Cheers to the year ahead, 2017 is going to be awesome!

Its January 20th and here I sit at my desk going over my booking schedule and "wedding photographer to do lists" for the year ahead. Its about 11:30am and although I've got a ton of admin work to tackle (boring)  I'm excited to share that I've already booked 28 weddings so far this year! My first wedding of 2017 actually took place this past Saturday in Charlotte NC at the South Charlotte Banquet Center. It was a beautiful ceremony. They were a sweet couple with the nicest families, an absolute joy to photograph!  I've been so eager to get back into my daily work routine that I put the pedal to the metal this past week and have thus nearly finished with the post production of 600 images. 

In other news, over the past few weeks I've been tweaking this website trying to ensure that my readers and clients are able to access my content quickly and efficiently with faster page load times and streamlined site navigation. Although optimizing this website for mobile use was kinda a pain in the *$@! I am very pleased at this finished product as I've completed all of my mobile tests with Google and have passed with flying colors! At the end of the day, my aim is to deliver a user experience thats as intuitive as possible when it comes to the indexing, browsing and delivery of photos to my clients. I've improved downloading times of full digital client galleries by 30%,  after all why wait a million years ( it feels like) to get a DVD in the mail when you can just download your hi res wedding photos here FASTER and for free? 

I have also expanded my array of offered photography products ranging from traditional prints and photo books all the way to laser etched sculptures and gallery wrapped canvases. Now its easier then ever to get your photos out of your computer and onto your walls with one click ordering and simplified pricing thats surprisingly easy to afford. Shout out to my printer Mpix USA for exceptional service partnership for 8 years and counting!

Lastly, although I am not one to make New Years resolutions I am going to try my best to blog here more often in the months ahead. This is a tough one for me because to say that I am reluctant writer is an understatement, lol! 

That being said, I must admit that I am unsure of the direction that I should take with my articles here at the Silvercord Event Photography blog. You see, when I started my photography company several years ago I thought all I had to do to find customers was to build a strong, creative portfolio, build a functioning website and deliver exceptional service to my clients and the rest would take care of itself. Ha! The joke was on me because of three simple words, Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This means that I have to fill my photography website with the descriptive text and "key words" the search engines like Google and others require to properly index and rank my little website on the web. This is something I never thought would be an issue because as an artist I've always let my pictures tell the story. Unfortunately this is not how the internet works when it comes to marketing my image driven business to potential clients. My primary service market is squarely placed in the Raleigh-Durham-Triangle area and I've got to work hard every single day to just get found by people like you who might be in need of a wedding or engagement photographer in such a competitive area.  In a nutshell this is why you will see terms like "Raleigh wedding photography or Raleigh wedding photographer " all over the place here (sorry). Yes, I primarily serve clients in Raleigh North Carolina however I work for people all over the country and I hope that fact is reflected on my site because I love to travel all over the US to take photos for my clients!

 So whats a girl to do? Apparently I have got to make the choice of finally letting some genuine personally driven content make it's way here to my corner of the internet or I will get burned out on writing altogether. The question really is, what now? What the heck should I write about in addition to the venues and pretty pictures?

I guess I'll start with the easy thing, a quick snapshot of who I am. 

* I truly LOVE my job. Each and every aspect of it! I am grateful EVERYDAY for the opportunity to serve people using the artistic talent I was blessed with. 

* A happily married wife to my best friend for 13 years and counting

* Am  a mother to two kiddos and 3 furry canines

* I'm originally from the northern VA area nd have called the Raleigh area home for 9 years

* I have attended the Rhode Island School of Design 

* Been a working full time photographer for 8 years

* Am a big proponent of free markets and entrepreneurship 

* Totally a economic tech nerd at heart

* An oil painter

* Am totally in love with the entire photography process from the click of the shutter to the click of a mouse in post production

* A fan of crowd funding endeavors and technology driven Angel Investments that serve a higher purpose 

* A decent cook

* Swoons over mountains, Rockies, Smokies and Blue Ridge

* A former mountain biker

* Avid shooter

* Mediocre writer

* The granddaughter of 2 US Presidents and a US NAVY Commander

* Interested in live streaming 3D 360 content for VR applications

* Am not active on Facebook

* Am somewhat active on Twitter

* A voracious consumer of news 

* Am ideologically interested in that which unites us politically rather then what divides us. I believe that love is the stitch that binds us together.

* Always looking for a good laugh and stand at the ready to cheer you up if you're having a bad day

* Am comfortable addressing large groups while standing behind a podia

* Somewhat intimidated by the thought oversharing personal info on the internet (hence this blog post is kinda weird for me) haha! 

Going forward, hopefully I can entertain you with a sense of humor and help enlighten some of my dear readers as to where all of the best spots are to hold an engagement shoot or get married here in the Triangle area.

Lastly, to my past clients thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. Your smiles brighten my soul and lift my spirits every single day. I owe all that I have to you and your families trusting me to photograph those precious moments in your lives. I am continually humbled by your love for one another and the kindness that you've shown me over the years. Go Carpe the Diem out of each and every day and may God bless each of you in the years to come. 

If you've got an idea for a topic that I may address here in the future I'd love to hear from you in the comments section below, thanks for stopping bye and cheers to 2017 and beyond!

 If you have any questions in regards to this post or want to learn more about my flat rate wedding photography service please contact me anytime!

-S. Siko

Investment information regarding Silvercord Event Photography's Raleigh  engagement and wedding photography price and service packages may be found here.