Why I had to take a brief break from blogging

So, I haven’t blogged for a couple weeks – big deal, right? I don’t think I have followers who hold their breath waiting for Thursday to roll around so they can read my blog, but, I did make a commitment to myself that I would bring consistency back! For the most part, 2018 was a great example of what consistency can do – I interacted more with readers and got way more of a response when I would post links to my blog on Instagram. But February took a lot out of me – and it was all good!

Here’s what I’ve been up to…

Learning how to renegotiate contracts and fees – eek! And taking on new work.
When I tell you what my body goes through when it’s time to renegotiate client fees… I know stress doesn’t help – I know worrying doesn’t make things go your way, ever. But still, I can’t help it. When it comes to my bread and butter I have a few publishing/social clients that sign with me on an annual or six-month basis. Don’t ask me why they always come up for review in February, sigh. As well as giving my clients ideas as to where I’d like to take the work and their brand next, this is also a time when I have to ‘realistically’ prepare myself for the chance that, this time around, they might well say, ‘we’re done.’
So, it’s always good to have a few ‘irons in the fire’, or whatever that saying is. Thankfully, I was approached by two different sites in February, both wanting to commission me for copy and photography. I’ve only gone with one, because I want to do it well, and the site I’m talking about – and the woman behind it – is AMAZING. I’ll let you know details as soon as I’m able. 

Looking for a home of our own
Daniel and I have been lucky enough to pretty much live rent-free with both sets of parents over the past two years. However, that has meant leaving my beloved London behind. Throughout this time he’s been honing his craft/s and I’ve continued with my client work, often travelling to London once or twice a week. During that time we’ve also been looking for a place to call home, where we can do what we want, when we want, work naked, etc, etc… Now, although we’re not moving back (yet), we’ve finally found a flat that we LOVE. It has beautiful light, it’s in an amazing part of Birmingham and, as of yesterday, it’s ours for the next six months!

Pushing my photography
Back in January I put out a call to action on a Facebook group I’m part of. I offered free portrait sessions (30 minutes max) – all I was asking for was credit when and if the imagery was used. For me, the most important thing, if I want to be taken seriously as a portrait photographer (and no, I don’t mean babies and families, I’m talking a shoot for Vogue or a beauty campaign, Universe-willing) is to have a ton of portraits in my portfolio. Offering free shoots seemed a pretty clever idea, but I wasn’t expecting much of a response. However, and I was overwhelmed with bookings. Interestingly enough, ALL of them were from women. I’m talking in excess of THIRTY women. Fast forward to a total of 10 hours spent in the cold (me and my natural light) and I now have some beautiful shots. Check them out over on my Unsplash page, although I’ll be sharing a few on my Instagram too. 

Celebrating!
February is always a ‘tough’ month for Daniel as we met on the 1st, then there’s the obligatory Valentines Day ish, and of course, my birthday is March 1st. One thing he’s always been great at in our relationship, was valuing important moments, and always making time for celebrating them. This February marked eight years since we first met, so we had to celebrate, but when it comes to V Day, we’re strictly a pizza-and-red-wine-in-bed type of couple. Corny as it may sound, I couldn’t care less what flowers or gifts you bring me on V Day if you don’t love me and respect me on the other 364 days of the year. And the same goes for him.
My birthday celebrations ended a few days ago, but in the run-up I had a ton of work to get done, so that was another reason for the lack of February blogs. Suffice to say, I had an amazing weekend, back in London. We visited the Christian Dior Designer of Dreams exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum – breath-taking and actually kind of emotional. Christian Dior was someone in love with the feminine form, as well as flowers – two of my own favourite subjects! You can call me old-fashioned but I will always prefer the designers from the ‘40s and ‘50s – they actually seemed to love womens’ bodies. After the exhibition we did cake and Bellinis and that evening we had an amazing dinner at Cecconi’s’, one of my all-time London dining and people-watching spots. The food is so good and the staff are friendly and always seem to know when another drink is in order.

So, that’s my February - hopefully I can blog more in March, but as I’m moving house next week, it could be tricky! In the meantime, I’ve got a ton of blogs that you might not have read already!