Hi friends! It’s so wild to me that in about a month (May 2022) Naomi Elizabeth Photography will be 9 years old! WOW! During those 9 years a lot has happened- for you & for me!
My family, my time & I as a person has changed in those 9 years & to accommodate those things, I’ve needed to make a few changes for NEP that I wanted to share. Even just to have it clear some of my brain space! And really I’d probably call this more of a “state of the union” post haha then a policy change post.
TEAM EFFORT Naomi Elizabeth Photography is not just me- NEP is a team of people! You may see my name a lot & see me at sessions but NEP is not a one man show! My husband Eric is a HUGE HUGE part of NEP. He takes care of so many things including the financial side of NEP. He also takes care of our kiddos a large portion of the time I’m gone at sessions or working from home on photography things. Fall is a VERY busy season not just for me as a photographer but for my husband’s job. My mother, sister & in-laws also help on a regular basis watching our kids when Eric can’t. We also have a high school girl who helps out with the kids twice a month. It’s a team effort!
JOY As we’ve grown as a family & made the choice to homeschool our children, we knew that to proceed with photography, that some other things needed to happen to help make our family life plus a small business run a bit smoother. I have a dear, dear friend, Joy Phillips, who has her own photography editing business. In short she helps photographers get their lives back! I send her galleries from my sessions & she helps narrow down the best photos & then mirrors my style & edits them like I would have. This past fall Joy was who edited my photos for me & it was SUCH a blessing that Eric & I knew to continue forward with NEP, hiring Joy fulltime was a must. So as of 2022, Joy is now a vital part of NEP & I’m so thankful for her!
PRICING Those two things I just shared to show why I’ve needed to make some necessary modifications within NEP to make NEP something I can STILL do with young children. Another thing I’ve done is I’ve updated my photography prices. I know I don’t have to even say anything about doing so. Many people are having to up their prices in things because of life but I really felt led to share the WHY of why I did it. You all are like family to me, you’ve helped me grow in so many ways & thank you for that!
I felt it was important to share all this as I don’t want to seem as someone who “does it all”. Because I DON’T! I truly don’t. I also wanted to share this as I know there are many women from all ages & backgrounds who have dreams & want to use their gifts & I feel it’s good to share that it takes work & a team but it’s worth it!
EMAIL COMMUNICATION I will say, I’m a bit slower with my email communication then I used to be. This isn’t really a policy change haha but I wanted to share this here. I will always respond when I need to it just may be a little slower then it has been in the past! Thank you for understanding that!
SCHEDULING As much as I’d love to photograph everyone who ever reaches out to me, I know with my family’s own full schedule aside from my photography schedule & your own schedule this just won’t be able to happen. SO I would highly advise that as soon as you know you’d like to do a photo session of some kind with me, please reach out to me so that we can make it happen!!!
BIRTH PHOTOGRAPHY As of now, I am no longer able to offer birth photography. It was a short but sweet season for me with NEP & maybe someday I can revisit that special world again. I’ve taken it off of my services list but wanted to share that here as well.
HEADSHOTS I’ve been asked many times to do headshot sessions & it’s usually worked out to do them indoors at the place of work for the individual or outside. Recently a need of a friend came up & we used my living room to do her headshots & they turned out beautifully! I now am offering headshots on a regular basis! It was something before that I could do only if it worked out but I am confident with the options I can now offer this on a fulltime basis! So if this is a need of yours feel free to email me!
MINI SESSIONS FOR 2022 For almost all of NEP I have offered Mom & Me Mini’s. The past couple years I haven’t because of covid restrictions & my own pregnancy needs. This year I wanted to make them happen but timewise I wasn’t able to. And to be fully transparent I haven’t booked many of them when I have offered them in the past. So if you could like to see me offer them in the future, please reach out to me! As a mom myself I have realized I desire a family picture MORE then I do photos with me & my kids. It’s work to get ready for pictures am I right? 😉 & if it takes all that work I’d rather have it be with my entire family. Just a personal thought. So anyway, moving forward unless I hear different from you all, I will probably just focus on spring & summer & fall mini sessions. If you think I should change my mind let me know!
SOCIAL MEDIA If you want to stay in touch with me, the very best way is to email me or to be on my enewsletter list (you can sign up HERE!). As my own home & life has gotten fuller, social media has become just another loud voice I don’t need haha! Especially facebook. It’s just a little too loud for me there! I’ve got enough noise around here in my own home 😉 But I do love Instagram you can follow me there . I will try to do better at updating my business facebook page but I can’t make any promises! My enewsletter is going to become the best way to stay updated with me.
EDUCATING MYSELF And maybe I’m the only one who needs to see this written out but I have been taking some online courses to help better myself as a photographer. I took one this past late fall & just purchased one this week. It’s important to me that I’m continuing to become the best photographer I can be for my clients & also for my own memory keeping needs of our family. I’m excited to grow!!!
I truly love photography! I’ve gone through a soul searching journey these past two years, especially in the past 6 months wondering if the Lord wanted me to keep NEP going. He has shown me in special little ways that for now, NEP is here to stay! That’s a whole other blog post for another time BUT I am excited for what 2022 holds!!!