Things I wish I would have known before I started a Photography Business.

You can’t Buy Style.

For the first year of my business I bought EVERYTHING. Hats, props, backdrops, floors you name it! I bought it.  About 7 months ago I realized one day I was hiding behind my props.

I decided to challenge myself and buy no newborn hats, baskets, or buckets for 6 months, and use what I had  already accumulated, and and in some cases never used.

What an awesome feeling! As my clients all know it is my goal to rarely, if ever, use the same prop in the same way twice. What that means is if I use a certain blanket in a certain bucket, it is my goal to never put it there again. I think it’s a little game I made up to play with myself to so I never get complacent or start doing the same bucket & blanket over and over.  It keeps things fresh  & new for me too!

Try to go on a buying sabbatical for 6 months and tap into what you already have. You will be surprised in yourself what you can come up with creatively!

I’m Still a prop girl at heart, but as I evolve as an artist I find I’m relying less & less on the over the top props.

So now that my sabbatical from Prop shopping is over, what’s a girl to do?!

I will be adding  a few hats & blankets & hitting up Etsy for some fun finds, but it taught me to rely on me, not the stuff for inspiration.

That overflowing mess is just 1 of my prop closets!!!