High School Senior Resources Archives

Apr

Taking Your Own Senior Pics

Here are some tips for taking your own senior portraits. While I don’t personally recommend it, there are a few reasons why you might want to consider taking your own senior portraits. Your reason might be one of the following:

Your parents don’t see the value in hiring a professional for a customized experience.
You are an artistic person and want to test your creativity and your vision.
You went the big box studio route, and didn’t like the outcome.
You didn’t plan well and there are no availabilities with your favorite senior photographer.
You don’t have access to or know of a local professional senior photographer.
You do have access to a local photographer, but don’t like their style.
You missed picture day at school.

Taking Your Own Senior Portraits

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Here are nine tips for taking your own senior portraits:

Equipment. Use the best equipment you have access to. These days, almost everyone has a consumer-level camera. If your family doesn’t own one, arrange to borrow one. Better yet, rent one! For as little as $63/week (including the lens), you can have access to better equipment to create better images. If you add on the insurance, you don’t have to worry about accidentally breaking your neighbor’s camera and you’re still not even spending $100. (You may need a parent (over 21) with a credit card to help you rent.)
Practice Shooting. Once you figure what equipment you’ll be using, make sure you know how to use it. Spend at least two or three days practicing. Make sure you can focus it sharply and get a good exposure. If your images are not tack sharp, well, they will just be awful. Most modern cameras are pretty decent getting a good exposure in well-lit situations simply by using the Automatic (A) or Program (P) settings. Since you’re not a professional, use one of these settings. You will need to read the manual and learn how to focus by using a single focal point. Letting the camera decide what to focus on will only let you down and will not result in tack sharp images.
Plan. Decide when and where you will take your portraits. Decide what you’ll wear. Choose clothing that isn’t too trendy and doesn’t have words, sayings or graphics on it. Don’t choose clothing that is either too tight or too loose. And please, please do not use live train tracks as your backdrop. Not only is it very unsafe, it is illegal. In fact, be safe no matter what backdrop you choose.
Assistant or Tripod? Decide if you will place your camera or phone on a tripod and use the timer OR if you will use an assistant (friend with a steady hand) to press the shutter button. The biggest thing to remember here is that IF you ask a friend to press the shutter button for you, they instantly become the legal owner of the copyright to your images. By law, they decide if and when you can reprint them and for what price. They decide if you can purchase or have the digital negatives. They even decide if you can edit them.
Look for Good Lighting. It takes years to master lighting skills, but here are a few key things to know. Shooting with your back to the sun will blow out your background, and facing the sun will make your eyes squint. Instead, avoid harsh light by looking for open shaded areas to shoot in. If you shoot under trees, make sure the light on your face isn’t dappled or spotty. DO NOT use the pop up flash!
Practice Posing. There are many rules about posing—too many to detail here. But the most important ones are make sure your posture is good and be conscious of what your hands and feet are doing. Club hands, claw hands, limbs that look like they have been amputated, and unnatural stances are huge no-nos. Sit up straight and make sure you feel you’re in a natural position.
Framing and Composition: Just like with posing, there are a lot of rules about framing and composition. Be sure not to put yourself dead center in the frame each time… actually hardly ever. If you’re offset in the image, it usually adds interest to the photo. Be sure to get many different angles. Be sure to get full-body shots, three-quarter shots, waist-up shots and some close ups of your gorgeous face and smile. Look for interesting backgrounds that won’t be distracting.
Retouch. Professional software is very expensive, but you still need to be sure to remove any blemishes or distracting elements in the background. I’ve never used this software, but have read about many amateur photographers using this editing software. If nothing else, at least use Microsoft Paint to straighten your horizon lines. It will take some extra time, but a few hours behind your computer can improve your senior portraits immensely.
PRINT! Now that you’ve gone through all this extra trouble, print these images. Don’t let them live out the rest of their lives on a hard drive never to be seen again and eventually lost when your computer or phone crashes or is thrown out for an upgraded model. You are the most photographed generation EVER, but will have the least amount of prints EVER. What I’m saying is that in 1880 if you took one picture, you printed it. In 1980, if you took 24 pictures, you printed 24 pictures. Today, you take thousands of pictures and hardly print any. Please print your images. Please print your legacy.

In the end, you will have better images if you had hired a reputable professional. They practice all these rules often and are more familiar with everything it takes to make a good senior portrait. But, the important thing is to document and preserve the occasion. High school graduation is not something you can (or want) to redo. Be photographed.

The post, Tips for Taking Your Own Senior Portraits, first appeared on Ata-Girl Photography Co.’s website and blog. Please feel free to comment here, or share this post with your friends via Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. Please email me if you have any questions about this article or want to share a neat idea for a future blog post with me.

Mar

Senior Year Bucket List

I wished I had had a senior year bucket list in 1987. I’m always about trying to make the best out of my life experiences and a senior year bucket list would have helped. Undoubtedly, your senior year is the most memorable out of all your years in school. You are at the top of the food chain in the school, but you’re stuck somewhere between being an adult and being a kid. You have lots of responsibilities, but are still permitted to occasionally act childish. You have waited your whole life to get the heck out of this god forsaken town, and you want the first ticket out. You can hardly believe anyone who tells you this is the first place you’ll want when you get homesick. Make a senior year bucket list.

Your senior year will fly by! Before you know it, you’ve graduated and you and your closest friends have all scattered in different directions—many of which, you will only see at high school reunions. Time has a way of creeping up on you, making once important details fade to nothing. Nostalgia has a way of keeping you young at heart by remembering the past and wishing you could repeat it again. Here is a senior year bucket list of ten items to make the most of your senior year and to etch all those wonderful memories into your brain.

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Senior Year Bucket List

Have Fun: The most important thing you can do your senior year is have fun! Don’t skip out on team nights, prom, awards banquets, or any function that your friends will be at. Memories are so precious, so don’t miss an opportunity to make one.
Start an Address Book: Collect social profile handles, mailing addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of all your closest friends and teachers/coaches. Despite how you feel right now, you will eventually want to reconnect with everyone who was important to you at this time. Make it easy for yourself and gather all the contact information now.
Be Thankful to Your Mentors: If there were special teachers or special coaches who connected with you and helped you navigate something personal or difficult, buy them a special gift and include a handwritten note. In the note, describe how much you appreciate their help and what it means to you. Let them know how their words of wisdom helped you to overcome an obstacle and how grateful you are. Teachers and coaches really have a selfless job. Let them know they are appreciated and valued.
Apologize: Apologize to anyone you may have hurt or wronged. If you don’t have the courage to do it face-to-face, consider buying a small gift (candy, soda, etc.) and writing a note. Without going into details, you can simply just say that you’re sorry for making someone else feel crummy. Back in my day, I made fun of someone who only owned one pair of designer jeans. I didn’t know the gravity of it until 20 years later at a high school reunion. After all those years, this person still felt hurt by my comment. I took the time to apologize. The ironic thing about this is that I probably owned only one pair of designer jeans as well. I’m sure this wasn’t the only time I made someone feel awful, so in the words of the infamous Maya Angelou, “At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.” Make someone feel special.
Pack Away Your Mementos: Pack away your ribbons, medals, plaques, certificates, t-shirts, love letters, pictures, newspaper clippings, programs, report cards, detention slips, school ID card, or anything else you’d like to save for later. Put them all in a box or plastic container and store them in your closet or attic. It’s so much fun to reminisce over these things years later. Having them all in one place will make the trip down memory lane a lot easier.
Plan a Best Friends Party: If you’re lucky, you have a big, special group of friends—girls and boys alike. Plan a special event for you all to enjoy each other’s company. A movie marathon, scavenger hunt, or fun 5k obstacle run are all good ideas. The mundane activities will disappear from your memory easier than the unique ones! Plan something fun!
Get Your Yearbook Signed: Get your yearbook signed by all your friends, your teachers, your coaches and even the people who you didn’t necessarily hang out with as much! Years later, it will be fun to read what they had to say. (Side Note: My senior yearbook was lost forever shortly after high school when it was in one of my best friend’s car when it was repossessed.)
Start a Journal and Print Your Cell Phone Pictures: Even if it’s just one sentence every day, start a journal now. Jotting down special events and memories will serve you well to remember them in the future. Memorialize all your special times, even if they are sad or disappointing ones. Journey (Android/Chrome), Day One (IOS) and Flava (Both) are all good apps to accomplish this. You also need to get those digital images off of your devices and print them. You will upgrade, lose, and break your digital devices. They will also fail you at one time or another. Print the images that are important to you and help to preserve your legacy. There is no better way to recall an important time in your past than by looking at a printed image! There’s also a ton of apps for this and some of them even claim to print your images for free.
Write a Letter to Your Best Friend: Write a very special note to your very best friend. Let them know how much fun you’ve had with them and how important it is to keep in contact with them. Detail some of the wild and crazy stuff you’ve done together and keep a copy for yourself. It will be so much fun to break this puppy out at your high school reunion. The two of you will laugh uncontrollably.
Write a Thank You to Your Parents: Lastly, your parents have spent the last 18 years changing your diapers, teaching you to walk and talk, tucking you in at night, playing Santa, Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny, taking you to first days of school, following you around watching you participate in extracurricular activities, talking you through crushes and first loves, witnessing all your achievements, and trying their best to mold you into a responsible human being. For most, it is very hard to let their babies go. Write them a very meaningful note letting them know you recognize their sacrifices and that you appreciate them. Let them know they’ve been a good parent and set a good example for you and you will continue to do your best to make them proud.

The post, Senior Year Bucket List, first appeared on Ata-Girl Photography Co.’s website and blog. Please feel free to comment here, or share this post with your friends via Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. Please email me if you have any questions about this article or want to share a neat idea for a future blog post with me.

Mar

Custom High School Sports Album

Ever wanted your very own custom high school sports album? Ever wanted your very own yearbook to show off your amazing talents, athletic accomplishments and memories? Imagine sharing this book with your grandchildren one day and telling them about the time you pitched a no-hitter, broke a meet record, or rushed for 3,000 yards your senior year!! Instead of having one or two images of you in the school’s yearbook, just make your own! Preserve your precious memories! No matter how invincible you think you are (and I’ve been there), you will get old and you will forget. I promise. This is an heirloom you will want to pass down, generation to generation!!

“The book is amazing. I love that I have each year of high school volleyball, and it is a beautiful hard covered book. It is so convenient!! I will always cherish the memories stored in these books.”
Ashley, Jourdanton High School Class of 2015

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I am very pleased to announce that I have found the perfect album to showcase all your amazing athletic abilities in. It complements my Italian-handcrafted wedding albums perfectly. In fact, they are made by the same company. Each book is 8″ x 12″ and can contain up to 30 pages. The hardback front and back covers can be completely customized with images, graphics or text.

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The pages are about eight times thicker than ordinary paper but flexible, conferring a modern and slim look to the book. The thickness of the pages measures approximately .8 mm thick compared to ordinary paper which is about .1 mm. The images are printed on photographic paper with a satin lamination.

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The album features a lay-flat feature.

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Again, the albums are handcrafted in Italy. This is a wonderful way to preserve the precious memories of your high school athletics! The book can contain up to 90 images. Images must be of one athlete from one school year but can consist of multiple sports. Prices start at $549. For books containing more than one athlete, more than one school year OR a school year that is not the current one, prices start at $849. I don’t currently have a sample, but will be ordering one once we are about halfway through baseball and softball seasons.

The post, Custom High School Sports Album, first appeared on Ata-Girl Photography Co.’s website and blog. Please feel free to comment here, or share this post with your friends via Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. Please email me if you have any questions about this article or want to share a neat idea for a future blog post with me.

Feb

Senior Prom isn’t the Same

So much has changed with senior prom since the 1980’s. You just don’t go your junior and senior years; you can go when you’re a freshman if you want. There is no decorating committee. The lunchroom isn’t decorated for the big event—you actually travel to a real event venue. Sophomores aren’t embarrassed by having to serve the upperclassmen their food in some ridiculously-themed costume. There is no reading of the will and prophecies. You may travel to and from the prom in a rented limousine or party bus. Dinner IS still served at prom, but not by the cafeteria ladies. And, you don’t eat it. You leave extra early and stop to eat at a restaurant on the way.

And the cost! Senior prom in 1987 cost me about $80. I found the cutest black dress on a clearance rack in the mall and charged my jewelry to my dad’s account at the pharmacy. My date’s sister made our boutonniere and corsage. I did my own hair, my own makeup and wore black pumps I already owned. Today, senior prom can easily run a girl’s parent close to $1,000. By the time you pay for the dress (upwards of $600 in some cases), clutch purse, shoes, jewelry, hair, makeup, nails, limo, dinner and boutonniere—if there’s a date, parents are easily spending a grand. I didn’t even account for spray tans/tanning beds, special bras or tips. Oh my, how times have changed.

Despite all the differences, one thing remains the same. It’s a chance for the ladies to get all gussied up and feel absolutely beautiful for the evening. They get to forget about jeans, athletic clothes, and messy hair-do’s and just experience being young lady they are becoming while wearing a formal dress!

For the last three or four years, I’ve documented a small group of young ladies getting their hair and makeup done for prom. Here they are again!

Senior Prom

The post, Senior Prom is NOT the Same!, first appeared on Ata-Girl Photography Co.’s website and blog. Please feel free to comment here, or share this post with your friends via Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. Please email me if you have any questions about this article or want to share a neat idea for a future blog post with me.

Jan

Mistakes Seniors Make

While nothing can guarantee that your senior images will be exactly what you have pictured in your head, these tips will ensure they are as close to that as possible. There are some common mistakes that you’ll want to steer clear of. Here is my list of the top mistakes seniors make.

#1 Waiting too long to book your photographer.

The fix. Many times, I’m contacted too late. It takes time to plan and prepare for a session, professionally retouch the images, and finally design, order, receive and deliver the products. Be proactive and start looking for a senior photographer your junior year! Yes, at least a whole year early. Find several you like and follow them on all your social media networks, subscribe to their blog and newsletters, and stalk their web page. Style, consistency, personality and experience should all be determining factors. Pick a photographer that best matches the vision you have for your own portraits. Make contact and book your photographer early!! Waiting until you actually need the pictures will be too late! If you’re looking for a boutique portrait session experience, at the very least, allow five months before graduation to book your photographer. For best results, contact them at the start of your senior year.

#2 Not having a vision.

The fix. A lot of times, my senior clients don’t have any idea or vision for what they want their sessions to look like. At least, that’s what they tell me. I really think they’re just afraid to verbalize it. Know what personality traits, achievements and hobbies you want to document. Ask yourself what is important to you at this time in your life? What do you really enjoy? Don’t think you’ll appear shallow if you admit that you want to showcase your beauty. You are beautiful; tell the world! Create a mood board (Pinterest® is easy!) to convey the look and mood you want to capture in your senior portraits and share it with your photographer.

#3 Wanting things on Pinterest.

The fix. When you create this mood board, don’t get confused with feeling the need to copy and replicate shoots, poses or locations. Instead, allow your photographer the creativity to make the images other seniors will want to replicate. Make your sessions unique. Only use the Pinterest board as a tool to convey visual stimulation to your photographer.

#4 Not letting the photographer have creative control.

The fix. Not letting your photographer choose locations or have any input on your wardrobe really puts a damper on their creativity. I always feel a bit of a creative squash when I don’t get to exercise my imaginative process. Once you have created your mood board and verbalized what you’re expecting from the session, allow your photographer time to brainstorm and create a personalized experience. Make sure they are aware of everything you are planning on bringing to the session. Everything.

#5 Scheduling too many sessions.

The fix. Just because your photographer offers 17 sessions throughout the school year, doesn’t mean you have to purchase them. Plan out what you want to document. Ask your photographer how many sessions it will take to accomplish this. Hobbies, interests, achievements, collections, and family heirlooms are great things to be incorporated.

#6 Not diversifying their wardrobe choices.

The fix. Wearing the same types of clothes to three different locations really is not diversity. Consider wearing different styles of clothing at each session. Some options are formal clothing, dressy clothing, super casual clothing, winter clothing, summer clothing, beachwear and athletic uniforms.

#7 Not following the photographer’s advice.

The fix. If your photographer gives you advice, follow it. All of it. A photographer should give you a list of do’s and don’ts. Read through it. Study it. You should find a lot of valuable information. Follow that information to make your session memorable and pleasant. The advice will also make your images stunning and the best they can be.

#8 Not letting the photographer know about props.

The fix. Bringing your pet ostrich to the session without the photographer’s knowledge is really a bad idea. Make sure they know if you’re planning any props for you session. If you are bringing something as simple as a lucky rabbit’s foot, let the photographer know. The more they are able to prepare, plan, and visualize your senior session, the better it will be.

#9 Not letting the photographer know you don’t like something.

The fix. If the photographer is taking photographs from your bad side, let them know. If you’re unsure about how your gown is photographing, let them know. Worried about a blemish, bad hair, or too many spectators watching your session? Let them know. Don’t be afraid to tell the photographer you are displeased with any aspect of your session. If they’re professional, they’ll fix it.

I hope these tips help you to have the best possible senior portrait experience you can. If you follow them, they should improve your experience and your images by ten fold!

The post, Mistakes Seniors Make, first appeared on Ata-Girl Photography Co.’s website and blog. Please feel free to comment here, or share this post with your friends via Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. Please email me if you have any questions about this article or want to share a neat idea for a future blog post with me.

Dec

Why are Senior Portraits Important?

Why ARE senior portraits important? There are many milestones in life, but only a few really, really important milestones. I believe the most important milestones we have in life are birth, starting kindergarten, graduating high school, graduating college, marriage, creating a family and finally, death. Yes, to me death is also a milestone, not just a very happy one. Let’s get on with the rest.

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I believe that each of these milestones should be well documented. (A little morbid and maybe taboo, but yes, death too.) Do you know that Americans have been taking senior portraits since the 1800s? When you are in your final year in high school, you are right on the cusp of being a kid and becoming a young adult. Never again in life will you be viewed as a child. You have your whole future ahead of you and it’s in near reach. This is the beginning of the next chapter in your life. So, you ask, why ARE senior portraits so important? Let me tell you.

The Importance of your Senior Year Portraits

Sadly, for many people, this is the last time they will even have a portrait taken of themselves. This milestone is very important, because, well, statistically, you may not get another opportunity for a portrait. A senior portrait will not only preserve an era, but also give you something to exchange with your closest friends in high school. Too many times, you will never again be as close to the people you thought you’d never lose sight of.

Think of senior portraits as the preservation of history—a time capsule if you will. I often tell my clients to think their senior portrait images will be far more important to their great-grandchildren than they will be to them. I ask my clients to imagine their future generations pulling the portrait book off the shelf and thumbing through the images of their great-grandmother all the while commenting how beautiful and youthful she looked. Youthfulness is something to cherish and images from this milestone will provide a familial connection to your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and so on.

A senior portrait should not only capture your beauty, but also capture your personality, energy and document what you loved about this time in your life. This is your chance to show the world who you are in a creative way. Senior portraits should focus on you and what makes you unique.

Senior portraits are a custom and a bit of ceremony too. These senior portraits will help provide memories and keep those memories alive. The experience should make you feel special and like a million bucks! The moment should be all about YOU!

And finally, you can share these images with your present family too. Grandmas love these images!

Why are Senior Portraits Important?

This is the last year you’ll be surrounded by the closest friends you grew up with, the last year you’ll be at home and the last year you’ll be under your parents’ wings. You will never again see the world the way you do right now. Please be photographed and cover all your milestones! Until next time, be positive, happy, healthy, and don’t forget to be photographed.

The post, Why are Senior Portraits Important?, first appeared on Ata-Girl Photography Co.’s website and blog. Please feel free to comment here, or share this post with your friends via Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. Please email me if you have any questions about this article or want to share a neat idea for a future blog post with me.

Feb

Getting Ready for Prom

Oh, to be young again! For the last couple of four or five years, young ladies have been getting ready for prom at my house. Even this year when I didn’t have any kids of my own going to prom. My niece and a few friends came to my house to get beautified. This year, their hair and makeup artist canceled last minute and left them scrambling. Literally, they got about a four-hour notice that they wouldn’t have professional hair and makeup.

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I think the local Beall’s pulled through for all their makeup needs. Hallelujah! My sister called in a special favor to her hairstylist of some twenty-years—who doesn’t do prom hair anymore—who doesn’t work on Saturdays unless she wants to—who woke up feeling a little ill—and, who had to attend a funeral this same morning. Not only did she show up, she did a bang up job on all the girls’ hair. They had amazing updo’s… the prettiest I’ve seen during all my years of hosting the prom day beautification event. They looked absolutely regal! Rachel Mercer, thank you!!

I put together a short slideshow of the girls getting ready for prom and meeting their friends for a few quick photos before leaving to prom. These images remind me of a group of brides getting ready on their wedding day! They are stunning!

Until next time, be positive, happy, healthy, and don’t forget to be photographed.

_______________________________________________________________________________

I am a professional wedding and senior photographer based in South Texas near San Antonio. I pride my business in offering a premier and personal service coupled with an unforgettable photography experience. I cater to clients who appreciate quality photography and help them to create family heirlooms that will last for generations. As a full-time professional photographer, my sole purpose is to provide amazing, memorable and full-service photography.

I started Ata-Girl Photography Co., LLC in 2010. I firmly believe that the unique set of circumstances I have faced in life has prepared me to take a personal and genuine interest in my photography clients. I enjoy documenting the important milestones and captivating moments in people’s lives. I love being a part of people’s journey and consider myself privileged to document their legacies.

When I’m not photographing a wedding, family or high school senior, I love to spend my spare time hiking, cycling, reading, listening to Elvis and Prince. The most important things in life are for me to see my two daughters happy and to create a family history my grandparents would be proud of!

The post, Getting Ready for Prom, first appeared on Ata-Girl Photography Co.’s website and blog. Please feel free to comment here, or share this post with your friends via Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. Please email me if you have any questions about this article or want to share a neat idea for a future blog post with me.

Sep

Every Day Should be a Pep Rally

Every day should be a pep rally—a time when a community can come together for a common cause. Religion, politics, race, financial status, sexual orientation, and the other one-million things that ultimately lead us resent each other can be checked at the door. I wish there was a way we could all root for the same team every day! It’s such a profound experience to be a part of something bigger than yourself. It’s exciting to feel the whole energy of a group of people… even if it is just for a hometown football team.

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Imagine if the entire humanity could work together and solve problems like this on a daily basis. Wouldn’t this world be such a better place?

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To see all the images from the pep rally, click here. Images can be purchased with prints beginning at $4 each and digitals at 3 for $7.

Please do your part to bring harmony to the world! Until next time, be positive, happy, and healthy, and don’t forget to be photographed.

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I am a San Antonio-based wedding and senior photographer who started Ata-Girl Photography Co., LLC in 2010. As one of the up-and-coming San Antonio wedding photographers, I am also available to shoot in Austin, Houston and Dallas and the surrounding areas. I am also available for destination weddings worldwide. Ata-Girl Photography Co. offers an amazing wedding photography service that you won’t soon forget. As a professional photographer, my sole purpose is to provide you the absolute best photography experience.

I am a professional photographer who enjoys documenting the important milestones and captivating moments in people’s lives. I firmly believe that the unique set of circumstances I have faced in life has prepared me to take a personal and genuine interest in my photography clients. When I’m not photographing a wedding, family or high school senior, I love hiking, cycling, reading, listening to Elvis and most importantly, I enjoy seeing my daughters happy!

The post, Every Day Should be a Pep Rally, first appeared on Ata-Girl Photography Co’s website and blog. Please feel free to comment here, or share this post with your friends via Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. Please email me if you have any questions about this article or want to share a neat idea for a future blog post with me.

May

11 Lessons for Graduates and You (from Jon Gordon)

Part of my official motto is to be positive! This is the precise reason why I read Jon‘s books, subscribe to his newsletter and share his articles any chance I get. Please enjoy Jon Gordon’s article for graduates as we near the graduation season!

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Graduation is a time when many contemplate their future and purpose. It can be both a time of great excitement and worry. I certainly remember the anxiousness I felt after graduation. So whether you are graduating high school or college, know a graduate or perhaps you are graduating to the next level of your life and career I wanted to share 11 lessons from The Seed that I hope will empower and inspire you on your journey.

You are here for a reason and the most important thing you can do in life is to find, live and share your purpose. It’s the one thing in life that truly matters and if you don’t pursue it, everything else is meaningless.
Follow your passion. It so often leads you to your purpose. You may not know what your passion is right now. That’s ok. The important thing is to make it your life mission to find it, live it and share it. To help find your passion, seek out jobs and experiences that allow you to use your strengths and gifts. Do what energizes you. [Tweet That]
Beware of hobbies. Just because you love spending time on Facebook doesn’t mean you would enjoy working for the company. And just because you love to cook doesn’t mean you would enjoy owning a restaurant. For example, I owned restaurants but I realized I didn’t love the food business. I loved the service and marketing aspect of the business.
Quit for the right reasons. Don’t quit because work is hard or you’re experiencing challenges. Quit because in your heart you know there is something else for you to do. Quit because you are not benefitting yourself or the organization you work for. Quit because you are absolutely certain you are no longer supposed to be there.
Learn from every job and experience. Every job, good or bad, prepares you for the work you were ultimately born to do.
Your current job may not be your ultimate purpose but it can serve as a vehicle to live and share your purpose.
Whatever job(s) you take after graduation simply decide to serve. When you serve in small ways you’ll get more opportunities to serve in bigger ways.
Your dream job is likely not the one you dreamed about. So often we end up in amazing careers that have nothing to do with our college degree or childhood dreams.
The quest for your purpose is not a straight line. It is filled with mystery, signs, obstacles, victories, dead ends, delays and detours. Your job is to stay optimistic and faithful on your quest. [Tweet That]
Don’t rush the future. There is a process that seeds must go through in order to become all they are destined to become, and you must go through this same process to become the person you are meant to be and do the work you are meant to do. You may want things to happen NOW but more than likely if you got what you wanted NOW you wouldn’t be ready for it. The purpose process prepares you, strengthens you, shapes you and grows you to be successful, not in your time, but in the right time.
Be the Seed. Seeds surrender themselves to the ground so they can be used for a greater purpose. Wherever you work, decide to plant yourself where you are and allow yourself to be used for a greater purpose. When you plant yourself and make a difference you grow into the person you were born to be and produce a harvest that will benefit others and change the world.

Stay Positive!
-Jon

Hi, I’m Tammy.
I'm a San Antonio-based wedding photographer for outdoor-loving couples who value real moments.

I am a San Antonio-based wedding photographer and I am absolutely in love with capturing the kinds of weddings where there are more hugs than handshakes, the dance floor rumbles all night long, and chairs are pretty much rendered useless after dinner. Whiskey bottles are passed around, most of the wedding party has been best-best friends since kindergarten, Grams is likely to lose her shoes and your partner is much more emotional than you are. These kinds of weddings are my jam!

Since 2010, I have excelled in helping each of my couples plan for one of the very best days of their lives! I’d love to share my very personalized wedding experience, my super-human organizational abilities, and my U. S. Army combat skills (when needed) with you too.

I want your wedding day to be as perfect as you do! I am all in with my whole heart!