Today’s guest blogger is not only a full-time high school teacher that happens to teach the very subject we are all trying to perfect, photography, but she is also a senior photographer and a mom to twin boys!

Balancing everything we have going on in our lives is a constant battle and learning how others handle it is a great way to not only realize that we are not alone in this, but to also learn from others and maybe incorporate some of their tips into our own lives.

Amber Fox did a self-interview in order to share with everyone how she keeps everything on track and manages a full-time job teaching to high school kids, a successful senior photography business and being a mom.  Thanks for sharing Amber.

What was teaching photography like when you started?  I’ve taught photography to high school seniors for the past 13 years. When I first started teaching, two years after my graduation from UCLA, I was only 6 years older than most of my students. I looked like one of them.

At that point, teaching photography was all darkroom and black and white photography. I loved it because I had my very own darkroom. Not only would I print alongside the kids, I’d stay after school and print to my heart’s content. I loved seeing the kids’ eyes open to the magic of the darkroom. It is such an honor that year after year, I get to expose my students to my biggest passion.

How have the advances in technology affected your teaching?  I feel like I have taught three waves or generations of photographers.

• When I came into my classroom, I took over a 50-year program of traditional black & white photography.
• Around 2006, we went digital and got a set of 20 Macbooks. Digital photography was the new norm and was all around us. I had to take classes at the Apple store to learn Photoshop.
• Now everything is digital. My students take pictures with their iPhones, and we have a bunch of DSLR’s to learn on.

Now that every student has a camera on their phone and takes pictures daily, I never have to convince them how important or fun photography is. They’re already obsessed about it. But even though we have all this great new technology and I love it, we still develop film in the darkroom, just so they get a sense for the history of the medium.

How has teaching affected your business of being a Senior Portrait photographer?  You would naturally think that I have it made and that I have access to my ideal client. I am unfortunately not allowed to photograph my own students, which is a huge bummer. However, there is still a lot I can gain from teaching photo.

• I am always on the up and up on current fashion. There is no need for me get fashion reports of what the current trends are.
• I get to see how young people use Instagram or whatever social media site they are currently obsessed with.
• I really understand my ideal client and know how to talk to her.
• I get paid to learn more about photography and I’m always learning more to teach my students.
• I learn about awesome new locations from seeing where my students shoot.
• Students really think that their yearbook picture is their senior portrait. For students in my area, they really need to be educated that there is so much more to the high school senior portrait experience.
• Even though I am not allowed to photograph them while they are enrolled at my school, after they graduate I totally can rock it. Below is one of my favorite former seniors. Isn’t she stunning?

How do you work full time, be a mom to twin toddlers, and run a photo business?

• I have an awesome husband who gives me space to pursue my dreams.
• Having our boys on a great sleep schedule really helps. They nap for three hours a day and go to bed at 6:30 pm. I discipline myself to do all my editing while my boys nap. Even as I write this, my boys are napping.
• I don’t take on more than I can handle. Two shoots a month and four a month during summer.
• I outsource my bookkeeping and the graphic design for my blog, which is just too much for me to think about. Like right now, I am doing some changes to my blog and Candace takes care of it for me.
• I’m real with my clients. All my sales sessions are in my home, so they see photos of my boys and even toys on the floor. And they love meeting them too!
• I don’t watch that much TV, which frees up a lot of time to put towards growing my business and reading great books.
• And I get over feeling guilty that I don’t blog enough. At this point, I would rather spend more time with my kiddos when I am home. They just grow up so fast and I want to be present while they are awake.
• I have a work schedule that I consistently stick with: shoot on Saturdays, never work on Sundays and sales sessions on Thursdays.

Sometimes I wish I could just be a stay at home mom and rock the photography business on the side. But my full time job is pretty awesome. I really think I am living the dream and have the best of both worlds.

Visit AmberFoxphoto.com to see more of Amber’s beautiful work.

Follow her on Instagram @amberfox.

Check her out on Facebook here.