The time has come! I’m off to North East Ohio tomorrow morning for a wedding in Akron/Canton on Saturday! I can’t wait to see my family and take a couple days away from my crazy schedule!

So if you email or call, and I’m a bit behind with a response – you know where I am

I get back on August 2, and will take care of everything then!

Have a great week!

I went to get the mail today and was super stoked to find a cute little package from Sweet Tea Junkie!

I’m sooo excited about my awesome new t-shirt and bucket hat from the uber talented, Mike (who owns and runs the Florida-based graphic design and t-shirt company). I actually met Mike about 3 years ago when I shot some promotional images for his then-blossoming new business. It’s great to see how much it’s grown, and so glad he’s taken graphic design under his wing! He’s so talented!

If you love Sweet Tea (and it’s no secret that I’m minorly addicted), you need to go to their website and order one of their kick-ass shirts! I can’t wait to wear mine to my next shoot!

PS – can I mention that this shirt is super soft and tagless!! Score! I hate t-shirt tags!

Be cool like me   Order my awesome “We Ride Together” shirt!  Or, check out their other super-cool designs!

I was sending out this mass of email responses this morning, and thought about how novel it would be to start planning shoots for fun again! There was a sector of my life that started there, and although it’s quickly transitioned to more of a “business” – I miss shooting for the fun of it! I love weddings, and brides and all my amazing clients – but the core of where I started comes from a deep love of fashion photography. The energy is unmistakable. There’s such a connection to music and mood – much like that moment when a groom sees his bride for the first time – it’s a connection I have.

So I thought about posting a blog about my biggest photographic inspiration. I think it may surprise some, and honestly – you may not even know the name. But to me, he’s an artistic genius. His name is Paolo Roversi.

I didn’t know of him for awhile – but it seemed like every magazine I’ve picked up in the last couple years – there have been shoots I’m emotionally drawn to. They’ve all been his. The style is unique, the feelings powerful. Although the style is so different from my own (many people think you have to shoot like the person who inspires you… but I find quite the contrary), his work inspires me to feel. That’s it. It makes me FEEL.

In photography, what more is there?

If you’re not familiar with his work, allow me to share some of my favorites:

(All images copyright Paolo Roversi – from various editorials and personal work over the years)

Behind the Scenes at our Southern Weddings shoot in Miami.
iPhone photos courtesy of Nicole Miller and April Dorsey

I had a great little conversation with Lauren from Every Last Detail blog about when to book your photographer (and other vendors for your wedding!)

It’s been bittersweet lately, as I’ve been booking more brides, I’ve been completely surprised by the number of inquiries I get looking for their photographer just 3-4 months out. As much as I love my clients who have snatched me up, it’s always heartbreaking to tell someone that you’re not available for their date!

I usually tell people that their photographer should be booked as soon as they confirm their date and venue. Why is that?

1. There’s only one of us. Unlike caterers or florists who can often commit to several weddings on the same day, most photographers will only book one event in a given day (some will only book one event in a given weekend). Once that date is booked, only photographers who employ associate photographers with their studio are able to second-book that day. In those cases, you may not be getting the same photographer you think you’re hiring – so it’s important to ask before you book.

2. Many of us limit the number of weddings we’ll accept in a year. You may wonder why that is…. and I’m just generalizing (some photographers have higher or lower max’s, or don’t cap their events at all…) but in my studio, I only accept a specific number of events each year to ensure that I’m able to give 110% to each of my couples. Once I hit that number, I have to make a decision whether or not to continue to book – and in most cases, it depends on the couple, the venue and the amount of time I’ll need to invest to make sure I’m giving them my absolute best. The reason I cap my events is actually #3…

3. We adhere to tight timelines. If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a million times… “you have the best job, only working Saturdays!” Riiight. Ok, so truth is – we work endless hours before, during and after a wedding. A 10-hour event will most likely be between 90-100 hours of physical work. How is our time spread out? Consultations, confirmation, bookings, paperwork, engagement shoots, detailing timelines, meetings, wedding day, editing, editing, editing, viewings, more meetings, album designing, final editing, ordering products, uploading, burning, delivering, archiving…. The best photographers know how to timeline out their events and may not accept back to back events if they don’t have the ability to outsource or fulfill their timeline contracts. We all wish we could clone ourselves, but it’s better to take one client and exceed their expectations, than take 2 clients and only deliver an average service.

4. The best ones are snatched up quick. These are the top of the top in your area, and you’ll pay for their excellence and experience. They are found by the best referrals – word of mouth. They have a solid business structure that includes equipment, back up equipment, insurance and liability, fearless back-up systems, high quality products and the best connections. It’s really rare to find an open date from one of these top-dogs less than 9 months out.

And the one exception….

There’s only one Saturday in a week. Hello Captain Obvious.. I know. But if you’re getting married on a Sunday, or a weekday – you’ll have a much better chance booking your photographer closer to your wedding. Those aren’t peak booking days for us, so you can have a little more flexibility.

Lauren’s blog is such a great resource and I’m so glad she was able to post about when to hire vendors! Definitely stop over and read the rest of her timeline

http://everylastdetailblog.com/wedding-planning/thursday-tips-how-soon/

Happy Thursday!

I rarely offer very much insight in to my personal life on my blog. It’s not that I’m not introspective at times, and I’m not trying to make the blog all sugar and gumdrops either…. but I have always preferred my blog to be about my work. Who I am as a photographer. Of course my personality is included in all of that, but I have a confession to make…. I am extremely insecure.

To my tight-knit group of friends, this isn’t much of a confession. I’m usually hiding behind things, or lurking in a corner somewhere with only my closest girls…. a far cry from how I spent most of my high school and college days. Those friends would remember me as someone who always wanted to hang out, grab a soda or a late-night run to Dennys.  But I guess it’s all relative.

By nature, I’m a bit more shy than I’d like to be. I prefer small groups of friends to big parties, and you’ll sooner find me at Olive Garden with one of my girlfriends than out at a club.

But I saw a giant shift in my self-esteem back in college. When I was in my sophomore year of college I got really sick. No one knew what was wrong… the college clinic assumed Mono, doctors were clueless. I spent about a month in bed, missing classes, activities and my friends. I was in a near sleep como – finding it impossible to wake up long enough to eat a meal, much less walk to a class. I literally “woke up” about a month later, 90 lbs heavier and barely eating 300 calories a day. I knew something was wrong, but it would take nearly a year to find out what that was.

The summer, I was back in Ohio and seeing a specialist who diagnosed me with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). Beyond the weight gain, and what I found out was a natural-sugar coma, it’s not the best thing in the world….. making it 3 times as hard for me to lose weight as the normal person, I may not ever be able to have children, and have to continuously watch for cysts on my ovaries, along with some other random complications. It’s genetic (or believed to be)  and there is no cure. It’s on-set by traumatic stress and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. So I live with it. Se la vie.

My life had taken a drastic turn from 110 lbs., 5′9″ and a 16-year competitive dancer — to 200 lbs. seemingly overnight. I used to love being in front of the camera, and enjoyed the attention. I’ve been fortunate to channel that behind the camera – pouring my heart and soul in to the shoots that I do… especially fashion.

I feel like I’m getting to live my life again when I shoot my fashion work. It’s a desire, an energy, to be something you once were. If you could step back in time and be that person again… would you? And if you had the opportunity to do it whenever you wanted – could you see yourself there? When I shoot fashion, it’s like I can feel every ounce of who I was in front of me. I look back at the photos and remember my exact feelings from directing the location, the fashion and the expression or mood of the model. It’s like a personal digital diary. And not only do I get to shoot it… I get to live it, even for that moment.

Suddenly, I’m transformed. I’m a size 2, standing in a field of wild flowers and horses, in this wide open world, and yet I feel so contained within myself. I want to run, and explore – but I’m fearful to leave the safety of what I know. I feel every insecurity in that moment. And I capture it.

So when you look at my fashion work – I hope this gives you a little more insight into where it comes from and why I shoot it. Why I’m passionate for it, and why my heart breaks for it. I’m hoping that it will also help you to understand about my surgery today. I’ll be posting more on that, and this journey, in the coming weeks.

So if you’re friends of family, leave a little comment about the kind of person I am… or was… or will be. And fellow readers, share some of your confessions, too. It feels good to let them out