Jasmine Star

I've ranted about Jasmine Star on so many occasions! She is one of the photographer's whose blog I've been following for a VERY long time! I found out about her before I even started my own business, so she was definitely a huge inspiration to me. That being said, there was NO way I was going to miss her talk at WPPI! She packed the house in the Grand Garden Arena of the MGM Grand, and even made most of us cry with her openness. 

A lot of what Jasmine said that night I had heard in bits and pieces through other talks and workshops that she's done. But I always come away learning something new or being inspired in a new way. Here are some of the notes I jotted down from her talk...

-Why are you doing what you're doing? Pretty straight forward question, but it made me think.

-As far as your business goes, "You can't do everything well, focus on your strengths and outsource the rest." This concept was reiterated many a times this week through various speakers. I'm still determining what my strengths and weaknesses are, and more-so what I enjoy doing and what I could do without!

-Do I like the photographer I've become? I this touches on my post the other day about not being satisfied with where my priorities were at. But I've also been thinking about this on a more technical level, as well. I don't think I'm at the skill level that I'd like to be at yet, but I'm really happy with my progression. And that's the main thing, that I keep progressing and not get stagnant and settle for where I'm at because there are always new techniques to learn and apply.

-Don't try to make your photos look like someone else's. This coincided what Bobbi + Mike said about owning who you are, and what Becker said about finding out what makes you special and different from other photographers. I know that I'm embracing this more and more I take pictures. Defining who I am and what my style is. I'm still not fully there, but I hope I never really am. I want to always be striving to challenge myself.

-Big sacrifices lead to big changes which lead to big results. Enough said! 

-What changes can I make in my own personal life? Jasmine wrote down some of the changes that she decided to make for herself and they were exactly the ones that I want to make as well. 1- family first 2- make sacrifices 3- learn to say no 4- stop getting caught up in comparisons. Then she challenged us to make two changes that would free up our time and better our business. The two changes I want to make are 1- Learn to say no so that I'm not over-working myself and hence giving me more free time to spend with my family and friends and enjoy life! 2- less social networking. Big one. When my daughter is awake, Facebook stays away. I've gotten better at this for sure, but I still need to wean it out a little bit more!

And finally, Dare To Succeed. I want to take her up on that dare. But I want to do it in a way that doesn't take time away from my family and allows me to run my business the best way that I can for myself and my family.

She had a great talk. At times it felt like she was speaking directly to me about the struggles that I've been facing in my quest to find balance. Can you see how all these sessions have just been building up on each other and why I needed so much time to process after I got home?! =)

After her session she was kind enough to hang around after and talked to us and even let us get a picture with her! Wow! So Star Struck at this moment! Don't mind me, I look a little too excited in this picture! Try to look past my owl eyes! Better yet, don't even look at me, look at the stunning Miss Jasmine Star!

Thanks for taking the picture, Justine!

Bobbi & Mike

Bobbi and Mike's session was jam packed with so many good tips and full of inspiration. I took lots of notes during their session and compiled a few that really stood out to me and that I plan to implement into my business.

-You're not just a photographer. I loved this statement. I have always put the word 'just' infront of my profession for as long as I can remember. When I graduated and wasn't going to hair school yet I worked at a couple coffee shops. When people asked me what I did for work I'd say, "Oh, I'm just a barista." When I got my license for hair styling and was working at salons and then eventually at my own home I would still tell people, "I'm just a hair stylist." And now with photography, I often say, "I'm just a photographer." Seriously! What kind of job do I have to have in order to validate myself??? Geez louise! I am NOT just a photographer, I'm A PHOTOGRAPHER! And proud of it and of how far I've come in just one year!

-Own who you are. See last two sentences of previous paragraph! And along with owning who I am I want to own what I do.

-Show what you want to shoot. This concept has been on my mind for SO LONG now. I always think about this every time I post pictures from a shoot, or even ones I take at home of my daughter. Why should I post pictures on my blog or Facebook page that don't really showcase the style of images that I want to take? Take weddings for example. I'm not a stand-beside-each-other-and-look-into-the-camera-and-give-a-cheesy-smile kind of wedding photographer. Sure, I take a few of those posed pictures because Grandma wants to frame one of them, but you won't ever see one of those pictures on my blog or website. If those are the types of images that you want, the more traditional posey posey kind, then please don't contact me, because you won't be happy with the result! Anyway, I want to really think strategically about the images that I showcase and ask myself if each image captures the feel and real-ness that I love to photograph. If it doesn't, then I need to leave it.

-Your Goal: To show the them that they are when they're alone in their living room. I love this! Bobbi was referring more about family shoots for this, but you can still transfer the concept to weddings and engagements. You want to create an atmosphere where the clients can feel at home. Along the same lines, Bobbi and MIke said to "put yourself in your client's shoes" and that "you're not going to get 'real' until you show it yourself", meaning you need to be real with your clients if you want them to relax and open up to you and your camera and be real themselves.

-Shoot every wedding as if it's your own. Touchez. Good point. In this case, put yourself in your brides shoes and, if you've been a bride yourself, remember how nervous you were the morning of your wedding and how everything really did have to be just right. Don't slack off for one wedding because you're not feeling excited about this particular wedding, whether the decor isn't quite your taste or the bride is a little too Bridezilla for your liking. It doesn't matter. Get off your high horse and do your job with pride and remember that this is HER day, not yours!

-The art always comes second to taking a beautiful picture. Your priority is to take flattering photos, NOT just taking photos that will look great in your portfolio. Mmm. This was a great point! It really echoed in my head for a while after! Every once in awhile, or probably more often than that, I come across a photo where I just LOVE the composition and the lighting and all the artistic aspects of the photo, but the bride's eye is squinting and/or the groom just happened to lick his lips at that moment. So much of me wants to use that image anyway, despite the risk of totally mortifying this poor couple that has hired me to document their wedding day forever! The last thing I want is for my client to NOT want to show their friends one of my images!! So, despite the fabulous composition and artistic layout, that image has to GO!

-When you give mediocre images that's all the client will see. This statement coincides with the previous one, but it really needs to be emphasized! Bobbi and Mike were so true in saying this, and that by giving your clients so many pictures, including the ones that are just ok, they won't see the handful of amazing images amongst all the mediocre ones. I need to work on this, big time. I need to only produce about 60 images from a portrait session/e-session, and have those be my 60 or so most favourite images. The images that really resonate with who I am and what my style is and what my branding is all about.

-There are going to be enough people who DO like you. So encouraging. How often have I thought to myself, "what if they don't like me? Or my pictures? Or my personality?!" Who cares?! There are enough people out there who do. Even if it's just my mom. Big deal! I've said this before and I'll say it again, I'm doing this for me, in a sense. Yes, my clients are a big part of it too, but as far as the artistic, creative stuff goes, that's all me! So if you don't want to hire me because I don't care if my skies are blown out in order to properly light my subjects face then please find a photographer who does care about properly exposed skies!

As you can see, Bobbi & Mike's session was jam-packed with so much knowledge! I was busy writing for most of the talk! I hope you enjoyed my ramblings and do check out their blog for some good reads and great images!

I don't have any pictures to share from that session. Sorry! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend, I sure did! I'll have to write about it another time. Today I've been lying in bed with one of the most severe headaches I've ever had. And just overall not so good. A couple hours nap didn't help the headache ease up either. Thankfully my mom lives near by and didn't mind coming over to help take care of Cheyenne while I try to not wince in pain every time I move my head. Fun. I hope your Tuesday is starting out better than mine!

[b]ecker

Becker was the first session that I attended at WPPI. It was a couple of hours after we arrived at the MGM Grand and I was pumped for the start of an amazing week! Here are a few of the things that Becker said that stood out to me...

"Figure out what makes you special and different and figure out how to let people know about it."

We don't need to fit another photographer's mold when it comes to our own artistic style and creativity in photography. I'm still thinking about this for myself and what I think makes my images different and special compared to other photographer's images.

"Do whatever it takes to deliver an outstanding and remarkable experience to your clients."

Becker talked a lot about the whole overall experience that you make with your clients and your aim being to get your clients to rave about you and your services. Your personality and attitude are of utmost importance when dealing with a bride and groom. He said that "it is more important to be personable than professional." Not to say that being professional isn't important, but if you're going into a wedding all business and no personality, that'll affect the outcome of how your couple's relay their experience with you to their friends and family. After the wedding day is over, don't let up on your services, either. You need to keep your game on until you've delivered the final products, and even after that you want to maintain a great relationship with your clients.

"People don't always remember what you say but they remember how they felt."

This kind of branches off from my previous paragraph but the truth in it is so valuable. He said to "invest in relationships and improve your client experience." I think that I'm a very personable person, so maybe that will be part of what makes me different and special from other photographers? Becker said that your "#1 goal is to make sure the bride and groom are having a good time" on their wedding day. You can make sure this happens by making them "look and feel beautiful by genuinely caring for them and taking pride in what you do."

I have way more notes that I wrote down from his talk but these were the main things that stuck with me and that I want to really aim to improve in my business when dealing with couples or families for portrait sessions. Tomorrow, notes from Bobbi & Mike's session!

Here's a photo taken from the stage at [b]ecker's session. Can you spot Frances and I in the crowd??

Here we are!

You Define You

During Tamara Lackey's session at WPPI, she quoted this quote by Tony Schwartz:

"Is the life you're leading worth the price you're paying to live it?"


I reread this quote yesterday as I was going through my notes from WPPI and I was struck, once again, by how much this quote resonates with me and my life. When I first heard it during Tamara's session it almost brought me to tears. Is my life, as I'm living it right now, worth the sacrifices I have to make to get it to this point?


I submit that it is not.


I haven't blogged much since coming home from WPPI, as you have seen, but I love that I haven't. Sounds strange, right? Let me explain this further.


For a few weeks/months now I've been struggling with the whole work/life balance scenario. I fully admit that I have been royally sucking at it. I didn't have boundaries. I didn't have a time and place when work ended and being a mom/wife/friend began. It all merged into one big mess of a day and life. I've cried many tears over this matter, I wish I would have figured this out sooner. I struggled so hard with this passion and desire of mine to succeed in my business but to also be a great mom and a loving wife. I was at the point where I couldn't give 100% to any of those areas. I couldn't go full force into the photography thing because I had a toddler to take care of and a house to manage and a husband to love. Yet, I couldn't be a great mom or wife because my mind was always partially thinking of photography and what I needed to do or could do to further my business.


I never thought I would encounter this problem, ever. I have never been in a job or career that I loved and that was more than a job but a passion and a creative outlook for me. But here I am, in love with a job that inspires me and fulfills my creative side. I always knew that I wanted to be a stay at home mom, but I never in my wildest dreams ever thought that I would find a career that I actually wanted to work at. Sometimes I thank God that I had a baby before I took up photography because I don't know that I would have wanted to have kids when we did because I love it that much. But, I never would have picked up a DSLR and fallen in love with it had I not had Cheyenne. She was the reason I started my business. She was the reason I fell in love with photography, with capturing real moments.


So why has my life/business gotten to this point? Because I've been looking at other people's businesses and recommendations and taken them on as my own. 


Why have I let other people define what the Photography industry/business should look like for me? Did I even consider the fact that of these photographers that I listened to, not one of them had children to take care of? Some didn't even have spouses. 


Newsflash: I DEFINE WHO I AM AND HOW I RUN MY BUSINESS AND WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO ME!


Yes, I could blog every day, but that takes up a LOT of time (really, it does) and it takes away precious time with my daughter that I will never be able to get back. One day all my kids will be in school and I will have so much more time to pour into my business, but right now, I'm a stay at home mom with an amazing little girl who deserves all of her mom, all day. Not just the physical part of me that hardly has time to sit and play with her because I have to read the comments on my blog, or email this client back, or update my website, or try some new marketing strategy.


So, that's why I love the fact that I haven't blogged much lately. In its place I've been able to go to the drop-in play gym with my daughter and watch her hang from the monkey bars for the first time; I got to watch her splash in puddles with so much excitement; I got to do puzzles and make soup with puff balls on her little Ikea kitchen. I will never regret doing any of those things in place of blogging.


I will go into so much more detail next week about all the things that I learned at WPPI and how each speaker impacted my life and business in a huge way. 


So now my challenge for you is this: YOU define YOU! It's great to get ideas and inspiration and whatnot from other professionals in your industry but if it's causing you to make sacrifices in ways that you would one day regret, then it's not worth it. Not right now. Define what's important for you and your family and develop your business plan around that. Now THAT you won't regret. 


Again, ask yourself: "Is the life you're leading worth the price you're paying to live it?"

Processing

As you all know, I spent most of last week in Las Vegas. I'm still recuperating from that trip, both physically (sleep deprived!) and mentally (over stimulated by the sights and all the valuable information from the speakers and vendors.) Not only is Vegas a place to visit, but it's also quite the experience! I loved it so much. SO so much. I already told my husband he would be taking me back there in the near-ish future!

The city is amazing. Never have I seen such hugeness in such a condensed area. It seriously felt like the strip was a pop up city. When we flew in and our plane came through the clouds, all we saw were thousands upon thousands of little homes, and right smack dab in the middle of all those houses and flat land was this little blob of high rises. It was so strange!

Our hotel room faced the New York New York Hotel and it was an awesome view, right along the strip. As the sun set you could see the city transform into this amazing light show. Millions and billions of lights turned on and the city was illuminated by them and just by the energy that came from those walking along the sidewalks. I felt like I had to see it all but there was no way I possibly could. We tried to go out as often as we could, between speakers and perusing the trade show. I'm happy with the amount of stuff that we saw and did but there was still SO much that I didn't get a chance to see.

I'll write more about the details when I finish the rest of my pictures. But I have to say, the most amazing part of my trip was the Cirque du Soleil show that Frances and I watched. Remember my parents bought us tickets for Christmas? Well, best Christmas present ever! For most of the show we were sitting on the edge of our seats, jaws dropped, even a few tears shed on my part from the awe and wonder and gorgeousness of it all. What an amazing worship experience... to see art be created and unfold right before your eyes. I love how creative my Father is. Nothing moves me more than live theatre. It was unreal.

I learned so much at WPPI. I titled this post "Processing" because I seem to use that word every time I talk to someone about my experience and my time in Vegas. I went to maybe six different speakers and all them changed me in a different way. I learned so much about business and marketing and even some new techniques, but even more so, I learned things about myself. I can't say I was thrilled with everything that this brought up about me and how I'm running my business and life together. It's been a hard week in that sense. You'll notice I've been quite quiet as far as blogging and whatnot goes. I'm processing a lot. A LOT. This brain hasn't stopped turning since I got to Vegas and I don't anticipate it slowing down any time soon. But I'm so grateful for the areas in my life that God has pointed out to me that need some tweaking and re-prioritizing. I see some big changes coming for my business, but it'll be good. I'm excited about it. I'm excited to make this business my own and not compare it to other photographer's. I'm not them, and neither is my business or my life. I will defintiely write more about this as I reflect on it more and more, but for now you'll have to bare with me as I continue to process all this information.

Here are just a few photos that I edited yesterday from Vegas. Enjoy!

This is the view from my room just after sunset

New York New York in the day time

Frances (on the left) was my travel companion and roommate! Justine (right) was another friend/photographer who was at WPPI as well and we spent some time together doing photo shoots and hanging out!

Never a shortage of backdrops in Vegas for an impromtu photo shoot!

I love geometric shapes and lines.

A car that I assume is "hot" so I took a picture of it for my husband!

We wanted a picture of all three of us and this is the best we could do! I love it!

Vegas In A Nutshell

I don't think it's actually possible to sum up Vegas in a nutshell, but I'm going to try. Here we go...

AH-MAY-ZING!!!!

Phew, that was easier than I thought it would be! But seriously, it's incredible here. I fell in love the second our plane emerged from the clouds and all I could see was this vast flat city in the middle of the desert with this pop of city right in the middle of it. Wow. UNreal! It really feels like a pop up city. My hotel room looks out at New York New York and just past it is desert and mountains and blahness. This is craziness!!

The convention itself is phenomenal and overwhelming. I have been inspired and challenged and even shed a few tears (yeah, that's normal, but there's been some eye-opening lectures.) Aside from none of our attempts at setting alarms has worked thus far into the trip we've still made it to our 8am lectures. I don't have much time to write now, nor do I know how to sort through all my thoughts about this experience (that has still really only just begun!) I can't even show you any pictures right now, but there'll be lots when I get home!

Tonight is the Cirque du Soleil show that I got tickets for for Christmas and i can't be MORE excited!!!!! I have 2 things that I want to be able to check off my list while I'm here, oh wait, three.

1. See the fountains dance outside of the bellagio hotel at night
2. wander through the Venetian hotel and pretend I'm actually in Venice, Italy (a dream of mine that will still need to be fulfilled!)
3. Drink a margarita from margaritaville, for a friend, of course ;)

Enjoy your day!!!!