Donya Luana
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Donya Luana
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PersonalDonya GjerdingenFebruary 23, 2009
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simple tuesday.

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catching up...

UncategorizedDonya GjerdingenFebruary 23, 2009
Donya Luana Photography
Magnolia, TX
✨Cheers to you and yours this Thanksgiving! 🥂 #gratefuleachandeveryday
I struggle with taking time for myself. Anyone else? 🙋‍♀️ I can be real good about it if I happen upon a few spare minutes when everyone is still asleep, but I realized I’ve been listening to a lie I made up. That I’m only allowed time to myself when it doesn’t inconvenience anyone else. The lie that I need to be available at any moment for my family. ⠀ ⠀ But we all need to recharge occasionally. We all need that time just for us - guilt free! ⠀ ⠀ Make yourself a priority. Get out and do something just for you. ⠀ ⠀ Shout out to this guy for reminding me that I’m lying to myself about needing to be available at all hours. For telling me to go and enjoy time to myself and making sure everything at home is taken care of (including the chickens ☺️).⠀ ⠀ Double tap if you believe the lies you tell yourself!
PSA: Always have a back up plan when it comes to your digital files! One wrong click while trying to fix my iMac last week wiped out the mirrored external hard drives (two back ups with the same files) I use. These hold every photo I’ve ever taken of my children. It would have been devastating if I didn’t have it all backed up in another spot. @Backblaze to the rescue! Everything is restored in less than a week. I don’t think I could recommend a better way to spend $5 a month. If you haven’t spent the time to set up your back up system, make 👏🏼 the 👏🏼 time! 👏🏼 . #ondonyasdesk #backupyourphotos #backblaze #saveyourphotos #homeoffice #fixerupper #officeinspiration #risingtidesociety #hgtv
Happy Caturday from our furry ⏰ ! ⠀ Seriously... he’s gotten so used to Beau and me waking up at 4am on weekdays that he has decided we don’t need to sleep past 4am on weekends either. Good thing I love mornings! 🤷🏻‍♀️ Are you an early riser or do you prefer sleeping in?
The walls and shelves of our home will be bursting with red, silver, and green🌲holiday decor soon enough, but over the years I’ve learned to love the fall decorations 🍂 almost as much as I love Christmas. Question: When do you draw the line on putting up Christmas decorations in your house? ⠀ Love these 6x9 clipboards for easily swapping out new photos in our entryway. Snag them for your own home with the link in my profile.
My first thought when I glanced out the window while cooking dinner on this cold, dreary day was: the white balance is way off! I guess that’s what happens after a long day of photo editing in Lightroom... 🤪 I can’t be the only photographer that catches themselves thinking in terms of photo corrections. Have you ever? All I know is we need that sun to return and bring the warmth up (in more ways than one 😉)!
I feel like I’m getting pulled in all directions lately. Making dinners, washing bedding, attending school conferences, and editing aaaallll the photos. It’s been a bit of an adjustment to picking up more work now that both boys are in school full time (especially during this busy season!), while also staying on top of all the things I’ve done for years when they were home. ⠀ 💛⠀ But I believe gratitude changes everything! 💗 Every night before I fall asleep, I close my hands into fists and one by one I release a finger with each thing I can find to be grateful for that day until I get to at least all 10 fingers. And on the tough days, it’s usually about spinning the tough parts into positives. 💛⠀ A whole day behind on work due to having to take my kids for their heart checkups? That sucks, but I’m grateful for the medical technology we have, and the fact that their hearts are both doing fantastic!⠀ 💛⠀ What are your gratitude habits? Do you have one? I love hearing how others remind themselves to be grateful. ⠀ 📷 by @kayshaweiner
The milestones seem to come less often these days, but the time keeps on passing by just as fast. He turns 6 today! He’s my early bird, my snuggler, my helper, my jokester. Always trying to make everyone (& himself) laugh. I love him to pieces. A few milestones he's hit lately: losing his first two teeth, learning to read, & starting kindergarten. Excited to see him grow this year! #alwynbymonth
Have you ever used Lightroom for photo editing? I can remember learning to use Lightroom to edit photos for the first time while on a road trip to Florida roughly a decade ago. I was so excited to make our vacation photos look amazing! But it was incredibly overwhelming, and when I first began testing out the presets and fiddling with the sliders, it seemed to be making my photos worse rather than better! 😬⠀ ⠀ Fast forward 10 years and I now use Lightroom on a daily basis, from organizing and editing thousands of my own personal photographs to editing photos for wedding & newborn photographers around the country. (53 weddings, 40 newborns, & 18 engagements just this year!) And I’m *still* learning new tricks and shortcuts every so often! ⠀ ⠀ If you're still at that stage of fiddling and dabbling in Lightroom, struggling to make it work for you, what have been your biggest challenges with using the program? Comment below or send me a DM, I'd love to know!
I don’t know what it is about these little birds, but every year I am determined to photograph the heck out of them. Maybe it’s just a fun photo challenge or maybe it’s my way of making sure I enjoy them as much as possible before they head out over the Gulf. I’m not sure! But I never tire of watching them sword fight over sugar water. 🍃 What’s your favorite thing in nature to photograph?