Melissa Arlena Photography Blog » 101 in 1001 http://melissaarlenaphotography.com/Blog Modern. Elegant. Art. Thu, 09 Sep 2010 20:49:10 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Working on #14 http://melissaarlenaphotography.com/Blog/personal/101-in-1001-personal/working-on-14/ http://melissaarlenaphotography.com/Blog/personal/101-in-1001-personal/working-on-14/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:26:06 +0000 melissa http://melissaarlenaphotography.com/Blog/?p=795 Working on #14I love snow days!  It brings back memories of sledding all day at my parents house and eating grilled cheese sandwiches with hot chocolate.  Mmmm I really want a grilled cheese sandwich now....  Anyway I've been working on some items on my 101 in 1001 list so I'll be posting some updates to that soon.  Here is a quick preview of number #14, painting my master bedroom.  If you are stuck in your house for the weekend might as well make yourself useful! Read more..]]> I love snow days!  It brings back memories of sledding all day at my parents house and eating grilled cheese sandwiches with hot chocolate.  Mmmm I really want a grilled cheese sandwich now….  Anyway I’ve been working on some items on my 101 in 1001 list so I’ll be posting some updates to that soon.  Here is a quick preview of number #14, painting my master bedroom.  If you are stuck in your house for the weekend might as well make yourself useful!

Bedroom Makeover

So the before color was based off one of those sample/idea booklets they have with the paint chips.  Let’s just say as soon as I painted the room with it I didn’t really like it but I was too tired at that point to re paint.  I figured I’d wait until I had more inspiration and tackle that room at a later date.  Inspiration started striking this past summer when I was redecorating my living room and dining room and I started making some small changes.  I knew that changing the color would be the big change and it definitely has made a huge difference, the pictures above were both taken in the morning and you can see how much more the light bounces around with the lighter color.  My next project is to paint the furniture a creamy off white color.  With a three day weekend next weekend I’m hoping to get that project started then!

Melissa Arlena

Contact Me | Portrait Portfolio | Wedding Portfolio | Find us on Facebook

]]> http://melissaarlenaphotography.com/Blog/personal/101-in-1001-personal/working-on-14/feed/ 0 {101 in 1001 List Ready!} http://melissaarlenaphotography.com/Blog/personal/101-in-1001-list-ready/ http://melissaarlenaphotography.com/Blog/personal/101-in-1001-list-ready/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:34:13 +0000 melissa http://melissaarlenaphotography.com/Blog/?p=786 {101 in 1001 List Ready!}

 So after jotting down goals here and there I finally sat down and combined them all onto my list.  Then I realized I was short about 40 something goals.  So I stretched my brain some more and came up with another 20.  Then I ran out of ideas.....101 is a lot!  So I asked the google and looked at several photographers that have done these lists and that gave me some more ideas and I was able to expound off of those and complete the list.  They are in no particular order of importance and a few of them I'm already working on so I hope to have a couple check... Read more..]]>  So after jotting down goals here and there I finally sat down and combined them all onto my list.  Then I realized I was short about 40 something goals.  So I stretched my brain some more and came up with another 20.  Then I ran out of ideas…..101 is a lot!  So I asked the google and looked at several photographers that have done these lists and that gave me some more ideas and I was able to expound off of those and complete the list.  They are in no particular order of importance and a few of them I’m already working on so I hope to have a couple checkmarks soon!  I’ll post each time I complete a goal and detail out what I did and provide photographs to document my progress. 

Some of my goals are very important to me such as 6,10,21 and 24.  Some that I’m currently working on are 4, 16 and 7.  If I’ve duplicated any of my goals please let me know, I’ve re read my list but after awhile things start to blend together.  Also if you are working on your own 101 in 1001 please post a comment with a link to your list.  I’d love to read what others are working on!

101 in 1001 Project- Completion Date will be October 23,2012!
 
101 Goals
 
1. Blog once a day for a month
2. Delete old RAW photos from laptop and organize all photos into better filing system
3. Put together a Thank You gift for clients
4. Lose 20lbs and keep it off
5. Have professional portraits taken of me for blog and marketing
6. Take photos of both sets of my grandparents
7. Create client packets for weddings
8. Update sample albums
9. Update wedding contract
10. Pay off debt
11. Book 20 weddings per season
12. Blog about the cool new products out there to display photographs
13. Paint spare bedroom henceforth known as home gym/overflow room
14. Paint master bedroom walls and furniture
15. Finish kitchen cabinet wine cubbies and trim
16. Clean out studio of un-used equipment and stuff (Currently selling my 85 1.8 and my 100mm macro 2.8 Canon lenses.  Email me if you are intrested!)
17. Test out slideshow software and audio fusion idea
18. Set workout schedule and stick to it
19. Improve product packaging
20. Enter my photographs in competitions
21. Shoot with film again
22. Write business procedures and policies into a handbook for future employee reference
23. Hang my fine art landscapes in a coffee shop or downtown store
24. Take more trips with my husband and my dogs
25. Reward myself once I accomplish 10 and 11 with the Canon 50 1.2L
26. Hang out with my brother and sister more
27. Actually attend meetups for some of the different groups I belong to
28. Knock out 5 more classes towards my Fine Arts Degree
29. Attend WPPI in Vegas
30. Have a photo safari with old photography classmates Roni and Ashley
31. Start doing projection sales
32. Print Inspire Guide as book
33. Connect and network with local wedding vendors
34. Create dream shoot with local wedding vendors that I can photograph
35. Work on Facebook pages and learn how to integrate my blog and website with FB
36. 2nd shoot a wedding with Jessica Claire or Melissa Jill
37. Attend a workshop by Jessica Claire, Jose Villa, Melissa Jill or Chenin Boutwell
38. Improve my cooking so my husband doesn’t worry that he might die when I cook
39. Send out anniversary cards to past clients
40. Get my work published in a bridal magazine or an online blog such as Style Me Pretty
41. Improve post wedding workflow to get 25 previews up in 1 week
42. Improve album design and turnaround to complete within 1 month of wedding
43. Start pre-designing albums
44. Write down all the ideas running around my head for my business and put together plan to implement them
45. Finish my business plan
46. Create marketing plan and schedule to implement it
47. Take family portrait for my mother of the family
48. Take family portrait for my mother in law of the family
49. Print an album of my wedding for my mother and mother in law
50. Stop being such a baby about turning 30 this year
51. Grow grass in our front yard
52. Put a new deck and front portch on our house
53. Make weddings and portrait sites more cohesive with each other
54. Hire associate photographer to shoot more weddings
55. Lay hardwood floors in the bedroom
56. Take photos of my parents
57. Take photos of my sister and brother
58. Have my own Rock the Dress session
59. Have new photos taken of my husband and I
60. Cap my portrait bookings to 5 a week
61. Setup office schedule for shooting days vs office days
62. Find office space to share with another vendor for client meetings
63. Volunteer at church
64. Take a class with my husband in something fun
65. Visit Italy
66. Go snowtubing
67. Focus more on each thing on my do list and stop getting distracted halfway through
68. Speed up my editing time or look into outsourcing basic edits
69. Shoot a destination wedding or at least a wedding in another state!
70. Set aside time for personal Fine Art projects, set theme and deadlines to accomplish each project
71. Refresh website pictures every quarter with new stuff
72. Work on racing project for my husband’s crew
73. Participate in Project 52
74. Befriend local photographers and meetup to talk photography stuff and take photos walks
75. Spend more time playing with my girls and get back to our daily walk schedule
76. Attend church regularly- no excuses
77. Clean out closet of items that don’t fit or that I don’t wear, purge at least 25%
78. Finish the stained glass frame for my wedding invitation
79. Purge office of junk and make better use of space
80. Print out personal photos and use the scrapbooking supplies I’ve been given
81. Become more involved in local charity organizations
82. Burn dvd of all the photos I’ve taken over the years of my husbands family and give to my mother in law
83. Learn more about using my flash off camera, check out One Light DVD
84. Keep more fresh flowers around the house, they make me smile!
85. Add more canvas gallery wraps to my living room
86. Work on holiday card designs early, tie in with marketing plan
87. Second shoot with more local photographers to build up local network
88. Create a system for keywording photos when importing to lightroom to make things easier to find later
89. Teach a local Mom’s group how to take better photos of their kids
90. Incorporate film images with wedding coverage
91. Take a cruise
92. Start getting a massage the day after shooting a wedding
93. Improve my blog and website content for portraits and weddings
94. Clean out my email inbox and setup rules for incoming mail to separate ads from actual clients
95. Photograph a wedding in Charleston, SC
96. Photograph more seniors and possibly start senior rep program
97. Add 5d Mark II to my gear and try out video for simple fusion ideas
98. Do a Boudoir shoot with a client
100. 2 years from now update my website and blog to a single custom site
101. Start a Friday Favorites blog post.
So there are my goals, if you can help me accomplish any of them please leave a comment below!
~Melissa Arlena
Flowers 8 of 8 {101 in 1001 List Ready!}

Here is an example of working on number 84!

Melissa Arlena

Contact Me | Portrait Portfolio | Wedding Portfolio | Find us on Facebook

]]> http://melissaarlenaphotography.com/Blog/personal/101-in-1001-list-ready/feed/ 5 Still Working on the 101 in 1001 http://melissaarlenaphotography.com/Blog/personal/101-in-1001-personal/still-working-on-the-101-in-1001/ http://melissaarlenaphotography.com/Blog/personal/101-in-1001-personal/still-working-on-the-101-in-1001/#comments Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:11:12 +0000 melissa http://melissaarlenaphotography.com/Blog/?p=719 Still Working on the 101 in 1001Just wanted to say I'm still working on the 101 in 1001 list, I'm up to 66 things.  I keep bouncing between personal goals and professional goals so my list might look a little hodge podge.  Here are 5 of my goals so far.  These really are in no particular order besides what order they popped into my head. 1. Blog once a day for a month 2. Delete old RAW photos from laptop 3. Organize all photos into better filing system 4. Lose 20lbs and keep it off 5. Have professional portraits taken of me for blog and marketing If you have you... Read more..]]> Just wanted to say I’m still working on the 101 in 1001 list, I’m up to 66 things.  I keep bouncing between personal goals and professional goals so my list might look a little hodge podge.  Here are 5 of my goals so far.  These really are in no particular order besides what order they popped into my head.

1. Blog once a day for a month
2. Delete old RAW photos from laptop
3. Organize all photos into better filing system
4. Lose 20lbs and keep it off
5. Have professional portraits taken of me for blog and marketing

If you have your own 101 list please post a comment and a link,  I’d love to see your goals!

Melissa Arlena

Contact Me | Portrait Portfolio | Wedding Portfolio | Find us on Facebook

]]> http://melissaarlenaphotography.com/Blog/personal/101-in-1001-personal/still-working-on-the-101-in-1001/feed/ 0 101 in 1001 http://melissaarlenaphotography.com/Blog/personal/101-in-1001-personal/101-in-1001/ http://melissaarlenaphotography.com/Blog/personal/101-in-1001-personal/101-in-1001/#comments Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:04:46 +0000 melissa http://melissaarlenaphotography.com/Blog/?p=679 101 in 1001

You are probably wondering why I'm posting a photo of a doorknob especially since it isn't a door that exists in my house.  Well it is a metaphorical door, the opening of a project that lots of others have done and I've sat around and thought about.  The project is 101 in 1... Read more..]]> Doorknob

You are probably wondering why I’m posting a photo of a doorknob especially since it isn’t a door that exists in my house.  Well it is a metaphorical door, the opening of a project that lots of others have done and I’ve sat around and thought about.  The project is 101 in 1001 and the idea is to set 101 goals to do in 1001 days.  So this involves making a list and I love making lists.  I’m not sure why but I have detailed lists for everything, things I want to do when redecorating my bedroom from what kind of lamps I want to ideas for painting the furniture.  I make lists of poses and shots I want to try before a session and lists of business tasks I want to accomplish.  I love to buy cute notebooks too so I can write down all my lists but anyway enough of my weird obsession.  So I’m going to spend some time over the holidays making up a list of goals I want to accomplish in the next two and a half years.  I’ll post my list here and report in when I’ve accomplished something.  One of my favorite photographers Melissa Jill just finished her 101 in 1001 and that finally inspired me to get off my butt and do it myself. 

I can say one thing that will be on my list is to blog everyday for a month straight and see if I can establish some good blogging habits.  I probably won’t talk about photography everyday but I’ll find something to talk about.  There is always home improvement projects, decorating ideas, hollywood gossip, General Hospital and a bunch of other stuff I’m sure I can entertain the masses with.  Another item on the list will be to seek out a photographer to take new photos of me for my website, facebook and all the other places my lovely mug graces.  Maybe I’ll finally get around to doing a Trash the Dress session with my wedding dress and have some fun photos taken.  Organizing my hard drive and deleting the thousands of personal photos I have taken that I’m never going to use.   I’ll go through them and keep the good stuff but there are so many that are ready for the trash can.  So look there I’m up to 4 goals already!  From what I’ve read the goals need to be detailed so I think those will fall in line with that.  Becoming the worlds greatest photographer is a little too broad of a goal for this project :)   Getting my mother in law a cd of all the pictures I have promised her over the last couple years is a goal I’m trying to tackle before I see her next week! 

So is anyone else participating in this project and if so how are you doing with it?  I like the fact that there is plenty of time to work on these goals so I can set some long term goals also regarding my business.  Hopefully I can accomplish enough baby steps to achieve some broad goals I have!  In a similar thread I just watched Julie & Julia and that has definitely kick started the blogging goal.  I mean she cooked every night and then blogged about it, I should be able to knock out a blog post while my husband cooks ;)

~Melissa

Melissa Arlena

Contact Me | Portrait Portfolio | Wedding Portfolio | Find us on Facebook

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