Feeling (20)22
Hi all! It’s been a hot minute between posts, but one of my big new years goals is to utilise this blog a lot more, for advice, tips and tricks!
And what better way to start than to reflect on the year just gone. How is it 2023 already?! Where did that time go?! Wild.
For those who don’t know, 2022 was a really a year of two halves for me. I left my full-time job end of May to take the ‘entirely self-employed sole trader route’, so this blog and the amount of work I did early on vs the second half of the year will definitely reflect that!
I’ve curated a few (dozen) of my favourite shoots and images from each month in 2022 - I shot a LOT so there’s no way I can include everyone, but I’ve found some goodies! Let’s do it!~
January
January 2022 was a completely different, completely wild time for me.. I started the year with the Rona, oops! (Going out to a crowded bar with my gals on NYE was a fun idea on Dec 31… not so much by Jan 4th. Ah well!)
So I was out of action til mid Jan anyway, and definitely not 100% for a good few weeks after that still, but I did manage one gorgeous engagement party by the beach with Nicole and Luka!
Oh, and then at the end of January I also had settlement and moving day for my very own apartment! I love it so much and I’m so grateful to own my little shoebox with its lovely courtyard. Now to get cracking on paying it off!
February
February was big - settling into my own apartment, endless unpacking and cleaning and buying furniture on Marketplace.. plus, Valentine’s Day is massive at my job so that took up most of the first half of Feb!
I had one lovely wedding out in Gippsland for a friend I’ve known since we were in primary school! It was a big DIY celebration out on their property, with landscapes for days, lots of intricate touches to the decor and traditional dancing to cap off the party.
March
March was a bit more chill in my outside-of-photography life, which allowed me to take on a bit more work finally! I did head west to Perth with my partner (as soon as the borders opened!), was so nice to see that side of Aus for the first time!
Work wise, I had a couple lovely engagement parties and the above beauty salon VIP night!
Engagement parties are genuinely one of my favourite types of events to photograph. Hopefully you’ve got all your family and friends attending, like Emma and Adrian above, or Kayla and Blake below, so you can get an easy mix of posed and candid photos, as well as decor and speeches if you like!
(also big points to Kayla, who made her own cake! Absolutely stunning!)
April and May
I took a couple months off the camera here but I was BIZAAAY behind the scenes.
Plotting away to finish up at my job and transition into full-time small-biz-sole-trader-work-from-home gloriousness as seamlessly as possible, making sure my job didn’t suffer (Mothers Day as a florist got me good this year), a gross infected fingernail and big cold in May, all of which took a lot of my focus away from photo work so there wasn’t much happening then. But making big plans during these months for sure!
June
June was my first month of fully working solo from home. It took me a bit to find my feet and settle into a new routine too, balancing photography work and also working as a florist from my setup in my courtyard! (Or the kitchen bench, when the winter weather didn’t want to cooperate…)
Definitely stepped up my photography work this month! I had the cutest shoot with Steph and Ian and their pupper Jamie, in the CBD and city gardens. Was so nice just to hang out and chat and take some photos, it felt like hanging with old friends!
Among other shoots, I also had a lovely baptism for baby Zane! I love documenting events as they happen, so I love baptisms and christenings! Great time to get some family photos with the extended family too!
July
July was massive for me - I did NINE events/shoots, from 30ths and proposals, to 1st birthdays and engagement parties! As well as building out my website between editing to launch mid-month, and balancing my flower business too! Aaand then ending the month with Covid, again… oops again!
And my last shoot for the month, gorgeous Emma-Eve and Bilal’s engagement party - biggest dancefloor sesh I’ve shot all year!
August
For the second time this year, I started the month with Covid… oops again! It wasn’t as brutal having it in the winter as it was in the summer for some reason, so I managed to get some work done on the couch, between maaaaany naps.
Once I came good again, I definitely hit the ground running since I had a few shoots booked in!
Headed northside to shoot my first gig in a few years! Got right back in the swing of things, saw some amazing local band, and was so good to be back shooting gigs again. More of that in 2023!
I photographed a cool legals-only wedding in August too! I find it really incredible how everyone’s wedding is so different, and everyones priorities are different! Jaroslav and Kaye found me online, only needed their 15 minute ceremony covered and 5 minutes of photos out the front of the building in Albert Park, and then went off for a nice lunch with a few witnesses/friends who came to the ceremony!
I also had a couple lovely engagement parties - one (Brooke and Jon, above) within walking distance, we love a local job! And a super cute 1st birthday - lots of ball pits, soft play and activities at this one!
And I had cutie Dhyani’s 3rd birthday - I’ve had a lot of third birthdays, as opposed to the more frequent 1st birthdays, seeing as a lot of these now-three-year-olds had their first and second birthday during lockdowns, parents are giving them their first big party at the age of three!
Dhyani was super shy with me when I first arrived, but by the time I left her party a few hours later, we were totally besties! I love the opportunity to connect with little kids and bring out their personalities in my work.
September
September was a bit of a hard month for me, with some amazing shoots but also a couple unexpected moments in my business that really gave my confidence a hit. It caused me to pivot a little and reevaluate some things, but I’m feeling a lot better with a bit of reflection!
I started the month with a glamourous 60th birthday at the top of the Eureka Tower - the views out the window were unbeatable!
And then I had an epic christening/party/Father’s Day event, with as many locations and as good a vibe as any wedding I’ve seen! One of my absolute highlights of my work year, and a great reminder of why I love shooting events.
My lovely friends Steph and Adam, celebrated 10 years married in September, so we did a special shoot together on their 10 year anniversary, among the cherry blossoms.
I’ve photographed these two more than anyone else in my career - including being photographer/bridesmaid/witness at their elopement 10 years ago, when I was still studying photography at uni!
October
Right back at it again, with Steph and Adam’s official 10 year anniversary vow renewal/celebration, with family and friends flying in from literally across the world to celebrate these two excellent humans.
The day probably didn’t quite go to their plan but we still had a beautiful time and captured lots of memories. (Not to mention, they had me create the florals for the day as well! They’re too good to me!)
I headed back to some old turf for a family shoot at Lillydale Lake with Alicia and Tim, and newborn Eva!
I organised a headshot session with lovely Bec, and she needed a certain date and time (to coincide with a hair appointment - great idea!), but when that time rolled around, La Nina did NOT come to play and it was absolutely bucketing rain, so we had to readjust veryyyy quickly - I don’t have access to a studio at such short notice, so we moved the shoot to.. my apartment!
I did a hectic tidy while Bec commuted to me and created some nice clear spaces for a bit of variety. Luckily my walls are white, so it was a bit darker inside but I was able to bounce my speedlight off the walls and roof for clean lighting! We got upstairs to my communal patio in my apartment building between showers for a bit of greenery, and also used my lobby for a different background! (Bec was very chill with my neighbours coming and going between shots too!)
(for those who followed my newspaper work from 2015-17, I still like to whip out the classic ‘look up and to the right’ shot now and then that the newspaper loves to use, hehehe). Good to think on my feet a bit when things go slightly sideways - again, reminds me of the newspaper days, fast thinking always!
Then finished the month with a beautiful inner suburb baptism and long lunch - lovely grey decor at the lunch for the special boy! Obsessed with that cake bow!
November
Nearly there! November was a bit of a chaotic month in my personal life - it was my 30th birthday at the start of the month, so I took a few days to celebrate and have a bit of a party with friends and fam. A really special week!
And then the most beautiful wedding between Mae and Sean mid month. On a rooftop looking over the city skyline, wandering the South Melb streets after for portraits and then hitting the dancefloor late into the night!
To add to the chaos of the month, my partner and I ducked off to Perth again at the end of November (his family are all over there!), but I fit in a couple more shoots before we headed off!
A quick headshot session with Taneth (the weather was kinder to me this time round!) - another shoot where we arrived as strangers and left feeling like good mates by the time we finished shooting!
And a 3rd birthday at the Enchanted Studios in Ravenhall. If you haven’t heard of it, highly recommend giving them a Google, they do themed kids parties SO well - I’ve snapped three parties there in 2022 and they were all FAB. The bday gal, Hope, loooooves Frozen and had the best time at her party - she is pictured above absolutely belting out Let It Go to her adoring audience, which is one of my highlights for the whole year. What a legend.
December
We made it! What a year. I was in the rush to Christmas in my florist work (so many gifts, so little time!) but I still managed a lot of photo work for end of year events! Lots around my home suburb of Hawthorn too, which was a nice bonus!
I shot my first bar mitzvah, congrats to Luca!
(and couldn’t let mum and dad miss out on the fun!)
And then Mike’s Boogie Nights-themed 50th birthday bash - guests and hosts all went all out with the theme, and boogied well into the night, for sure!
Lastly, snuck in one Christmas party before putting the tools down for the year for a (well deserved) Christmas break!
PHEW. It really was a massive year for me, both in business but just in life and personal growth. Owning my own home and then working from said home, for myself in my own business(es) is some real 5-year-goal type stuff so this year had me feeling all the feels. It’s been stressful and a little scary but so so worth it.
I had an excellent rest over Christmas and New Years, and have reflected and set some big goals for 2023. Now, let’s goooooo!
Thank you for being here and I appreciate my clients and readers greatly!
Til next time~