Well, I cannot believe it has come and gone already! For a while it felt like it was the longest time coming, then I needed time to slow down so I could get all the loose ends tied up before the big weekend, and then … the weekend just flew by!
This past Saturday and Sunday James and I hosted 9 truly AMAZING women in Chicago for our 3rd Advanced Workshop!! (Which I need to come up with a better name for… haha!) The women that joined us were just such beautiful people inside and out, and came with their hearts & minds open – ready for a change in their lives and businesses!
We checked all hesitations, comparisons, and facades at the door – and embraced honesty, authenticity, and vulnerability – and it was so wonderful! These women give me SO much hope for where this industry is going and I CANNOT WAIT to see what they do with their businesses from this point on! I know they left wanting to pour their hearts into making their dreams realities, and are well aware of the difficulties, but also the joys of being small business owners and photographers!
Saturday we had all the lovely ladies at our place, where we talked pretty much ALL THINGS BUSINESS. Taxes, expenses, budgeting to stay & go full-time, branding, your voice & style, blogging, workflow, client experience, editing… you name it, we probably covered it. I anticipated the day running from 9am until 6pm… but instead we went until almost 9pm! Ah!! It was such a wonderfully full day – where I got to learn so much more about each of them.
(Kylie had to catch a plane back to Dallas, so she’s not in the above pic. I’m bummed I forgot to get one while all the ladies were there!)
Then Sunday was all things photography – finding natural light, trouble shooting difficult lighting situations, posing, shooting details, directing & interacting with couples, and off-camera lighting (including video lights & flash).
It was a whirlwind of a weekend, and I’m pretty sure I slept for two days straight after it was over – but it was SO WORTH IT. I love pouring my heart out to people, helping them realize their potential, and find their confidence!! I love that I can give them the tools to avoid the mistakes we made and just take off running with their businesses from here!
I may or may not have cried when it was over – because each one of these attendees was just so amazing!! (Speaking of which, here are head shots of each of them I did during the posing/lighting part of the workshop!)
I may be crazy, but I already can’t wait to do this again next year!! 🙂
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*I have to give the biggest shout out to James, who helped the weekend go off without a hitch! He is always my backbone… the one working all the magic behind the scenes and I cannot thank him enough because I could never do it without him!!
*I also have to give a shout out to all the amazing vendors who helped the styled shoot come together (which you’ll see more of soon!), including: Kate from Chicago Vintage Weddings, Ellen from An Urban Affair, Alice Padrul, Debbie Petrielli, Jenn of Ribbons & Bluebirds, Erin Lindsay Designs, Beth at Larkspur, and Lacuna Lofts.
