First. Ever. Blog.

Hello,

"Sorry, Can I just get a few small things out of the way before we start?".

Please don't be upset by my lack of grammar and punctuation etc, it turns out I write how I speak. Which unfortunately for all of you means fast and muddled.

Hold onto your hats kids, this blog and every single one after it is going to be honest, intentional, and fingers crossed a little funny as we figure this stuff out. Constructive criticism is encouraged people, please feel free to help a sister out with any ideas and questions. 
Also..... I'm camera shy. I HATE having my photo taken, so in the spirit of moving forward and getting on with things I have added 3 photos of myself down the bottom to prove I am practising what I preach. I wanted to show how important portraits are and why you should have them (See what I did there?? sneaky aye).

Ok. Lets Blog.

I had a huge blog written, it was funny (if I don't say so myself), it was about all the reasons/excuses as to why it has taken me so long to get my website out. And don't take this the wrong way, but I wasn't trying to get it live for you, I was trying to get it live for myself. To prove that I was good enough and "legit" and my favourite saying has been "I just need it out of my head"! Now this is dumb for a few reasons. The first, people can launch a website in 3Hrs, its not rocket science. The other, is I was building it up to be something amazing that would blow every other site out of the water and it had to be the best. Not smart Stacey. It's good, I'm happy with it, but unfortunately it is not the greatest website ever made. Mostly because I'm not a designer and also because the intention of it is to connect with you so that I can photograph what is happening between you and your family. Its a tool so that I can meet you! (Hopefully its working).

I was being stupid and thinking that this was all about me, about what "I" have been wanting, what "I" thought it needed to look like, "I'm in the visual industry" I would tell myself, "It needs to be right, I'm not putting something out there that isn't ready" This was my attempt at getting people to believe I was a perfectionist. I CALL BULLSHIT, first of all, creative people aren't generally perfectionists. Thats the thing with art, its imperfect, its just beautiful in its imperfection.

It was taking me out of my comfort zone too many times, when people would ask me how it was all going I would say "yeah, really good!, its just so much harder than I ever expected it to be". Like somehow that excused the fact that I wasn't owning it and I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. I'm a talker and a lover, so I would have these big deep and meaningful's with my friends about how hard it was and blah blah blah. (Sorry guys, you all know who you are). My theory was that if I just got it all off my chest I would be able to move on and move forward. Now don't get me wrong, I do think its important to vent, but there is a lot to be said for having a "story" that you keep telling yourself, which actually just turns into excuses.

I know business is hard. I have watched my parents work 6 days a week for the last 25 years, hell! I even worked with mum at her shop on weekends and school holidays. I know what it takes. It takes belief, drive, kindness and the want to give your clients what they desire. The difference is you have to be willing to give it, you have to be curious about what happens if you do and constantly striving to try new things and achieve more. You just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and its your responsibility to give your customers what they deserve. Especially in photography, they are trusting you and letting you into their space. I am very aware of how personal it is and proud to say that people allow me to.

So its time to deliver. My whole approach with Locket has been to give people honest portraits that hold meaning and love for them. I wanted my business to be approachable, beautiful and honest. And thats what I will do, it just turns out that what I had written before felt wrong, so yes I will spontaneously re-write it if I have to. Because thats the point I'm trying to make. This feels better, it has more integrity but I'm also feeling like it might be a little too raw. It's making me uncomfortable. So I'm posting it. But the good thing is, I have learnt so much from this and if you don't grow your business won't grow. I'm excited to see how everything evolves.

So there you go. 

My name is Stacey, My business is Locket Photography, and this is my blog.