When did October happen?! September was my busiest month to date, and it flew by WAY TO FAST. I’m hoping I can savor the month of October because it is one of my favorite months (my birthday month!)

Before I get into my October goals, here is how I did with my September ones.

– Get back to the gym and tone-up my arms and back. Um… I was shooting more so that counts as toning, right? My camera is at least 5 pounds.

– Set aside one day (per month) where I go off the grid. Sigh. I did not do this…I’m making this happen this month by marking the date on my calendar. Today.

– Take less photos. During my portrait sessions, I have been shooting less and being happier with the quality of the photos I am getting. :)

– Take more photos. Because my life was SO crazed this month, there was very few days to just spend with friends and family capturing my life in the in between. With two weekends blocked off for my dear friends’ weddings, I will be making this happen in October.

– Update my website portfolio and images on all my branding. This is something that is ever evolving. I was able to post some of my engagement sessions, but once mid-October hits, I’m going to do a huge update of everything from the last 6 weeks including 5 gorgeous weddings. Here is a gorgeous photo of my stunning bride from this weekend….

Here is what is on my to-do list for October.

– Shoot everything in manual mode: I’m admitting on here that even though I learned photography on film (yes, film …where everything was manual), I have been shooting in aperture priority a lot. Which is great to be able to catch little moments but it varies so much from shot to shot. All manual is the goal…and I was already doing this in September, so it should be an easy goal to check off.

– Master my flash: I know I do not use my flash for all the ways I could. I’m going to try to practice shooting with it during the week to learn some new techniques.

– Incorporate books into most of my sessions: After watching a great CreativeLIVE class, I realized that while it is great that my clients get the USB drive with their hi-res photos, they do not have something to hold in their hands to look at. I want to start offering my clients books with any session they have so that when they are 70 they can see all the amazing photos and hold them in their hands.

– Focus on what I have vs what I don’t: This is something that I try to do all the time in my personal life but while building my business it has been too easy to desire new, better gear or an ongoing influx of amazing clients or have envy over another blog feature from X photography. I’m vowing to focus on all the great things I have and the success I have been fortunate to have right now.

– Explore one new neighborhood in Chicago: I am guilty of living in my 6 block radius of a bubble in River North. Whenever I take the bus, I see all these fun little areas but I never head back to explore the shops, bars and restaurants.

Here’s to a great a month ahead!