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#FeelGoodBlogging Day 2: The Why

10/15/2014

20 Comments

 
PicturePhotographing the Petrified Forest National Park way back in 1994
My father passed along his love of photography to me at an early age. He was definitely our family historian, documenting every important event throughout the years. I began taking photography seriously in middle school when I signed up for a class where we got to use classic manual cameras, develop our own film in the dark room and also process our own prints. I absolutely LOVED every minute of my time in that lab and watching the magic appear as my prints developed. Although I pursued other interests in college, including dance and archaeology, and dabbled in many different jobs post-college, my love of photography stood the test of time.

When planning my wedding seven years ago, I knew I wanted to hire a solid photographer who would give me full digital rights to use the photos as I wished post-wedding. Don Mears and his wife, Lindsay, did a stellar job to say the least! While a traditional wedding album was included in the package, I wanted to make digital wedding albums to give our parents as a gift. I did a bit of research and learned of My Publisher and I've been using them for various photo book projects ever since. I cherish my traditional album from Don & Lindsay, (it is absolutely gorgeous!) but it remains safely tucked away in its storage box most of the time, while my digital album is out and about for anyone to flip through any time. And let's get back to the gifts... it's an understatement to say that both sets of parents LOVE their books. It's a stunning documentation of our special day and we all still flip through and cherish the memories of that sunny September day seven years ago. Seeing the joy this gift brought to our families made me want to give more. Photo gifts are unique, personal and truly priceless; they share our memories and tell our stories.

Fast forward to 2012, after I'd been a stay-at-home mom for three years and was looking to return to the workforce. I had so many business ideas during my time at home, but one kept coming back to me. Photo books. And yet, I couldn't see how making photo books could be a profitable business. So I signed up to attend Tory Johnson's Spark & Hustle conference that summer, hoping to get some inspiration for starting my own business. It was there I ran into Coach Jenn Lee, who I'd exchanged e-mails with earlier in the year. I was excited to introduce myself and to thank her for offering business advice to me (that I failed to follow up on!) The first business I told her I was considering was a career as a Virtual Assistant, after all, much of my corporate experience was in executive assistance. But then I mentioned photo books. And her face lit up. And apparently so did mine. She immediately pounced and could see that making photo books was my passion. And ironically enough, she'd been hired by the recently formed Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO) to provide some coaching support. So she asked if I'd ever heard of them. "No," was my simple answer. Within a week, an employee of APPO called me to follow up on the interest I'd shown Coach Jenn. Two weeks later, I joined APPO. Three months after that, I'd completed their certification program and had officially launched Picture This Photo Solutions, LLC. It's been a whirlwind ever since!

Many are confused by my varied background in dance, then archaeology and now photo organizing, but I find a connection between all three. For one, I was never a "cubicle" person, even though I toiled away in one for many, many years. That's the dancer in me. Wanting to be up and moving around. And two, I've always had a deep love for history beginning with day trips to Colonial Williamsburg as a young girl and being absolutely fascinated by the "living" history represented there. It truly was like stepping into the past. So pursuing archaeology made a lot of sense to me. And it's also quite a physical activity when working in the field. But what does photo organizing have to do with any of this? Every person has a story to tell. And those stories are often buried in their boxes of photos. And as mentioned in yesterday's post, there are many treasures to be found at the bottom of those boxes. So photo organizing gives me the opportunity to be up and moving around, helping my clients sort through their photos, while also hearing fascinating stories about their lives and, like icing on the cake, I get to HELP people, which is another lifelong passion of mine. To sum it up, photo organizing takes everything I love and wraps it up into a nice, neat career that fulfills every passion of mine while making a difference in my clients' lives.

20 Comments
tracee link
10/15/2014 02:11:40 pm

very lovely blog post, it amazing how sharing an idea with someone can launch you into your life work...

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Sarah Chase link
10/15/2014 02:23:30 pm

What a lovely story! Thank you for sharing!

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Megan E McCourt
10/15/2014 02:28:50 pm

I'm glad you liked it, Sarah! Thanks for reading & commenting!

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Megan E McCourt
10/15/2014 02:30:07 pm

Tracee, it was definitely a perfect storm to all come together like it did. Made it easy to know I was on the right path. Thanks for reading & commenting!

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Christina link
10/15/2014 03:11:19 pm

Beautiful story!! Its awesome that you were able to find your passion that early in life!! Love it!
~Christina
http://thedancegrad.com/finding-my-passion-feelgoodblogging-challenge/

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Tara Woodruff link
10/15/2014 03:14:41 pm

I Get It All the various interests! I have a LONG list too :)

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Megan E McCourt
10/15/2014 03:35:26 pm

So glad SOMEONE understands! 😀

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Karen link
10/15/2014 03:35:53 pm

What a great story. It is always amazing the road people take to accomplish their dreams!

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Megan E McCourt
10/15/2014 03:36:10 pm

The passion was there, but it took a long time to turn it into my life's work! 😀

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Megan E McCourt
10/15/2014 03:36:51 pm

Thanks, Karen! Just proves the point we all have a story to tell! 👍

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Gina Hickman link
10/15/2014 03:42:10 pm

That is a fabulous idea and it's so great you found what you love to do!!! Isn't it awesome how all of our experiences come together to create a unique "YOU" and find your purpose?!

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Megan link
10/16/2014 01:52:32 am

Thank you, Gina! When everything starting falling into place for me, I just KNEW I was on the right path! A really cool place to be after floundering for so long. :)

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Yroko Marie link
10/15/2014 03:55:25 pm

This is a lovely piece.

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Megan link
10/16/2014 01:53:16 am

Thank you, Yroko! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

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Miste Anders link
10/15/2014 03:56:04 pm

i loved your comment bout "everyone has a story t tell"

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Megan link
10/16/2014 01:54:57 am

Thank you, Miste. When I'm in one of my more judgmental moods, I try to remember that phrase... and after following Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York for several years, I 100% believe there is an astounding story behind each and every person you meet. It's just that not everyone has a talent for drawing it out. :)

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Vashti link
10/16/2014 03:54:26 am

I am one of those people who keep all digital photography and doesn't print out anything. I also don't have my own place and they would all be in storage. But I wish I would print them out. I love the idea of photo books loose photos and non organized stuff drives me a tad insane. I also thought I wanted to be a virtual assistant, but I only to allow me the freedom to not have to physically come to a cubicle and work all day. I love your site. Your life is inspiring.

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Megan link
10/16/2014 05:30:52 am

Thank you, Vashti! I'm thrilled to hear you feel inspired after learning more about my journey. Prints are still one of the best ways to "back up" your photos, since they will most likely far outlast any digital image. If stored properly, they don't need to take up a lot of space. I sell a small, archival-quality photo box that stores up to 1200 prints with a small footprint. Only 8" x 15". If you only print your 10 favorite photos from each month, you can fit up to 10 years of photos in it! Send me a message any time if you're interested. megan@picturethisps.com

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Elizabeth link
10/16/2014 04:50:54 am

Beautiful post :) keep up the great work!!!

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Megan link
10/16/2014 05:31:45 am

Thank you so much, Elizabeth! We're in this together! :)

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    I'm an APPO-certified personal photo organizer with a passion for helping people protect and share their family photos.

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