I totally love my job! {New Braunfels photographer}

I've had a few stinker jobs in my past. I won't start with the summer my dad put me to work weeding his garden for 50 cents an hour because he thought I spent too much time in front of the television and needed a lesson about life. I won't get into the McDonald's job where I suffered from a severe lack of training that caused me to serve raw fries at the drive-through and discover what happens to dehydrated pickles when you leave them in the deep fryer all evening.

There was the busboy (or would it be busgirl?) job at a Chinese food restaurant where I was routinely chastised for eating the broken fortune cookies the owners saved for bad tippers. There was the grocery store bagger job that I always ended up working the late shift on. Ever wonder who cleans up the bathrooms in the early morning hours of an all night grocery store -- that was me. Not a pretty job in a college town trust me.

I've had my share of bad bosses and nasty coworkers. But all of the turmoil and all the bad jobs I've had have molded my experiences and led me to this moment in time where I can sit back, take stock of what I do on a daily basis and announce to the world that I absolutely, positively, without a shadow of a doubt, LOVE my job. It was totally worth it to clean up barf in a Scaggs Alpha Beta bathroom stall at 1 a.m. on a Saturday morning at the age of 19 so that I could sit here and tell you that I've had the good the bad and the ugly when it comes to employment and I would not trade anything for what I have now.

I made this realization on Monday morning. A bright crisp morning of about 65 degrees as I rode in the back of an all terrain vehicle through the depths of the Canyon Lake Gorge on a private tour with a beautiful professional model fresh from a stint in New York, a fabulous clothing designer, and our own personal guide and getting paid to be there. That's the moment that it all hit me that I was doing exactly what I want to be doing. I was directing a fashion shoot in a beautiful location with a beautiful model and a talented clothing designer and getting some really great results.

Looking back on the past few years, I've had lots of fabulous assignments. There was the gorgeous bride on the beach in Grand Cayman -- followed by the most amazing day spent on a private little piece of paradise. I also loved the all day boudoir sessions that had me hamming it up with some of the most beautiful ladies I've ever met. The birth sessions where I made witness to the dawning of a new life -- a brand new baby taking his very first breath. I've shot hundreds of families in locations all over the state and had access to some of the most beautiful countryside. I never knew our own state was so absolutely breathtaking until I started getting down and discovering these locations.

Every seminar that I attend is a blast it's hard to believe that I'm actually learning something while hobnobbing with some of the greatest photographers in the world.

When I finished the Canyon Lake gorge session we headed back to my home studio -- which is really just my living room right now until we finish that gosh darn garage studio project we started a year ago -- where we spent the morning photographing all the new designs for Naps and Nites Studios.It was great to be able to use my studio skills as well as my natural light skills on one assignment and before you knew it, the morning was over. Time flies when you're having fun and that's really the only drawback I've found with my life as a photographer. My days are flying by faster than I ever knew they would. Gone are the days of sitting behind a desk watching the hands of the clock as they sloooooowly ticked their way to 5 p.m. Gone are the days of Sunday evening blahs when I realize that Monday morning is almost here. Heck, when every Monday morning is like the last one I had, I'll take 5 every week, thank you very much.

I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. I have a pin-up seminar in Houston next week (can't wait to start offering pin-up photography), I'm turning 40 on the 6th (ouch, but I really don't mind it so much), I have an amazing River Walk wedding coming up, a super cool costume ball that I've been invited to, a trip to New Orleans in January and a trash the dress session that is so outrageous that I can't say a word about it here. Just wait until you see it! And so many family sessions, seniors, newborns, weddings, that I can't count them. But every single one of them is so rewarding in their own way. I can't wait to see what 40 brings me!

Lisa On Location Photography