Just the other day it all caught up with me, I’ve been so busy looking at different printers, working on site designs and loading all my work up to the site, running through costings and all the other things that go with setting up a business, when I suddenly realised that things were becoming hard work.  I’d become so caught up in everything business focused that I’d forgotten to take some time for me.

I’d stopped meditating as I just wanted to get on with the site in the mornings and I’d stopped going for country walks for the same reason.  Yet by not taking the time to do these things that I enjoy I had lost the balance in my life.  And having a smart phone it’s so easy to check emails on waking, before even hitting the bathroom & clicking my brain straight into work mode rather than waking slowly.

I have been meditating for a year or so now, so I was quite surprised how easily I found it to slip out of good habits.  Since I realised I have taken the time to meditate and made a pact to start adding things into my week that I enjoy.   Thanks to my reminder I realise that it’s important to have things going on in my life other than the business. Read More→

Ruth Bayley

Living in the beautiful rural county of Yorkshire it was perhaps natural for Ruth to have an affinity with the countryside and its wildlife. Creativity is Ruth’s driving force finding an outlet in television & radio she worked for many years as producer for BBC & ITV.

However a love of photography and for being surrounded by nature called her to go back to her photography training and bring pleasure and joy to people through her connection with our planet.

Staying in the moment when taking her images allows her to experience the natural magnificence unfolding before her eyes. It is this moment of mediation, of gratitude, that she evocatively conveys through her images.

www.healingwithphotography.co.uk

In the last few weeks we’ve covered some of the basics and I thought it was about time we talked about the thorny subject that all photographers feel or have felt at one time or another; are my pictures good enough to put out there?

The song “I have Confidence in Sunshine I have Confidence in Me” from the musical The Sound of Music was going through my head this morning, and I think it sums up the place that we as photographers have to come from; we have to be able to feel comfortable showing ourselves because what we do is very, very personal.

I was talking to a business coach recently and she said photographers, artists & healers have the hardest time in coming to terms with feeling comfortable and confident in sharing their work because if there is criticism we see it as a direct reflection on ourselves, which of course logically we know it isn’t, it’s a photo it’s not us, it’s something we’ve taken though it’s not who we are.  Yet sometimes I know it’s easy to say but harder to believe.

For a long time I had a fear of putting my work out there as I was too busy comparing it to other photographers; the mistake I made was whilst looking at other photographers websites to get an idea of how I’d like my site to look I looked at some beautiful work, I looked at the prices, I gulped because some seem very low and then I stored that image in my head and I’d go back to my photos and look at them and think do they stack up?  This self doubt continued until quite recently, and I know I’m not alone as I regularly speak to professional photographers who are struggling with fear of criticism even though they have their work on sale.  It made me feel less silly and I realised that there is a lot of camaraderie and support amongst fellow professionals. Read More→

Ruth Bayley

Living in the beautiful rural county of Yorkshire it was perhaps natural for Ruth to have an affinity with the countryside and its wildlife. Creativity is Ruth’s driving force finding an outlet in television & radio she worked for many years as producer for BBC & ITV.

However a love of photography and for being surrounded by nature called her to go back to her photography training and bring pleasure and joy to people through her connection with our planet.

Staying in the moment when taking her images allows her to experience the natural magnificence unfolding before her eyes. It is this moment of mediation, of gratitude, that she evocatively conveys through her images.

www.healingwithphotography.co.uk

Oh this is a tough one isn’t it?  Particularly if like me, you know very little about websites other than the ones you browse.  When I decided on an internet company I really did have a few moments of wonder, could I learn quickly enough how to build a site and competently do all the coding required to have an all singing all dancing site?

Well you don’t know until you ask so I asked a man on Twitter who built them and now writes books about how to build them.  Bless Twitter for not giving us a soundtrack for our messages, I doubt I’d have enjoyed hearing the laughter that must have accompanied his reading of my message.  In fairness to him, he replied swiftly, he must have been worried about me blowing up the national grid, informing me that it wasn’t possible and recommending a company that builds them and that is where initially, a very frustrating journey began in trying to find a company to build my site.

At this stage all I know is that I want a clean, stylish design with sharp lines, that’s it!  I don’t know yet how I want to display my photos, where I want the writing with the keywords to go, I haven’t figured out how to set up a shop yet or how I want it to look.  I just want to do a bit of window shopping, have a look at some templates, get some ideas, and get a feel for a company to see how helpful they are.  The company I was referred to and many others that I found on the web hid their templates.  I don’t know if they realise how frustrating it is to be asked for contact details under the guise of a 28 day free trial when all you want to do is have a look at some templates to get an idea of what is possible. Read More→

Ruth Bayley

Living in the beautiful rural county of Yorkshire it was perhaps natural for Ruth to have an affinity with the countryside and its wildlife. Creativity is Ruth’s driving force finding an outlet in television & radio she worked for many years as producer for BBC & ITV.

However a love of photography and for being surrounded by nature called her to go back to her photography training and bring pleasure and joy to people through her connection with our planet.

Staying in the moment when taking her images allows her to experience the natural magnificence unfolding before her eyes. It is this moment of mediation, of gratitude, that she evocatively conveys through her images.

www.healingwithphotography.co.uk

The idea was the easy bit now I needed to start doing something about it, the biggest thing for me to find out was, how do I get featured on Google?  I knew to be on search engine pages would be crucial. Unfortunately it isn’t as simple as just sending Google a message to say, “Hi guys just created a wonderful website over here, please list me if you don’t mind!”

As I was doing some research about how to understand Google I came across a well written easy to understand book that has become my bible.  “Get into bed with Google” by Jon Smith.  I cannot recommend this book enough; if you read it you will find yourself armed with a wealth of knowledge to make your site friendlier to search engines and help you root out any unscrupulous web designers when you come to find one.  I’m not on sales commission here I’m just so very grateful I happened across it

Maybe I should let you in on a secret here, research is my thing, I love it! It’s where I bounce up and down with a big grin on my face clapping my hands.  So with that in mind you may find that the avenues I went down when researching the business were more exhaustive than you might need.  Sometimes it can turn up a real gem and if you aren’t already on Twitter head over and sign up for a page.  There are some great people on there giving out tiny little titbits, give it a whirl, at worst you can make some new friends.

The internet is such a valuable research tool, remember though to also get out there and speak to people. Your local chamber of commerce is a great source of free business information, they can supply you with an armful of paper covering every part of your business from tips on pricing, copyright, website rules and regulations and all important tax information.  They can be a great source of neutral support and advice. Read More→

Ruth Bayley

Living in the beautiful rural county of Yorkshire it was perhaps natural for Ruth to have an affinity with the countryside and its wildlife. Creativity is Ruth’s driving force finding an outlet in television & radio she worked for many years as producer for BBC & ITV.

However a love of photography and for being surrounded by nature called her to go back to her photography training and bring pleasure and joy to people through her connection with our planet.

Staying in the moment when taking her images allows her to experience the natural magnificence unfolding before her eyes. It is this moment of mediation, of gratitude, that she evocatively conveys through her images.

www.healingwithphotography.co.uk