Calling it Quits!

After some real trial and error in sizing my concepts I want to display, I have to call it a day. Motivation to work on the site didn't come until late in the day and right now my mind is on my interview tomorrow. I usually don't prepare for interviews, in that I go with what I know and they either take it or leave it, but with this interview tomorrow I need to do some research to prepare, besides iron...blah.

Anyhow, I've uploaded all of my concepts that I currently have and hope that my concept portfolio continues to grow. I have some projects that need attention, but at the moment I can't even think about those, maybe this weekend...Either way, I have now figured out I need to do some more resizing on my photos AFTER I've already uploaded them, such is life. This entire process is a learning process and in the end I'll be better for it, hopefully;)

From my previous list earlier today I have completed the following:

* Concepts Galleries

• Sizing concepts for display - DONE!
  

* Text

• Bio
• Pricing
• Contact

* Pricing & Services - THIS is what's got me held up!

• Developing packages and prices

* Shopping Cart - Although I think this can wait.

Yea, I'm completely dreading that text content...but it has to be done.

Here's to cutting my night short for an interview tomorrow, cheers!

Wish me luck:)

Deadline Looming

...Thursday's tomorrow and I'm close, but not done and I have absolutely NO motivation to work on the site today! I was talking with a friend yesterday and asking how long the "going live" process takes and he mentioned it takes about 24 hours, so I really want to be done with it tonight and not tomorrow. It's completely feasible if I could just get myself outta this funk...

Let's see, what's left:

* Concepts Galleries
o sizing concepts for display
* Text
o Bio
o Pricing
o Contact
* Pricing & Services - THIS is what's got me held up!
o Developing packages and prices
* Shopping Cart - Although I think this can wait.

Ok, so one item out of a list of four is keeping me held up...I'm headed to work on the other parts and save the "hard" part for last.

Here's to happy sizing and writing, good day!

I WILL be done tonight...no questions asked:)

Easy Day

Didn't work too much, if at all, on the site today. Concentrated more on school and other necessary things like laundry...boo:( Anyway, working through some tutorials and getting some other things together for the site. Still working towards that Thursday deadline though, I haven't forgotten it.

Found some cool sites for those of you interested in designing...brushes for Photoshop and vector images for Illustrator or another design program - All Free!!

www.qbrushes.com

www.qvectors.com

Those are my finds for today, enjoy!

Site work tomorrow after an interview!! I'll update on that as well:)

Day 25

Almost there and completely exhausted...

Have to say I'm more than happy with the progress on the website and am thinking I should be able to "go live" here in a couple of days. I'll shoot for Thursday, that should give me more than enough time to get the content written and pull all the loose ends together.

Getting excited as I am finishing up...my dream's becoming a reality, who'da thought?!

Until tomorrow...

Day 24

I think I have to call it quits, for tonight anyway.

I've been working on the website since 1:30 this afternoon, designing and redesigning, uploading, deleting, uploading again, refreshing, making more checklists...I think I just need a break, a good movie should do, but I'm not sure what I'll watch.

I'm sure you're so concerned about my movie choice;)

Either way, I have finished my splash page, my home page, my calendar, added my blog, and well that's about it. Tomorrow I will be uploading to the galleries, and I'm thinking, from the way it's gone, that it will take some time to do that as I will be resizing and such, but I'm excited nonetheless.

Also, amidst my website-ing, I replied to an ad on Craig's List for an assistant photographer to shoot a bar mitzvah after party, lol! Sounded interesting and seems like a quick way to make some money, also connects me to people and other photographers in the Dallas area, I'll post what I hear, if I hear anything.

The journey continues...thankfully!

Day 23

What a way to spend a Friday night!

Spent majority of tonight working on both my logo and resizing my shots. While I have found, thanks to BluDomain, a clever way to resize a bulk amount of images, I have not quite determined the exact size needed for my site. Needless to say there's been a lot of trial and error. So, resizing was a bit of the night, and then the logo, again...For some reason it seems I've been dreading the logo and it's been holding me up, kinda like a thorn in my side. Either way, I finally completed it and am extremely happy with it!

Here it is...



I love it! It received an immediate, "yes, finally" from me and then a, "now that's sexy" from my ever-patient friend:) Once I had it finished though, at 12:30 am, I was super motivated to keep working, but the bed was calling and so it was lights out.

What tomorrow may bring...

Day 21

It's been a couple of weeks, ok three, since I last even looked at or thought about my website. I got questions here and there from friends, "how's the website coming? Done any work on the site yet?" To which I slowly and begrudgingly answered, "nooo."

Either way, it's now August 20, I've completed my Marketing Management course and have started the ever-dreaded (or so my advisor said) Analytical Decision Making. Coming off my first week of the new term I have to say it's not as bad as I thought, a lot less reading, small homework assignments, and best of all, NO PAPERS! Doesn't get any better in my opinion:) And so I've got more than enough time on my hands to work on the website and find a job!

Tonight was logo designing 101. Choices, choices, choices...and it doesn't help to be indecisive at this point. Got to designing and quickly hit a wall, things weren't clicking and I just wasn't getting that "wow" feeling from myself or others viewing my designs. So I called it a night, but didn't close AI, left it open to remind myself of the work I have...although it'll prob'ly be a huge temptation when I should be reading for class and submitting my resume;)

Day 2

I got it!

Finally received the website I ordered from an oh-so-wonderful operation called Bludomain.com. If you haven't heard about it, and you're a "creative" professional, then I suggest you check it out. Makes building a fancy-schmancy website much less complicated...whew!

Anyhow, I had no clue, but I purchased mine during a sale and so their turn around time was much longer than their email suggested, but I was patient. I felt once I received my website I would immediately work and get it done, but then reality set in that I had a lot of wrangling to do. I had to go through my shots, pull them, edit them, resize them, develop a logo, develop business cards, and the list continued to grow. At this point I realized I wouldn't have this website done in a weekend...But it will be done at some point.

Day 1

And so it begins...

Taking on the challenge of actually creating my own business. While I tried this a year or so ago with a close friend, I am adamant about making this happen for two reason, necessity and passion.

I've always let my perfection-istic ways keep me from accomplishing what I really want to do, and I have decided, out of necessity and passion, that I need to get over that, let it go, and make this happen. I view this as I have a few other opportunities in life, "do it and see what happens, because if you don't you'll regret it." But this time, it seems to be making more sense than any other opportunity has so far, and I'm really counting on it.

My own photography business has always been sort of a dream, how cliche that sounds, but it's so. A dream in the sense that I actually thought and thought and thought about it, but never moved. Now I am and I have to say it's exciting and scary at the same time; exciting because I believe I have an eye for photography and scary because it's a risk. I'm pushing myself in a new direction where there will be both success and failure, but in my mind right now there's no room for failure.

So, join me on this journey, watch this dream of mine develop, and hopefully you and I both can take something away from this.

"We are what we believe we are." - C.S. Lewis