NOTE: I'm leaving this post at the top of my blog for awhile...scroll down for new stuff!!!

Want to know how I do what I do?
Here's your chance to ask me anything!

When I started in this industry several years ago I wish I would have known someone who was doing this type of mentoring program; someone I could ask all of my embarrassing photography business questions. I truly believe I could've saved myself a lot of frustration, headaches and moolah. (I won't bore you with all of my examples!) Now I get questions from other photographers all the time. Really good questions! And while I love hearing from you, I just don't always have the time to sit at my computer and respond to all of them. Regular FAQ posts on this blog seemed like a good solution, but I find myself overwhelmed with answering all the questions. I want to! It's just hard. So I've come up with a fun solution for me AND you!

Here's the deal: I'm a one-on-one type of person. I prefer to sit in a relaxed setting and chat openly and honestly with someone I feel comfortable with. And now I'm at a place where I can offer that to other photographers with my mentoring program: "How to Make Pink Coffee". I want this to be a unique experience for photographers at all levels. This isn't about me telling you how great I am. It's about me answering your questions and telling you where I screwed up and where I've done well. Then helping you think of ways to implement fresh, new ideas into your own business.

I'll tell you my secrets to:
-branding your business
-pricing your work
-finding your editing style
-blogging
-using social media
-scouting for locations
-choosing the right clients for you
-saying no to the wrong clients (tactfully, of course!)
...and SO MUCH MORE!

And this is my favorite part: "How to Make Pink Coffee" is also an opportunity for you to shoot a photo session with me. (You get to pick the type of session!) I want you to experience the fast-paced craziness of a real photo session, so we will be working with actual clients, not models.

BUT WAIT, there's more! (I've always wanted to say that!)

Because this is Love Month I want to GIVE AWAY a spot to one lucky photographer. Yay! If you're interested leave a comment on this post telling me why you'd like to have this opportunity. Make sure to include your email address. You have until Friday, February 12th. I'll choose a winner at random and announce it on Valentines Day.

And...anyone who signs up during the month of February* will get $75 off the regular price of $650.

Want more info? Contact me for a full package and all the fun details!

*Remember, February only has 28 days this year. :)

Happy Love Day!!!

We're big planners when it comes to Valentine's Day. So much so that we have dinner reservations at a yummy restaurant today...at 4:00. Yep we'll be dining with your grandparents. :) Ha! Okay, so maybe planning isn't our thing. But you're not here to read about my fun Lunner (lunch + dinner) plans are you?!

I want to thank you all so much for participating in my "How to Make Pink Coffee" giveaway! I wish I could give mentoring sessions to each one of you. And I didn't want to make this tough choice on my own, so I used a random number generator to pick the winner. Each comment was numbered, and after taking out all the ones that weren't really entries, there were 41 left! So here goes:

The reason you're all here...

The winner is lucky #13, Kristian Bishop!!

Yay! Congratulations, Kristian! I cannot wait to meet you. Contact me and we will set up all the fun details. Thank you again to everyone who entered. Remember you can still get $75 off a "How to Make Pink Coffee" mentoring session through the end of February. Hopefully I'll get to meet a lot of you this year!

I want to give a little shout out to the talented designer who created my pink coffee photoart logo a few years ago. Yesterday I got an email through Google Alerts with a link to graphic designer Robbielee Deel's website. And she was talking about how much she likes my logo! I wish I could take the credit, but the girl who designed it, Taryn Hannah, is completely responsible. I'm so thankful for her vision and creative genius. My favorite part about working with her was that she really listened to what I wanted and took that into consideration through every step of the design process.

Thank you, Taryn!!!

And I'm not sure how I forgot to mention this, but Anderson took all the pictures for my "How to Make Pink Coffee" photoshoot. Yep, he's good! And to answer the emails about this: yes, the drink I'm holding is really pink. :)

Hope you're all enjoying the season! I'm taking a little break this month, and it's wonderful. :) It's fun having extra time for making Christmas decorations, updating my website, organizing new projects (including a mentoring program I'm starting in January!!), cleaning the house before family arrives, visiting friends, buying gifts and watching Christmas movies!!! Oh and posting an overdue FAQ blog entry...

How did you start/fund your business?
It was a sloooooow process, because frankly, debt scares the *you know what* out of me. Ask Anderson! We try to live debt-free to the best of our ability, (other than a mortgage) so from the very beginning I just saved every penny I made from photoshoots and put it towards the business. Okay, other than the pennies that I sometimes spent on new clothes and other necessities. ;) Doing it this way meant I couldn't run out and buy everything I wanted at once, but it also meant I wasn't stressed over paying bills!

What is the best business resource you've found?
That's an easy one! The Easy As Pie Cookbook.
Early this year my friend Audrey told me to that I HAD to buy it. So I did. And let me tell you - it is the best photography business resource I've come across. If you feel like maybe you aren't charging the right amount for photoshoots and prints, get it. If you KNOW you aren't charging the right amount, get it. Trust me. You need it!

Mac or PC?
Both! I have a small PC laptop that I drag around the house with me. It's great for when I want to edit in bed on a rainy day or on the couch late at night. We also have a Mac Pro with a HUGE screen. Anderson said I needed it, but it actually makes my stomach a little queasy when I stare at it too long. The screen is that big! They both have their advantages, but I'm really not partial to either one.

I'm not a photographer, but I want a nice semi-professional camera (if that exists!) that I can play around with and learn on. What would you suggest?
I have gotten this question 5 times in just the last week. FIVE! Sounds like a lot of people are getting cameras for Christmas-yay! There are a lot of good cameras out there, but I always recommend the same one, because it's one I've used and loved: The Canon Rebel. It's a great camera. I like that it has a full auto mode that you can start out on. But if you want to really learn photography and play around with exposure and shutter speed and all that fun stuff you can, because it also has a manual setting. I got a Rebel when I graduated from college and used it for 4 years! I loved it. I actually still have it b/c I can't part with it. :)

We always take fun pictures in front of the Christmas tree. It's one of our silly traditions!

I attended another Jacksonville Shoot Club event a few weeks ago. It was absolute madness! We (around 100 photographers) basically took over an entire city block and traffic slowed to a halt throughout the evening as people slowed down to see what the paparazzi were up to! Our fearless leaders: Brad, Melanie, Jeremy and Kara hooked us up with some beautiful models again. The girls were so gracious too. It's not easy posing for a ton of photographers, but they rocked it out all night.

Hair: Sonia Garza
Makeup: Faythe Mesic