The Art of Doing Less | Truthy Tuesday

Happy Tuesday loves!

I hope the new week is treating you well so far, and if it’s not, there’s still time to turn it around :)

Today I got the urge to write about how I’ve been feeling lately… Calm. And though it doesn’t sound all that noteworthy. It is, for me. I normally have so much going on (not because I’m so super busy and everybody needs something from me- mostly because I’m a chronically poor manager of my time) that I am constantly walking around in a state of anxiety without even realizing it. I am a fairly mellow person so when there’s too much going on, I’m overwhelmed. I’m also easily excitable but that’s a topic for another day lol. I am quite literally a bag of opposites but somehow they work together to make me, me! Lol 

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But on the matter of being anxious & overwhelmed… you know what exacerbates that? Not getting enough sleep.

Not getting enough sleep is probably one of THE top reasons why productivity suffers- mine anyway. I wake up, I’m tired… So I slowly get on the things I have to do for that day. Get distracted by non-essential things and social media because that doesn’t take much mental energy at all… Next thing you know, much more time has passed than I realize so I beat myself up for wasting that much time again. I don’t want to go to sleep without getting x number of things done, so what do I do? Stay up super late until x number of things are complete. But of course it takes me longer to get these things done because I’m tired. Then I fall into bed and wake up the next day exhausted because I went to bed too late… aaaand repeat the cycle. Because something is always due, work needs to be done, and when you’re self-employed, true breaks don’t really happen.

So how can I change it?  

I’ve been waking up lately (as in the past 7 days), not thinking about how much I have to do and how little time I have to do it all, but truly trying to move through my days a bit more mindful. What brought about this radical change? Sleep.

The only thing I can attribute to this new calmer space I’m in is the amount of sleep I’ve been getting. I was working in Atlanta for the past few days and every night I had a full night’s rest. Prior to going out of town I started going to sleep early as well, and when I came back, I kept it going! Though my diet is still a work in progress (I don’t eat horribly- probably just more sweets than I should), I am already thinking and feeling better JUST from getting more sleep.

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The reason I titled this the “Art of Doing Less” is because to be well rested, I have to be okay with shutting down. I have to be okay with not getting everything done. And what this past week has taught me is that it is indeed okay. I do not subscribe to the philosophy that in order to be successful you have to work around the clock/ not sleep/ be on the “grind” incessantly. That is actually quite literally the recipe for disaster because our bodies are not designed that way. We NEED rest to think clearly and make wise decisions. All nighters are necessary sometimes, but I am really trying to make an effort to move away from that being my standard mode of operation because I can say from personal experience now that being well rested feels so much better than getting everything done :)

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Sorry this post ended up reading more like a novel lol. But clearly I am passionate about this topic lol.

What’s your sleep philosophy? I’d love to hear :)

Stay tuned for the next Truthy Tuesday!

-Danni

Yodith | Washington, DC Lifestyle Photographer

Happy Friday!

I realized that a lot of the artist spotlights I’ve done, I’ve yet to share the full sessions! So I’ll remedy that by sharing them over the next few months- First up is Yodith!

You may remember her artist spotlight feature at the beginning of the month. Definitely one of my favorites beacuse I absolutely love her photo series with her grandmother.

It’s always weird for the photographer being photographed, but we had such a fun time together and her photos turned out absolutely beautifully :)

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If you’re interested in booking a session and would like to have the DFinney Experience yourself, email me and schedule yours today! Currently booking: February and March 2015.

Felicia | Los Angeles, CA Lifestyle Photographer

Happy Wednesday!

So happy to share this session with you today :)

On my last trip to LA this past November, I linked up with Felicia (you may remember her from here) and we had a lovely session at her home! I have been loving the home-based sessions lately because they have a great feel and really allow my clients to be completely themselves because they are in their element!

We didn’t forget about my first love of outdoor photography though! Definitely got some cool shots that sooo make me miss the warm LA sun since it’s currently… 27 degrees outside :/ 

Take a mini vacation, think warm thoughts, and check out Felicia’s session :) Her dynamic personality is perfectly captured in these photos ♥

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If you’re interested in booking a session and would like to have the DFinney Experience yourself, email me and schedule yours today! Currently booking: February and March 2015.

Gill Family | Washington, DC Family Photographer

Happy Tuesday!

I hope everyone on the east coast is staying warm and dry :) We didn’t get too much snow in DC, but winter precipitation always kinda slows things down around here… I don’t mind because I still have lots of indoor work to do lol.

So who do I have to share with you today? The lively Gill Family! 

You may remember Celena from her colorful headshot session last summer! This time we got together for a fun family session! As you can imagine, mom and dad have a lot going on, not only with 4 boys, but with their own respective businesses to run- talk about busy! But they manage to keep it all together AND look amazing while doing so!

As it would happen it was raining the day of their session, but they were troopers! And we made it work despite the rain :)  

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Then we headed inside for the second half of their session :)

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If you’re interested in booking a session and would like to have the DFinney Experience yourself, email me and schedule yours today! Currently booking: February and March 2015.

Aaris & Paris | Washington, DC Lifestyle Photographer

Happy Friday beautiful people :)

So excited to share this session with you guys today!

This past fall I got together with my former classmates Aaris & Paris for a fun “just because” session. I’ve known these ladies since elementary school and I love how, despite being twins, their individuality is clearly evident and awesome :) So I wanted to document it!

These pictures make me soo happy! The light, the locations, the makeup, their hair! Not to mention their beautiful relationship… I could go on, but I won’t lol. The pictures tell the story better than I can anyway :)

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If you’re interested in booking a session and would like to have the DFinney Experience yourself, email me and schedule yours today! Currently booking: February and March 2015.