It's Time For A Change at the Studio
In the last newsletter, I told you all about the “Headshot Advantage” package that I introduced to help everyone refresh their professional headshots quickly and affordably. It’s been so great to see the overwhelmingly positive response, so thank you.
But that was only part of the story of how the direction of Stonetree is changing.
So in this newsletter, I wanted to keep you up to date on what’s happening around the studio and how I’m embracing authenticity and meaningful connections.
THE BACKSTORY
For the past few years I’ve felt stuck. Stuck in place. Stuck in business. Just stuck.
I’ve talked to therapists, read the books, gone to the workshops, and confided in friends. I’ve hired coaches, bought more classes, gave myself more breaks, read more, worked more, more more more more…..
And I burned out. Again.
Back in 2010-ish, I burned out from my corporate career in high tech and consulting, and I recently recognized the same symptoms popping up with my photography business – trouble sleeping, weight gain, isolation from friends, lack of motivation, lack of joy, lack of financial success and so on.
To me, the biggest red flag was the lack of joy.
In fact, I realized that WORKING MORE WAS ONLY CREATING MORE LACK.
CHANGE IS A CHOICE
My mantra is “what you don’t change, you choose” so does that mean I was choosing to be miserable. Well, yeah. I had put aside all of the things that my intuition was telling me to do, and was spending my time chasing after what I THOUGHT was the right thing to do, what I THOUGHT was the type of photography that would be profitable here in my small town, and what I THOUGHT I should be doing to achieve success. I was letting all my OLD ways of thinking cloud my way forward.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE photography and creating portraits of incredible clients. That’s not the issue. What I mean is that I never felt 100% in ALIGNMENT with what my business was doing. It felt like I was pretending to be in business rather than showing up as my true-self every single day.
So I have made the choice to align the Business to what it is I WANT, rather than what it is I think I want in Business and aligning myself to that. Stay with me here.
WHERE STONETREE IS HEADED-Embracing Authenticity
I realize that in order for me to show up 100% every day for YOU, I need to be lit up by what I do.
Going forward, I am centering the Stonetree offerings around authentic simplicity. What that means is that I am doing fewer of the fine-art style portraits and focusing on connected, soulful portraits. (And yeah, as always, no weddings, no babies, no engagements, no maternity).
So you’re not surprised, here are some of the upcoming changes you will see reflected in my materials.
- Renewed focus on headshots, personal branding, and authentic identities, limiting the amount of fine art and commercial work
- Set schedule for shooting days will now be Tues, Wed, Thurs
- Same-day Reveal and Ordering sessions are now available
- Hair and makeup services will now be an add-on for any portrait offering (not complimentary)
- More educational content for photographers
- More value for clients across all of my offerings
OVERALL, this is a lateral move to produce more meaningful work, and the upside for clients is you get a MORE connected experience.
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate each and every one of you for continuing to support my business, and for believing in the value that portraits provide.
Thank you sincerely for coming along on this ride.
