2013 | A Year in Review | A Year of Growth

2013 proved to be challenging in a lot of ways, but for us it was also a huge period of growth. For me personally I felt it was really the first year that I hit my stride as an artist.

Now here is where I talk A LOT about my own personal growth, but if you don’t really care you can just watch a quick slideshow of what our 2013 looked like.

I think for a long time I feared considering myself an artist because I thought that to others it would be a laughable goal, so instead I set all of these “adult goals” like financial goals, and goals of being published or winning awards without really thinking about why I wanted to do those things. I did it simply because I thought that those were the types of goals that adults were supposed to have. I felt like having my main goals be things like “get better at layer masks”, or “look for better compositions” were too small and that if I told anyone these goals they’d just roll their eyes because I wasn’t actually achieving anything physical by doing them.

So I began shooting all these details in the way that wedding magazines and blogs like and I started getting published and noticed. Not a crazy amount, but a little. I started attracting couples who saw my work and thought it was a-ok and hired me. I made enough money to scrape by and pay my bills, but deep down inside I felt tired all the time. Like just perpetually burnt out.

Then I attended the Canada Photo Convention in 2012, and everything changed for me. It was like the conference gave me the confidence to just TRY shooting the things I loved, and gave me a bit of validation to just be myself. So in 2012 I tried that. I tried having personal goals, instead of goals that were for show, and I worked on myself instead of working on getting the approval of my peers. Surprisingly, it worked.

In 2013 I began attracting clients who were suddenly looking for my unique perspective, and not just some cookie cutter portraits. I began to seek people who wanted art, and they began to seek me and we found each other. I got to make the art that made me happy, and they were happy to have my art, and despite the fact we shot more wedding, and worked substantially longer days I began to feel a lot less tired because I stopped expelling all this unnecessary energy on trying to be something I wasn’t.

In the spring I attended the Canada Photo Convention again, which reaffirmed that I was on the right path. One of the most influential speeches I heard this year was from Jeff Newsom, who said that any issue in the photography business can be solved by making better art. It is the pathway to new clients, to new friends, to inner happiness.

When you stop worrying about what everyone else is doing and just focus on making better images for you everything else just follows. It sounds easy, right? It’s been the hardest challenge of my life. Better images means leaving a place of comfort. I means occasionally stepping on toes. It means being more aware. It means letting your own walls down. It means getting closer to people, emotionally and physically. It means being critical of your work ALL OF THE TIME. it means patting yourself on the back when you get close, even if you don’t nail it. It means being aware that you didn’t nail it for next time. It means you can’t be lazy. It means you have to be open to new things, to learning, to new experiences, to advice, and to the possibility of failure. It means making mistakes and taking risks and putting it all on the line. It means not everyone will like your work, but a few select people will love it, and it means being okay with that.

This year I tried a lot of new things. I took risks, some of which I was judged for (like leaving my family to go to France for a month) some of which I was celebrated for (like a first place in Humor at PWPC despite being terrified to submit the image that won). Some risks meant I fell into the ocean (luckily my camera did not) Some risks meant I took on projects that were really tough and time consuming and I didn’t get to spend time with my friends or family.

This year I got to travel, meet new people, and shoot SO MUCH of what I love. For the first time ever my goal was not to win awards or accolades or get published, and we won more awards, and had more publications than any year prior. I truly believe that it was because this was the first year that our only goal was to make better art and to make more art.

I am so grateful to the people who have had faith in us, trusted us with their special day, trusted me to capture it in my own way, even if it wasn’t conventional. Im so grateful for patient friends who have cheered from the sidelines while I tried to find my way. I am grateful for family who helped with Tia while I globe-trotted, making art and discovering myself. Thank you to all of the other photographers who provided friendship, lent an ear for griping, offered support, mentorship and a critical eye, who physically helped carry gear, set up lights, second shot and put up with my crazy, and to all of the vendors I worked with this year who make this industry perpetually interesting to work in. I never have a boring day at work. Ever. Im so grateful for that.

So what does 2014 hold?
Well, save for 4 off season dates (or really cool awesome couples/weddings we cannot possibly say no to, and would be willing to sacrifice our sanity for) we are fully booked for weddings for the year. We have a ton of ridiculously interesting wonderful people to work with this year, who I am thrilled to get started with.

We will continue with our small personal goals which include:
Getting closer (physically) to our clients while we shoot, even if it feels scary and uncomfortable.
Refining our editing.
Be honest with everyone and be true to ourselves.
Attending Canada Photo Convention 2014, and other workshops to improve our skill set.
Release some of our personal work for viewing and/or purchase.

There is definitely room for a lot more growth around here, and I’m sure there will always be. I cannot wait to see what 2014 brings this year, but I have no doubt in my mind that it will be good things.

Best,
Kendra Coupland
Love Tree Photographer