We head back to Seattle today after a wonderful week in San Diego. But first, I have to give a huge shout out to Dana, our fearless San Diego Workshop hostess!
Dana, you went above and beyond the call of duty for being the hostess!! Thank you so much for all your help!
On Monday we had our Add On Day that covered Business and Marketing. It was held at Dana’s house. We covered everything we could in our time from pricing, structuring your business, when to outsource and what to outsource, marketing strategies and much more. It was an amazing time together (and thank you Dana for letting us use your living room!).
But we have to thank Dana for one more thing! She had the BEST idea for building a portfolio that I’ve ever heard!!
For those of you who want to build a portfolio but are not comfortable with charging people just yet, Dana did something you could do too! She told her friends that to take their pictures takes the same amount of time to make dinner. So if they wanted to compensate her, they could make her a dinner. Last year, she ended up getting handfuls of gift certificates to all different restaurants with credits ranging in $50-$150! Her family loved it! The kids are already asking her to take pictures again this year! Don’t you love that!
What a great idea to give your friends so you’re not “giving” your time away. Your time is precious, valuable, even if you’re in the “building” stage of your business. Plus, it’s a great way for friends to show their thanks to you!
Dana, you are the Queen Bee!! Love you and so thankful for you and ALL your fabulous ideas!!!
I’ve got a Chicago Workshop Announcement for you!!!
We have finalized our location, dates and even our guest speakers for the Add On Day are set up!!!
The Chicago Photography Workshop for Women will be on November 14th and 15th 2008 at the beautiful Fine Arts Building in downtown!!! AND for our Add On Day, we will be learning from the celebrity photographers Bob and Dawn Davis!!! (the sweetest, most amazing, humble, and talented husband/wife team who shot Eva Longoria’s wedding as well as special events for Oprah!!! Brian and I are so excited for you to experience these two!!! Check out their website and ALL the celebrity weddings these two have done. Their blog is pretty great too!) The Add On Day will be Monday, November 16th 2008 and open first to Workshop Attendees. The Add On Day is $299 pp.
So here’s the deal, we know there are more than twenty who wanted to sign up. We wanted to give you all a big heads up. Here it is…
Starting Monday morning at 6am we will begin the Early Bird Registration where you can get 20% off! This means instead of paying $999 for the 2 day workshop, you will be paying $799! The Early Bird Special will end on Friday, June 6th at midnight next week. So you’ve got all weekend, and five days next week to twist your husband’s arm a little harder. We are going to close the workshop at 20 women, plus one spot for the Running on Empty Winner. And I’m really going to keep it at this number this time no matter how persuasive some of you are (ladies, you know who you are! :)) (Please note: The Add On Day is not included in the Early Bird Special. And the DVD discount for workshops can’t be combined with this offer.)
There it is ladies!! We open Early Bird Registration for our first Chicago Photography Workshop on Monday morning!! YEAH!!!! We can’t wait to meet you in Chicago!!!
If yesterday was about climbing, today is all about JUMPING!
Last night we got to have dinner at Carey’s house, and it was a blast!
Carey has a big ol’ trampoline in her backyard. Let’s just say a few of us went crazy on it. Can you imagine who that would be?
Notice Blaze crying in the background with Brian. Do you know why Blaze is crying? Because Brian was bouncing to hard and flipped Blaze.
But this shot is my favorite one!
We were using Carey’s new Alien B1600 light. These lights range in price and you can find them at Alienbees.com. I think her light was around $360. But without the light, this is what the pictures would have looked like.
So now for the recipe!
We did these shots at 7pm. We still had plenty of light outside, so we had to be in Manuel Mode to trick the camera for this type of dramatic lighting. We wanted the camera to think we didn’t have any light outside and that’s why we needed the off-camera lighting.
Our ISO was 100 so the color of the sky would be as blue as possible. The Shutter Speed was 1/250. When using strobe lights like this, you’ll want your Shutter Speed at 1/250. Now the Aperture was a little tricky because we don’t want it dialed down low like I usually like. Remember, the lower the aperture gives more blur in the background. These shots don’t have any thing to do with getting blur in the background. These shots are all about dramatic lighting with strobe lights.
Since these shots are about dramatic lighting, we want our aperture to be really high–maybe F11 or F16. We want the little hole that the light come through to be super tiny. This means if we took the photo without the off camera lighting, the image would be really dark because the aperture is so small. But that’s okay because we want the off camera light to be our main source of light. Does this make sense? If you’re feeling confused give yourself some breathing room because it is a bit tricky when you’re not familiar with it. But don’t let the confusion keep you from thinking it over and mulling it around because playing with light can be so fun!
We had one light for the images above. But Carey got together a couple months ago with an awesome photographer named Rob Benson. He is a master at off-camera lighting and for the shot below used three lights. Wow! Take a look at what drama he is able to capture! Is that the coolest soccer kid picture in the world!! And to see how Rob is setting up these shots, check out Carey’s wonderful blog post. And be sure to check out his website (it’s hyperlinked to his name)! It is SO COOL!!
For more help with lighting, shutter speed, aperture and all that good stuff, check out our crazy fun DVDs!
The last seven days have been an incredible journey.For those of you who played along in the guessing game of where I was last week, Amanda guessed it! I was at “The Next Octave” launch retreat with 9 AMAZING WOMEN. What is that exactly? I’ll be filling you in more as the next nine months go by, but here’s a framework.My business coach, Karen Buckley, and her business partner, Fay Freed, decided to start a new program where nine women come together for nine months. This was their first group, and they had invited each woman for different reasons. When I was invited I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing because our schedule is already so busy. The nine months would include a retreat in the beginning, a retreat in the end and then teleconference calls each month and business coaching sessions each month. The purpose of the group is to help each other go to the Next Octave in our businesses, life and love. Did I have time in my schedule to do this?How could I not make time in my schedule?The women were all fifteen plus years older than me, and I was afraid this would throw the dynamic off, but it didn’t at all. I feel like I just made nine new friends who are beautiful women with such incredible wisdom. They are all rich in resources and ideas. They have all led amazing lives and some of their businesses would blow your mind. So to come together for three days and take a close look at our femininity, what feminine wisdom is, how it applies to our businesses, and then to take apart our businesses and look for weaknesses/strengths and identify how to risk a bit more or dream a bit bigger…WOW…the conversations were unreal. Without expecting to, I came back a changed person–or more appropriately, a changed woman.I flew home from San Fran Thursday night. Brian and I repacked the suitcases and got the kids out of bed the next morning at 6am to catch our flight to San Diego. Our San Diego Photography Workshop was about to start, and I was so FILLED up and ready! And wow, what an INCREDIBLE group of thirty women!! Carey, Brian and I had an amazing time!
My time in San Fran was about making the scary choice to climb a little higher and water my soul so my roots can grow a bit deeper. Then to bring all that wonderful energy and passion to a group of thirty woman who have all come to our workshop for similar reasons…the intensity of all our excitement, joy, tears and confrontation of insecurities reminded me of being a little girl and learning to climb trees and then pushing myself to climb just a little higher and then a little higher again.
When was the last time you went tree climbing? When was the last time you gave to yourself? When was the last time you pushed yourself to reach a little higher and felt the fear of falling at any minute?I have to tell you that when we do our workshops women often tell me that they cried the first night. It’s as if their emotions have been on hold, and they have made a step into the unknown and don’t know if this step was a huge mistake, the right thing, safe or unsafe…My first night at the Next Octave was the exact same experience. I showed up the first night at the Wine and Appetizer/Meet and Greet and met this group of women that I would be working with for the next nine months. Just like those of you who come to our photography workshops, I didn’t know any of these women. Would I like them? Would they like me? Would I learn anything? Would I be too far behind and slow everyone else down?That first night I went back to my hotel room and totally cried. I felt like I was either climbing the wrong tree or had made the biggest make to think I could climb this high. It had to be one of the two.But I stuck it out and in the next couple of days decided to stay at their homes instead of the hotel, decided to open myself, risk a little and in the end made friendships that I will have for a lifetime (whether they know that or not :)). And I have a feeling that the thirty women who came to our workshop this weekend have made a handful of their own lifetime friendships.What I forgot in all this that I didn’t remember until the end–tree climbing is also incredibly EXHILARATING!! Not to mention the unexpected view from the tree top!For those of you who want to take a baby step in tree climbing, Karen Buckley is going to be a featured Guest Columnist on our new forum that will be going LIVE in the next week or two. She will be writing wonderful monthly columns on a private thread within the forum. It will be open to all the moms who purchase our Mom’s 101 Survival Kit. Karen is an AMAZING resource, and I’m so excited she wants to share with you!If you check out her and Fay’s website, they have decided to do lead another group of women into their Next Octave. I think they’re going to offer a three month and nine month program, so you can check out their site for more info on that. You’ll find all kinds of yummy things there!And if you are one of my mom’s or a married woman or a single woman who has a passion for photography and you know you want to climb this “photography tree” a bit higher (even though it terrifies you to death!), we have finalized our dates for the November photography workshop in Chicago. We will be releasing early bird registration this week! I’ll let you know what day this will go live so you can plan to tree climb with us in Chicago!Now off to the pool! Today is the first day of our little family vacation in San Diego, and the sun is finally deciding to show her face!Yeah!
i stayed in a community house last night where nine other people live
two of them are producers and have recently finished a film on global warming- and they have won Emmy’s
one woman is a strip dancer, yep, you heard me. she isn’t stripping in clubs but she teaches women to strip so that they can find a beauty, freedom and empowerment in their own bodies. (not so they can work in clubs but just feel good about themselves) her heart is to empower women and after talking to her late last night, i went from total shock to complete respect for what this woman’s mission is
and funny coincidence but Loma (who I stayed with last night) owns the spas in all the resorts you guessed yesterday. what a small world, and she is another amazing woman that has blessed me beyond words
and then there’s genie who is my new Japanese american friend, but actually I’m adopting her as my big sister. she let me crash on her futon last night and stayed up way to late with me as we talked about how to take my business to the next level and beyond.
and then there are so many other women I want to introduce to you but the morning is already getting away from me
(love you brian, thank you for letting me go away this week, trusting my instincts even though we had no idea what i was getting into, and I can’t wait to kiss those kids tonight)
I’m in the Napa Valley tonight. If you would have asked me on Friday, “Me Ra, where will you be sleeping this coming Tuesday night?” I probably would have said “home!” Napa Valley?…it was nowhere on my radar! But life has this funny way of putting you in unexpected places at unexpected moments. So here I am, at this exact place.
This home sits on 160 acres at the top of a hill overlooking the valley. The woman who owns it, Loma, has been kind enough to let me crash here for the night. We’ll see where I end up sleeping Wednesday night. I’ll be back home Thursday night and in San Diego by Friday night to meet some of you for the first time! PHEW!
So instead of me just telling you what I’m up to, any guesses?
Here are a few hints…
1. I’m not in a fight with Brian. He’s watching the kids while I’m out here for the next couple of days.
2. I was in Nevada yesterday, Napa Valley tonight and who knows where tomorrow night.
3. I’ve spent some time getting to know 10 beautiful women.
4. My dress has been my Thailand fisherman pants and flip flops.
5. And I got spooked last night and ended up leaving where I was going to stay and stayed in a hotel.
That’s all the clues you’re getting. Your turn to guess, “What the heck is Me Ra up to now?!”
p.s. Thanks for the heads up about our Refuse site being down. Brian is working on what happened. If you were trying to buy our Instructional DVD series these last couple of days and unable to get to the website, hang in there. We should have the site live again soon.
We are also tying up the loose ends on our Chicago Workshop and will probably release the early bird registration next week. So keep an eye out for that. I was going to release it this week, but I think we may have 99% of the details to share if I wait till next week. I’m so excited to spill the beans on what we’ve got happening and who our guest speakers are for the Add ON day!
I’ll try to post again on Thursday, but I’ve had the WORST time finding a good Internet connection. Wait…is that another clue by accident?
We had sunshine this weekend, and wow, I felt so ALIVE!! It’s amazing how much a little sun can do for you!
Pascaline also had her first tap dance recital. It was so sweet! Tap is the first dance class she’s expressed interest in and since I used to dream of dancing with Fred Astaire I was all for it!
For the last seven weeks, she’s been tap-tap-tapping away, all through the house. And even though there are times when I feel like I’m going to lose my mind with all her sweet little tapings, wow, I was so proud of her this weekend! She was so brave with all those people watching!
I volunteered to help backstage with her class thinking ‘ooohh! I’m going to get such great shots of all the “behind the scenes” stuff–this is the perfect photo opportunity!” Yeah right! It was me and 16 seven year olds to look after, and I swear they all were on speed! These girls were so wired about performing–running around like crazy, crawling in between my legs, stealing my shoes and playing hot potato with them…let’s just say I never even looked at my camera bag until it was over and we were standing in the parking lot.
These are the things memories are made of…:) I also wanted to revisit aperture.
When we were at the Sonoma workshop one of the women asked if I could take a photo with a high f-stop and then the same photo with a low f-stop so she could visually see the difference aperture can make.
But before I say any thing else, let’s gather our bearings. When you hear aperture, f-stops and depth of field being talked about, it’s pretty much all the same thing. As we teach in the DVD series, the question all three of those things are asking is essentially “how blurry do you want your background?”
The lower you go in your f-stops (3.5 down to 2.8 down to 2.0 down to 1.6, etc) is the lower depth of field (lots of stuff out of focus behind and in front of your subject). Your making a decision about your aperture. The degree in blur you choose can become incredibly creative. In fact, during my first two years of shooting I was always on Aperture Priority (A or AV for Canon) mode. This mode means you get to decide how much blur you want and the camera will decide how fast your shutter speed should open and close.
So back to the Sonoma request. Taking the same picture with different apertures to drive home the point was a fantastic idea. If you already have Beyond the Green Box revisit the chapter on Aperture and try the exercise out.
A couple days ago Blaze asked me to do a photo shoot of his Lego’s. The perfect opportunity! He was very serious about the whole thing.
This first shot of Lego Men on Horses was taken at a 6.3 f-stop. Or some would say my aperture was a 6.3.
The next shot is almost the same shot but at a lower f-stop of 3.5. Or you could word it by saying, I shot this with an aperture at 3.5. (People express what their aperture was in different terms, but it all means the same thing. Does that make sense?)
See the difference below in how much more blur I gained? You know Blaze is right there, but you can’t see any detail in his face. Totally blurred.
(the rest of the recipe for both shots: ISO 400 because I was indoors and didn’t have enough light to go any lower. Shutter Speed was 1/60 or 60th of a second. Normally this would be pretty slow and could risk motion blur from hand holding at a 60th of a second. But Sony’s got this great feature in their new DSLRs that has an Image Stabilizer inside the camera body so I can get as low as 1/30 or 30th of a second and still have a clear, sharp image. Pretty crazy, huh.)
If you’re wanting to go Beyond the Green Box, get out of auto mode and try some new settings, start with Aperture Priority mode. (Aperture Priority mode is usually right under the green box that says Auto. You should see little P, A, S, M icons. You want the A or AV mode.) And FYI, if you shoot photos with your camera on the Portrait setting (where it often has an icon of a woman’s head next to the mountain icon for landscapes), essentially this setting is Aperture Priority mode because it’s giving you a lower aperture so you get lots of blur behind your person.
I hope this is helpful. Check out the instructional DVDs we produced if you want to learn more! I especially like the Nutty Prof. Townsend’s explanation of aperture!
And here’s two more fun shots for Blaze and your little ones who peak over your shoulder.
“Storm Trooper Escapes”
(recipe: ISO 100 (see below for reason on this), Aperture was 4.5 (my aperture is not so low on this shot and see how you can see more detail on the Lego plane in front and behind in comparison to the image below?) and Shutter Speed was 1/60th.
“Crazy, Flying Lego Man”
(recipe: ISO 100 (sun came out for a minute and gave us more light in the room), Aperture was super low 1.4 (notice how the Lego’s are blurred in front of the Lego Man and every thing behind the Lego Man is blurred), and Shutter Speed was 1/320 or 320th of a second.
You have all been so helpful with doing our poll for the next workshop city! Seattle and Chicago have gone neck to neck the whole way. It’s kind of crazy and super fun!
Here’s what Brian and I are thinking…
First, we are TOTALLY coming to Chicago in November!!! (YEAH!!!!) We are working on the details now, but I’m looking at the first or second weekend of November 2008. In the next week or two, we’ll release an early bird special where you can save 20% if you sign up as an “early bird”! So stay tuned for that! We can’t wait to meet all you lovely Chicago women! (and eat Chicago pizza together!)
Next, our Seattle ladies! We are thinking we may be able to squeeze a second workshop in before the end of 2008 since it’s local. But our calendar is crazy, so we need your help. Below is a poll for those of you who voted for Seattle. Can you tell us which of the two dates you prefer the workshop to be? (and yep, we’ll release an Early Bird Special for you too!)
We really want to come to Texas and Georgia! But I’m so unfamiliar with these two places and need your help! I figure we’re in good hands with southern hospitality! If we planned on coming in 2009, what are the best months to visit Texas and Georgia? I don’t handle dry, hot weather very well (remember, I’m from the Northwest where we break out our shorts and call it a “sunny day” if it’s 65 degrees).
What would be the BEST month, weather wise, for a GEORGIA workshop? Below are possible months we may be able to make it work.
We are determined to make it out to Texas and Georgia! Your help help is greatly appreciated!
And fyi, we’ll be needing workshop hostesses for Chicago, Georgia and Texas! Email me if you’re interested (mera@merakoh.com). Some of you have emailed already and I’ll try and narrow it down then give you a call for an informal interview (no stress :)). Our biggest desire is someone who is well connected with places to host the workshop, ideas for places to eat with a large group, places to do photo shoots, families they can invite to be our models, creative ideas to market the workshop and get the word out locally, and the biggest thing–someone who LOVES answering emails for attendees who will have questions. What else comes with the Workshop Diva Hostess role? Start by reading here!
We have all types of women who come to our photography workshops. Some women don’t own any thing more than a Point and Shoot camera and borrow our cameras for the weekend. Some women have paying clients and want to feel more confident about the mechanics of photography. Some women are just feeding their spirits and doing something for themselves with no intention to ever have a business.
Michelle was the women who had photographed several hundreds of families. She was coming to one of our Seattle workshops for a dose of confidence building and after the workshop this is what she said;
“The workshop was a huge catalyst for my business. The day I got back from the workshop I switched to digital completely…The workshop was great for the technical side of my pictures, but it was dinner with YOU that was even more important. Your encouraging words ( or “marching orders” as we joked that night) were exactly what I needed to take my business to the next level. I raised my prices, updated my business model and changed my branding. I was completely terrified that it would alienate my clients but the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I am already booking clients into November and December. Now I just wonder why I didn’t do it sooner!”
Michelle’s story gets me so excited! She was super gracious to let me give her “marching orders” at dinner that night. I had reviewed her website and could now see how great of a person she was, she had to raise her prices and take her business to the next level because she was so worth every penny. You should see the new beautiful branding materials and stationary she’s now sending to clients! She mailed Brian and I copies of every thing a couple months back, and I knew I had to introduce you to this wonderful lady. Her “getting started” story is so down to earth. And her answers below are packed with tips that you will love!
So grab a cup of coffee, sit back, relax and listen to one woman’s story of how she’s following her dream!
(Michelle and her beautiful family! Could those girls be any cuter!!)
1. When did you start your business and what was the turning point of taking it from a hobby to a business of charging people and putting up a website?
Michelle’s Answer: I started taking pictures professionally (getting paid for it!) about seven years ago. I read a quick book about photography (by quick I mean I read it while standing in a coffee shop and I was 8 months pregnant with my second daughter. I wasn’t standing very long for ANYTHING at that point!). It was by Nick Kelsh called How to Photograph Your Baby. He gave simple ideas for framing pictures. For the first few months I didn’t even cover my costs but my husband quickly put an end to that. I did not get a website for at least four years because I didn’t really think it was necessary. How silly was that?!?
2. What inspires your photography?
Michelle’s Answer: I just love taking pictures of kids!
I love the challenge of getting natural smiles and capturing the sparkle in their eyes. In fact, I won’t take pictures of big people unless they bring little people with them. (I get asked to do adult head shots all the time but I’ll only do them at the end of a family shoot.) I also really enjoy reading the blogs and websites of other photographers and seeing the types of photographs they take. That’s where I’m drawing a lot of inspiration these days. And I love having “photography” play dates with Mom’s who are photographers. (Mind you, there are no kids there. Just moms having the play dates!)
3. What is the best and toughest part about doing this while being a mom and wife at the same time?
Michelle’s Answer: The toughest part is I usually can’t give 100% attention to something I’m so passionate about. (I’ve got two of my girls in line to talk to me as I’m typing this answer right now!) During the day it’s my girls who need my attention and at night it’s my hubby who wants to chat with me so I feel like I have a split brain. Good thing I’m an excellent multi-tasker!
The best part is I can set my own schedule so it has minimal impact on my family. I shoot on weekend mornings and some weekday mornings when everybody is in school. (This is the first time in 8 years that I have all three of my daughters in school at the same time. Yahoo! It’s only three mornings a week, but it’s the light at the end of my tunnel!) I feel so blessed that I do something that I adore and it provides all of the fun extras in our lives like vacations, new computers, fixing the car breaks. (Okay the last one isn’t that much fun.)
I also love that my kids see me achieving something great. I’m showing my girls they can follow their passions and be successful at whatever they set their mind to. My daughters all want to be photographers when they grow up too!
4. What is one piece of advice you’d give to newbies?
Michelle’s Answer: I am a big believer in the K.I.S.S. philosophy. (Keep It Simple Stupid) For the first five years I was in business I used window light exclusively to take pictures. I had a king sized black hotel blanket that I attached to my kitchen wall (using binder clips). I moved all of the furniture back and used a greenhouse window as my light source.
I had just one camera and one lens. For a minimal investment I was ready to do business. I also gave away a lot of pictures in the beginning to get my name out there. (Donations to auctions, visits to mommy groups…) Ooops! That’s two pieces of advice. Drat!! I’ve got on more too. Remember that with the kids and families there is always a ‘do-over’. It’s always given me confidence to know that if I’m having a bad day shooting pictures I could always have the family come back in. I’ve shot over 600 different families and I’ve only done two re-shoots, but it’s just nice to know I can!
Meeting Michelle in person was a total kick!! She bursts with energy! You can’t help but smile when you’re around her. And get this, Michelle actually left early the second morning of the workshop because her sister was having a baby! Of course Michelle needed to be there for picture taking! But can you believe she drove all the way back to the workshop to finish out the rest of the day! (which by the way Michelle, when we do our next Seattle workshop, you know you are more than welcome to come to the second day to get whatever you missed–one excuse to see you again! :)) All of us at the workshop even got have a peak of what she captured!
Michelle, can we ask you questions in the comments? For example, what was your first lens that you used? Where did you get your “binder clips” for your backdrop? Your idea of “photography play dates with other moms who are photographers” is so genius! What do you do when you get together? What does a typical play date look like so other women can emulate it? Michelle also mentioned Nick Kelsh’s book, How to Photograph Your Baby.
This was one of the first books I bought when I was just getting started. I had a lot of fun with it. You can find it here! Thanks for reminding me of this classic Michelle!
If your in the greater Seattle area and want a wonderful photographer to take family portraits for you, check out Michelle’s website! You can’t go wrong with this inspiring lady!
Check back tomorrow because I’m going to announce the NEXT LOCATION for our Photography Workshops for Women! Yeah!!! Brian and I are so excited!! If you haven’t voted on what city you’d like us to visit next, you still can today! Click here to vote!
We are going to close the workshop at 20 women, plus one spot for the Running on Empty Winner. And I’m really going to keep it at this number this time no matter how persuasive some of you are (ladies, you know who you are! :)) (Please note: The Add On Day is not included in the Early Bird Special. And the DVD discount for workshops can’t be combined with this offer.)
. He gave simple ideas for framing pictures. For the first few months I didn’t even cover my costs but my husband quickly put an end to that. I did not get a website for at least four years because I didn’t really think it was necessary. How silly was that?!?
