16- Glad I said “ish”

So we’ve moved into our new place, it’s so so cozy and perfect for us and this season. I’ve never lived in something so big, brand new, and nice. It feels like a beachy, industrial, artist loft. Kinda everything I’ve always dreamed about. We get to enjoy it like this (see below), with all our worn out, loved personal things until mid May, when I really get serious about making it everything I would want for my little creative headquarters. I think Max is really going to be bummed out when I fill my home with things he won’t be allowed to enjoy. Like a new couch and colorful rugs.

The studio is technically still up and running until the first couple of weeks of May and then after that we officially move here.  We had to extend the time in the studio because of how many people still wanted to get in! Exciting. But a lot of work. If my shoot today hadn’t cancelled I would be on a 20 day photography streak, minus one Sunday! I love it! But that’s definitely a record for me.

A few things have happened from this streak. I see myself improving drastically behind the camera. From a technical standpoint, but also in what I feel comfortable asking my clients to do. Pushing them a little harder to get more movement and emotion. I’m not afraid to have them repeat something over and over until I get that shot we both will be really happy with. And with this new tactic I feel myself goofing off with my clients more. Having more fun than ever before. Us both laughing when we realize twirling over and over in platform heels is a tricky business. In those moments I never pull the camera away from my eye. It’s always the shot of her cracking up from almost falling that’s the winner. And when she hears me laugh too, she looks at the camera and laughs harder. Like, “funny right?!” I find it interesting that this is how it always plays out. Everytime. We humans are all so complex and different, but it’s beautiful how similar we can be as well.

Another one of the moments I love is her cracking up because she feels a fool that I asked her to toss a pillow up into the air and catch it twenty times. Or some other odd thing I’ve thought up. I tell what I’ve said 100 times in the studio, “I think the sexiest pics I have taken as a boudoir photographer are in the moments that my client feels the nerdiest.”

I am also shooting less. Well, taking less shots I mean. I’m slowing down in between frames to really get it right. So less proofs for my clients, but better images. I think that’s a total win for both of us.

There seems to be a buzz in the air about our changes with the studio. Every client that I’m shooting brings up our move and seems to really be looking forward to booking a beach session. This makes me really happy.

All of this shooting, all of this “closing down the studio” is a busier task than I anticipated. I’m not really stressed, it’s just that I am finding it hard to sit and write. Who would have thought a blog would take so much time? I had this pretty visual of bloggers waking up in the morning, sitting down with their morning coffee and just letting their thoughts and words spill out into their laptop. It’s not so much like that for me. I think it’s because I’m not telling a story about what has happened. I’m totally in the story now. So most mornings I’m still trying to figure out what my priority is going to be for that day and if I can find time for it after shooting and running a studio.

So I’m glad I said 30-ish days of blogging in the first post. I knew that this would be a lot and there would be days when I would either drop the ball or choose some much needed me time instead of writing. But I thank you all for continuing to show up and read this. I’m amazed at the amount of you that are checking in.

-Marissa

PS. Also I’m grateful that I got time to steal a sunset view after a stroll to Beacon’s beach. San Diego hasn’t seen this much rain in so long, and the Spring bloom is enough to make me want to just lie down and bask in it. I wish I could record what it all sounds like when the wind hits it. Swirling, light little symphonies that we aren’t used to hearing here in dry-desert-meets-the-ocean territory.

beacons beach

2 Comments

  • Heather Shanahan says:

    I keep a lot of sayings and things laying around. Constant reminders. The laughter during your shoots immediately made me look at a card I have at my desk.

    “A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive, without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is so poor but that he can be made rich by it. A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters goodwill in business, and is the countersign of friendship. It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and it is nature’s best antidote for trouble. Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile as much as he who has no more to give.”

    On a similar note, I heard a speaker once that more or less talked about how no one (general random public) cares if you’re in a bad mood. It is pointless to walk around looking miserable and grumpy. Suck it up and smile because seeing you smile will make someone else smile and that should make you smile. I try to radiate positivity and always find the good in a situation even when I’m at my worst and the situation really stinks. No one wants to be around someone who is miserable, so why be alone and miserable?? Making other people happy and laugh in turn makes me happy.

    And on the ish note…. stick with it. If 30 is the goal, hit it, even if it isn’t consistent. I always go back and finish reps when I’ve timed out. Even when its burpees. Ugh. But I feel so accomplished afterwards.

  • Crystal says:

    That last image is so pretty!

Leave a Reply