My New Photography Website!

It's time. I have a website for my photography! I've been working on it for awhile, and it's finally ready. Check it out at www.cebulskiphotography.com

Most of you know that I take a lot of pictures (just look at the blog and at my Flickr account!) I've loved photography for a lot of years now. Several years ago, while we lived in Jonesboro, I started to get a lot of requests from friends and friends-of-friends to take their photos. What started, quite organically and with little effort on my part, was a nice little side business/income from taking photos.

I've never done any official advertising or marketing...and have also always kind of flown by the seat of my pants when it comes to what I charge for what. It seems like I am always making up new ways to approach it...and it hasn't been very efficient.

So now we're back in West Michigan. We'll likely be here for awhile. And I've made a personal commitment to learning more and more about photography...to know my camera better, to know photoshop better, and just in general to keep improving. And part of that commitment is putting myself out there in a more intentional way. Hence the website.

This website is a big step for me. I've never liked the "business" side of taking pictures. I really don't like having to charge friends, for example...but the truth is, it's something that takes a lot of time (for every hour that I shoot, it takes 2-3 hours afterwards in editing). I also don't like charging what is clearly a higher price than you could get at a mall studio...but the truth is, I can take pictures better than most. I'm good at it. That last statement is particularly hard for me to claim. I don't know why, I just have this real hesitation and fear when it comes to confidence in this subjective creative skill. It's easier when it's "just for friends" or "no big deal." Joe has always encouraged me to be more confident in my attitude towards my photography...but my natural inclination is to lean on the side of under-valuing it. Partly out of a fear of failure, honestly.

So that's my little confession. All this to say: I'm proud of this website, of a bunch of my work gathered in one place. And I'm also a little scared: now that it's out there, I risk the chance of not getting any work!

Spend some time checking it out, and if you want to, let me know what you think. If you are a regular blog reader, you might recognize some photos. But there are new ones, too. If you are a friend and I have photographed you, you might just see your face!
www.cebulskiphotography.com