I don’t have an office. Did you know that? I sit in my living room with my iMac.

I mean, if we are getting picky, I don’t even have a desk. I just plopped my desktop on a coffee table and sit on a pillow. Yes, every so often I have this urge to readjust my bum.

This was never always this way – so yes as of now I am searching for at least a desk (Know of a cool place to get one? Shoot me a message!) 

But until then, for some reason, this suits me. Somewhere in my early 20’s – I found that keeping myself grounded did not mean I needed a specific place to plant my feet (or sit my behind).

I could find my soul in Paris watching the sunset, and also see it hiking cliffs in San Diego.
I could feel love on Sunday at my grandmother’s house as well as witnessing two people tie the knot in a barn.
I could be engulfed in happiness at a crowded park in New York City and a deserted beach down south.

So maybe I am crazy to not have an office, but it doesn’t hinder my ability to love this profession.

I still geek out at couples as I hear engagement stories.
I still find excitement in editing and capturing those natural moments.
I still love connecting with people and finding what makes them tick.

Are you thinking it is all the crow-poses I’ve been doing in yoga?
“There’s too much blood rushing to your head, Marissa!”
Not having standard hours in a standard office with a standard desk & chair is not standardly smart.

But I’m here to tell you it is (for me).
I still get up at 7am. I still sit down and answer emails.  I still shower & get dressed for the day.
I just also edit until midnight listening to old love songs on repeat. I also spend my evenings in coffee shops meeting brides. I also spend my weekends capturing couples share their love. I also make travel plans in the middle of the afternoon on a Tuesday.
I don’t have to have a chair to do my job. I don’t need cubicle walls or a time card. I just need to have a heart open to life & all that crosses my path.

As a photographer I feel even though sessions are crucial for the creative process, it truly isn’t what shapes it. The mindset shapes it. Since my approach to photography is heavily candid – I use emotion to feel my way through a session.

So if my mind is open then creatively, I can see them. I can see what is most important in their life. What makes their heart skip a beat.
I can’t see that from just sitting in an office. I need to be able to move. Hence – the desk on the floor.

“Okay, Marissa get to the point already!” I hear you, I hear you.
I implore you this week, or tomorrow, or right now: change your routine. Drive a different way to work. Change out the pictures on your desk. Listen to a new genre of music. Read a book before bed instead of scrolling through social media. See how much your mindset changes. What you are able to take in; to feel. Whether it is relief, or love, or clarity, or intrigue. Let it shape you.

And hey, maybe next you’ll ditch the office and join me on the living room floor! // xo Mariss