It’s OK to change direction

Some people fear change. Some prefer to never change and some even fight it even when it should happen.

As a creative, change is my lifestyle. I’m constantly changing my surroundings to change what inspires me, to change the direction of my life, and I’m very much open to change when my heart and mind tells me it’s time.  Time to learn new things, time to evolve – as a person and creative.  Managing a business as an entrepreneur is challenging. If I want to continue loving what I do, I’ve begun to realize that change needs to occur – a few things I need to stop, so I can focus elsewhere.  Can you imagine what you’d miss out on had you not decided to change or go in another direction?

Some people don’t get it.  They think people like us are either unfocused, overly ambitious, or never content.  I can’t really answer that because really, no answer will ever make them fully understand.  I think it’s outgrowing the things that have already made you into the person you are, and wanting to try more things in order to stretch your creativity, curiosity, or it can be as simple as growing up and heading into a new chapter.  Don’t be hard on yourself fellow like-minded creative friends, you’re not living to please anyone else.

I absolutely love photography, but I found that a part of my life continually kept creeping into my blog posts.  It was the every day ordinary life of what I do on a daily basis.  Since marrying Mr. Wonderful, I have been encouraged to try new things.  I’m becoming bolder about cooking, gardening, and home design.  I’m asking questions so I can learn, and through it all, I’m finding my most joyful moments are when I’m fixing up our little old home or out pulling weeds in the yard.  No doubt about it when I look at my career that my talents I’ve collected along the way have always been brought into the next endeavor.  I didn’t know my passion for writing would lead me to major in journalism, start a career in it and that the design hobby since high school of building websites and playing with photoshop would make me open up a small graphic design boutique, which then would lead me to a corporate marketing job which would then teach me how to market my own photography business and design my collateral pieces.  And little would I know writing would be weaving itself throughout all of my creative positions, and now photography will compliment the basis of my creativity, my writing, as I yearn to share more.  You never fully quit doing what you love, but you can pull back a little and concentrate on something else you’ve fallen madly in love with.

I hope to take this site to be more of a lifestyle blog with an emphasis in photography.  I’ll be using photography as a means to show you my life as a wife who is on the road to the domestic life (and nothing has been mastered if anything ever will).  I will always, always be a photographer no matter what I do, just like I will always be a writer no matter what I do – it just seems as though I’m returning to my first love.

If you’re a creative who is wondering if you should or can change to another creative career, I’m reminding you that you can.  My thought is this – no matter how my career evolves, I still have my degree and experience I can always return to.  I’m loosing nothing by evolving, changing and focusing my time. In fact, I gain more time and freedom.  I have more time to see my friends, build up my dreams, serve my husband and craft!

I’m breaking the rules about photography blogs (you know, the idea that a photographer simply showcases their work and not their life).  The truth of the matter is, I’m not shooting weddings every weekend or portraits every week – and I’ve strategically made it that way.  This blog will show more of me, more of my everyday life which is why I renamed it to “Portraits of Everyday Joy”.  I want this blog to be a gathering place for ideas and inspiration, and share my gardening, our home, a lifestyle, my fashion, some modeling, and the randomness of experiences all which are the joy that’s in my little life here on Earth, as well as showcase the work that I love doing, which is photographing and teaching you.

I certainly hope you’ll enjoy this journey and new change with me.

Diana Elizabeth has had many talks with creatives changing direction.  She especially loved she heard the phrase, “I’m going to pull a Diana,” which meant, a new direction, a new ambition a new path!  Don’t feel pegged to stay as one thing your entire life – a lifetime is too long to keep doing the same old thing!