Personal

Life With Manali – Springtime Edition!

May 11, 2018

UVAGraduationPortraitPhotographer-CharlottesvilleVA_0021
I’m Manali
Coach, editor & brand photographer based out of Cincinnati, Ohio. When I'm not behind a camera or teaching about systems, you'll find me at a vineyard or cuddled with my cat Keegan on our cozy couch!
Top categories
Tried & true business tips  and systems to save time
Behind the scenes of not just business, but LIFE as well.
My best tips for getting them ,most out of your brand session!
Watch This Free Class to Grow Your Photo Business! 
I Want To Tune In!

The past couple have weeks have been filled with a lot of traveling around, time spent with people I’m very close with and a LOT of photographing weddings & seniors which I’m so grateful for! As always, I want to document all the in between moments during this time of life as well so here’s what real life has looked like for the past two weeks!

  • I apparently am no longer immune to college environments and got sick! So basically I’ve subbed out my endless amount of chai & coffee with a lot of chamomile/lemon zinger/green tea! Which led me to realize that the white tea wellness defender from Starbucks is THE MOVE!! I woke up on Wednesday with the sorest of sore throats and had one while on the train over to work which did wonders! Highly recommend for anyone else who’s dealing with this awful combination of allergies + being sick simultaneously!
  • GUYS, I got to photograph a wedding on UVA GROUNDS!!! REPEAT: A WEDDING AT THE CHAPEL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA!!!!! It was SUCH a fun day second shooting with Hope Taylor who is not only INCREDIBLE at what she does but so genuinely nice and super fun to work with! The day was one of my favorites and I can’t wait for many more weddings at UVA to come <3 Check out her blog post from the day!
  • I also got a new camera bag and camera strap and it has changed my life so much for the better πŸ˜€
  • I’m pretty sure I’m going to break my record of times going out at UVA post-grad as opposed to undergrad….which is sad in every respect hahahaha my undergrad self most definitely would not have gone out two nights in a row, while sick, but I feel like I have to take full advantage of my time in Charlottesville every time I’m back visiting now!! Still counting down the days to my first Wahoo at Boylan though hahaha will update you all when it finally happens!
  • I met up with a friend who was back from India that I hadn’t seen in ages which was fun! We did a mini impromptu shoot at the Kennedy Center which is one of my favorite places to shoot! Here’s a little sneak! πŸ™‚
    KennedyCenterRooftopPortraits-Tricha019
  • &pizza will forever be a favorite!! Said goodbye to a friend who will be traveling around the world this summer before she starts at UVA Med School!!! So although it feels like a goodbye, I can’t wait to go down there wayyy too often in the fall and hang out with her & show her all the quintessential Charlottesville things πŸ™‚
  • I got to actually hang out with Naveen on a week day night in D.C. which has never happened before! I made the poor guy walk WAYY too much and we found a super good new Italian spot by Capitol Hill πŸ™‚ It was a nice change of pace putting some work to the side after having been working non-stop including weekends for about 8 weeks now, which probably also contributed to bullet number one haha I ALSO ended up taking some of his graduation portraits which actually ended up being a lot of fun for him hahaha these might be my unbiased favorite ones of all time……besides probably my best friend’s ones that are coming up soon at VT!!
    UVAGraduationPortraitPhotographer-CharlottesvilleVA_0028 UVAGraduationPortraitPhotographer-CharlottesvilleVA_0026
  • Thanks Sohum for a couple photos of the two of us!
    UVAGraduationPortraitPhotographer-CharlottesvilleVA_0021
  • The spring busy season has truly hit with a crazy April & May and most probably June as well! For anyone who also has a side hustle, I definitely recommend blocking off one weekend a month to have to just relax! I know I didn’t exactly stick to that for this spring but I really hope to moving forward because you can hustle as hard as you want but you will always need rest! Which is hard to stick to when you’re growing a business but standing up for personal dates/events that you have marked out is hard but necessary!! And I spent about 2 hours in a coffee shop talking to my girl Jontell about this hahahaΒ 
  • This week I’m traveling down to Virginia Tech for my best friend’s graduation and I AM SO EXCITED!!! She stayed an extra year since she did a co-op during her time and so I’m super excited to celebrate this weekend with her but mostly to have her back at home <3 I can’t wait for all the D.C. adventures to come!!! I’ll be taking her graduation photos at VT (shocker, I know hahaha) and I’ve actually never photographed there so it should be a super fun time! Hokie stone may be no white marble, but it’ll have to do!!
    UVAGraduationPortraitPhotographer-CharlottesvilleVA_0060

This post was brought to you by a Manali that is dreaming to have the mac ‘n cheese at Cheestique in Ballston all over again, pictured below πŸ™‚

TOP RESOURCES

Start drafting a photography-friendly timeline & get to know the couple better so you can best personalize their experience with you from the start!

TOP RESOURCES

Photographers, tune in to this masterclass to learn how to quickly build your photography business and consisntely raise your prices.

TOP RESOURCES

Thinking of investing in a branding photography session? Read about branding sessions & how to get the most out of yours!

Browse By Category

Business

Branding

Mindset

Podcasts

Personal

Search by Keyword

WORK WITH ME

How I Can Help

I help creative small business owners feel calm & confident in front of the camera or behind your business with brand photography, educational resources & online business management.

WORK WITH ME

Want more support?

1:1 Coaching for Creatives

Helping creative small business owners overcome the perception of perfection & ditch comparison to generate momentum towards their goals - one week at a time!

LEARN MORE

Enneagram 4w3, cognitive & computer science major turned biz strategy nerd!

I went from charging $600 per wedding to over $5k & went full-time within 1 year of starting my biz! Now I help creative small business owners show up confidently behind the scenes with elevated brand photography, business strategy to build their dream biz & life and help managing all the logistics and details along the way! 

WORK WITH ME!

YOU'VE GOT (E)MAIL

Weekly emails sprinkled in with business tips & psychology-backed sales lessons. The catch? The MP Email Fam gets first dibs on new offerings & sweet savings sprinkled in along the way!

Leggings, messy buns, and 3rd cups of coffee (or wine!) are *all* welcome around here

Swipe My Booked Wedding Questionnaire & Join the MP Email Fam

business tips dropped weekly

    Insta famous
    FRIENDS

    Latest business tips, BTS, travel & cozy life with Keegs 🐱 over on the 'gram! Have a question? Just wanna say hi? Don't be a stranger - shoot me a DM! 

    @MANALISONTAKKE

    Do a happy dance & then personalize your wedding clients' experience with this questionnaire when they book! This has helped me build a client experience that has booked me $5k+ weddings!

    DOWNLOAD THIS FREE GUIDE