2016 Bucket List

So this is just amazing and I have to go ahead and document this somewhere… I’m actually sitting down to my big mac at 8:00 pm writing this post and getting it ready to go out for tomorrow a.m.!  This is such a huge deal for me in so many ways!  First:  this means that my crazy ass toddler (and yes I swore just there) went to bed at 7:15 pm tonight!  WHAT?!!!!  I need to just type that again… 7:15 friends and this is an amazing bedtime since we moved!  There is so much wonderful light here in Florida that I adore, but when your child’s room gets the afternoon/evening light and they “follow the sun” that light means bedtime isn’t until like 9:30 pm!  UGH!!!  The second amazing thing about this right here is that I am actually for once sticking to a blogging calendar!

So… I’m just going to give myself a HIGH FIVE and have a coke (in silence without little lips stealing sips) and marvel in tonight’s amazingness!

Since we’ve moved, I’ve been doing a lot of dreaming!  I thought when I moved down here that I would need to take a break for a bit to make sure Linc was settled in and adjusted to the move!  I thought I would also want to get acquainted with my surroundings and actually just put the camera down for a bit.  The first few weeks we were here, this was exactly the case!  I didn’t want my camera and in fact I left it in it’s backpack for a long time!  I couldn’t even really blog because I was just coming up against a writer’s block (which is so not me!)  Both Tuck and I felt that maybe taking my time to set up the business and get situated would be a great idea!

Then… inspiration happened!  You see, sometimes when you take a break and breathe a bit, you can actually find new inspiration and remember your passion!  I started to find myself needing my camera and actually wanting to take it with me!  I was spending time shooting just MY family and that, in turn, helped me realize just how much I LOVE capturing these incredibly magical moments for others!

So I’ve been dreaming a lot at night!  Dreaming of all the different things I want to do before this summer (and apparently the heat) get into full swing!  I’ve been dreaming so much that I find myself awake at 12 pm or 3 am needing to put these ideas down in my notebook!  Some of these ideas are easy and some others, well they are a bit trickier and a little “off brand”.  BUT… they get me excited and all fired up and that’s what’s important!  I was writing these down so much that I decided to create a Bucket List!  I’ve never done one of these before and I was inspired by my friend Brandi after taking her motherhood journal images!  She pinned up on her fridge this gorgeous handwritten paper with all their family’s dreams and hopes for the season!

I just loved it so much that I’ve created my own for my photography now that we have moved into a new area!  This was SOO much fun that I think I’m going to do it every season and I encourage YOU to do one as well!!

I would LOVE for anyone to volunteer and help me out here, whether you are visiting Florida or native to the area!

A few of these sessions will absolutely require a LOT of pre-planning!  Like the first couple!

1.  I really want to shoot a “Day in the Life” session!  This means that I would be with you for 10-12 hours!  I am physically with you and shooting for a whole day in your life and the life of your family!  A lot of these sessions are done while families are on vacation!  They are meant to be a legacy piece and produced in an album that is just beautiful!  I really want to shoot one of these in Cocoa Beach because it’s where I already have so many wonderful memories!
2. I really want my business here to feature Disney Lifestyle Sessions!  After coming to Disney myself in October and carting around my big girl camera and ALL of my lenses (yep I did) I came to realize how amazing it would be to have someone else taking a few images here and there.  This way we could ALL be in the pictures and savor the time together as a family instead of one of us always having to be behind the camera.   I also thinks it’s great because that means for one full day or for one full weekend, you aren’t responsible for carting around your camera, unless you want to!  Let’s face it… I totally would still do that because I can’t help myself!  I truly truly want these to be one of the main areas of my business because guess what:  we live here and it’s my favorite place on earth!  We already purchased our annual passholders as a family and so it’s super duper easy for me to meet a family at the park and spend a day with them!
3. Disney also has this area that is just incredible called The Boardwalk!  If you haven’t heard of the Boardwalk and you’ve been to Disney… man oh man, you have GOT to make it a priority next time you are here!  It’s simply breath taking and it’s styled like an old school Boardwalk!  There are so many fun things for a family to do and see at the Boardwalk and the location is just perfection!  I really want to shoot a family session in the style of a traditional old school boardwalk!  I just see a little girl in a beautiful dress that may or may not match her mama!  I mean that’s up to you!  I see a little boy in suspenders and lots and lots of lolipops and cart stopping involved!
4.  SURF SESSION!  So I already have this one in the works (HOORAY) but I just love the idea of documenting this incredible sport (which for families is also a legacy).  It’s no secret I love to surf, I’ve been surfing since before I can remember with the help of my parents.  I WISH that someone had captured those moments for my family so that I could frame them in my house today!  This is exactly what I want to be able to do for other families who are passing on the surfing bug from one generation to the next!  It’s also secretly a wish of mine to really learn underwater photography as well!
5.  We live in Celebration and there are so many wonderfully FUN spots in this town to capture some lively family moments!  Our family LOVES the little spray pad/water fountain right off main street.  It was actually at that spot that Tuck and I decided we were truly going to try and make this move a possibility!  I want to be able to capture a session that is inspired by the water and the wild way that these type of fountains inspire us to just let go and live wide open!

There are many other ideas I have in mind!  Ideas that I’m not quite ready to reveal just yet but you can be sure they will be on my FULL summer bucket list!

What are YOU hoping to shoot this new season?  OR if you are a mama… what would be your dream location or dream session to have captured?!

I really would love to know!!!!