedding album or to give to their parents!

   

2. I got into a relationship with my boyfriend, Derek. We have similar interests in music, gaming, and we laugh more than my stomach can handle. Laughter is my all time favorite physical reaction. You will definitely figure that out once we work together! He is also my assistant when i need him and he is my go-to model for personal photography during our adventures 🙂 Can’t beat that!
3. About a month ago we got our first apartment! Having a place to call our own has really made me happy. I love the look of our place, the size is good for the two of us and it’s filled with natural light…which is what i am obsessed with! I have working space and a place to relax. I feel this is a good start for us to grow and mature as independents. Also, i didn’t realize how much i loved candles until I got my own place!
4. I attended two photography workshops. I’ve always wanted to be apart of these events, but i always came up with excuses. I told myself i would go and so i did.  I gained some new knowledge from these workshops and got to take some gorgeous photos. HIGHLY recommend for any photographer. Here’s the link about my experience at one of them HERE
   Photo by Karthika Gupta from her “Style Your Brand” Seminar. Read my post about it HERE
5. I held my first wedding styled shoot.  This was such a blast and I loved working with all the vendors from the event. Everything turned out beautiful.  I can’t wait to attend or create more in the future! (blog post to come)

   ^Photo by me: Brooke Kristine Photography ^
   ^ An iphone image of me after the shoot ^
   My preview of this shoot is on my Facebook page. Click on THIS to have a peek and see who all the amazing vendors who participated are. The rest will be up this weekend on a new blog. STAY TUNED <3

6. Last but NOT least…I booked multiple weddings for 2018! To book a year in advance is such an amazing feeling. I am excited for 2018 to come to work with all my future bride and grooms! YAY!
   It’s been amazing meeting all the new people i did. My clients, the vendors…I enjoyed every part of it.  It has been an honor working with all of you and i’m glad to see where my business and personal life has gone this past year!!  Hope you enjoyed my recap :)-Brooke