We make choices everyday. Some may seem insignificant, and others may seem to be the most important decision of our life. One choice that I try to make everyday or at least as often as I can is to network with people. 

Networking has given me the most amazing opportunities in photography. This can range from talking to a couple people in line at the grocery store, to stopping and taking a photo on a cell phone at an event I was shooting. Both instances may not seem important, but those people remembered me when they heard my name and saw my images. They became part of the "Gretchen Elaine Photography Family" by booking sessions with me every year. Customer service and networking go hand-in-hand in my mind. I love talking to and helping people so fortunately it comes naturally to me.

Making these connections with people is probably the most fun but also challenging part as a photographer. Like I said, I genuinely enjoy working with people. Every session I have, I strive to make it as fun and relaxing for everyone involved. Networking can be challenging at the same time because I am working with people and naturally there are conflicting schedules and situations that come up. By doing my best to resolve these issues, my customers love working with me. I am very lucky to get the opportunity to work with such great people and I look forward to reaching out and making even more connections in the future!

The images featured this week are from a fun session of water frozen in motion. I thought it went well with my topic this week because just like water, networking starts out as one drop, but that one drop spreads out and ripples and reaches so much farther from where it started. Just as the water ripples reach out, my goal is that my connections with people will do the same!