[Extra! Extra! Read All About It]

 I got new boots today.

 These aren't just any boots. They're tall boots, to the knee boots.They're western boots. Boots with buckles, and leather lookin' pull straps. Boots with dark spots on the toes. With wood imitation soles. Boots that smell like leather, feel like leather, look like leather. Boots that walked right out of a John Wayne movie, complete with ride-em-up-cowboys and shoot-em-up villains, the ranch owner's daughter, plunging horses, and of course, COWS. These boots are classy. They out-class any other boots I've seen.

 Basically, they're the best boots in the world.

Becoming the owner of these unbelievable boots (for the obnoxiously sweet price of $20), I couldn't wait until I got a chance to wear them. I had to show them off right now! To the world! (The world being every person who had the misfortune to talk to me.)

 I needed picture of them, of course. My normal procedure is to set any inanimate subject up on my picture stool for a classy portrait. But these boots are so tall that they can't stand up on their own. They needed a model. I gladly tried them on again, and whipped out my ipod to take the picture. But it was too dark in front of the mirror. 

 Not a problem, I can just use the mirror in my room, right?  Right. I'd wanted to move it onto the floor anyway. So I wrestle it off the dresser, take it out of the closet, and...I'm about to set it on the floor when I hear a sliding, then a crashing as the mirror slid out of place in the frame and hit the floor. This doesn't sound good. I hadn't heard a breaking sound however, and it hadn't fallen far, so all was good after all. :grins to myself: :sets mirror down and takes a look:

What. What? I didn't even hear it break.

 I guess that didn't matter. The mirror was broken alright. :swallows hard:

 But... I had WANTED to break it. Yeah, that was it. I did it on purpose! Because... that picture I was going to take.. it needed an authentic and rustic touch. Something that a normal mirror shot couldn't attain. This was perfect, and quite purposefully done, I assure you. 

 And so, here they are, products of my hard work, imagination, modeling, and photography skills.

tHe BoOt PoRtRaItS

:waits for you to pick your jaw up off the floor:

I know, I know. They're incredible. Mind blowing. Outstanding. 

Now at Target for the incredible price of $40!

--

note: the boots neither feel like leather or smell like leather. They smell like Target.

 But.. target smells like leather.

[The Way To Get Somewhere]

  The one thing I've learned about time is that it slips away from you.

 It leaves, even without your knowledge or consent.  It's easy to let your time slip by, not realizing that what you've lost is unrefundable, unexchangeable, and without price. 

 And here's the thing about life: It only has the qualities you instill in it. You get out of it what you put into it. Life's not something that happens, it's something you do. If you put quality in your life, your life will have quality. If you have a game plan, a set of goals and a realistic way of reaching them, your life will assume a quality it couldn’t otherwise possess.

 In the end, it's all up to you. If you want a drifting life in which you accomplish nothing, then just

do nothing. But I have found that the way to live life is to live it, not just let it happen. There are so many things to explore, discover, accomplish, enjoy, experience, and become. But you won't get anywhere if you don't start walking.

 The way to get somewhere is to go somewhere.

--

[YOUR EDITING WORK FLOW]

See? We're aiming high.

 Follow these steps for efficient workflow and increased production:

1.   Cut the tabs. Use grooveshark or spotify and leave your email tab open,  but STOP facebook and feedly while you’re on the job. Cutting the distractions is paramount to establishing good self discipline.

2.   It is absolutely essential that you STAY IN THE FOLDER YOU NEED TO WORK ON. Don’t hop from session to session, stay in the place you need to work. Doing the opposite of this is tried and true, and…doesn’t work.

3.   Start at the beginning, and work your way to the end. Basically, the hopping from favorite to favorite needs to stop. Now. Part of getting paid to do a job is working. And, since you’re no longer five and building block castles, this isn’t going to look glamorous (all the time, at least). Slog through it, from beginning to end. And then it will be done, and your clients will be pleased with you! And you’ll be pleased with yourself, which is always an added benefit (Just don’t take it too far please).

4.   Set goals for yourself. Choose a number of pictures that you have to edit before you leave the job. Don’t even open up Lightroom if you’re going to edit less than, say, 20 photos. This assures at least some results, and puts you in the right mindset.

5.   Be decisive. This one’s important! How many times have you edited a set of pictures with one filter, only to find that you like a different one better? And how many times has this lead you to redo the entire set of pictures? More than once? I’m cringing.

6.   DELETE THE REJECTS. This accomplishes two things.  1, it cuts down on the files in the album so you can keep track of the good ones, the ones you’ll give to the client. And 2, it saves space on your computer! There are so many reasons to do this, and not doing it is just cementing laziness and failure.

7.    Think of this the right way. Remember that your job is important, it’s a big deal, people are counting on you, you’re getting paid for this. You don’t really have an option on whether you’ll do it or not, so why not make it easier on everyone and just get it done in the best way possible?

8.   Quality control. Go over the pictures in a detailed way, and don’t let little mistakes slip past. Get other people’s opinions on which photo to choose, or which edit you’ll go with. Basically, become a detail freak without letting perfectionism get a strangle hold.

9.   If you’ve got a seemingly colossal work load, setting aside at least an hour a day in which you’re certain to plug away at the job will have an enormous impact on that stack. Just as the projects build up over time, so does the slow and steady get-er-done method. It snowballs, and pretty soon it’ll be Christmas!

10. Train yourself to succeed. Keep yourself in the right mindset, and don’t grow stagnant. Remember to learn something new every day. Don’t stop taking pictures, flip through other people’s work, read another article, take on a new challenge! And, even though this is hard, be open to criticism. It’s all about becoming a better artist.

 As Abraham Lincoln once said, “Whatever you are, be a good one.” Keep all this in mind, and you’re set! 

Now back to the dungeon. I mean, Lightroom.