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I Am So Flexible.

Do you remember the movie "Signs" with Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix? I totally love that movie (even though it scares me still - especially the sounds the aliens make when they talk...). I always end up walking around afterwards wondering if I should be wearing tin foil for a hat, but rarely give in to the temptation. Rarely.

Anyway, there's this one poignant scene in the film where Mel & Joaquin are talking about serious stuff as the world seems to be ending. They discuss "the kind of man you are - the kind that sees signs, or coincidences" in things (roughly). Joaquin's character tells this hilarious story about being at a party and almost kissing a girl, but turning his head to get rid of gum before kissing her only to turn back and discover that she's vomited in the interim (sorry for the grossness...). He uses this as his example of why he's a "Signs Man" since that was clearly a sign that he shouldn't be with that girl. And I totally sympathized with him. Because I am so a "signs" kind of girl.

If you're one of us, you know who you are. You see meaning in things like being caught at a red light only to pass an accident ahead of you that you would have been in had you run the yellow. You see it in small stuff too - like the sale price on the BCBG shoes you've had your eyes on for months (that is so a sign - especially if the only pair left is in your size...). But if you're like me, you wonder if you should ever take mundane things, like, say, fortunes from fortune cookies, as "signs."

Which brings me to my point. Fortune cookies. Preston and I had a wonderful dinner at one of our favorite SCV restaurants (Grand Panda) and finished our meal in typical fortune cookie fashion. I was amused when I read mine:



I mean, who doesn't want to be told that their life will be happy and peaceful? I laughed because I want to have a chat with the writers some days and say things like "Umm, hello? baby on the way... Just what is your definition of 'peaceful'?" My husband and I shared a laugh, and he opened his. This is where I sorta got bitter (yeah, I'm one of those people who struggles with not taking fortunes personally - maybe it's just pregnancy hormones, who knows...).



Flexible? He's the one that's flexible? Ok, Mr. Fortune-Cookie-Writer, show yourself! I am so flexible. I'm so flexible that I'm not moving until you come out here and explain yourself! While my husband continued laughing and totally enjoying the moment, I huffed and puffed for a few minutes at the clear insult from some writer who just doesn't know me. That's about when the ridiculousness of it hit me and I promptly went into female-recovery-mode (aka pretend like you didn't just do that and don't know what they're all talking about...).

Ok, ok. So maybe everything doesn't have to be a sign. Or maybe Mr. Fortune-Cookie-Writer meant it more literally since I can't even see my toes anymore, let alone touch them.

Yeah, maybe that's it.

::b::

Dance. Biscuit.

Sometimes you just need to laugh. One of the ways that happens for me (especially during the political season, though this video isn't political...) is thanks to Saturday Night Live. Last year's Thanksgiving special, hosted by Justin Timberlake, was HILARIOUS. I was excited when I heard he was doing it again. Unfortunately, he had to cancel, but he did come on this past week to do his whole special in under 2 minutes (he also danced for Beyonce in a sketch about her song "Single Ladies" where he refers to himself as a "dance biscuit" - you should watch that one too...).

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did! :)

Info, Discounts, Promises & PROOF about J. Elway

I've been totally slacking on my blog-life lately and I must apologize. I have tons of stuff to blog now (I'm oh-so-nicely backed up on that front!) and I promise I'll be getting that cooking soon. Especially those of you who had family portraits with me and gave me permission to post - those will go up soon, I promise! Wow, I just said "I promise" a lot in this paragraph. I better hop to!

This is the middle of Holiday Portrait craziness for me right now and I have one wedding left to shoot before I'm done for a while (thanks to maternity leave) and it's this weekend. I still have a few slots open for portraits if you're interested, but mostly weekday times. If you're interested in doing a weekday shoot between now and December 1, I'm offering a special 15% discount! Remember, that's for weekday sessions! Weekends are almost completely booked.

Anyway, like I said before, I WILL be getting caught up on session posting, but in the mean time, I wanted to address a nasty rumor. I have heard via a few emails that some of you don't believe I shot John Elway (with my camera). I was righteously indignant at this until I realize that those photos too were un-blogged. So to put you at ease, here's a quick shot from during the filming portion for ESPN's new show "Homecoming". :)



Told ya. :) You can also see one of my photos of Mr. Elway on the cover of the SFV News magazine this month.

More blogging coming soon!

Bishop, California - #89 CHECK!

This past weekend, my husband and I traveled to Bishop, CA and the surrounding areas in the Sierra Nevada mountains for a little anniversary getaway. We seriously don't take enough vacations and since we figured this would be the last chance before 2 become 3 (or 6 become 7 if you count all the pets), we wanted to go somewhere beautiful, relaxing, and not too busy. The small town of Bishop was perfect.

I come from a family that likes to DO things on their vacation. Visit landmarks, go to museums, hike, watch movies, etc. However, Preston is definitely a "I don't want to do anything, I just want to relax" kind of guy. Given the insanity that has been in our lives lately (which will only get worse I'm sure), we opted for the latter. We packed up our happy little Subaru and headed north with no plans other than a hotel reservation (plus golf clubs for him and a camera for me!). Keep in mind though - I am no landscape photographer. In fact, I rarely even attempt to shoot landscape and even more rare is when I show anyone what I shot. I really want to learn, but for all of you out there that have a natural knack for this, bear with me...

I slept in the first morning while Preston golfed (in 35 mph winds, lol) and then we sleepily headed up to the snow. It was nice and stormy (my kind of relaxing weather, personally). We drove up to Lake Sabrina first. It was right at the base of the snow level, but since that was pretty high in elevation, we decided that we shouldn't push it (since I was already getting a wee bit of altitude sickness).



I don't know if the temperature translates in the photo to you, but holy cow, it was cold. Right around freezing, but the wind coming down off the peaks was way too cold for this California girl.

We started back down and stopped briefly at both North Lake and South Lake. These next photos are from North Lake. There was actually a guy out there fishing too. Craziness. It was so gorgeous and quiet though. Nothing but the sounds of the wind.



I think our Subaru was so happy to be in its element. :) By the time we were done with the long weekend, the Sub (pronounced "soob" in our family...) was covered in mud and dust after driving through puddles, off-roading on volcanic rock, and driving through a lot of rain and dust. The drive to North Lake through the aspen trees and mud puddles was one of my favorite parts. Totally worth it to get here.



There are several places in town that were quite beautiful also. I loved this blood hound hanging out on the back tool box of his owner's truck and had to grab a quick pic with my point and shoot. He was so happy when his owner came back out too - started thumping his tale on the toolbox as soon as he caught sight of him. He also appeared to enjoy having his photo taken.



I loved this little creek down the road from our hotel.



This truck hanging out in the front yard of a repair place down the road was very eye-catching to me. I have always loved old cars and this one was no exception, even in it's state of disrepair...



Preston and I were also totally amused when we found this just up the road from us. Especially since we rarely see our last name spelled correctly!



Throughout our trip, we spent time exploring and relaxing every way we could. Preston napped, I got a pedicure (holla!), and we enjoyed visiting some local photography galleries while it was raining outside. I've been wanting to do this for a while, and I was thrilled when I realized I get to check this off my 101 in 1001 List! Not only did I go to Vern Clevenger's gallery on Main Street, I also went to the Mountain Light Gallery as well (mostly made up of Galen Rowell's work). Check out his shot of North Lake! It was inspiring and beautiful - and I even bought a book on landscape and nature photography so maybe someday I can get good at this too. :)

The next day, we drove up onto the volcanic tableland mesas just a bit further north. It was still wonderfully blustery and I loved how the clouds looked.



We also spent some time lounging in the Looney Bean - one of our new favorite coffee spots. :) All in all, we really enjoyed the nice, relaxing time - just the two of us (well, three if you count Cameron). I highly recommend it for a nice, quiet, picturesque getaway. :)

To My Beloved

Three years ago today, I said "I choose you" to the love of my life and best friend and I thought I couldn't possibly be happier. We spent four years together, moving and growing and stretching (sometimes joyfully, sometimes painfully) together before we finally stood before God, our families and friends and sealed it with a kiss.



We have always been good at laughing, you and I. I know that you pretend like I'm not funny sometimes (even though we both totally know I am soooo funny). Secretly, I think you laugh sometimes when I'm not just to make me feel better about my lame joke that I totally worked all day on. You always roll our eyes when I start doing some strange new dance in the kitchen or down the stairs, but I see the laughter in your eyes when you call me crazy (and I agree with you). We both know you like crazy.



I was wrong though, thinking I couldn't love you more than I did that day three years ago. That's been one of our secrets to success, hasn't it? I loved you then. But the stretching and growing since then, combined with the intertwining of our two hearts and minds and souls has been simply indescribable. I never could have expected this - nothing could have prepared me for it. I love you, deeply, and the decision we made 3 years ago was the best one yet (though, I should probably warn you that I may feel differently in a few months - Cameron seems like a pretty good decision so far too).



We've been through a lot, you and I. Not everything has been "perfect" and we have certainly had our share of pain in our lives together. No one else can possibly know those little and not-so-little things you and I have faced in each other and ourselves. You have pushed me to be a better person through it all though. I used to be scared - scared of my past, scared of what it might mean for the future, scared to trust and truly love, scared to do simple things like stand up for myself or big things like go out on a limb and start running a business. You helped teach me to be strong. And somehow, you never questioned whether or not I could do it - you saw something in me I didn't know was there.



I cried that day. You didn't see it, but I so did. It was brief and my heart was too full to keep it in anymore. I wanted you to see a strong woman coming down to meet you at the end of that aisle, but I still cried a little. That might seem small now, since I cry often, but I suppose that's just one more way things have changed and evolved with us. Maybe I always cried. Lol.



I know I'm totally embarrassing you with this, but you know what a romantic I can be sometimes. And sometimes, I think it's important for me to say publicly just how amazed and blessed I am by you. You have given me the best days of my life. And you have given me a son, though we haven't been able to meet him yet. I know the stuff we have in front of us won't be easy, but I have a pretty good idea how it'll come out in the end.



So I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you. Thank you for your humor, your witty conversation, your laughter, your smile and your eyes, your strength of faith and character, your vulnerability, your support, your encouragement, and most of all, your love. I look forward to what God has for us ahead and to facing it together as husband and wife. Happy Anniversary, my love.






*all images taken by Jessica Verma, November 5, 2005*

I am so NOT at Home Right Now

FYI - I am definitely not in town right now. Well, I'm in a town, just not the one I live in (currently I'm in a little coffee shop called "The Looney Bean"). Hence the shortness of this blog. I am enjoying a wonderful long weekend away with my husband to celebrate our anniversary (which is actually on Wednesday). To enjoy our last anniversary before kids, we headed to the gorgeous, secluded little town of Bishop, CA near the base of Mt. Whitney. As you can see from the photo above (courtesy of local photographer Vern Clevenger - a new friend I've made while up here), it's absolutely gorgeous here. That's Lake Sabrina, btw - we headed up there on Friday (my photos are coming later obviously). It's beautiful and stormy and blustery and we have absolutely no plans while we're here - and I'm loving it.

All of that to say I'll be back next week. I will return calls, emails, and messages then.

Personal Musings of a Crazy Pregnant Lady

It hit me today. I'm in my third trimester. Holy. Cow. We're talking final stretch here people (literally and figuratively).

When I think about the fact that I have like 12 weeks (possibly only 10) before I'm holding my son in my arms, it scares me to death and excites me at the same time. Now, as a 3rd trimester-er, I'm used to constant, conflicting and overwhelming emotions all at the same time. But seriously. 12 weeks.

Things have been changing, sure. I spent about a week where I couldn't really walk (those of you who know me and my pathetic love-affair with injuring myself probably remember all the of the various ways I've fractured, dislocated or just plain messed up my back and hips...) and then found a yoga course that really works for me (I'm in love with it - it's never been so easy to commit to a physical routine before). I've started to waddle *cringe*. I spend most evenings icing my ankles and feet. My baby spends most of his evenings playing kickball with my insides. He's big too - doctor estimated him at almost 15 inches last week (that's like 2 - 3 weeks ahead size wise). Granted, that could change, but man... He's strong too - he actually wakes me up at night now and if he really gears up and gives me a good kick, it shakes the bed a little bit. You can see this little guy swimming around on the outside of my belly and it fills me with both wonder and a wee bit of that oh-my-gosh-I-saw-this-in-a-horror-movie feeling. I dream about him constantly. I used to day dream about what my kids would be like, but nothing like this.

It's finally stopped feeling weird to walk into the baby clothes section and find something cute. It still feels weird when I think about dressing my baby boy. Sometimes I feel very very 16 still. Of course life has gone on and how I look at the world has changed, but so much of what felt like "me" is still there. And then there are times when I realize that I look like an adult and I feel 35. I have started to get little lines around my eyes (a fact that I'm actually a little bit happy about, believe it or not) and I can see the lines on my husband's face starting to form (a fact I really like - "distinguished" men are hot!).

I guess realizing today that I went into this stage almost without realizing it, combined with my upcoming anniversary has led to a lot of reflection. My husband and I have been through a lot together in the last 7+ years and though I don't feel ready to be a parent per-se, I feel confident because we're doing this together.

However, confidence still doesn't diminish that "holy cow" feeling. Maybe that's why things like the upcoming election, global warming, Prop 8, the economy, and all that craziness seems a little paler to me right now. Sure, I'll be out there on Nov. 4 waddling into the voting booth, but when you compare it to the fact that my husband and I created a life, it almost feels silly.

Btw - if it seems like I've wandered all over the map in these musings, it's not you, it's me. That's my brain ALL THE TIME right now. It's frustrating sometimes (especially to my poor husband), but once you learn to just ride the crazy wave, it's not so bad. Unless it's bad to accept your craziness and start enjoying it. That's probably some kind of psychosis or something.

Oh well. :)

Holiday Time!: Corban ~Kid Kouture~

Corban is probably one of the cutest 3 month olds ever. Until Cameron is born and hits 3 months anyway... ;) But UNTIL then, Corban definitely has the market. I love doing holiday portraits, especially fall portraits, and this little guy was amazingly cooperative. Christen (Corban's gorgeous mommy), Corban and I headed to Lombardi Ranch in Saugus (one of my favorite places ever) and took some great "first fall" photos. Now, understand when is say I love this place, know that it's sort of a ridiculous understatement. My husband rolls his eyes, but I seriously come to this place every year - I even drove out during college because it's practically sacrilegious to buy pumpkins anywhere else. And now I have the added bonus of thinking to myself that I can't WAIT to bring my kiddo here. Seriously so much fun for me and my little wacky brain. :)

Check out Corban's flirty over-the-shoulder-come-hither look.


He wasn't entirely sure about this whole being held up when there are clearly other things to do thing, but he did pretty well!


But then, to entertain himself and us, he did one of the things babies do best:


And one more cutie shot with a little help from Mom - this time with pumpkins his size. :)


More portraits coming soon! Can't wait to blog some shots from yesterday's portraits in Pasadena with Amari - my new favorite Power Ranger/Kobe Bryant fan. :)

~B

Baby Shower Guestbook!

Can you tell I have baby on the brain lately? I don't usually do this many personal blog posts in a row, but I had to share this one. I've been toying with the idea of offering Baby Shower Guestbooks for a while, but never actually have. I decided I would be my own guinea pig (usually I commandeer a friend for that!) and create one for my husband and I!

When I got married, my aunts and my mom arranged for everyone to write little notes (marriage advice, favorite memory, etc.) and put them all in a little box for me to keep. I still visit that box from time to time and it's always been a special thing to me. Eye-opening in some cases, but also very special. ;) I thought I'd like to do something similar for my baby shower and this seemed to do that very well. :) Plus it gave people a chance to see some of our maternity photos AND leave little tidbits for Cameron. I thought it might be something special for him (and possibly his family) later too. I love how this page came out too:



Of course, my wonderful talented album designer Sandra provided the design (and Jessica Verma took the photos). If you want to see the full 10x10 album design, *click here*!

Our Maternity Shoot!

Ok, so I should have posted this a little faster, but I was behind on some other editing and tried to be responsible. :) However, here are the long awaited photos....



Preston & I headed down to Old Town Pasadena to meet up with my long time photographer/friend, Jessica Verma. Jess shot our engagement shoot, our wedding, and now our maternity shoot, so I guess that officially makes her our "family photographer". Jess was also really instrumental in teaching me a lot when it comes to the photography and photography business worlds, so I'm always thrilled to get to work with her again. She graciously caved to my neurosis and let me have the unedited files same-day so I could tweak with them myself. :) Super uber thanks to you Jess!!!!!

I also have to give a shout-out to my buddy Danielle to whom I dedicate this post - she helped motivate me to get it done already! Lol.



Cameron may not have been in our plan originally, but I hope that it shows just how much his parents love each other and how much we can't wait to love all over him. We both feel truly blessed by God with this little dude.







It's always a good reminder for me to be in front of the camera every now and then. I'm much much MUCH more comfortable behind it - but every time I have photos done it reminds me how hard it is for my clients to do the same thing. Kudos to all of you for doing it - it's hard!

Sigh. I used to be tanner than my husband...


At the Wishing Trees.


Thanks to my amazing husband for not dropping me... my shape and weight makes this kind of thing sorta awkward - but he made it look easy. :)


I have the best husband EVER. Like, seriously. He's hilarious. These are probably some of my favorite photos ever of him. Also, he's hot. Like way hot.




Sun-flare! Love. It.


Cuteness outside of Jess's studio in Sierra Madre. :) Also, though it was very hard to select only 3 pairs of shoes to wear in this shoot (have I mentioned I love shoes?), these particular ones had never been worn and were christened on this shoot. :) I love me a fierce red shoe.




And finally, our "Notting Hill" picture. :) I didn't realize until a few days after the shoot that this is how that movie ends.



We'll be making a guest book out of the entire shoot for the shower later on, so if you're coming to that, you'll get to see even more photos. :) Thanks again to Jess for doing the shoot and for making us both feel so comfortable. :) You rock my world. As always.

~B

Our Maternity Session - Teaser

I had a little dose of my own medicine today. Preston and I headed down to Pasadena to do our maternity shoot with my fellow photographer and good friend, Jessica Verma. That means that for the first time in a long time, I was on the other side of the lens.... Here's a sneak peak of the session - I'll do a full post soon (after I get Lisa & Dali's images up from their wedding last weekend - I'm still way excited about that one!).

You're Almost Out of Time

I don't usually comment on any of the "taboo" don't-talk-about-that-at-the-dinner-table type subjects on my blog, but I'm breaking that rule a little today.

Politics.

I don't know where you stand. I don't know if you "Hope for Change" with Obama, want to follow the "Maverick" with McCain or if you just think that the resemblance between Palin and Tina Fey is uncanny and can't wait for more Saturday Night Live episodes with her. I don't know if you watch debates, rate debates, or start debates yourself about this stuff. I don't know if you're pro life, pro choice, or pro common sense. I don't know if you've lost your house in this crisis, or if you're watching your retirement go down the drain. But I do know this.

You can help do something about it. Wherever you stand. And, in my opinion, you can't complain if you aren't willing to do SOMETHING. Even something that seems small. Like vote. And that's where it starts.

Take a look at this rather funny and star-studded video I came across earlier today.



And in case you missed that link, just *click here* to register.

~B

#33 -- Check! --

I am so excited to finally check #33 of my 101 in 1001 List! :) It's been on there for way longer than I should have had it there since I sorta knew how to fix this but just hadn't taken the time to hammer out the details. Well, details, consider yourselves hammered. I have FINALLY tricked out my emails. Check it out!



I am seriously very happy to have this one done. Special thanks to Melissa Jill for her help with this AND a special shout out to her again because today is her BIRTHDAY!

If you've gotten emails from me recently, you've probably already noticed the difference and I can say that it has definitely been a good thing. It's been a part of the branding process for me and making sure that I infuse my personality into everything I do with my business. Plus email is probably the primary source of communication for me with my business and it's always been sort of a bummer to me that they were lame looking. I mean, if a girl is wearing some totally feroche shoes, a boring email is just that much more depressing. Ok, so maybe that's just me. But still. :)

Here's to happy emailing! And fantastic shoes....

~B

Randomness.

So I thought I'd post another one of my random blogs. It's Monday and it's sort of a random kind of day.

1. The Dude in Best Buy: So I'm standing there, looking at camera gear (what else?) and contemplating a new neoprene strap for my D300 when this guy walks up to me and says "Boy or Girl?". I tell him boy and he continues the expected conversation for a little while (when are you due? are you excited? I'll be you can't wait till the baby's here....) and then he takes a right turn. He says, "You know..." (and here's where I'm expecting the usual baby advice...), "...the only thing is that you can't put 'em back once they get here."

What?

He goes on to explain that the only time he goes back to see his family is when he gets another divorce (he's had several apparently) or files for bankruptcy and needs another $25,000 (something he's also done more than once).

WHAT?

Why this is pleasant conversation to have with a pregnant stranger, I don't now. File it under "more weird things people say when you have A Bump" I suppose....

2. Baby Update: So I'm 22 weeks in now. Over half way. Since I keep hearing it from all over, I figured I'd finally give in and put up a "belly shot". I guess to prove that I'm really pregnant and that, yes, I have a Bump. So here it is (horrible quality and all)


See. Told ya. :-p. I still haven't gained any weight, but clearly where that weight is located is shifting around.

I'm still oscillating between wanting more time to get everything ready and wanting to just meet him and hold him already. We have a crib now, mattress, jogger stroller (woot!), and 2 dressers. That's a lot of the big stuff. We're also officially registered now (with Target & Baby's R Us).

The baby is moving more and more now. Or rather, he's getting stronger so I'm feeling it more and more. Strong enough to start interrupting sleep even. But it's such a cool feeling. Preston and I went with my family (including my brother who was in town from Philadelphia) to a Brian Wilson concert at the Hollywood Bowl for my mom's birthday on Sunday which they used as a summer closer. Which meant fireworks (which I LOVE). Apparently now that Cameron can hear in there, fireworks are able to scare him too. He had been still for a while (sleeping most likely) but when that first firework went off, I got a nice jab to the spleen. Craziness.

3. Football: What up with football this last week? My team (USC) did well against Ohio State (woot! the game that I was most interested in by far...), but what was up with UCLA v. BYU? 59 to 0? Not that I mind seeing UCLA get creamed, but that's just embarrassing. And my other team (the Chargers) got robbed by a ref at the Broncos game on Sunday. And now the Eagles (not my team, but I have to show some love for Philly while my bro lives there) ended up losing to the Cowboys (of whom I have very strong negative opinions). What a crazy football couple of days. But football feels like fall, which I LOVE.

You know what else makes me think of fall? Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Yum!

Ok, that's all for now. More info and photos coming soon!

~B

When You Want/Need to Waste Time - Do This.

This is one of those things you do when you're on hold with the phone company. It can also be used when you need to LOOK like you're hard at work on your computer, but in actuality, you finished everything you were supposed to do 47 minutes ago.... or if you're just stalling.

It's crazy fun (to me at least) and I have to give a special shout out to my friend and fellow photographer Melissa Jill for passing the little bit of addictive crack on to me (thanks a lot! lol) in the form of this website. All you do is put in a website URL and it makes a collage of all the words most used on it. Then you can tweak colors, layout, font, etc. or just randomize it to see what you get. Over and over and over.

So, if you have down time, are bored, or are easily addicted to things like this (like me), visit and have fun! :)

Shootsacs are Awesome.

I'm not real big on promoting specific companies on my blog usually. It's not that I don't have opinions about what I like and don't like, but I rarely feel comfortable doing it. One of the very few exceptions is Shootsac (by Jessica Claire). I held off for a long time after Shootsac was realeased before getting one, but found I just couldn't live without one after I borrowed Dane Sanders' bag while shooting with him. I can't imagine shooting without one now. As a style conscious girl, the giant ugly camera bag was so not working for me. Especially when I'd accidentally send a 5 year old ring bearer flying when I turned to fast and my camera bag would hit in the chest.

So I came across this video put together by Matt & Katie of Shadowplay Photography in Australia and I had to share it. She even has one of the same covers I do. ;-p Enjoy!!


Katie - Shootsac Promo - HD from Matt E on Vimeo.

Free to Succeed Tour, 101 in 1001 and Catchup!

I have so much blog-catchup to do, it's ridiculous! :) I have a list of things to blog sitting on my desk, and since it's so long, I'm going to put 2 of them at least together. I did want to give an update on the Free to Succeed Tour first though!



I went last Wednesday, August 6 down to the Sheraton near LAX. What an awesome experience! David Jay never ceases to amaze me, and kudos to him and his team for making the actual presentation of the material so enjoyable also.

So many of us spend HOURS upon HOURS doing editing, business related stuff, and generally sitting in front of our computers all day long. It's nice to not only reminded to CHOOSE freedom from that, but to be shown HOW to do that, without sacrificing your business, your social life, your family, or yourself to the job! Most of us got into this business because we wanted to take amazing photos and loved the glamorous thought of it all - we didn't necessarily want to spend 40+ hours a week just editing a single wedding.



After DJ took us through some basic changes to make to our workflow using various software programs (like the love of my life, Lightroom), it was the fashionably fierce Jasmine Star's turn to talk about branding.



I have to say, I think Jasmine's presentation challenged me at least as much as DJ's. Branding has been a veritable nightmare project for me and has taken more time than I thought to get the majority of my business presence in line with my message. Jasmine challenged us to really work on finding who we are, what we like and WHY we like it so that we can apply that to our companies. She also encouraged us to really think about what our individual assets and liabilities our business-wise. You can bet a post is coming soon on that... But above all, she encouraged us to K.I.R : Keep It Real. ;)

At the end of the night, I was totally amused when I saw a particular scene unfolding in the back of the room. I knew Becker was there - I saw him come in not long after I sat down, but I didn't expect him to totally hi-jack the crowd to show off his [b] school stuff. Lol.



He and DJ are good friends and actually, the [b] school is one of my addictions, so I thought it was actually kinda cool, but it made for an amusing picture.

So, this little tour date actually factors in to my 101 in 1001 list too! :) I'm WAY behind in updating my blog on it, so I'm putting a whole bunch of them in this blog. Here we go!

#1 - Print & hang recent photos in my client proofing area - DONE!



I printed out several photos, had them mounted on gator board, and put up shelving so I can rotate photos based on the client when they come in (wedding, portrait, kids, etc.). :)

#11 - Attend 2 major photography workshops - CHECK! I can officially add the Free to Succeed Tour to my previous workshop from earlier this year - Missional Photography lead by Dane Sanders, Mike Colon and Jessica Claire down at RHU. Woot!

#18 - Finalize & Implement my branding - CHECK! After figuring out MY style, going couture, redoing my website, jumping on the "life. styled" wagon, settling on a color scheme, getting new photos, redoing stationary, getting new lables and packaging, new business cards, making over my blog and printroom sites, and finally USING all of that, I can finally say that my branding is done (for now) and is in the implementation stages!

#23 - Scout for local locations - DONE! Having lived up here for a while now, I've scouted venues, and found some really cool shooting locations (like Bridgeport, Mentryville, Placerita Canyon, etc). I feel pretty good about my options. :)

#25 - Market specifically to the SCV - CHECK! I have taken out a few ads already, and have begun working with local publications as well. I also offer discount to SCV residents (or those who want to visit me up here!). I'm still undecided on the SCV Photographer's Association.

#29 - Get the client TV internet capable - CHECK! I actually used this feature at an album design session last week! It rocks!

#31 - Organize my office necessities - DONE DONE DONE! I was super excited to get this one done. I begged and pleaded with my album designer (and most likely future Studio Manager) until she came up and helped me tackle The Beast. I can now proudly say I actually know where everything is, it's organized, labeled and in proper locations. :)

#52 - Shoot the cover of a magazine - DONE. This one is way cool for me. Not only have I been able to shoot the cover for the SFV News Magazine, I am their official cover shooter - so I get to do this every month! Woot!

#53 - Figure out how to post videos to my blog - CHECK. As some of you have seen recently, I have been posting videos already so this one is no surprise.

#73 - Contribute to the marketing and photography for my church - DONE. Actually, I'm doing this for 2 churches - mine (His Way Community) and my parents church (West Valley Christian Center).

#79 - Be referred to as a "Lovecat" by another photographer - DONE. Technically. I was talking about my List with my friend and fabulous photographer Jessica Verma and she decided that she'd just call me a Lovecat so I could knock it off my list. Unfortunately, she hasn't read Tim Sanders' book, so I'm not sure I should count this one... lol.

#84 - Shoot at 1,000 Steps Beach - CHECK. I actually did this not that long ago for a family portrait shoot. ;) It was GORGEOUS and I definitely intend to use it again.

And last, but not least of my updates to the List:

#90 - Get canvas prints made - CHECK & DONE. I actually did this a while ago too, but hadn't taken a picture to show anyone. My clients and friends who have visited have already been looking at this for a while. :)



So see, I'm not a total slacker on the List. I'm just a total slacker about blogging about it. That's all for now though. More blogs coming your way this week! Including 2 weddings.

~B