
We recently heard an amazing business man speak at a conference a few weeks ago and he said something that really stuck with me. Actually, he said a lot of things that really stuck with me but I can only remember a few of them because my habit when I am listening to a great speaker is to be ALL EARS and I never remember to take great notes. (I’m working on that) I may not remember everything he said but I do remember this… He said that EQ is more valuable and more vital to success than IQ.
Isn’t that interesting?? Your EMOTIONAL QUOTIENT is more important than your INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT. I have a whole blog post brewing about this but for now, I want us to focus on the fact that our EMOTIONS control our success more than our INTELLIGENCE. If this is true… which I believe it is… this means that our emotional relationship with our business directly correlates to our level of achievement.
The scary thing about this concept is that what we BELIEVE to be true about ourselves and our abilities is either crushing us or pushing you forward. Confidence as a creative is VITAL. You can’t run a business and survive if you’re constantly doubting your abilities. I totally get it. My insecurities are just as real as all of yours. I struggle with feeling like my images aren’t “fine art” enough, that my clients won’t continually love their experience as much as they have in the past, and that I won’t be able to create incredible images over and over again. Those are my fears…. but they aren’t my reality. I have to choose before EVERY wedding, before EVERY blog post and before EVERY business decision to choose truth. If I continually believe the lies that creep into my life, my emotions will be the very thing that keep me from success. I have to believe that this is where the saying “You are your own worst enemy” comes from!
This is such a hard lesson to learn as a creative small business owner. Our lies are all different and but yet the over-arching story is all the same. What we BELIEVE about ourselves directly affects OUR SUCCESS in business. So how do we fix this?? I don’t think there is a FIX. I think being self-aware is the first step to overcoming these lies and not letting them overtake you. Simply reading this blog post will help you become more self-aware!! I encourage you to journal and write this stuff out!!
– What do you constantly believe about yourself that hinders you from taking risks?
– What lies creep in and steal your confidence and stall your decision making?
– What fears delay your projects, dreams, and goals?
Some of you believe that you’re never going to be able to have a handle on your workload. Others of you believe that your work will NEVER be where you want it to be and some of you have just accepted the lie that you’ll never be free from the never-ending EDITING that consumes you. If these are YOUR FEARS… you can overcome them…. and I don’t just mean journaling about them and being aware that they exist… I mean you can do something that will REMOVE those fears because you’re EQUIPPED with a solution!!! We’re not in the business of giving sales pitches… we’re in the business of changing lives and empowering photographers to be successful. So if this is you, this is just a final reminder that our ADMISSION WEEK for the KJ Consistency Course is ending very soon. This course could be the pivot that you need to overcome your lies and transform not only your business but also your LIFE!! We love you and we care about your business. You can do this…. let us help you! CLICK HERE to learn more before the doors close!! 

Whether you’re brand new to business or have been in business for quite a while, this brand new Youtube video is for you! Michael and I, early on in our business, struggled to relinquish tasks to other professionals outside of our business. Really…. It was more of MY STRUGGLE than his.
Welcome to December’s Student Spotlight!! It’s a new month and we have new photographers to celebrate!! I’m so thankful for them and for their willingness to give of their time and share their stories!!!


This shoot was supposed to happen about a month earlier on the exact day that leftover rains from a hurricane swept through Washington. I’m so thankful we rescheduled! Our reschedule date was absolute perfection! The temperature, the glow, the locations…. it was beautiful! Tyler and Abby’s outfit choices were wonderful and the leaves were full of color and still hanging on the trees.

When Michael and I were in our early years of dating, I would go on trips with his family for Thanksgiving and summer trips to West Virginia and I spent time with his cousins! “Bri-Bri” was so little! He’s the youngest of all of the cousins and it’s crazy to think that he’s old enough to be getting MARRIED! He’s actually older than we were when we got married!! We have known Shannon for years and we were THRILLED when we heard that Brian had proposed because we always hoped that would happen!!!
Maybe it’s just me…. but I feel like this fall is FLYING by! It seems like just the other day that I was sharing about three more KJ Students who are doing amazing things in their businesses! Well, this weeks marks the beginning of November and I have three amazing students to introduce you too!!!


This session is beautiful… if I do say so myself! It’s colorful, it’s vibrant, it’s full of joy and it’s also LONG! It’s a lengthy post because I just had so many favorites and I absolutely loved my time with these two last week! Paige, like a lot of our brides, is a photographer herself! She’s talented, full of life, energetic and creative. I felt the pressure to take this location that she knows well and make it look fresh and knew to her!! Nikhil is an audio engineer for Apple (which we think is fascinating!) and despite hardly ever wearing a suit, he wore one for Paige and made all of her outfit dreams come true!