Angie recently came to Jacksonville for a "How to Make Pink Coffee" mentor session, and I don't know who had more fun-her or me. She loves life and loves to laugh. Don't you want to be around people like that all the time?! She works with the Media Team at her church in Gainesville (where her husband, Mike happens to be the Associate Minister of Music and Media). Since Angie and her team shoot a lot of indoor events, we focused on shooting in low lighting and using any available light to work to our advantage. And Mike volunteered to be our model. :)

We don't look like we're working hard... but we really were. :)
After a great shoot (and yummy lunch) we did some Photoshop training. I'm looking forward to working with the whole Media Team for a training session this fall!

Remember Kristian?! She won my "How to Make Pink Coffee" contest!

Kristian owns Kreative Photography in Orlando, Florida. And last week she came up to Jacksonville for her mentoring session with me. She showed up at my door bearing Starbucks and won me over immediately! We talked a lot about shooting, branding and pricing, and I really enjoyed getting to know her. I always say it's a really small world out there, but was still surprised when we realized that we know someone in common! After our (rather long-thanks to me) chat we met up with a great couple for their engagement session.

We shot Jessi and Chris' engagement session at Adventure Landing in Jacksonville Beach. They were up for anything, so we even managed to get a few shots in the water park area!

The fist bump engagement ring shot...a new classic!

I couldn't help myself-had to take another mirrored glasses shot!

Chris entertained us the whole time!

Jessi and Chris,
Congratulations! Thank you for being kind, patient and easy to work with. I know your wedding will be beautiful!

Kristian,
You rock! Thank you for spending the afternoon with me. It was fun getting to know you. Your honesty and real-ness is refreshing, and I'm excited that I now have somewhere to stay during my IKEA trips. :) And thank you for your sweet words!

Kacy is one of the most stylish people I know. She's a makeup artist and designer-graphics and jewelry. So it's a bit of an understatement to say she has a great eye and killer style. The girl knows a thing or two about what looks good! When we talked about our session together she had a simple request for me. She just wanted to learn more about shooting. So I met her at her house, (one block from the beach; so jealous!) and we had a "how to shoot in manual mode" crash course. Then we put her skills to work during a laid back love session with a super-cute couple. Phil and Shelby have the best story. They met on a cruise ship! Isn't that fun?! And they aren't just pretty people. They are really funny and were so patient with us.

And they brought BIKES!!!

Kacy working her skills! I can't wait to see some of the shots she got from this session.

Clearly, it was a fun afternoon. :)

And we ended with a little dance-off. :)

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.

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: I want you to experience the fast-paced craziness of a real photo session, so, "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!

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!