Life, Business, and Summer Adventures

Hi friend!

Remember me? I'm that photographer who occasionally remembers to write newsletters when the guilt of neglect becomes overwhelming! Life's been a beautiful chaos tornado lately - you know you're busy when dry shampoo becomes a lifestyle choice and your coffee maker starts judging your dependency issues. Between juggling existing client work, household responsibilities, and trying to find moments of creative inspiration, I've been feeling the familiar tug-of-war between productivity and burnout. We have a lot to catch up on!

The "No Social Media" Experiment (AKA Self-Inflicted Marketing Torture)

So I'm still on this noble quest to attract photography clients without Instagram, TikTok, or whatever platform the cool kids are using these days. It's like trying to sell ice cream without mentioning it's delicious – CHALLENGING.

My current client-finding strategy includes:

• Randomly mentioning I'm a photographer in every conversation ("Nice weather we're having! Speaking of nice, have you seen my PHOTOGRAPHY WEBSITE?")

• Bribing past clients with cookies for referrals (not above it)

• Considering carrier pigeons with my business cards (still in R&D phase)

LOL but for real… bookings are down and I can’t help but think it’s because I’ve ghosted the interwebs. Luckily my other area of expertise is in digital marketing so here are some additional strategies I’m gonna try this month if the carrier pigeons don’t work out:

• Updating my portfolio website with recent work

• Improve website SEO with thoughtful keyword research + blog posts that add value and showcase recent work

• Might test out a Meta ad… I get paid the big bucks for advertising for everyone else soooo could be worth testing for myself!

I also have had this top secret goal of being successful WITHOUT the use of organic social media and hope to someday be able to genuinely help other photographers with their marketing. I see soooo many photographers who do not have any background in marketing offering their ‘signature courses’ and it kind of makes my stomach churn. Anywho, longterm visions haha!

Plot Twist: I'm Cheating on Photography with Pottery

When I'm not making my camera do the clicky thing, I've been getting freakishly obsessed with pottery class… it’s basically my new personality. There's something deeply satisfying about being absolutely terrible at something new! My creations currently resemble what might happen if you gave clay to a hyperactive toddler during an earthquake.

My pottery teacher keeps using phrases like "interesting choice" and "very... unique approach" which I'm pretty sure is art-teacher code for "what in tarnation is THAT?" But the joy of being elbow-deep in clay while making lopsided bowls that could double as modern art is THERAPEUTIC.

The best part? Unlike photography where I agonize over every pixel, with pottery I'm embracing the "it's not ugly, it's ARTISTIC" philosophy. My family will be receiving questionable mugs for every holiday for the foreseeable future. You've been warned, relatives!

Summer Adventures with Lenni

Summer is practically knocking on the door, and I've got big plans for adventures with my amazing daughter Lenni (this week I decided to drop the e so she’s now Lenni…hoping this solves the issue of everyone typing Lenny, not Lennie LOL the things I let bother me 😂)! On our warm-weather agenda:

1. Splash pad visits where I'll pack enough supplies to survive a week-long expedition but inevitably forget a towel

2. Sensory play in the backyard with containers of water that will 100% end up on me instead of entertaining her

3. A family beach trip (aka "Operation Don't Eat Sand" – spoiler alert: we will fail)

4. Neighborhood stroller walks where I pretend I'm not sweating profusely while pointing out every dog, tree, and cloud ("Look Lenni, OXYGEN!")

5. Park picnics where I'll bring a beautiful spread that goes untouched while Lenni discovers the joy of grass and possibly a bug or two

Fellow parents of tiny humans – what summer activities are you planning that won't result in meltdowns (theirs or yours)? All tips for surviving summer with a baby who's just learning to move and grab everything welcome!

Until my next quarterly life update,

Chelsea

P.S. If you receive a wonky pottery creation from me, please act surprised and display it somewhere visible when I visit. My fragile creative ego thanks you in advance!