Category: About Bethany

 

Finding Joy

The Official Bethany J. Photography Blog with Bethany Joy Steele

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So last year I started reading again! I got through 4 books. This year I’m hoping to challenge my reading by finding more in-depth books on topics I find interesting! I thought I might share just in case yall were interested! Here are my top ten books I want to read this year listed by interest.

 

 

 

 

Own your past change your future

 

 

 

 

 

I found Dr. John Delony by listening to his podcast  The Dr. John Delony Show. I found myself looking forward to his new episodes because he had a compassionate approach to helping people solve problems. The advice he gave was really easy to apply. He recently came out with a book and if it’s anything like his podcast it will be worthwhile. If you have past trauma or want to learn how to communicate better this is a great book!

 

 

 

 

The Personal MBA

 

So I have to admit I bought this book already! I was curious because I have been looking for a way to better understand business to help guide how I improve my work. So far I am loving this book because it is written for the average person who doesn’t have any business school knowledge. I enjoy the conversational tone and I really like how it has practical help. If you need business understanding but don’t wanna take another course check this out.

 

 

 

 

 

Never Split the Difference

 

 

 

This title grabbed my eye because I don’t like confrontation! It makes my heart race and my palms sweat. In the name of scaring myself this year (read that blog here.) I decided maybe learning about negotiating is a great way to learn how to express my needs without feeling like world war 3 will break out.

 

 

 

 

 

Your Brain’s Not Broken

 

 

 

ADHD has become a hot topic lately but is personal for me. Only recently understanding how it has affected my life I am interested in learning how to move forward into working with my brain and body instead of against it. This book had a lot of good reviews so it may be a blind read.

 

 

 

 

 

The Prosperous Coach

 

 

I may be showing my hand here but I am interested in coaching. This is a long-term plan as I would love to be able to work from home one day. I searched for one of the best books on the topic and saw this one mentioned several times. I am curious about how I can improve my skills in working with people.

 

 

 

 

 

Getting Things Done

 

 

 

I have believed the lie that unhealthy stress was an indicator that you accomplished a lot. I am realizing more and more that if I want to live a life that has room to enjoy my family, fun, and my community I need to manage better. This book stood out to me as a great start, especially that uh…stress free… part!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lean In

 

 

 

 

After taking the Katelyn James Business course last year I realized that regardless of whether I want to admit it or not I am a leader. I lead my daughter, my friends, and my clients. I wanted to look to see the thought process behind being a leader and this book was highly recommended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Influence

 

 

 

We all have it! Influence. I am not a natural salesperson I would say. I don’t like convincing people to do things but I have learned that selling is a life skill you need. Part of selling is influence and persuasion. I would like to understand the basics of marketing and why people decide how they do it. I probably won’t leave a pushy saleswoman but I think I have something to gain on this topic. 

 

 

 

 

Built to Last

 

 

Operating a small business is not just so I can have a cool hobby. I truly desire to one day spend my time not only making a living enjoying what I do but being free to help those in need. I want to build a lasting business so that I can do this for as long as possible! 

 

Blue Ocean Strategy

 

Business is a huge theme for me this year! Running a one-woman side hustle here I have realized that I can’t compete on the same level as a business with a bigger team. This book looks like a great addition to learning how to build a brand!

 

 

 

 

 

Bonus Book!

 

The E myth

 

 

The E Myth looks interesting because I have heard the staggering statistics about how most small businesses don’t last. I wanna have the best shot at it so reading this may highlight some of my pitfalls!

 

What books are you thinking about reading this year and why? Tell me by following me on IG @bethanyjphotography. You can also reach me by emailing me below.

Finding Joy

Welcome to my blog. Here I am myself. I am an artist who shares her photography, her family, and more! I called this blog choosing joy because 1. That’s my middle name and 2. Finding joy when life is tough has been a journey for me. More often I am choosing to look for the bright side even when I don’t see it. If you are an artist, a parent, a small business or all three then you will like being around here!

Share your Joy Journey with me by emailing bethany@bethanyjphotography.com. You might be featured in my newsletter!

Your Joy Journey can be something funny or moving your story of overcoming or what brings you joy.

 

What My Photography Was Like 10 Years Ago

Let’s Go Back

Yes, this is me in high school!

 

It has been 10 years since the first time I picked up a camera. I am surprised I stuck with photography this long considering how many other hobbies I’ve lost along the way. I made purses, sold cards, and even did Avon for a bit, and T-shirts! If you haven’t heard I have BIG news coming in February about how I am changing my business. I thought that one way to help everyone make sense of what is coming would be to look at how I started. I want to bring you into my circle here to help you understand how I built along the way. I have done a general blog on this before but this is a bit more in-depth covering 2014-2015. This blog is the first in this series and it’s looking at my work from when I was 15 and had just started photography class at school. I think it’s cool to share because if you are a teen out there please know you can grow your skills into a business even at that age. I also think some of you art lovers might appreciate it. So let’s go. I had way too much fun going through these. 

 

 

Portraits From the Start

From the start, I was in love with portraits! I started with portraits of people on the street and pictures of buildings. I was really scared of people getting mad so I would try and do portraits in stealth mode. I had to build the confidence to ask people for a picture. 

 

Projects I Still Love

There were some projects or moments that I will never forget. They sparked my love for photography and made me some friends I still have today!

These two portraits were my first studio work. One was a study of the lighting of a Joni Mitchell portrait. The second was a project on making my little brother look like an adult for a project on irony. I remember being so excited because I got the light to do what it was supposed to! This was a win in understanding how to make drama come alive in portraits.

 

Exploration

 

The exploration of this time was so much fun. I teamed up with the Baltimore City Mayor’s photographer and shot the back-to-school giveaway. I started messing with color developing the style that I have now. Shout out to all of my family members who involuntarily posed for me! 

 

 

 

I started developing my warm and vibrant style in high school thanks to my friends and family modeling for me.

 

 

Collaboration 

One project that I absolutely loved was Uniquely Human. A project where my friend Rebekah and I collaborated with our class to create a single portrait from 20 faces making universal emotional expressions. 

 

 

 

 

I look back at this and I am so proud of myself and all of the people I met along the way. I had fun just playing, exploring, and connecting with people. Can anyone relate to having a moment of courage when it comes to chasing your dreams? Lately, I have been doing a major rehaul of Bethany J. Photography and looked over all of the stuff I did ten years ago. It makes me excited to dive back into making art again. I tend to remember the fear and nervousness I felt when I would make work and constantly wonder if it was any good. I think looking at the images and remembering that all of that stress did pay off gives me some bravery to make new things again. I kinda wonder what Bethany back then would think of me now. On that note, that’s all I got for this blog. Next time I am gonna get a bit into art school and my first client work. What would you tell yourself 10 years ago? Drop it in a comment below or DM me @bethanyjphotography everywhere.

 

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Finding Joy

The Official Bethany J. Photography Blog with Bethany Joy Steele

Contact Me

 

 

 

 

If you are human you probably started the year with renewed grit to go back to the gym, have the best year ever, and be better at (insert what that is here.)

I did that too and decided the easiest way to summarize my 2023 goal is to scare myself. 

Now that seems dramatic, but hear me out. Last year I took a long journey of discovering who I am as a person. I did a lot of learning and realized that I had let anxiety make myself, my dreams, and my world smaller. Fear is a powerful motivator. Fear of what people think, fear of embarrassment, fear of failure, fear of not having enough, and fear of losing what can not be brought back made me freeze. For a long time, I operated from this mentality. It was draining and left me perpetually stressed. 

 

Embracing Fear

In 2023 instead of hiding from the fears I plan on embracing them! I will be working hard despite how I may feel. As so many have said before “Do it scared.” I know that beyond my fear there are lessons to be learned, friends to be made, and a stronger me. 

How I Am Gonna Do It

I don’t know how 2023 will turn out. I don’t know what is coming but to me, there is nothing scarier than living out a life that isn’t meant for you. I don’t wanna live in a comfortable box, so it’s time to break it. Here are some ways I am going to “scare myself” this year.

 

Making New People Connections

As an adult, it’s hard to make friends. Let alone keep them. It takes vulnerability to reach out and ask to spend time with people. This year I will be vulnerable and be the asker! Life is too short to not have community.

 

Speaking Up

I will be working on communication. Being a better listener and saying out loud is what I need. I will work on being honest. I won’t go along to get along simply to avoid uncomfortable moments. 

 

Pushing My Boundaries

This year I will be pushing the boundaries of my current skills in photography, design, and writing. Learning doesn’t end with school.

 

Setting Rhythms

I used to spend a lot of time beating myself up for not being consistent, instead of asking myself why. This year I will be working on rhythm. This is about creating a margin of space for goals and recognizing my patterns of motivation and working with them instead of against them.

 

Empathy

My daughter made me realize why empathy for yourself is important. Often we can listen to the discouraging internal voice from our failures and the past. That voice might tell you you aren’t worth it or you aren’t good enough. This can lead to ignoring your own needs to the point where you don’t recognize you have needs. You may believe that this only affects you but I realize that often how I treat myself leaks into how I treat my daughter and husband. When I show understanding to myself, patience, and encouragement I am better able to model that for my daughter. I also recognize that God looks at me the way I look at my daughter. She is precious to me. Not perfect but so valuable. I had the realization that I am also precious to God and valuable. Worth care. If I wouldn’t speak to my daughter that way I won’t speak to myself that way.

 

That’s my list. What’s yours? Whatever you set out to don’t forget to be generous with yourself and show kindness. I know we all get frustrated when we fail at what we set out to do. We are human beings, not human doings lol. Have patience!

2023 ready or not it’s here! Let’s work on being better. Send me a message below if you would like! Join my email list to join my community!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finding Joy

Welcome to my blog. Here I am myself. I am an artist who shares her photography, her family, and more! I called this blog choosing joy because 1. That’s my middle name and 2. Finding joy when life is tough has been a journey for me. More often I am choosing to look for the bright side even when I don’t see it. If you are an artist, a parent, a small business or all three then you will like being around here!

Share your Joy Journey with me by emailing bethany@bethanyjphotography.com. You might be featured in my newsletter!

Your Joy Journey can be something funny or moving your story of overcoming or what brings you joy.

 

 

 

Finding Joy

The Official Bethany J. Photography Blog with Bethany Joy Steele

Check out this page

to get to know more about me!

 

Client Spotlight 

Diana and John

Sharing the Joy

 

When I say share your Joy Journey Diana and John along with their family did just that. Their joy involves dancing! They had a great time showing me some of their amazing moves! They offered unique ideas for poses that show their dynamic form and energy. The silk fan used in traditional Chinese dancing added a burst of color. This reminded me of spring and the energy that warm weather brings. The creativity was beautiful and unique! This demonstrates that your portraits don’t have to be standard! Share the gift of who you are by being expressive! 

 

Fall/ Holiday Sessions are still available. Please contact me today to get your session booked!

Finding the Joy

Welcome to my blog. I talk about choosing joy, to me, that means believing God is good and there is hope in the face of difficulty. I also talk about my goals and challenges. I believe in perseverance, grit, dreaming big, and choosing to challenge yourself to be better than yesterday.

What does it mean to be a part of the #JoyJourney?

It means to choose JOY in the good and bad!
It means we focus on our goals!
It means we challenge ourselves to do better!
Wanna share your story? Join the #joyjourney in my FB group here! We encourage each other to accomplish more and meet up once a month for a nature walk!

 

Finding Joy

The Official Bethany J. Photography Blog with Bethany Joy Steele

Check out this page

to get to know more about me!

 

Family Photography

Fall sessions are in full swing contact me today to schedule your session!

3 Bundles of Joy

 

This family is blessed! I arrived at this session in the light rain and saw laughter and play. Kathleen’s beautiful family is full of life and you are going to want to see these adorable photos. I absolutely love when the whole family joins the photo party. The reason I love it is that you get fun moments seen below when the grandkids grabbed onto grandma’s legs laughing while she held the newest member of the family! Thank you for coming out to share your joy, Kathleen! I appreciate you and your family!

 

 

 

Fall/ Holiday Sessions are still available. Please contact me today to get your session booked!

Finding the Joy

Welcome to my blog. I talk about choosing joy, to me, that means believing God is good and there is hope in the face of difficulty. I also talk about my goals and challenges. I believe in perseverance, grit, dreaming big, and choosing to challenge yourself to be better than yesterday.

What does it mean to be a part of the #JoyJourney?

It means to choose JOY in the good and bad!
It means we focus on our goals!
It means we challenge ourselves to do better!
Wanna share your story? Join the #joyjourney in my FB group here! We encourage each other to accomplish more and meet up once a month for a nature walk!

 

Finding Joy

The Official Bethany J. Photography Blog with Bethany Joy Steele

Check out this page

to get to know more about me!

 

Client Spotlight 

Karen and PJ Clark

Ready for this throwback client spotlight? Check out my reflections below!

 

What a Dream

Karen and PJ have been a dream to work with. I was excited about their wedding from the start. I want to say the thing that stood out to me about them is that they are such peaceful people and they have so much fun. On the day of the wedding, Karen looked so elegant. She had these beautiful flowers in her hair and a gorgeous dress with the perfect amount of lace and flow. PJ was ready with jokes and laughter in his clean navy suit! The rain did not stop them from having a good time. After the ceremony, they departed in a mustang!

 

 

What I will never forget is them performing with their band! You could see them enjoying their passion together! I really enjoyed that. Friends and family danced and relaxed together!

 

The cherry on top of a great day was getting to reconnect with Edwin from my internship at Remsburg Inc. Karen and PJ are friends of his. Edwin took a moment to help me take portraits in the rain. Another cherry on top was having Rebekah C. Photography there to be a second shooter. We had a good time finding new angles to shoot from and capturing the dance as well. I was thanking God that I had this opportunity because I really do love what I do. And today was one of those days where I planned a lot for it. I took my time I thought through everything and it paid off. This was just such a great day I really love being a photographer and I really can’t wait to do it again.

Thank you PJ and Karen!

 

More Photos

 

Finding the Joy

Welcome to my blog. I talk about choosing joy, to me, that means believing God is good and there is hope in the face of difficulty. I also talk about my goals and challenges. I believe in perseverance, grit, dreaming big, and choosing to challenge yourself to be better than yesterday.

What does it mean to be a part of the #JoyJourney?

It means to choose JOY in the good and bad!
It means we focus on our goals!
It means we challenge ourselves to do better!
Wanna share your story? Join the #joyjourney in my FB group here! We encourage each other to accomplish more and meet up once a month for a nature walk!