A decade in review

Hard to believe another decade as past – 2010 to 2019. I’m not sure what this decade is called – “the tens?”

Regardless, it has been a memorable decade and I thought it fitting to write a blog post on how the last decade has changed my life and gotten me to where I am today.

At the start of the decade, I wasn’t Lori Black, the wedding and portrait photographer. In 2010 I was a communications specialist. I was working an 8-to-5 job at the University of Nebraska. It’s a good place to work but I didn’t love it. I enjoyed my co-workers and the university atmosphere, but the job really wasn’t for me.

In 2010 I was at a crossroads. My husband, a full-time schoolteacher, went into residential real estate sales on the side. He got fairly busy and it often interfered with his day job. So, I decided I would go into the profession myself and help him out where I could.

The plan was to keep my day job and do real estate on the side. But at the time, rumors of job cuts and layoffs were rampant in my department, and I decided I couldn’t do real estate well if I worked another full-time job. I got up the courage to quit. It turns out my job was on the chopping block anyway, so it was a good decision.

This was just the beginning of my decade of career change.

A little background: My original career was as a journalist. I worked as a newspaper and wire service reporter and editor for many years until the late 1990s. The 2000s were spent working at the university.

When this current decade started, I just started my venture of career changes. I worked in real estate for many years and still have my real estate license. I still work in the field when I can. However, at some point early in the decade I decided to help my brother, who started a business in wedding videography. Wedding video eventually transitioned into wedding photography, which is the bulk of what I do.

I still do wedding videography – sometimes by myself, sometimes with my brother. I’ve lost track of how many weddings jobs – both video and photography – he and I have done together and separately.

I took a sidestep in 2017. While I was still working in wedding photography and real estate, I decided to re-enter the traditional workforce with an 8-to-5 job. Real estate sales had fallen off, and I decided some extra money would help the family.

I won’t go into details about this job, but suffice it to say I didn’t enjoy it and it didn’t last very long. When the job ended I refocused on my businesses, which is where I’m at today.

So here we are at the cusp of another decade. I look forward to meeting more and more wedding and portrait clients.