laughter.

The stress management benefits of laughter...I know I usually feel better after laughing at a difficult situation or finding a way to see the silly in an otherwise too serious circumstance.  I wondered about the health benefits of laughter and found a wide array of information here on the internet.  I discovered that you can go to a laughter yoga class...you can hire a laughter coach...and there are personal laughter advocates...

This is my favorite article on laughter, good humor, health.

I just want to laugh.  I like laughing...it's more fun to laugh when I'm with my kids and my husband...it's also easier.  Laughing at my ridiculous mistakes also feels better than completely stressing out over them.  Take the last couple of days for instance....

I say the wrong things at the wrong times...it's easier to laugh about that and it makes me feel more human.  Today I received an order that I had been waiting to receive of some envelopes that I wanted for a project I'm working on...I ordered cardstock by accident?  Who does that?!?  Apparently, I do.  After talking about it on the phone with my wonderful studio manager, Jessica, we had a good laugh about it, a little brainstorm, and everything will be just fine.  Laughing at myself helps the stress level to be sure.  I always need more laughing...it's a fun way to get fit! :)

The following comes from about.com.

• Hormones: Laughter reduces the level of stress hormones like cortisol, epinephrine (adrenaline), dopamine and growth hormone. It also increases the level of health-enhancing hormones like endorphins, and neurotransmitters. Laughter increases the number of antibody-producing cells and enhances the effectiveness of T cells. All this means a stronger immune system, as well as fewer physical effects of stress.

   

• Physical Release: Have you ever felt like you "have to laugh or I'll cry"? Have you experienced the cleansed feeling after a good laugh? Laughter provides a physical and emotional release.

   

• Internal Workout: A good belly laugh exercises the diaphragm, contracts the abs and even works out the shoulders, leaving muscles more relaxed afterward. It even provides a good workout for the heart.

   

• Distraction: Laughter brings the focus away from anger, guilt, stress and negative emotions in a more beneficial way than other mere distractions.

   

• Perspective: Studies show that our response to stressful events can be altered by whether we view something as a 'threat' or a 'challenge'. Humor can give us a more lighthearted perspective and help us view events as 'challenges', thereby making them less threatening and more positive.

   

• Social Benefits of Laughter: Laughter connects us with others. Also, laughter is contagious, so if you bring more laughter into your life, you can most likely help others around you to laugh more, and realize these benefits as well. By elevating the mood of those around you, you can reduce their stress levels, and perhaps improve the quality of social interaction you experience with them, reducing your stress level even more!

   

How To Use Laughter:

Laughter is one of my all-time favorite stress management strategies because it's free, convenient, and beneficial in so many ways. You can get more laughter in your life with the following strategies:

• T.V. and Movies: There's no shortage of laughter opportunities from the entertainment, both at the theater and in the aisles of the video stores, as well as at home with T.V. comedies. While wasting your time watching something marginally funny may actually frustrate you, watching truly hilarious movies and shows is an easy way to get laughter into your life whenever you need it.

   

• Laugh With Friends: Going to a movie or comedy club with friends is a great way to get more laughter in your life. The contagious effects of laughter may mean you'll laugh more than you otherwise would have during the show, plus you'll have jokes to reference at later times. Having friends over for a party or game night is also a great setup for laughter and other good feelings.

   

• Find Humor In Your Life: Instead of complaining about life's frustrations, try to laugh about them. If something is so frustrating or depressing it's ridiculous, realize that you could 'look back on it and laugh.' Think of how it will sound as a story you could tell to your friends, and then see if you can laugh about it now. With this attitude, you may also find yourself being more lighthearted and silly, giving yourself and those around you more to laugh about. Approach life in a more mirthful way and you'll find you're less stressed about negative events, and you'll achieve the health benefits of laughter. (See this article on maintaining a sense of humor.

   

• 'Fake It Until You Make It': Just as studies show the positive effects of smiling occur whether the smile is fake or real, faked laughter also provides the benefits mentioned above. So smile more, and fake laughter; you'll still achieve positive effects, and the fake merriment may lead to real smiles and laughter.

   

• More on Having Fun: See these additional suggestions on laughing more and having fun in your life.

 Sorry about the title of this video...it really is hilarious...

***All images in this post are copyright NicholeV.***

NEXT WEEK: Lori Nordstrom

{To nominate women you'd like to see in this series please list them in the comments-or if you have a question you'd like to see in the interviews--make sure to include your info in the comment fields so that I can get in touch with you- or write to me at: davina at davinafear dot com }

As always make sure to leave comments for the women who are featured. They like comments as much as I do I'm sure...let them know if you have questions or just to say thanks! for their insight and wisdom...

Make sure to check out the rest of the series by clicking here. Tell a friend!

You are married and have three kids. How do you do it all?

Haha! I think that my husband and kids would say that I don’t do it all. Many times, laundry doesn’t get done quickly enough and dishes stay dirty far longer than they should. I do think that it helps that my husband and I both have the attitude that “we’re all in this together.” He runs the business with me, so we split parenting and household duties as well. I make dinner every night; he changes dirty diapers and cleans bathrooms. It’s definitely a fair trade! The kids have their chores as well. I even have my 8-year-old help me with client packaging and promotional materials where he can. I think that it helps that my children see the business as our family business—something that they have a stake in too. It makes them more patient and understanding of the times when I have to be away.

You are doing workshops in Australia, Europe and the US and you shoot all of the time. How do you keep things organized and running smoothly?  How do you make your travel time easier on your children?

Again, I think that my husband would say that I don’t keep things organized and running smoothly, haha. I definitely receive a lot of help and I’m not afraid to delegate anything and everything. I have a part-time nanny who helps tremendously. She comes in 2 to 3 days a week and cleans and folds laundry and does all the little odd jobs that I just never seem to get around to. I would be lost without her. She is also the person who watches the kids when we leave town to shoot a wedding or do a workshop. It’s so nice to know that my kids are with someone who I trust and who I know loves them.

Additionally, we try to take the kids with us on our trips whenever we can. Our goal for 2010 is to take the kids with us nearly 100% of the time when we have to travel. Though it adds some stress, I think that it’s a valuable learning experience for the kids to experience different cultures and see different parts of the US. And it allows us to spend even more time together as a family. My family is definitely a top priority for me.

What do you recommend women do who are just getting started in the industry?

Learn your craft. You can spend an atrocious amount of time “fixing” mistakes in Photoshop. The best way to get more time with your family is to become a better photographer. If your images out of camera look amazing, then you won’t have to spend a lot of time perfecting them in PS. I go to great lengths to ensure that my images are as perfect as possible straight out of camera. If there is snot or a stray hair, I stop the shoot and fix it. I could fix such problems in PS, but why when I can fix them while I shoot?

This also means that the magic of my images happens when I shoot, not on my computer. The gorgeous light, the blur, the pop in the eyes, the beautiful skin tones—they are all the result of my understanding of photography and my gear. The images below are all straight-out-of-camera. I shoot RAW, so these are RAW images without any tweaks done to them, truly showing exactly how my metering and light was when I took the shot. When shots look this good straight out of camera, they don’t require much post-processing work.

What does your workflow look like? What have you done to make is simple and efficient?

The best way to simplify your workflow is to improve the quality of your images out of camera. Am I starting to sound like a broken record, haha? The better your images are out of camera, the easier your workflow becomes. It’s that simple. It seems that people are always chasing the latest gizmo that’s supposed to solve all their workflow woes. In reality, the best workflow solution is good SOOC images. That will speed up your workflow more than anything.

Additionally, I have reverted my workflow back to how things were done when we all shot film. I create proofs for my clients to choose from when ordering, not perfected works of art. I create the perfected work of art after they decide what they’d like to order. So with my current workflow, I create proofs for the clients in Lightroom and clients choose the images they want enlarged from the proofs. I then go back and re-edit the image in Photoshop to create a beautiful work of art for the client. Generally, the difference between the SOOC RAW file, proof and art print of an image is quite subtle, though it can be more dramatic. It really depends on the image and the shooting situation. (See images below for examples).

In addition, I show clients every useable image I take. This speeds up my proofing because I don’t have to choose what to show a client and they don’t wonder what I have. They see every image. Consequently, my proofing is extremely fast. I can sort and proof an entire wedding in around an hour.

You have a somewhat unconventional approach in your business model. How do you think that can help other women?

Well, as I’ve stated above, I show my clients every “useable” image I take (yes, I delete blinker shots and metering test images, etc.). Currently, clients pay a sitting fee and then they choose a digital package. All of my digital packages include a mid-res copy of every proof I create, as well as at least one fully retouched art print file. From there, clients can order enlargements. I offer typical mounted prints, fine art watercolor prints and gallery wrap canvases. I don’t offer albums, cards, photo jewelry or anything else that consumes my time.

There are many reasons for my pricing model. The biggest, of course, is that it’s what my market demands. My clients are scrapbookers and enjoy doing crafts; consequently, they want to make their own albums and cards and jewelry. It’s just the culture of where I live. That being said, my business model also saves me a tremendous amount of time. As photographers, I think that we tend to think in terms of how much money we make per client, not how much money we earn per hour. The more you can streamline photo editing, the more time you will save, the more money you will earn, the more time you will have with your family. And as I stated above, perfect SOOC images are the best way to streamline your editing.

You were recently featured in Rangefinder magazine and you are speaking at WPPI this year. It seems like the last couple of years have been a flurry of activity for you. What have you done to become so sought after and recognized?

Uhmmmmm, well, I think that there is a certain amount of karma to everything that has happened. I don’t think that there is a recipe for such success. That being said, I sat down about 3 years ago and decided to get my name out there. So I started submitting to international print competitions and really studied my craft to learn what made an award-winning image. Winning WPPI’s International Portrait of the Year award in 2007 was a huge honor and really jump started everything else, I feel. Since then, I’ve continued to learn and do well in international print competitions, proving (at least to myself) that I’m not just a “one-hit wonder.” Again, I think everything boils down to really, thoroughly understanding photography. The greater your skill set, the easier it becomes to make fantastic ideas in your head a reality.

You give quite a few workshops that I imagine are largely attended by women. After having the chance to see up close and personal the struggles that women have in our industry,

1. What is something that you think women in the industry should not do?

            Feel complacent, helpless, resigned!

2. What is something that you think women in the industry should do?

            Become angry, irritated, annoyed!

I love these questions! I see women repeatedly struggling with the same issue—too much to do and too little time to do it in. They feel that they don’t have enough time to devote to their families and their business. As women, we need to value our time more; we need to become irritated enough over unnecessary “time-sinks” (as I call them) that we do something to change them. Tired of feeling like clients don’t respect your time? Become angry! Indignant anger is a wonderfully empowering feeling! Channel that irritation into changing your policies; policies that you’re motivated to enforce. Tired of another insanely late night in front of the computer? Become angry! Use that anger as motivation to change the way you structure your business or to learn new skills that will speed up your editing time.

Change requires effort. Many times we know that we need to make changes, but life crowds in and we’re just too tired and overwhelmed to care. Anger and irritation are excellent emotions that inspire change. Often they can give you the motivation you need to take your business to that next level.

To see more of NicholeV:

website

blog

shop nicholev

***All images in this post are copyright NicholeV.***

sooo...it's not really Monday this week! :)

I took the day off yesterday and organized my kitchen with my kids and then we went out to eat and shopped for our menu this week.

Going out to eat made me think about how difficult it can be to eat healthy and eat out.  I love Panera Bread's Fuji Chicken Salad and the Asian Salad.  Some of my fave healthy choice places to eat out.  I always ask for the dressing on the side and put 1/2 of that little cup they give me on my salad.  I also don't eat the whole salad because it's ginormous and some of the stuff in the salad isn't as healthy as the actual greens...

I also love Just Fresh...the cobb salad there is awesome...even without the blue cheese dressing.

If you don't have a healthy choice and just have to eat at a burger chain because your kids won't have it any other way or because you're on the road and have passed 52 exits and all they have are greasy burgers and fries and you're starved...here are some tips:

(For more great tips go here )

The Big Burger Chains

Some of you may have missed SarahQ, she was one of the first women featured in the Women and Business series. We've had a lot of people join the Women and Business Conversation since January! Occassionally we'll have a rerun...

**all images and video in this post are copyright SarahQ**

Next Week: Stephanie Roberts

Welcome, Sarah Q. I'm so excited to have you Women and Business series! Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. 

(So many people are reading this post!  Please let SarahQ know that you appreciate her time and her sharing so openly by leaving her a note in the comments!  Thanks!)

What 5 things you do that have helped you the keep your sanity while being a mom, photographer and business woman?

That's a funny question since most of the time I feel like my sanity is nowhere to be found :) Trying to balance family time, work time and me time is so much harder than I ever thought it would be. There are a few things I've learned and done that have made things easier, though ...

1. Renting a studio space! As hard as it is to be away from the kids, it's so so so much easier to focus and get my work done in a clean, quiet environment. When I first started my business I thought working from home would be so perfect. I'd wake up, have breakfast with the kids, sit and get a little work done, take a break for playtime, watch Dr. Phil, work a little more and then spend a nice evening relaxing with my hubby. HA!! The reality was me at the computer with one toddler crying and hanging on my legs wanting to sit in my lap and the other one asking every five minutes how much longer I was going to have to work. I'd have to get up every couple of minutes to clean up spilled juice boxes, find missing shoes, kiss bumped knees and make snacks. All the distractions made it hard to get anything done so I was at the computer longer and longer every day, trying to catch up. It turned into an awful cycle - me working more hours meant the kids were even more restless, leaving me frustrated and exhausted, making all those hours of work less and less efficient. I finally broke down and said "THIS ISN'T WORKING!!!!" and found a studio space that I share with a photographer friend of mine. Since moving in, getting my work done has been so much easier! Even though it's tough saying goodbye to the kids for a few hours every day, it's been better for all of us. I feel more organized and more focused and get my work done in a fraction of the time it used to take. It's really nice to be able to come home and actually BE home, too. When I'm at the studio, I'm a businessperson. When I'm home, I'm a mom. Being a "supermom" doesn't mean you have to juggle everything at once. Sometimes it means having split personalities :)

2. Not saying yes to every single job. I have a hard time saying no sometimes. Okay, I have a hard time saying no ALL the time. I'm a people person and absolutely LOVE the shooting part of my job. Being at a wedding or a portrait session is so much fun for me that sometimes it's hard for me to turn work down. I'm a naturally positive person, so all I think about is how much fun it would be. I tend to forget about all the extra work that goes along with every single session. Drive time, planning time, shoot time, editing time, backup time, time, time, time, time, time! The first year I was in business I spent sooooo much time working that I got seriously overwhelmed and beyond frustrated, making life less than fun. Now I've learned how much I can handle and only book shoots when I have time for everything that goes along with them.

3. Charging more. #3 has a lot to do with #2. Another reason I felt I had to take every single job when I first started out was because we really needed the money. Even when I was exhausted and overwhelmed, when someone was ready to book, with checkbook in hand, it was hard to turn them away. I started shooting weddings just three years ago. My first year in business I shot more than 40 weddings! That sounds awesome and exciting, but in reality, it was insanity! I was actually LOSING money by giving away prints and albums and CDs and not charging nearly what I should have been. At the end of that first year, I was broke and tired and ready for a change. I doubled my pricing. A few months later, I doubled it again. By the end of my second year I had raised my rates enough and booked enough jobs to let my husband quit his regular full time job and start staying home with the kids. Deciding to never sell myself short has made the ABSOLUTE biggest difference in my life and business. All women should read this book : "Secrets of Six Figure Women" by Barbara Stanney. It's not a book about money as much as it's a book about our relationship with money and how women naturally shy away from their full potential to earn what they're worth. I highly recommend it!

4. Going with the flow and embracing organized chaos :) If you've ever seen Super Nanny you know she's a big believer in sheddjuells (that's british for schedules - ha!) She whips out her magic markers and sections off every hour of the day for each family she works with. I've always wanted to do that for our family but every time I've tried, it just doesn't work. Every day is different here at the Q house! My husband is a freelance artist and I'm a photographer so our work schedules change constantly depending on my shooting schedule and his art show schedules. For a while I was really frustrated that I couldn't work out a schedule that we could stick to. Now I know schedules just aren't for us! When we're busy, we trade off kid time and work time. When we're not so busy, we fill our days with fun stuff. It's definitely chaotic sometimes, but I wouldn't trade our crazy lives for anything else!

5. Outsourcing. The biggest thing I've learned since starting my own business is that trying to do everything myself is just disaster waiting to happen. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do. For a while I thought I could juggle everything. Then I read a GREAT book - "The E-Myth Revisited" - and realized that in order to take my business to the next level, I HAD to have help. I started outsourcing all of my wedding album design and some of my editing. This year I plan to outsource a few more things to free up more of my time. And instead of filling all of my newly freed time with more work, I plan to work on myself, my health and my family.

What is life like for you on a daily basis?

Chaotic, but fun! I have a 3 year old and a 4 year old so every moment is filled with some kind of noise, some kind of drama and some kind of happiness. It's hard to even say what an average day is like in our house because every day really is different. Pretty much the only things I know every morning is that at some point 1) I'll have to get some work done, 2) The kids will make some sort of mess 3) My hubby will tell me that the kids are driving him crazy 4) One of the kids will need a bandaid 5) Whatever I'm wearing will end up with dirt, snot, pee, poop, puke or chocolate milk on it.

What do you think are the most important things you do as a mom and wife every day?

Every day I spend one-on-one time with each of the kids, even if it's just for 5 minutes each. My three year old is such a mama's boy. Sometimes I think he would crawl back into my womb if I'd let him. He loves to cuddle and be close and tells me I'm his best friend every day. Lately he's been wanting to do "Eskimo" stuff with me all the time. He'll crawl into my lap and say "Eskimo noses!" and we'll rub our noses together. Then he'll say "Eskimo cheeks!" and we'll rub our cheeks. After Eskimo eyes, ears, hair, chins and sometimes even teeth (ha!) he jumps down and runs off back into his room to play. Those two or three minutes we spent just being silly and close mean the world to me and I know they mean the world to him, too. I think all our kids need to know to be happy is that we're there for them and that we love them. All they really want from us is a tiny bit of attention. Those few minutes of love are more important than all the other hours spent cleaning up the house or washing their clothes. The same goes for being a good wife. I'm so lucky to have a wonderful, sweet, supportive and loving husband who tells me every single day how much he loves me. The few minutes we spend every day just talking one-on-one and being close to each other make all the hectic and frustrating parts of life more bearable.

What do you think are the top three things you must do as a business woman every day?

1. Stay on top of emails! I'm actually terrible at this and it's on my list of things to improve upon in '09. I think good communication with new and current clients is one of the most important things you can do to maintain good relationships. In the past, I've gotten so busy that I've taken days to respond to even the simplest questions from clients. I know it was frustrating for them and made them worry, so I'm making a conscious effort this year to respond to emails quicker and not leave people hanging.

2. Work a little bit on bigger projects. I used to be bad about putting off bigger projects (like editing entire weddings) until I had time to do the entire job at once. Now I try to do bigger jobs in smaller chunks. An hour of editing every night for a week is so much easier than finding 5 or 6 hours to sit and do everything at once. I'm working right now on a new kids photography website. In the past I would have stayed up three or four nights in a row, tweaking and playing with it until it was just right. Then I would have been grouchy and tired and behind on my other work because of all the time I put into that one big project. This time I'm working on it a little bit every day.

3. Tell people about your business! Advertising is expensive, but word of mouth is free! Every chance I get, I tell people I'm a wedding and family photographer. I don't do it in a pushy, annoying, salesperson kinda way - just in a casual conversation kinda way. That way the next time they need photos, they think of me. Even if they end up not hiring me, they might visit my site and show it to a friend who will.


Your branding is wonderful. I love it (and wish I would have thought of it!). What process did you go through to get something so perfect for your personality?

Thanks!!! I'm a naturally happy, easy going person. I've always been very positive and upbeat and silly. When I first started shooting weddings, I did what most newbies do and bought a template website to fill with photos. It was nice and clean and did an okay job, but it had absolutely NONE of my personality. I wanted something fun and cute and colorful that would weed out all the people looking for more traditional, old school style photographers. When ShowItSites launched, I was SO excited! Since I have a graphic design background it was easy for me to customize a site that was EXACTLY me. My slogan "Photography for Happy People" was such a no-brainer. I knew I only wanted to work with happy, fun, silly, quirky people like me so I decided to include the word "happy" in my logo. It's worked out exactly like I hoped ... nearly every inquiry I get says "I love your site! It's so much fun!" How cool is that!?


Is there anything you wish you would have done differently over the years as a mom/business woman? If so, what? and how would you do it if you had another chance at it?

I think if I could change anything I'd have not taken on so much work right from the beginning. I never expected business to boom as quickly as it did and the excitement of people really loving my work was intoxicating. It felt great to be in such high demand! I was seriously overworked, though, and didn't spend nearly as much quality time with my family as I should have. My baby boy had just been born when I started shooting weddings and now when I think back to him being a baby, all I remember is how busy I was all the time. I wish I had taken things a little slower and balanced life and work better. Then again, living is learning and if I hadn't messed up at first I might not be where I am now.

To see more of SarahQ's work, go to:

http://www.sarah-q.com
http://www.sarah-q-photo.blogspot.com

**all images and video in this post are copyright SarahQ**

The DeYoung Family from SarahQ on Vimeo.

The Nichols Family! from SarahQ on Vimeo.

winners.

Hello Friends...can we say it's still Tuesday...in California?

The winners of this month's contest are:

1st: Laura Stiller with 71 miles for the month. Awesome! Way to go, girl!

2nd: Karen

3rd: Michelle Sides

4th: Laura C.

All of these ladies each get a $30 gift certificate to their favorite place to shop.  Contact me and I'll get your gift cards sent out!  Congratulations!

NEW CONTEST:

We're almost to the end of the year and some of you have been faithful all year long to getting more fit and healthy.  I'm so impressed.  You have kept me motivated on many occassions.  Thank you!

This month, do something that keeps you fit every day.  Come to the Move it Monday blog post for the week every day and tell us what you did.  The person that posts the most days is the winner of a...you guessed it...$50 gift card.  Let the games begin.

Remember, there's a yearly contest for the Move it Monday friends...check it out here.

healthy. LIFE.