FAML 110 Marriage Skills: Weekly Journal

This week I learned how important it is in a marriage to communicate your needs. Men and women are so different, and as marriage goes on it is especially important to keep communicating your needs. Even though my husband and I have only been married 7 years, we've gone through some health struggles and I've noticed how our communication has gone down and our expectations in the marriage have changed without telling the other person which has caused a lot of frustrations for both people. I've noticed that when I get frustrated about something, I tend to hold it in until I am ready to communicate. I think this can be good and bad for our relationship. Good because I'm waiting to communicate when I'm ready so I don't speak out of frustration, and bad because it can leave my husband in the dark not knowing how I'm feeling. What I find interesting is that men and women are so different and have different needs, but we need each other. I think how things that don't come easy are the most worth it, just like marriage.

W02 Reflection: Entrepreneurial Journal

This week's reflection has been more about my why. As a photographer, I've always wanted to take pretty pictures for people but I've never been able to find a strong why. I’ve taught people how to use their DSLR cameras here and there, but nothing too serious. The thought of being a photographer the rest of my life overwhelms me a bit because it comes with a high price of continually revolving around other’s schedules. I’ve always had a fear of missing out on my kids growing up because my job is too demanding. That’s why I’ve been thinking so much about teaching, but I don’t know how to get started or where to start. I see a lot of other photographers teaching, and I want to learn from them too. Maybe that would be a good start, learning from other photographers? Something I learned this week is how important it is to treat life as an “experiment”. What if I create a workshop and no one signs up, what can I do differently the next time in order to sell myself better, and teach people the value they’d get by signing up? By treating my job as an experiment, I need to realize that it is ok to fail and try something different. How can I target more people next time? What can I do to add more value to what I’m going to teach? I love working with people and being friendly, loving, and empathetic is something I pride myself at being good at. This week has helped me realize how important teaching a photography class would be to me, and how I know I’ll want to do it in the future when I’m older. I don’t see myself taking family pictures for the rest of my life since it is such a time and evening commitment when I could be spending that time with my family. That is why I am drawn to the idea of teaching more than ever, especially when I’m older.

Picture by: Molly Kate Studio

September 21st, 2019 - Entrepreneur’s Journal

Right now as an entrepreneur, I feel overwhelmed. Mostly because I feel like being in school takes so much time and effort, so I can't put all the time and energy I want into my business. Something else I've been struggling with is finding the right people who appreciate quality pictures. While I've been in school studying photography, I feel like my worth as a photographer has gone up but some people don't see that... they only want a deal and that HURTS. Something I've learned and I'm still trying to learn is to appreciate those who do value and appreciate my pictures and my prices. I'm learning there will be some people who will never understand. It is scary to raise my prices, but it is also important. With every photo shoot, I am learning something new and improving my skills. It is hard to lose customers over this, but also vital to not downplay the quality of pictures I am giving to my clients. I am looking forward to learning how to better set apart time as an entrepreneur during the day, and sell myself and reach those people who will appreciate the quality of pictures I am giving them. Also, I'm excited to learn how to better my business and strengthen my business knowledge.

Picture by: Adrianamphotographs