Lynchburg Humane Society || Lynchburg Wedding and Portrait Photographer

Have you guys checked out the Lynchburg Humane Society yet? We seriously LOVE it there and are just so impressed with their facility and their seriously amazing staff.  We got our sweet pup from the Humane Society this past winter, (#manningthemutt), and we love visiting and loving on the sweet pets there! Me and Emmie were both SO excited when her class decided to take a field trip there! The first schedule trip got cancelled due to the snowstorm that shut schools here down for weeks.  

The staff and volunteers at the Lynchburg Humane Society are so sweet, they had special activities with the kids and they got to run around and play with the puppies! It really was so much fun! Even if you aren't looking for a new pet, they always love for people to come visit the animals- and they are of course taking donations for food, toys, and blankets for the pets! 

Ashley Eiban is a Wedding & Portrait Photographer based in Lynchburg, Virginia- serving Charlottesville, Richmond, Roanoke, and surrounding areas.  Available for travel nation-wide.  Currently booking for 2016 and 2017.  Contact us today for additional information! 

Feeling Overwhelmed? What I do when I'm feeling stressed

Photo by Lindsey Hinkley

I don’t think I’m alone when I say that balancing life and business is overwhelming.  Part of owning your own business means there are constantly things adding up to get done, appointments to attend, laundry to get done, meals to be prepped, guides to be created, emails to be sent… I think you get my point- there’s a lot of things!

When I have a week that just feels so overwhelming I’ve found that sitting down for a few minutes and doing one, two, or all of these things can help! This, and a glass of wine! or two!  ;) 

1- Learn to say no.  Ugh. this is the hardest thing ever. But, I have learned the hard way with this, saying yes to everything will so quickly burn you out.  You’ll be shooting or doing things that you aren’t passionate about, and that is the quickest way to kill your creativity.  Get rid of the stuff you don’t want to do- it’s holding you back! 

2- This is one of my favorites.  Get yourself a good planner.  There are some AMAZING ones out there- I have a erincondren.com planner, yes, it’s pricey but oh my goodness, it’s SO WORTH IT.  I write down EVERYTHING in my planner- from my appointments to what the plan for dinner is that night.  

Photo from ErinCondren.Com

3- If you are seriously feeling like there is no time, this is the tip for you.  Print off a blank week page and start by writing out ALL of your current obligations.  I mean everything.  Write down appointments, preschool drop off time, weddings, ballet lessons, workouts. Every.single.thing. Don’t forget sleep, meals. I’m serious here.  If you’re OCD like me, you can highlight based on what the activity is. (don’t judge.) this is the best way to see exactly how much time you have to get things done that week.  It may only be 12 hours, but now you know that you have exactly 12 hours to get everything done that you need to! 

4- Next, I write out a list of all of the things I need to do.  I then pull out my highlighters again, and will highlight the things that are URGENT and must get done today, and then the ones that must get done this week.  If it’s a super busy week, there are going to be a lot of things that aren’t going to get done.  

5- If you can’t tell, I love lists and anything that helps me be organized.  I am so excited to share this free tool with you! It’s called TRELLO and it’s seriously amazing!! Trello is a program that allows you to create boards, lists, checklists, and best of all you can add your images to it to make it pretty!! 

Ashley Eiban is a Wedding Photographer based in Central Virginia- serving Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Richmond, Roanoke, and surrounding areas.  We are currently booking weddings for 2016 and 2017.  Contact us today for additional information! 

How to Prep for a Wedding Day: Lynchburg, VA Wedding Photographer

Oh I am loving this slower season and catching up on some projects and blog posts I’ve been wanting to share! But, Spring is coming (please come sooner than later!!!) and weddings are coming soon.  I’ve learned a lot from trial and error with weddings and LOVE for other people to learn from my mistakes so I at least feel like they aren’t fully wasted! ;) 

One of the things I’ve learned is getting everything prepped and packed up the night before a wedding.  Even for weddings I don’t have to be at until 3 or 4pm, there’s still a lot of things that have to be done, cameras to be charged, snacks to be prepped, car seats to be installed, etc. etc. Plus, Emmie has to be packed and ready for the baby sitter for the day and bedtime.  

Because of all of this chaos, I have found that having everything fully charged and prepped the night before helps to make sure nothing gets forgotten and that we aren’t running late. For a Saturday wedding, I make sure that all of my camera batteries are fully charged, everything is all laid out and ready to go! I also make sure that I have printed out the brides day of schedule, and her family photos list (don’t worry, we work on all of this before your wedding day!) and double check in with Emmie’s sitter to make sure everything is good to go for the next day! I also try to pack a few bite sized snacks for both me & michael, and emmie as well! 

I have three different bags that I pack for a wedding, one for me to carry throughout the day, one smaller one for Michael to carry, and the third for the reception gear, tripods, and extras.  See the details below; 

 My Camera Bag: 

*my main camera body

*an extra camera battery

*lenses (usually, I carry my 35mm, 50mm, & my 70-200mm) 

*memory cards and case (i carry both CF and SD cards for my mark iii) 

*flash (I just pack one in my all day bag in case I need some fill or a pop for details, etc.) 

*cell phone (just in case the sitter needs me!) 

*family formal list 

*printed wedding day timeline

*cough drops, because I always start to loose my voice during the family formals 

*pencil, in case anything needs to change on the timeline

For Michael’s Camera Bag: 

*michael’s camera body

*an extra camera battery

*lenses (he usually carries a 50mm & a macro) 

*memory cards and case

*non-perishable snacks, like fruits, granola bars, etc. 

For the Reception Bag: 

*Camera Battery Charger 

*Battery Charger

*flash batteries

*extra lenses

*reflector 

*light stand

*flashes (mine have transmitters built in, but if yours don’t you’ll want to add those!) 

*umbrellas 

*cell phone charger 

*extra pair of shoes

*change of clothes (never know what’s going to happen!) 

Ashley Eiban Photography is a Wedding & Portrait Photographer based in Central Virginia- serving Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Richmond, Roanoke, and surrounding areas. We LOVE to travel and are available for travel world-wide!   Contact us today for more information!  

Our Snow Weekend- A personal post || Central VA Photographer

I had some seriously excited people in my house this weekend.  Michael & Emmie have been watching & praying for snow so they were THRILLED to see a storm on the radar last week. Meanwhile, I was stressing about the wedding planned for the weekend, but that all turned out okay! ;) 

Emmie COULD NOT wait to get outside, and as soon as we bundled her up (in every single shade of hot pink that exists!! haha!) she ran outside and plopped down into the snow to make snow angels! Her and Manning chased each other around and laughed a little too hard. No, seriously, too hard- it sucks to take all those layers for a potty break! hhahahaha! 

Ashley Eiban Photography is a Wedding & Portrait Photographer based in Central Virginia- serving Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Richmond, and surrounding areas.  Contact Us today for more information! 

Coleton & Elizabeth's engagement session || Downtown Lynchburg, VA Engagement Photographer

I looooooooove that I have some super awesome couples that are braving the cold and getting their engagement photos done this winter!! I was so excited to have our engagement session with Coleton & Elizabeth- when I first met with them a few months ago, it totally felt like I was catching up with old friends! They are the sweetest couple, are always laughing & smiling and so down-to-earth! What could be better!!?! 

We met up in downtown Lynchburg and got some photos on the streets in Lynchburg and then headed over to Percival's Island on the Blackwater Running Trails!