I took a week off last week. Not the smartest move at this time of year, but a necessary one. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law and my two adorable nephews were in Canberra. They live in the UK and we see them about every two years. We had an amazing time together making loads of fun memories and we were blessed with the most amazing weather.

So big apologies for any delayed emails return phonecalls and galleries. Everything will be back on track this week!

A quick update on where I’m at with Love Autumn mini sessions. Bookings are almost at capacity, but I have a few spots left for some lucky families, as follows:

• one AM and one PM spot on Friday 20 April (which is in the school holidays)
• one PM spot on Thursday 3 May
• one PM spot on Thursday 10 May
• one PM spot on Friday 11 May

I’m going to close off Love Autumn bookings completely next Wednesday 18 April, regardless of whether all spots are filled, so if you’re keen, get in touch ASAP! katie@heartstoryphotography.com.au or 0402 091 949.

In terms of general portrait availability, I only have one Saturday session spot left between now and early June, and June is already booking fast. I have some spots left on Thursdays and Fridays in mid – late May, and if the Love Autumn spots don’t all get filled, the remainder will also be open for regular portrait sessions. If none of these spots suit, but your availability is quite flexible, I may still be able to accommodate you, so give me a call anyway. And finally, I will be on leave from July 6 – 25 inclusive.

I’m part way through my third year of self-employment. Running my business has been not only a huge learning curve (which I embrace with every inch of my being), but an unbelievably wonderful self-fulfilment, and the actualisation of a dream I’ve held inside me for most of my life.

I believe that self is incredibly important. Most of us don’t give ourselves enough. We concentrate on doing what we think we should be doing and what others expect us to do, and forget about our own hopes and dreams in the process. In addition, we often judge ourselves based on others’ opinions of us, and as a consequence, we carry out their expectations, which are often a far cry from what we are truly capable of being, feeling and achieving in our lives. How often have you thought:

I could never do that.
I don’t have what it takes.
I’m not good enough.
What if I fail?
I have too many other people to think about.
It’s not the right time.

Firstly I want to say you can do anything if you want it enough. And if you want it enough, then you do have what it takes. And if you think you’re not good enough, it’s because certain life experiences have convinced you of that, not because it’s true – everyone is good enough, everyone is precious and everyone deserves a life that fulfils them and helps them be the best they can be. And so what if you fail? Sometimes failures lead you to unexpected places, and gifts that far outweigh the failure, and sometimes the learning that comes with failure is valuable enough to make it worth it. And there are always other people to think about, but the people who really love you are the people who want you to be happy and follow your dreams, and if you do that, you will be a better friend, a better partner, a better parent, a better you. And it’s always the right time. Always.

I don’t like following the herd. I don’t like being told what to do. I like to question. I like to find my own way. I like the challenge of overcoming obstacles and discovering new things, and the feeling of empowerment that comes with that. I have always known this about myself, and up until a few years ago I struggled internally on an almost daily basis because I was trying to fit in with a life that was not allowing me to just be me. My old life wasn’t awful; it was fine, it was like most people’s lives, and sometimes people ask me if I miss it. But I really don’t. I never have, not for one single day, even in the terrifying weeks that followed my decision to leave it behind, even when the bank balance got a little scary and I waited for the phone to ring. Because I knew deep down inside that this was the right thing for me to do, and eventually it would bring about the life I was dreaming of.

I believe in myself, and because of that, others believe in me too. And since I’m a born extrovert, that’s important to me, because I couldn’t do what I do on my own. But it always starts with you. With self. There are people around me now who I didn’t know before Heartstory, who I hold very dear, and they tell me they’re inspired by me. That makes me just as happy as when my clients love the images I’ve made for them. The more love and inspiration and goodwill we can all spread, the better this life is.  I’m inspired too, on a daily basis, by people and their stories, and it’s inspiration that helps to bring about changes.

I believe that those who succeed in business (and indeed, anything like it) do so because they want to break new ground, and they have the self belief and determination to do exactly that. So far, I don’t think I’ve done anything extraordinary, and I have a lot of stuff to work on… but I’m carving my way, inch by inch, and the path I’m on is totally my doing, my creation, my dream. And that feels amazing!

In the past two and a bit years I’ve overcome some pretty big hurdles, mostly in my personal life. I had to, in order to be able to sell myself and my ideas and vision. I have to be proudly, unashamedly me, but the best version of me I can be. And I can honestly say that hard as it’s been at times, the reward is written all over me. It’s worth it. It’s worth the struggles and the risks and the complete terror of really and truly putting yourself out there.

So what am I trying to say with all this gushy rambling? Nothing in particular; I’m simply sharing my heart. I was inspired to write this because of some things that happened earlier this week (that I’ll tell you about in a minute) but it’s been in me all along. I want people to know that a lot of things can be achieved with courage and self-belief and an open heart. And I also want people to know that ‘success’ (however you define it) is not magic, and my journey to this point has not been all frills and butterflies. It’s been a rollercoaster, but every second is worth it.

Earlier this week, I was in Sydney attending the judging of the Epson AIPP NSW/ACT Professional Photography Awards. This year I entered eight prints, and was thrilled to receive six silver awards, one in the portrait category, one in the illustrative category, and four in the family category. It was an exciting, nerve-wracking and extremely fun two days spent with fellow photographers I adore, respect and am inspired by, and I highly recommend attending for anyone who’s interested in photography, regardless or where you’re at and what you do. It’s open to the public every year at both state and nationals.

And as if all that wasn’t enough excitement for two days, at the awards presentation dinner, I was completely thrilled (and knock-me-down-with-a-feather stunned) to be awarded Runner-up ACT Family Photographer of the Year. I can’t tell you how humbling and amazing this is to me. The competition in Canberra is phenomenal, and I am proud to call the women who I stand amongst in this business here in the ACT my dear friends. We challenge each other, support each other, inspire each other to be better, and I couldn’t have done this without them. So thank you girls; you know who you are, and congratulations for your amazing achievements too.

I want to share this one image, which only just scraped into silver award range, because I think it’s relevant to my gushy ramblings.

This image is one in a series of self portraits I’ve been creating since July last year, together with a small group of likeminded photographers. This image explores who we are when no-one else is around. So many of us are trapped in a world where we define ourselves by what others think of us. Is it ever really possible to reach a point where other’s thoughts, values and judgements don’t matter anymore? I had an experience on this mountaintop that had nothing to do with anyone but me (and the kangaroos), and yet I cannot resist sharing the resulting image with the world…

It’s so important to be able to define ourselves separately to everyone else around us, but our need to connect and love and share is what makes us human. And it’s a beautiful thing.

Have a love-filled weekend, friends. xo

Lots of love,
Katie x

HOLIDAY SHUTDOWN

My office will be closed from December 22 – January 21, while I spend some much-needed time with my family. I will still reply to email during this time, but I may be a little slower than usual.

NEW PRODUCTS FOR 2012

Over the last couple of months I’ve been investigating some new products. I am very passionate about offering my families real pieces of art, which become treasured family heirlooms. Yes, we’re living in a digital age, but there has been so much talk lately about the dubious lifespan of digital media, and I find this really scary. Print is not dead, there are so many amazing ways to do it now, and images of precious, unrepeatable moments and the people you love most in the world are worth so more than hard-drive storage space. So many of my families from the last few months have been on my wavelength in regards to this, and have wanted more… something unique, something worthy of the value of the images I captured for them, and I am grateful for the opportunity to look beyond the ordinary to bring you this new range of products. So, I am super excited to be adding luxury metal prints, rustic art blocks, stitched fine art paper books, framed and block-mounted fine art canvas prints, and fine art paper prints to my product line up. My current clients are already going crazy for these amazing new products, and I will be showcasing them on my blog after the holiday break.

SESSION AVAILABILITY FOR 2012

I’m currently taking bookings for the first few months of 2012, so now is the time to get organised if you want family portraits during summer. Despite the heat, it is a great time of year for a photo session. Just think of the fun I can capture, even in your own backyard, in the gorgeous late afternoon/evening light! It could be a family BBQ, backyard cricket, icypoles on the deck, playing in the sprinkler, walking the dog at sunset… Aussie summers are usually big on family time, so make the most of it and have it captured.

In 2012, sessions will be available on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and as always, Saturdays can book out up to two months ahead, during peak seasons.

OTHER NEWS: HEARTKIDS ACT/NSW

Each year in the ACT, around 50 babies are born with Childhood Heart Disease (CHD). I have photographed a few ‘heartkids’ this year, and having had personal experience with the stress of baby/child health problems, I feel very strongly about the work of non-profit organisations like Heartkids, which supports families affected by CHD. Some very generous people (one whose family I photographed earlier this year) organised a fund-raising ball in Canberra in November, and I was thrilled to donate a Heartstory Portrait Package for a live auction on the night. The package raised $1000 for Heartkids ACT/NSW, which will go towards better supporting Canberran families affected by CHD. There were also a number of Heartstory vouchers given out on the night, and a portion of each session fee booked with those vouchers will go back to Heartkids. I am so proud to be supporting Heartkids, and if you’re looking to donate to a local organisation, please visit their website: http://heartkidsnsw.org.au, there are so many ways to get involved.

I’ll sign off with a handful of frames I shot last weekend, during a trip out to Gundaroo to buy a Christmas Tree from Santa’s Shaped Christmas Tree Farm. I haven’t had a real tree in my house since I was a little kid, and it smells so good!!!

Sydney: July 26-29
Melbourne: early September (around 9th)
Adelaide: late October (around 21st)
Brisbane: early November (around 11th)

I am taking on limited bookings for photography sessions in any/all of these places (babies & kids, families, couples and solo portrait shoots). I am also available for one-on-one mentoring within this same schedule. If you’d like to book, please get in touch as soon as possible, as I am hoping to lock in all my travel arrangements in the next week or two. Call me on 0402 091 949 or email me at katie@heartstoryphotography.com.au

You may not know that in my other world, I teach graphic design and create beautiful branding for photographers. So, I am also available (in the same travel schedule) for one-on-one or small group Indesign tutoring and/or branding consults. If you’re interested in finding out more, please email me at hello@katiekcreative.com.au.

And because I can’t have a blog post without pictures, I’d like to share a fun sequence of frames from a family break we had in April to one of my favourite places on earth, Jervis Bay. These images make me smile, and I hope they do you too.

I was SO happy to be there with a gorgeous, talented and uber-supportive bunch of photographer-friends, most of whom received AMAZING results during the APPA judging. It was exciting, thrilling and inspirational watching prints being judged that belonged to some of my closest friends, and also those belonging to the many amazing photographers who lead our industry and inspire the hell out of the rest of us (not to mention, nerve-wracking, emotional and exhausting waiting and listening to my own prints being judged!).

I was utterly thrilled to receive 3 out of 3; two silvers and one silver distinction, with a score of 88 (my first ever print in that score range!). The judges were very divided on my first two images (below), and although I had two judges on each panel score in the silver distinction range (85-89), the other judges disagreed, so they remained at silver. Of course, it’s wonderful listening to your print being fought for, but disheartening when it’s criticised! (We all pour our hearts and souls into our work and so sometimes entering the awards can feel a bit like voluntarily standing on stage in your birthday suit!)  There are many factors that make up an award winning image and many factors that judges use to determine scores. It’s a fascinating process to watch and be a part of, and I would encourage any and every photographer, enthusiast or professional, who has never been or seen it, to come along next year. The judging is open to the public at both the state and national awards, and you can stay posted on dates and times via the AIPP website.

So, I made a complete fool of myself during the judging of the last print by bursting into tears of joy and gratefulness! I was so fortunate to have Jesh De Rox on the panel at the time it came up. Jesh saw something in this image (below) that not all the judges on the panel saw at first, and he argued passionately for it. When the re-score came up I nearly fell off my chair – the scores were 89, 89, 88, 88 and 88. I had one wish this year for APPAs, and that was to outdo last year’s results. This cinched the deal and I just couldn’t be happier!

The APPAs are held each June, and are national, but before the APPAs come around, every state holds their own AIPP print awards – it’s a great opportunity to put some work out there and see how it goes, without the stress and pressure of the nationals. So back in March, I entered several images in the ACT/NSW AIPP Print Awards, and was stoked to receive 5 silver awards. I didn’t post my winning images at the time, as I wanted to wait until after the APPAs. So here are the remaining two award images from the state awards which I didn’t enter in APPAs.

I met so many amazing people, beautiful new babies, and awesome kids.

My work was published and exhibited for the first time/s.

I entered several Australian and International competitions and won awards, including ACT AIPP Epson Emerging Photographer of the Year 2010 and ACMP Projections Commercial Category Winner.

I was the judge of a competition, and loved it. (I’d like to do that again please, Universe!)

I travelled interstate several times for shoots, workshops and industry events, and had an absolute ball.

I met dozens of gorgeous and talented Australian photographers, many of whom have become fantastic friends, and I can’t imagine them not being in my life.

And I made thousands and thousands of pictures. Here are some of my absolute favourite Heartstory images from 2010.

Don’t forget about my Sweet Summer Special for January 17 – February 19: there are still spaces left. I am also still accepting emails from families interested in trying out Heartstory’s special photo fusion offer. I will be selecting the families for that project in early January.

First up, I’d like to announce a sweet summer special that is just perfect for long, hot days and summer holiday fun.

Every family who books a photo session* between January 17 and February 19 will receive a complimentary 12×18″ print, valued at $160.  The only condition is that your session needs to take place in the gorgeous, golden late afternoon light that you only get after 5pm, and in North Canberra (either at your home, or in any of my most loved outdoors locations).

At other times of the year, I can’t think of a more challenging time of day to photograph little ones, but everything’s different in summer, right? Kids stay up a bit later, we spend our evenings outside on the back deck or by the pool, and everything is more relaxed. Imagine cooking up a BBQ while the kids play under the sprinkler (yes, we can do that this summer, and oh boy I can’t WAIT!!!), or going for a walk somewhere and enjoying a picnic dinner under a big shady tree. I would LOVE to photograph your family celebrating the simple life this summer. So get in touch now, to book your session, and let’s come up with something really special and really YOU for your session!

*Newborn sessions are not included. Normal Heartstory session terms and conditions apply.

Heartstory does video (omg, I’m so excited!!!)

Photo Fusion (a mixture of audio, video and photography to create a multimedia piece) is getting pretty big overseas. I only discovered it recently and I was moved beyond words to see how much segments of sound and motion add depth and dimension to a story. I am desperate to have it done for my own family! There is just so much power in those brief moments caught on video (especially when they’re captured as beautifully as professional photographs are) and there are some things that a single photograph just cannot capture – the sound of your three year old’s laughter, they way she dances, the way she throws her arms around you and squeezes you so tight. You know those things will change so quickly, and you just want to keep them in your heart forever.

I would really love to start offering this to my clients in 2011 and I am so, so, SO excited about the potential! I haven’t figured out exactly what and how to offer it yet, so this is where you come in. I need some families to work with me on this… to trust me enough to let me practice my ideas on them. Basically I‘m seeking 2-3 families who want to book a Heartstory portrait session* between January 17 and February 19, and they will receive this as a gift. The video will be edited, fused with some of the images from your portrait collection, and set to music. I can’t value it yet, as I don’t know what I’m going to charge for it until I’ve worked with some families first, but I’ve seen photographers charge around $1000 for this, so it’s a pretty awesome gift! If you’re interested in doing this, please get in touch with me via phone or email ASAP. I would really like one of the sessions to take place at home, and another at an outdoors location, so I am seeking a variety of different families.

*Normal Heartstory session terms and conditions apply, including regular session fees and minimum spend. Families who take part in this must be willing to sign a model release allowing me to publish their movie on my blog and website. The families I select for this will also be able to get the free 12×18″ print for the Sweet Summer Special, provided they meet the terms & conditions.

Call me: 0402 091 949
Email me: katie@heartstoryphotography.com.au

Earlier this year, on the advice from a good friend and very talented photographer, I prepared to enter a competition run by the ACMP (Australian Commercial and Media Photographers) who do a lot to help emerging photographers find their feet in the industry. The competition is called Projections and it is specifically for photographers who have been in the industry for less than three years. To enter, I had to compile a themed series of photographs, in one of three categories; fine art, commercial and editorial. There were to be fifteen finalists chosen, and their work would be screened at several events around Australia in a cinematic format (hence it being called ‘Projections’).

A few months after I entered, at the end of a particularly stressful week, I received an email telling me I was a finalist in the Commercial category. I was in the car at the time, checking email on my iphone, and I remember involuntarily exclaiming ‘Oh my god!’ to my husband, who was driving. ‘What?’ he answered, with a concerned tone, but it was several more minutes before I could even get the words out. I had to reread the email about four times over, just in case I’d made a mistake! I’d been pouring over the Projections website for months and months, and had looked at the slideshows of most of the previous three years worth of finalists and winners. I couldn’t believe that my work was good enough to be there, with all of them!

But it gets better.

I went to Melbourne for the opening night. I was peeing-my-pants nervous and over-the-top excited to see my work set to music and projected on a cinema screen. It was an amazing experience and I was so honoured to share it with 14 other up-and-coming photographers.

And then they were announcing winners, and I heard my name and thought it was a dream, but it wasn’t. I won the commercial category! And I had to get up and talk into a microphone to a theatre full of people and nearly peed my pants again!

I’m not going to share my work just yet. It will be published on the Projections site in due course, with the music and words, just as it was screened in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane. I promise to let you know when it’s available.

A few weeks later, I found out I won 5 bronze awards at the International Aperture Awards. I entered 3 images into the ‘abstract & illustrative’ category and 2 into ‘people & portraits’. It was my first time entering, and I’m so pleased with the result. It really has been a bumper year and I am very proud of myself and grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given.

It hasn’t come without a cost though. It’s a busy, competitive industry and my first year of 100% self employment has been a massive amount of work with some very steep learning curves. And much as I love, love, LOVE it (I really do!), I am also well over due for some quality time with my own family, so Heartstory will be closed for the holidays from December 19 – January 16 inclusive (except for pre-booked newborn sessions).

Let me leave you with a recent image of my beloved boy, my muse, and the reason I work so hard. (Oh, and I’ll definitely be squeezing in a couple more blog posts between now and December 18!).