Well my friends, the last two weeks have been busy to say the least, but well worth the loss of sleep, missed meals and all the frequent flyer points. In the past 14 days, I’ve had the pleasure of attending the WPPI Road Trip in Irvine, the cretiveLIVE Jasmine Star wedding photography course in Seattle and after a quick 6 hour stop in LA, I headed to Maui for a long overdue romantic honeymoon with my honey. Here’s the Steph’s Notes version of my adventure.
WPPI Road Trip: I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I left my house at 6am that Monday morning, but when I headed home at 9pm that night, I was invigorated. I made some new friends, I was a more confident photographer and business owner, and most importantly, I felt like I had a plan.
Advice from Becker: “Meet people and reflect with people.” Lunch was served buffet style in the trade show room. The tables were empty and people were standing around with their food waiting for who knows what. Not me, I sat down a table by myself (near the food of course), and what do you know people came to sit with me. Like, almost instantaneously. It was silent for a few moments and I really can’t stand the awkward silence, so I blurted out the old “so where is everyone from” line. Never fails. Its as if everyone was waiting for permission to speak. When the event ended, we ended up hanging out in the hotel lounge for a few more hours comparing notes, exchanging tips and ideas, and even discussing opportunities to collaborate. There may be a boudior marathon in our future…
What Jules Bianchi is great at: Building community. I was so excited to hear what Jules and Joy had to say about how they reach out to their community through social media AND real life exchanges. My favorite is the two worlds together in what they call the “Let’s be Friends” Party. Real people, real fun and professional Facebook profile pictures. So stinkin’ clever!! And if you don’t know about Mutt Mugshots, go check it out!
Rick Miller from Adobe: Lightroom editing 300x faster than I ever known was possible! I think I may send this man an Edible Arrangement for the shortcuts he demonstrated for us.
Joe Buissink: The total experience guru. About 10 minutes into Joe’s presentation I was ready to book a shoot with him. Not because I was wowed by his images (even though I was), but because the meaning behind his images. Each image displayed through the uncalibrated projector had its own story and its own emotions. Joe’s passion for his art reminded me of my own insatiable urge to capture real life moments.
Last but not least, the Boudior Divas schooled us on the return of boudior portraits. To be honest, I never considered boudior photography until these ladies shed some light on the subject. Who doesn’t want to capture portraits that will remind a woman of how beautiful she is for the rest of her life? What I found more interesting is how the Divas found an untapped niche in industry. Who would imagine a studio that only shoots boudior would do so well? You can find me looking for my niche…
CreativeLIVE and Jasmine Star: 5 days in Seattle: Jasmine enlightened us on so many aspects of business building, marketing and photography itself, but the most powerful message I gathered from the 5 days we spent together was BE YOURSELF. As I mentioned on the last day of filming, its not always easy to “be yourself” in LA. In a city full of pretenders actors, its hard to tell who is who, and what is real versus what is fake. Real talk. Go down to Hollywood Blvd and then try to disagree with me. As a part of being yourself you need to repel and attract. I want to attract people like myself. People who are laid back, and enjoy the finer things in life (but don’t mind going to several stores to make sure we get the best deal). People who have faith and goals. People who understand the power of a smile and sincerity. And I want to repel anyone who has something negative to say about that. That means the person dressed up as Chucky standing in Marylin Monroe’s footprints outside of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre trying to scare people and the man in the Target parking lot who screamed obscenities at a woman who was trying to park her car yesterday have officially been repelled.
I know my Fab 5 buddies posted their photos from Laura and Billy’s wedding earlier this week, but you will just have to wait one more day for mine. I had every intention of blogging from Maui, but when I actually got there, it just wasn’t happening. I mean, would you sit in your room editing images if this was happening outside? 
I rest my case. Check back for the images of the bride getting ready and the ceremony from MY point of view.
