shining light on 2016
When I was in elementary school I wanted to be a teacher.
When I was in middle school I wanted to be a photographer.
When I was in high school I briefly wanted to be a cop (what?!) but mostly wanted to be Annie Leibovitz.
When I was in college and working an office job my co-workers referred to me as "The General" because I guess I'm a little bossy natural born leader.
And now I am a working photographer who also gets to teach people sometimes. It's pretty cool. More than pretty cool, it's a motherlovin' dream come true. Well my dream anyway, the one I hadn't completely formulated but worked my bum off to get to and once I found myself here I was like OH YES this is it. Annnnyyywaaaaayyyz... I've been meaning to share about my upcoming teaching/learning opportunities and I'm a bit of a list maker, so here goes:
Photo Field Trip (which if you're wondering what it is all about, this video does a damn good of conveying the vibe) - happening in just over 5 weeks in Santa Barbara, California. I'll be teaching a live session coupled with a talk about creating space for magic in family photography. Here's the description, for those of you (like me) who like the meaty details: Unscripted magic moments occur between parents and children as a natural part of their daily lives. But making space for those sparks to fly in front of your lens – in the short time you spend with a family – is what this class is all about. We will discuss how to run a thriving family photography business that fulfills your needs as deeply as it does your clients. We will cover finding the right clients for YOU; connecting to your clients; building relationships and trust; setting a mood, and preparing clients (and yourself) for easy-going successful sessions (and attempting to avoid some of those dreadful “worst-case-scenarios”); and keeping your perfect-for-you clients coming back for more! Life is naturally beautiful, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to WORK to capture that beauty authentically. This class will delve deep into the prep work leading up to a lifestyle family session, and then we’ll prove it works by shooting one.
Omaha workshop because I go where I am desired, and apparently that's the midwest! We'll be in a barn-turned-studio for the workshop, but also running around the surrounding 26-acre farm, and in addition to all the talking we'll do, I'll be shooting a family session AND there's an option for a dinner and discussion add-on with Ashley Crawford who is kind of a film superstar in the area.
AND because I like to challenge myself and I love kids and curiosity and crafts, I'm offering a week long photography summer camp this July through Vibe of Portland. I am all kinds of excited for this one. If you've got a kiddo between 4-7 grade with an interest in photography, click on that link over there and check it out!
This One's for the Mamas 2.0 will be going down in Santa Barbara in late March. More details to come soon!
So what if you really want to learn with me but can't make it to California, Santa Barbara, Portland, or elementary school? Well then how about you join me online through the Define School classes I teach!
One more place to send you: HERE you can read reviews of all of my workshops by actual attendees who were not paid or bribed or promised anything other than my eternal love for writing their reviews.
I think that's the most I've written in a blog post in a long time. I need a cup of tea now. Or a cookie.
Smooches, PQ
