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STAY INSPIRED IN “OFF SEASON”

We currently have around 6 inches of snow down at our cabin. The fireplace is going. It’s quiet, beautiful and sunny out. It hasn’t been like this though lately. It’s been pretty rainy, gloomy and COLD.

I totally get the whole winter gloom thing in the east coast though. I lived in Huntington, WV for my undergrad and it always felt like 5 months of gloominess. When I moved back to West Virginia a couple years ago, I dreaded the winter months. Moving from Denver has been a big change to get used to for all of us, mostly with the weather. The sun is literally always out in Colorado. When we lived there, we would have sessions pretty much all year long (except for maybe February…that always seemed the coldest).

I never realized there was an “off season” before moving here. People definitely don’t get out as much from about mid-December through March. I thought I would share some ideas on how to stay inspired and motivated in the winter and off season. Hope this helps you!

WORK ON YOUR MARKETING + BRANDING

Winter is a perfect time to think about your marketing and put work into making your business and brand the way you want it to be. It’s kind of like a clean slate. You can work on your brand, your imagery, your style and make it what you are visualizing it to be. You can choose to work on your logo, update your magazine (if you have one), update your website with newer images that go with your brand, update your offerings, update your logo…the possibilities are pretty endless!

SHOOT FOR YOURSELF

Have you been wanting to try something new? Do it. Want to learn lighting techniques? Do it. Have an idea for an amazing styled shoot? Do it! There is no need not to try something new, learn something and make yourself better, especially if it’s in a slower time of the year.

MEET OTHER VENDORS + CREATIVES

Get to know the vendors or creatives that you could possibly work with and see how well you connect. Talk with them about your goals and how you can help each other other to reach the goals. Having a small business is tough and lonely at times. Finding good, trustworthy people to be around and bounce ideas off of totally helps!

WATCH GOOD MOVIES + TV

This is probably one of my favorite things to do to keep being inspired. I love Netflix and finding movies/shows that have amazing writing and creative filming. I have been really into British shows and fashion documentaries lately on Netflix. Some of my favorite films, documentaries and shows lately are: House of Z (Zac Posen story), Black Mirror (minus a few really strange ones…lol), Star Wars, 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Godless, The Good Place, Hostiles, Modern Family, Black Panther, Lady Bird, The Big Sick (I related to this so much that I had to leave the theater for a moment), The Crown, The Fundamentals of Caring, …the list won’t stop.

LISTEN TO NEW MUSIC

I have Amazon Prime and Spotify and love being able to have my music with me while I edit. I have been listening to a lot of Odesza, Caamp, Paul Otten, Nina Simone (never gets old), Haelos, Caamp, Bon Iver, Borns, Ed Sheeran, Gregory Alan Isakov, Mumford & Sons, The Head and the Heart, John Paul White, Kaleo, The Lumineers…the list can go on forever.

TRAVEL

This makes me happy to be able to see new things and meet new people. We traveled to Panama City over the holidays and it kind of was a “reset”. Getting up early and heading out to the beach when it’s quiet and calm…love it and there is nothing like it. We also went to DC and it was a wonderful time to connect with my mom and brother. I am really thankful to have that time together. Travel when you can and see new things and meet new people. That’s what life is really all about.

These are just some ways I try to stay motivated and creative. What are some ways that you reboot?