Professional Development – Continuous learning, always growing.

I am a massive advocate for personal and professional development. 

I am not someone who can just ‘do’ and hope for the best. I love learning. I love reading. I love listening to audio-books and podcasts. 

I often have several books/audio-books on the go at any one time. One for leisure (usually a fiction or autobiography), another for personal growth (at the moment lots are about ‘mindset’, changing one’s self-talk, challenging one’s belief systems, and understanding why we do the things we do). As well, I love to read books or listen to podcasts on: business, finance, marketing, organisation & planning etc.

Above all of that, I also choose to invest both time and money into business mentoring, photography mentoring and photography workshops. I feel this is vital for my growth as both a photographer and a business owner.

I recently completed an incredible 4 week, online ‘Maternity Workshop’ with Perth-based Photographer & Mentor - Anja McDonald (https://anjamcdonald.com.au). This is the second online workshop I completed with Anja and both have been absolute game-changers for me.

She guides one to do so much more than simply ‘take a good photo’. She demonstrates how to read your histograms whilst shooting to ensure correct exposure and skin tones, how to read light and light placement (natural lighting and studio lighting), how to pose clients, and she dives deep into what’s required to run a sustainable business. One of my favourite Anja-quotes regarding the photography business is: ‘You have to choose whether you want to run a successful and profitable long-term business, or just play around with an expensive hobby’.

It’s often small changes in the way we think and do things that have the biggest impact. For example, I have always planned out my sessions and had an approximate workflow in my mind. However, Anja has taken it all to a new level which has made an incredible difference in the way I now run my outdoor and indoor sessions.

During the past two years I have also done one-on-one mentoring sessions with her. Her guidance and knowledge in both the photography and business spheres is next level and so detailed. She has challenged me to push myself, and to try new things. But, most of all, she has helped me clarify my business vision, and to trust in my style and the experience I want to provide my clients. She has encouraged me to focus on me and my business, without getting distracted by what others are doing, offering, or charging. This is often difficult to avoid in an online world.

My main aim for this blog is to highlight and mention the importance I attach to my own professional development and to explain why I invest so heavily in this.

Below are a few studio images I have taken since completing the workshops with Anja, after breaking down the style I want to offer in studio and with a focus on studio lighting and different lighting set ups.

I also want to send out a huge thankyou to Anja Macdonald for all the invaluable help she has given and continues to give me. I am already planning on investing in more one on one mentoring and enrol in future workshops with her to further my knowledge and skill set.

Lastly, I just want to remind anyone in any business, that an investment in you and your business is the best thing you can possibly do. It will never be a waste of time or money.