Engagement Photos in Santa Barbara | J + R

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@sarahellefson

✨I need your help picking art for our bedroom! ✨
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I don’t know if any other artists feel this way but I have the HARDEST time making a commitment about what art to hang in my home when it comes to my own work. This leads to endless indecision that drives my husband bonkers but I’m in FULL TIME DECISION MODE so help me decide in my stories today by voting on YOUR FAVE! 🥳
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Normally, printing a large piece of art is quite expensive but as a professional photographers, we often have access to professional print labs that offer us a pro discount AND it’s a write off to print any of your work for your home when you own a print shop. 💪🏼
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This piece (currently the front runner in your story votes so far💓) was captured on our Italian vacation a few years ago and I turned the entire trip into a WRITE OFF for my print shop. You see, owning a print shop isn’t just about building passive income, it can also actively benefit your life in little AND big ways. 👋🏻
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I’m all about making your business work to serve you, not the other way around. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
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P.S. Pathways to Profitable Prints has a whole jam packed BONUS module on how to write off your dream vacay... All set up for you to do some future trip planning to stave off going crazy with cabin fever this winter. Dream big and who knows? You just might find yourself capturing your very own Italian sunset in the future. 😍

🤍Photo from when I thought I was starting to lo

🤍Photo from when I thought I was starting to look pregnant... 🤍 Let's have a good LOL together because who are we kidding here!
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✨Grateful for all the birthday wishes and love for our little girl.
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This little community on Instagram has been such a gift in my life. I have actually made two of my best friends on Instagram and become close with so many entrepreneurs who have really been such a true gift in camaraderie. I'm so grateful for all the DMs and support entering this whole other world. Having an online community when so much is unavailable due to COVID is really something special and I am so grateful for it!😭
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Where are my fellow pregnant babes and mamas at?! When are/were you due and when did your baby arrive? (I'm convinced she'll be extra late and follow in my general footsteps with timing. If It's not a work commitment, I'm the girl texting you I'm on my way while still under the covers.😂)
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xoxo,
Me

🎉Women with a business dream, this is for you.

🎉Women with a business dream, this is for you. 🎉 (3/3)
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Prioritizing the “life” side of work/life balance FIRST has allowed me to accomplish some the biggest and most beautiful goals in my business so far, and I hope it will for you, too.
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✨I've stayed the course with my business vision and goals for Sarah Ellefson Photography, photographing the longest wedding day of my career in the throes of feeling absolutely miserable in my first trimester and KILLED IT. 💪🏼
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✨ Navigated over $50k of postponed/canceled photography income and still surpassed my 2020 income goals by SEPTEMBER.
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✨ Promoted one of the independent contractors who has helped support me behind the scenes in business operations. It's always been my goal to grow a business that supports other women and it's been an absolute pleasure working with @chanelandlee, watching her own business grow.)
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✨ Expanded our photography team with another wonderful associate and continued to foster my associate's growth and cheer them on in their other photography ventures.
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✨ Continued to diversify my income as an artist and teach other artists to do the same. (My print shop mentees have been FLOURISHING and I cannot wait to launch Pathway to Profitable Prints on MONDAY to make this info available to everyone!)
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✨ Continued to push my print shop to even greater heights, signing on to be represented by an incredible gallery who will be presenting my work to major, luxury retailers in 2021.
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It’s within our grasp to pursue both personal and business dreams with balance. Set your vision on both and create space for enjoying what you have created, we all deserve it. Whether your personal goal is to fall in love, build a family or just give yourself the freedom to enjoy life, you deserve a business that supports that. 🧡

🎉Women with a business dream, this is for you.

🎉Women with a business dream, this is for you. 🎉 (2/3)
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Here's what's helped me step a new (sometimes scary) chapter over the past five months creating space my real-life, personal dreams. 🤍
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✨ Taking extra time to rest and process this huge life change, protecting our work/life boundaries more than ever. Don’t ever feel guilted into sharing areas of our life that our gut tells us feels private when it comes to social media. Let Instagram be a good entrepreneurial community for the areas of our life and business we choose to share. It's different for everyone. Don't compare. 🤍
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✨Embrace being the best boss. Being an entrepreneur can be so, so difficult. When I got pregnant, I re-committed to being the best boss I could ever have. I gave myself a raise when I met my income goals for 2020 and have committed to four months of paid maternity leave, something that almost no other employer in the U.S. offers new parents.
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✨ Use therapy to help gather all the emotional tools for a huge shift and the challenges that come with it. I’ve hired a financial planner to help me figure out the ups and downs of retirement as an entrepreneur, why would I not hire an expert in processing emotions in a healthy way to help me handle the ups and downs of a big life change?
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✨ Show shame the door whenever it tries enter the scene. Shame can truly be kryptonite for entrepreneurs and buries me whenever I feel like I haven’t met the bar I set for genuinely stupid things like asking a client for a small deadline extension when I’ve been up all night throwing up. No one else’s expectations matter here and I have been slowly teaching myself that no one judges me harder than I judge myself. No one’s gentleness will affect me more than the gentleness I can give myself.
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(CONTINUED IN NEXT POST)

🎉Women with a business dream, this is for you.

🎉Women with a business dream, this is for you. 🎉 (1/3)
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Last year, I was sitting in a NYC jazz bar on a solo birthday trip, getting a ‘lil wine drunk and feeling every ounce of syncopated rhythm vibrate up through the floor and settle under my skin. I remember each acute sensation that comes with being in the moment. The soft smell of dust, the warm glow from the stage and the camaraderie of strangers, pressed shoulder to shoulder unmasked and unafraid of the future.🤍
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I remember pulling myself out of the moment to briefly wonder, “How in the world can I top this next year?”🎉
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I believe so deeply in birthdays. They’re almost a religious experience in my life, a time set aside to celebrate myself and do something exhilarating. Moving. Nourishing in some way or form. A bountiful thank you to myself and the universe for the privilege of aging. I’ve often wrangled friends and family into these celebrations with impulsive plane ticket purchases, long, drawn out extravagant dinners and spur-of-the-moment tattoos. But last year? I had really reached a point in life where I finally felt like my own best friend. It was purposefully just me as I flew across the country, mixing some photography work with a birthday celebration.✨
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This year topped last year but in a different way. For the past five months, I’ve been working the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life, prepping for someone else’s birthday, our little girl. 💓
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So much change, SO much uncertainty. I've kept my pregnancy mostly to myself during this time, listening to my gut about what's felt right for me❣️
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Reflecting on my birthday yesterday, I've realized I'm ready to share this because there are NOT enough voices cheering women on that you can pursue your personal dreams and your business goals with balance and that NEEDS to change.👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
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(CONTINUED IN NEXT POST)

Something I ask myself often while working on vari

Something I ask myself often while working on various aspects of my business is, “What would this look like if I just kept going?”✨
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One of the hardest lessons as an entrepreneur is that just because you have tasks and goals on your list doesn't necessarily mean they’re going to get done. 😭
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How can you push through the times when it’s easy to just let tasks pile up or dreams slide? Even the tiniest of motivations to take the littlest of steps in that direction can lead to big results❣️
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For years, I wanted to start a print shop but put it off. I wasn’t sure my files were sized correctly for large scale prints. I had no idea how to sell them. I didn’t go to art school so I felt like I wasn’t *really* an artist outside of weddings. Each of those insecurities kept me from putting into action one of the best business decisions as an artist for WAY too long. ✨
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Over the past three years, I have kept taking baby steps, putting myself through a trial by fire/Google, figuring out how to start a print shop with endless internet searches, analyzing interior design accounts on Instagram, sending countless cold emails and learning from mistakes. ✨
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If I hadn't taken those steps, my photos wouldn't have been seen in Pottery Barn, Juniper Print Shop and Condé Nast Traveller UK. Just this past month, those baby steps have given me a signed contract to be represented by an incredible gallery who will be selling my work to major retailers. Think luxe home brands and major hotels. Most tangibly, those baby steps have given me $2k + extra income per month.🧡
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What would it look like if you just kept going with your print shop dream? How many homes would be so much brighter because they showcased your art? What big, beautiful life goals could you fund with some passive income?✨
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Dream big. Take baby steps. Your art and career are worth it.⚡️

Meet the Sarah Ellefson Photography trio!🤍⁣⁣
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When I first started my photography business, I flew solo for a while but eventually reached a point where I needed to expand our team. I had such high demand, I couldn’t keep up! @fleurderye connected me with @haley.garces when I was on the hunt, I just had an immediate gut feeling that she would be such a wonderful fit for our clients. Understatement of the year, she is PHENOMENAL. She just celebrated her two year anniversary as part of the team and we’re rain checking our celebration until we can party in style. (We did Disneyland last year, it’s hard to top that in a pandemic.😭)⁣
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Our sweet little studio has grown exponentially over the past year and I am so over the moon to announce our newest associate photographer, @racheljane . She joins Haley and I in booking for 2021 and 2022 and I feel so lucky to have her on board. 💃🏼⁣ What started as an insta-friendship turned into IRL buddies and she couldn’t be a better fit.🥰⁣
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Each of these women have such an incredible sixth sense for capturing the timeless, legacy driven photos and setting anyone at ease in front of the camera. Together, we have a combination of 25 years experience in professional photography. AMAZING.🙌🏼⁣⁣
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Instagram shows the highlights but honestly? Owning a small business as a solo entrepreneur can be lonely and a ton of work. Behind every shiny post is hours of editing, emails, marketing and the occasional “It’s 1pm on a Wednesday” margarita of despair. 😂Building a little team along the way has really offset that and I am always so grateful for the camaraderie and friendship.🥰⁣
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We seriously cannot wait to capture your memories and celebrations, big or small. Here’s to a bright future and celebrating growing a business of your dreams. 🤍⁣⁣
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xo,⁣⁣
Sarah⁣⁣