That Time I met Gwyneth Paltrow’s Wedding Photographer/4 Life Changing Lessons I Learned at Photo Native

“Is anyone sitting there?!” I said while balancing a plate of food and glass of wine.

He said “No, it’s all yours.”

And I cheered a silent ‘hoooray!’ because I was starving, and the wine was free. So far my day of solo travel had only occasionally been haunted by that painful kind of awkward. You know, the kind that almost always comes along with navigating new environments and experiences. And, dang, dare I say this was shaping up to be a good night.

I honestly can’t remember how the next bit went. But I quite quickly came to the realization that I had parked my clueless little self right beside the star of the show, John Dolan. I had mini-internal battle that went something like, ‘ding, ding, ding! Girl you picked the right chair!’ and ‘Dang, I really wish I had researched the speakers better. I’m gonna seem really ignorant when John realizes I don’t actually know anything about him or any of the other big names here’, and ‘Shit, I hope he doesn’t think I am a total weirdo for just making myself at home beside the keynote speaker.’ Cue internal panic, but like play it cool on the outside….

Fortunately for me, John Dolan seems to be somewhat of an expert when it comes to making people feel welcome. And, just like that, before the conference had even started I had learned LESSON #1: DON’T JUDGE. BE KIND. STAY OPEN. I spent the next several hours completely engrossed in a conversation with the man who had recently photographed Gwyneth Paltrow’s wedding and had spent the past 30 (THIRTY!) years working with most incredible people, brands and editorials. I experienced A-ha moments, soaked up much wisdom and watched as John effortlessly made everyone feel valued. By the end of the night, that little couch was filled and many others had pulled up chairs to hang out and chat. As the conference unfolded over the next few days I came to realize that literally all those people I sat around talking shop with were also instructors..….. So just call me a keener I guess LOL.

But this leads us perfectly to LESSON #2: THE POWER OF REAL LIFE CONNECTION. Don’t get me wrong, I love connecting online as much as the next person. I am a part of facebook groups that are genuinely empowering. And I have made the most wonderful friends through instagram. BUT, nothing, NOTHING, beats true conversation and connection. Some of my favourite moments from the conference did not happen in the classroom. But on the airplane, over coffee and during all those awkward in-between moments where it’s so easy to just stick a phone in front of our faces. Listen, friend. PUT THE PHONE DOWN. Smile at a stranger. Invite someone sitting alone to your table. There is so much to gain and much to lose when we choose to disconnect instead of engage with the people around us. This is something I am 100% going to be incorporating into my business this year. This includes getting my introvert butt out the door and (gulp) taking and making phone calls and maybe even hosting some shoots and events?! Who the heck knows! I just wanna see your beautiful faces IRL, ASAP!

And LESSON #3: THE ABSOLUTE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING INTUITIVE SYSTEMS IN PLACE. I get it, this isn’t my favourite part of the job either. But do you know what reoccurring pattern appeared with all my fav, successful photographers? Diligent, intuitive systems to ensure a stellar client experience. This is something I have worked on within my own portrait biz for a while now, but I have come home with SO MANY IDEAS on how to make it even better for my clients. And hopefully easier on me too! If you haven’t started creating workflows and automation sequences. Please, do yourself a favour and look into it! I use 17Hats, but there are lot’s of other options out there! (If you want to give 17Hats a try, you can use THIS LINK for 10% off!)

And lastly, LESSON #4: IT IS TIME TO START DOING. At the risk of sounding like a humble-brag, a common theme for me during the duration of Photo Native was deep validation. Validation that I am extremely capable, that I am on the right track and that each phase of life and business has equipped me with a unique set of skills. It is time to stop the second-guessing, to be brave and start putting into action what I already know. Fun fact: I am not the only person who struggles with these type of mindset barriers. And I don’t know who needs to hear this right now but see you, I really do feel you. I know how easy it is to dis-credit yourself. I know that stepping into your own potential is scary and uncomfortable. But I’m telling you, it is time to show up! Just show-up. Let’s do this together? Seriously!

Dang, there is so much more goodness that happened at Photo Native, I haven’t even told you about Yan Palmer, Caroline Tran or the dance party yet! And boy do I have some photos to share. But for now I’m just going to leave you with some iPhone shots and a virtual hug. Thanks for hanging out, I truly hope you learned something awesome and that you put it into action instead of just adding it to list of many things you already know. If you wanna chat more DM me on Insta, @karmenmeyerphotography or shoot me an Email, I genuinely adore connecting with you!

Warmly,

Karmen

P.S. Just a friendly reminder to myself (and you, if you need it) during a season of intense inspiration. You can do all this at your own pace. You can still live a life of slow intention and connection while passionately pursuing your dream job. Let’s call it the slow burn.

6 Reasons to Start a Bullet Journal and How to Get Started Today

Did you know that when you write down your goals you are 90% more likely to achieve them?!*

For me journaling is such an essential part of my self-love journey. I check-in with myself daily to take the vortex of anxiety-inducing tasks swirling around in my head and out them down on the paper. And what do ya know, they seem so much more reasonable once they are stationary. A journal is a safe place to say what’s on my mind. A place to dream big, set goals and make promises to myself. And you can easily do the same!

Here is a quick run-down of how journalling can help:

1. reduces anxiety

2. increases productivity

3. helps you to set goals and actually achieve them

4. keeps creative (and sometimes chaotic) thoughts in one place instead of scattered on random napkins, envelopes, and phone notes.

5. the blank slate of each dotted page keeps you creative and in charge of what needs to be said that day

6. and last but not least, it helps to practice the art of letting go of perfection. There are now perfect squares or pre-written titles. I think a lot of people start bullet journals with this idea that they are going to Pinterest worthy, and sometimes they are. But for me, and I’m willing to bet most people, it’s function over form. Just showing up and checking in, is so much more important then having each page immaculately laid out!

Are you sold yet?! Well the good news is that you don’t need much to get started. Just get yourself a pen and a notebook with dotted lines. I don’t use anything fancy here, I most recently ordered this ‘Essential Notebook’ off Amazon for $12 but I have seen similar ones at Chapters as well. (I am on the hunt for a stationary brand who is transparent about where and what their notebooks are made from though! If you know of any please do share!!). And then the final, most important step. DON’T OVERTHINK IT! Just go with it, if you have a messy journal it doesn’t make it any less impactful.

For example, my sister and I both bullet journal. Hers looks like a freaking artist’s sketchpad and mine looks like an explosion of lists, thoughts and the occasional drawing from my beloved children (Ugh, but remember…. the art of letting go…. deep breaths y’all). There isn’t a right way or a wrong way here. You do you girl!

Here is what works for me:

1. Attempt to make the first page of the journal pretty. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. The end result doesn’t matter here, you just showed up for yourself friend. And I am freaking proud of you. I just started a new journal, and since it happens to coincide with the new year, my cover page has the number 2020 written large in the centre and then I wrote down meaningful words that I want to focus on this year. Basically it looks like one of those bubble charts we had to do in school. Call me a nerd, but you will see quite a few of said charts in my journal. They just work so well for plotting together my never-ending train of thoughts!

2. The next page, I write the title TO READ in 2020. This page I will leave blank and whenever I come across a book or post I want to read, I will write it down here so I don’t forget. PLUS, I love checking things off a list. The more lists the better lol.

3. Next page, I write the title TO LISTEN TO in 2020. This page is dedicated to audiobooks, podcasts, music.

4. and the next page, I write the title OTHER RESOURCES. Listen friends, I am a research machine and having a consistent place set aside to keep track of the info I want to indulge on is such a time saver!! If this isn’t your jam. Don’t do it. Easy Peasy.

5. From here on out the world is your oyster. Depending on what I am needing, I may write a daily to-do list. Or maybe I need a good old brain dump…. What’s a brain dump you ask? Well… write Brain Dump (or Thoughts if your feeling fancy) and then you just start writing down what is taking up space in your mind. These two things are what I do the most! But I also use these blank pages to map out plans for social media, to collect quotes that inspire, to write gratitude lists. I also, check in every few months to re-write my brand/life values and make sure that I am living in alignment with those values.

Bullet journals can be as simple or as intricate as you want. Because each page is blank, it means that they are basically universal. It just takes a bit of a commitment at the beginning to get into the habit. But I’m telling you once you settle in, it will be something you look forward to! If you have any questions or would like to know more about bullet journaling just let me know!

I hope this helps so much on your journey toward self-awareness, reflection and goal setting!

Can’t wait to chat more next week! Warmly,

Karmen

* ok I don’t know if it is exactly 90%! I read this fact so long ago that I don’t even remember where to look for the exact information lol. But moral of the story, WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS.