A Glimpse into my Weekend

I wanted to take some time to write about the Three Rivers Festival Crafters Market that I participated in this past weekend. I have to say, overall, it was a mix of emotions. There were times when I got frustrated with the heat, the sun, the rain, the wind, and more. But there were more times when I was encouraged, proud, humbled, excited, nervous, and immensely blessed. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to talk to each and every person that stopped and took a look around at the work in my tent. I was encouraged whenever someone would complement my work. As an introvert who finds her worth and value in pleasing other people and who views her art as a part of her, I was extremely nervous at times. I felt somewhat vulnerable because I felt like it really was me that was on display, and I do not like being the center of attention. But when people told me that they like my photography, I felt like I must have done something right, and I am pretty proud of myself for that! After talking with various people about the different types of ideas they had for photo shoots, I am incredibly excited! And to be completely honest, I am hoping and praying that those people will call me back to book their photo shoot with me because I loved their ideas and would love to work with them to make it happen! And then when I take the time to look back at how this all happened, I am so humbled.

To give a little background, it was when I did my first ever craft fair at Chick-fil-A that I met Renee. She is the one who completely runs the annual Three Rivers Festival Crafters Market. She doesn’t work alone, her staff is made up of a wonderful group of volunteers. Renee saw my booth back in May and personally took the time to talk with me and invite me to be a part of her craft fair. It was then when I first realized that she believes in me. Within a week, I called her and registered for this craft fair. Throughout the whole process of preparing and then actually being at this craft fair, Renee continued to talk with me and encourage me. I am utterly humbled by this amazing woman who just sort of took me under her wing. She told me that she remembers what it was like for her when she was in my shoes at my age. She said that someone took it upon themselves to believe in her and give her a chance. And then she vowed to pay it forward not just once, but whenever she can. And through nothing that I did or could have done, she decided to pick me. Renee believes in helping and empowering others through encouragement and opportunities. She has a heart for young women who are trying to make it in this big world. She is a wonderful and amazing person who I can’t even begin to express how much I love and appreciate her and everything she has done for me!! So Renee, if you see this, THANK YOU!!! :)

If I had to summarize this experience, I would say that I am feeling immensely blessed! I have this awesome opportunity to be doing a job that I love and am so passionate about! And let me tell you, that actually puts the pressure on me to try my hardest and do my best! I keep trying to figure out what I did to deserve this, but one thing that I am slowly learning is that this isn’t about me. I can never be good enough or do enough good things to earn the love of anyone. Authentic love isn’t bought with anything. It is just given unconditionally. This is the love that I experience from God, my husband, my family, my closest friends, and even “strangers” like Renee.

So again, I want to thank everyone that I talked to about my photographs as well as those that showed interest in senior portraits, family portraits, portraits with pets, baby portraits, weddings, and more. I have lots of available times if anyone wants to book a session with me. If anyone has any questions, please email me and I will send you my information about pricing, printing, packages and more. If you are wondering why I don’t have my prices posted, it is because I am more concerned with making sure each of you get what you want, then I am with limiting everyone to rigid prices and packages. In other words, I do offer different packages with corresponding prices, but I am always willing to change those if necessary to help you get what you want. All you have to do is talk to me. :) You can contact me through the form on my website. Or you can email me at rachelwilhelmphotography@gmail.com. I am also on Facebook and G+. And you can call or text me at (260) 267-0303. Thank you!

Three Rivers Festival Crafters' Market

I am SO excited to be a part of the Annual Three Rivers Festival Crafters' Market!! I will be selling my photographs in various different sizes and mediums. I will have postcards, matted prints, framed prints, and wood prints. I will also be available to book photography sessions of births, babies, children, seniors, engagements, weddings, families, pets, and more. Additionally, I can take orders for any prints that you like but would like to buy in a different size or medium than what is available at my booth. I will be at my booth on Friday July 11 from 4 to 9 pm, Saturday July 12 from 11 am to 9 pm, and Sunday July 13 from 11 am to 9 pm. Please stop by my booth to check out my work as well as give me a chance to meet you!! I hope you don’t miss out on this!! :)

Chick-fil-A Craft Fair

I was so excited to be a part of the 2nd Chick-fil-A Craft Fair this past Saturday! This was my first time being in a craft fair! I had so much fun and I am looking forward to doing many more! Since my knowledge of such an event was non-existent, I spend many, many hours researching the necessities and how other photographers display their work. I personally thought it was all very interesting and it really got my creative juices flowing. I had a vision of what I wanted to accomplish and started working toward that. Unfortunately, I realized that what I wanted would cost more than I had, so I knew I had to make changes. I went back to sketching my ideas and researching other options. And then, just when I thought I was doomed, my husband swept in to save me and my day! He looked over my ideas that had been trashed and my new ones. He quickly determined that I did not need to throw out my original designs, I merely had to tweak them. I still didn't see how this was possible, but he told me that I didn't need to worry because he would simply make those crazy expensive items himself for a fourth of the cost. I was shocked and delighted!! He proceeded to take three days off work so that he could help me pick out the supplies, work out the designs, and build the missing display pieces. We had lots of fun working on everything together those three days and late into each night/early morning. :)

On Saturday, I was fairly nervous because I had yet to see how everything would come together. Thankfully, set up went well and my display looked the way I had envisioned it. Needless to say, I was pretty proud of myself. :) The weather was perfect all day, and I was so excited to sell my prints for the first time!! I had postcards, two different sizes of matted pictures with backing, two different sizes of wood prints, and two different sizes of framed prints. I also provided two sample portfolios of portraits and weddings that I have done. It was really neat getting to meet new people and talk with them about what I love doing!! So, without further delay, here are pictures of my booth!! :)

Here are some close-ups on some of the wood prints and the smaller framed prints.

This is only about 1/3 of the postcards I have!

Thank you so much to Chick-fil-A Jefferson Pointe for this wonderful opportunity!! I hope that they will continue to provide this awesome opportunity for local artists, and I hope that I am always available to participate in it!! I plan on finding more and more opportunities such as this one because it was so much fun! I will make sure to post where I will be and when I will be there so that any of you who are interested can come out and see what I have to offer!

And for those of you who like to avoid crowds of people at all cost, I can take print orders through my website of any of my photographs. Simply message me with the photo you like, the size you want, and how you would like to receive it. :)

www.rachelwilhelmphotography.com