Where I've Been

Nowhere interesting, really.

Work has been challenging lately. Since January there have been FOUR rounds of layoffs. The third round had a great impact on me - 25% of my department was affected including my counterparts. I am the only person left in my position in Northern California/Western Nevada. I won't lie, its scary. As flattered as I am that I was not laid off (the decision was based upon "dependability, knowledge, and tenure") its still scary - in theory they could eliminate my position entirely any day now.

With the job market being what it is, I couldn't really count on finding another job right away if I were to be laid off so I've been thinking that my best option would be to market my photography more aggressively in the hopes that I can pick up some more jobs.
The photography is something I've been doing half assed for a few years now. I've never really gone out in search of jobs, just gotten them as referrals from previous jobs I've done. Add to this the fact that I do not have a studio, and know absolutely NOTHING about marketing, and I'm basically just stumbling through what my options are.
I'm going to revamp my website, Photography by Vanessa, I haven't been thrilled with it for a while now and now I have some motivation to REALLY get in there and expand it.
I'm working on putting together some packages to appeal to graduating high school seniors and possibly new mothers. I already have some packages on there for weddings and family portraits - any other suggestions?

I've taken some photos of family members recently to use in promotional materials. This is what I've been using as promotional material for close to a year:


I'm going to update it with some more recent photos. These are just a couple of the images I'm considering. Theres still more recent ones on my camera that I need to go through.



Looking at these, i realize that I still need to add some BABIES! I'm going to get some of my niece who is two years old now, but I need BABIES!

I have a couple of jobs lined up - a wedding in a couple of weeks up in Lake Tahoe that I am really looking forward to. The ceremony is going to be on the beach so I should be able to get some beautiful images there, then my plan is too drive the perimeter of the lake on the way home and hopefully get some good photos that I can sell to a stock photography company.

UPDATED TO ADD
Oh my heavens I WANT one of these camera straps. Seriously, there are about 5 or 6 of them that I would have a HARD time selecting from.