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“We may lose and we may win; but we will never be here again.”
The Eagles
Where have I been? What have I been doing? Maybe you’ve been wondering. Maybe you haven’t. Anyway, I’ll tell you — I’m taking it easy for the summer.
Summer status for me means jumping off the prep-shoot-cull-edit-share-ogle-design hamster wheel and taking a big, deep breath.
In summer, I only schedule sessions for newborns and Baby Planners. I’ll be tap-tap-tapping away at my laptop in my little beach bungalow in between those sessions making things happen behind the scenes, but the magical family session cycle has otherwise been put on pause. I’ll be catching up, recharging the batteries, working on the business side of things, and spending good quality time with my family and friends. I’ll be back full-time in late August, ready to hit the ground running for a crazy fall.
You can still keep up with me here on the blog (just keep scrolling to see the latest), where I’ll be getting back to sharing about a gajillion sessions, and possibly penning an occasional thought on life and photos and whatnot now and again.
On the behind-the-scenes to-do list for the summer is a general polishing of my systems. 2020 packed a whollop, as we all know, and I was forced to re-invent the wheel a few times to keep this little train running. Some of the changes I made were band-aid type fixes, but others will be staying around and I’m looking forward to setting them up in a more intentional way for the longer term. I’m planning a new way to organize the content I share here, and hope that translates to content that’s more relevant and more consistent.
Session-wise, I’m trying to pay super close attention to those things that keep my best clients – the ones who have me back every year (or two) and allow me to watch their families grow – the happiest, and incorporate more of that into the limited time available in every month.
Communication-wise, I’m trying to make sure that allll the families who think about photos the way that I do are hearing about all these little brain children and given the opportunity to get a piece of the pie.
So, that’s the story. I hope you’ll stick around and see what comes of it.
Can’t get enough of my ramblings and this summer pace just isn’t doing it for you?
Well, if you’ve got travel plans, you’ll definitely want to have a look at this article I wrote for the National Association of Professional Child Photographers about how to take photos on your trip that you’ll treasure forever. I shared some thoughts recently about what family travel means to me now — as a mother of ‘big kids’ — that you might enjoy. I’ve also shared some more general tips about Traveling with a Large Family more recently in response to being asked by so many clients how I get past the craziness and just do it.
If brushing up on your photography is on your summer bucket list, you can pick up my free downloadable guide for taking better photos of your kids here. If that whets your whistle for some more in-depth photography instruction, check out the workshops I offer for parents and get on the list for info when dates are announced.
If organizing and printing your personal photos is on your to-do list for the lazy days of summer, you might enjoy my “Cobbler Series” on the blog.
And whether you’re traveling or staying home, take a second for a refresher on my favorite crazy-time-of-year advice — It’s become a bit of a tradition for me to share this twice a year at Christmastime and every summer. So many people have told me they’ve enjoyed it and taken it to heart, I’m continuing the tradition. (You know you’re curious. Go ahead, click on over. You won’t regret it. Promise).
That’s all for now, friends. If you’d like to book or to chat about anything at all, be sure to use the “contact” button above or shoot me an email. I may be a bit slower to reply, but I promise I’ll get back to you. Any updates are always shared first via email with my VIPs — you can become one here. My annual Christmas Card Micro Mini Session event will be back and better than ever this year, and clients who have already booked a date for 2022 will get first dibs on those slots when they’re announced in September.
And one more thing! My personal photo-diary of sorts lives on Instagram — come on over and follow me there for a behind the scenes peek at what McLaughlin summertime looks like in 2021. Exciting stuff, I tell you.
Thanks for stopping by!
~Jaye
