#28. check and mark!

#28. Research a well-known wedding photographer

I’ve been sitting in front of my computer for a half an hour now wondering how to start this post. And still have no idea cause the person I wanna write about swept me of my feet. Literally. I guess its best to start from the beginning.

Last year I got married. As one of my friends commented, “I read the internet” in search of inspiration, ideas, and photographs. Somewhere along the way, the name of Jasmine Star popped out. The second I saw her images, I was in-love. In the images. In her story. In the way she's communicating to clients. In the way her blog and website reflected her personality. In the way she wrote glimpses of her everyday life on the blog. When the time came to pick out one wedding photograph to research for my thesis, her name was on the top of my list.

Last month I had the opportunity to view her live-broadcasted workshop in Seattle organised by creativeLIVE where I picked up bits-and-pieces of her story. I found many articles describing her vertiginous success. She launched her own business in 2006. when she photographed 3 weddings. Then booked 37 more in 2007. The numbers keep growing from year to year. In 2009. she was voted for one of the top 10 wedding photographers in the organization of American Photo magazine. She stated, in one of the interviews, that “she never paid for a single advertisement. Her Web site and blog are sufficient to keep new clients coming in on a regular basis. Her best source of new business is word-of-mouth and referrals from previous satisfied clients.” 

One more thing that differentiate her from others is her willingness to help other wedding vendors. Selflessly.

Regardless all the articles/biographies/quotes I read, I had the feeling I'm missing something – “the core", "the magic ingredient” that made her pop. So I decided to read her blog marking milestones important for my theses along the way (how she organised her business and how she branded herself and differentiated from others). Yes, the entire blog. And, man, that girl loooves to blog.

THE BLOG

I spent the last couple of days reading it cause, as i mentioned before, the girl loves to blog. She posted her very first blog post in February 2006 were she explains her goal: to become a wedding photographer. She was very regular in posting on the blog and wrote about everything: her first experiences as a second-shooter, her first booked wedding, everyday things (like a dinner with her husband JD).

In May 2007. she launched her new blog. Since then, she posted over 1,000 posts (and yes – I read them all). The word of her work spread like fire and people (future brides, college photographs) were reading the blog, leaving comments and following her work:

• August 2007. – 1.000 comments,
• September 2007. – 2.000 comments, 
• November 2007. – 3.000 comments,
• November 2008. – 17.000 comments…
  
  

In February 2009. her photography blog was voted as the winner of PPA's Fresh Blog Contest.

One more “specificity" of Jasmine Star is her desire to share her knowledge with others – in 2007. she started her FAQ series where she answers questions sent to her (from camera settings to posing and branding yourself). In time, that series evolved to Reflections post and Shooting Star installments.

Its very hard to make a “time-line” or “cause-effect relations” of Jasmine Star success cause she is all over the place. She is a blog-writer, a Showit promoter, regular speaker at WPPI, workshop organizer (can’t wait for her to come to Europe again and host a workshop...in less than a month, she will be hosting a workshop in London but unfortunately I can’t attend...), passionate reader... All at the same time.

She is constantly questioning her work and reinventing herself. In August 2010. she relaunched her website with a little help from an another amazing artist/designer – Promise Tangeman:

In this post she writes why is important to create a website that is reflection of the artist itself. And how to do it. If you have time, read the post… If you don’t have time – make time. It’s worth it.

With rapid Facebook growth and considering the fact that Jasmine Star heavily uses social media in steering her business, the logical step for her was to start a Facebook Fanpage: 

I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us in the future... My favourite Jasmine Star Quote would be: If you feel like you have to do it like me, you’ve missed the point. Regardless the artistic field you are involved in, goal is to find your own way: define the clients you wanna work with, define what makes you pop from the crowd, and go for it. 
Throughout her blog, she has given us the opportunity to learn from her creative process; not to copy-paste.

p.s. a friend of mine is getting married next year in Dominican Republic so I instantly recommend her to contact Jasmine Star. I hope she will for all the selfish reasons – I could meet her and see her modus operandi first hand :)

Va va voom!

I’m a sucker for culture of 40/50 ies. 

Love absolutely everything about that era: music (Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, Elvis, Rockabilly), movie stars (Ingrid Bergman, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Vivien Leigh, Katharine Hepburn – weren’t they simply breathtaking?!), cars (if I could get my hands on a 1951 Dodge…hmmm), fashion (skirts, dresses, hairstyles, veils) and of course: the notorious pin-up girls. 

When I found out about a three day Burlesque workshop held in Zagreb, I immediately signed-up (especially when I saw we’ll be learning how to pull a Pin-up look). And didn’t regret it for a second. 

Sade O'Sapphic, Australian burlesque dancers who’s been performing since 2004. was our workshop mentor. She is a Dublin based neo & classic burlesque performer and she fascinates lovers of cabaret around the world with her skills. And, she is g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s.  

The workshop was divided into units:

• Day one - Introduction to Burlesque (a brief history, styles of burlesque, how to choose your style, how to choose your name, selecting music etc.),

• Day two - Let’s get dolled up! 1940’s Glam & 50’s Pin-up Hair & Make-up (examples of styles, the Bare essentials (make-up), lips, lashes & eyeliner - a how to, how to make your own hair pieces, doing classic hair roll styles,

• Day three - Tease, twirl & tantilise! (Master class) - stocking strip tease & Tassel twirling (Performance class on and off stage).

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the last day of the workshop, but here is my version of a pin-up look:

One of the most fun workshop part was choosing our “alter-ego” name...
If you are wondering which name I choose for myself, its Sweet Pepper... It kinda suits me, don’t you think? :)

#36. check and mark!

#36. Go one week without TV

I’m a movie/series/documentary junkie. There is always another movie to watch, new season of series to follow, find out how things are made on Science Channel... I once watched the whole first season of “Fringe” series during one weekend – 20 episodes, 60 minutes each ... Well, you do the math...   

One of my goals was to endure one week without TV. Last week was as good as any to try and complete this goal. You know what? It wasn’t so hard as I initially thought. Actually, I really liked it – I had more time for everyday things: to hang out with my friends, to bake cakes and cookies (found the best recipe for worm chocolate cake...mmm), to write my theses, to read... 

At the end, I decided to continue with this goal. I made only one modification to initial goal: I can watch one movie a week. I actually picked excellent time for completing this goal – if I tried to pull this off during winter-time, I don’t think I would succeed...

Food for the Soul...

Music feeds my soul. From when I remember that love affair exists. Every once in a while, I discover new „food“ and then I become obsessed – I listen to that artist/album over and over again until I know by heart every note and every verse (if you woke me up at 3 o’clock in the morning and played first two notes of my “obsession”, I would instantly know which song is it...). 

Last week I finally made the time to listen to an album I’ve had my ears on in a while – 21 (second studio album by British singer/songwriter Adele). Wow. That lady rocked my world and became my new obsession in a millisecond. I listened to her every day all day this week and my absolute favourite is song called “One and Only”...   

With that fabulous song playing in the background, my never ending battle with writing promised theses pages continues...

Foxy Ladies...

Last year, a girlfriend of mine whispered to me while we were having our once-a-quarter-all-together-high school coffee “Barbara, I have discovered something amazing and I’m totally in love” and she started to talk about S factor – what they are doing, what kind of moves they are practicing etc.  

She is dancing for a year now and has finished fourth level. So, I asked her if I could take their photos while practicing and guess what – she checked with the rest of girls and said yes!

Their S factor “guru” Sanja is dancing for six years now. She started at Ana Kuhanec, as soon as Ana acquired a certified instructor licence, and danced there for four years. She decided to go to school in New York and was absolutely thrilled with things she learned. When she returned to Croatia, she started to train with her friends and from last fall she took it to another level and started to lead classes. The lessons are currently held in an apartment, but if everything goes according to plan, Sanja will open her own studio this fall.  

Her ladies just finished fourth level and she is so proud of them as they are getting more confident, more sure, more relaxed... 

They are sooo sweet – every time one of them is performing an element on the pole, others are cheering and supporting her from the side: 

I simply love-love-love this photo of Sanja – it has a certain “vibe”... don’t you agree?

Since I do all my post-processing in Lightroom, when Sanja asked me to “clean” the photos from elements in the room (bookshelf, tv, heater) I kind of panicked... I had no idea how to do that...so, I was honest and told her I don’t know how... she was so sweet and offered to “clean” the photos herself and send them to me for “final touches” (thank you Sanja). Here are pure elements on pole: 

My dear foxy ladies, thank you again for letting me chase you around the room with my camera :)

To see more CLICK HERE or watch the video below :)

Post for a page...

I was hanging out with my maid of honour yesterday afternoon nagging how my friends (including her) have to find a way to force me to complete my MBA and write my master thesis... Couse, clearly, I’m not character enough to do it my self...

A second passed (literally) and she said: I have a way... for every blog post you publish, you have to write one page of your master thesis... What a cruel mind! Who needs enemies when has friends like that!? I was speechless... But, she is completely right... And I love her for knowing me and my triggers so well...

Since the rule “post for a page” starts today, I decided that no “ordinary” post could have the honor of the first thesis page. Choice was easy – I decided it was time to post photos from the shoot I blogged about a week ago:

   

Here is a “behind-the-scene” moment with my “assistant”- crazy people:

Now it’s time to pay my dues... Thesis, here I come! 

You can leave your hat on...

I was/still am in the middle of post processing photos from S Factor shoot when I stumbled upon this one. There is something I love about this photo. Technically speaking, it’s not as good – I “cut off” her fingers and left leg (and that is sth not as common in photography), I could have reduced the grain by turning on the light (or using flash), I could have moved her away from the heater etc.

But at the same time, all those “mistakes” are the reason why I love it so much. The reduced light enhances the atmosphere; the heater gives you a “domestic” hint... You can almost hear Joe Cocker singing in the background “You can leave your hat on...” :)

The early bird catcheth the worm...

I love Saturday mornings. 

I get up really early all by myself (no alarms necessary). Take a long shower. Make myself a cup of coffee (too start with). Turn on my computer. Update FeedDemon. Read through any interesting articles I come across. Think about passing week (what I did and didn’t have to time to do). Make a list of things to do next week. That list includes everything – from things I need to do on my job, thing I need to do around the house, mails I wanna write to friends abroad and so on... 

I go through my blog and “do the numbers” – how much did I write last week, am I happy with that number, how much I wanna write next week and what I wanna write about (again, a list). I always have sth to edit so I roll up my sleeves and get to work...

I love Saturday mornings because they are quality time I’m spending with myself... Wouldn’t it be nice if a week consisted of more Saturdays? :)

#5. check and mark!

#5. Post on blog at least twice a week for three months

I am, and always has been, a date/anniversary lover. It doesn’t really matter what kind it is – relationships, marriage, birthdays, “first date” anniversary, national holiday, Christmas... So it surprised me when I realised I didn’t pay attention to “blog anniversary”. I started this adventure 3 months and 18 days ago with a specific purpose on my mind (I’m quite persistent when I have something on my mind...).

Since I never done anything like this before (write, or write PUBLICLY) I gave myself a task: post on blog at least twice a week for three months. No matter what. Good days. Bad days. Tired days. Hectic days (like yesterday was – sometimes I feel I’m turning to Garfield with his hate of Mondays...). And I have to admit, I’m quite proud of myself (or my stubbornness to be precise) for not giving up. 

Since my job requires very developed analytical skills (and that transfers to private life – willingly or unwillingly), yesterday evening I made "snapshoot" of blog statistics and realised I completed my goal number 5...

And because every post is better with a photo, here is one from Saturday shoot: 

Leap of faith...

A week ago, I asked friends of mine to pose for me. I need all the practice I can get if I wanna pursue this dream of mine, so now is as good time to start as any other, right? And imagine – they said YES! Yaaa-taaa!

From that moment on a vision started to form in my head. A vision of how I wanted them to pose and interact and how will I explain them what to do and so on... I spent hours in front of my computer watching portfolios of all those amazing photographs whose work I follow, going through magazines for inspiration, trying to remember scenes form movies that are imprinted into my memory...

Saturday came... we met... they dressed up for me (sooo sweet)... And I froze. It was like cat ate my tongue (in my case – that never happens)... after a while, we all relaxed and then everything „clicked“... They were so patient with me...  

Thank you again, my friends, for giving me the opportunity to practice :)

Moving target...

Two nights ago I had the opportunity to meet five extraordinary women. Every one of them is uniquely beautiful, special and sexy but they all have one thing in common. Every Tuesday night they meet and dance... All their worries, happiness, sadness, accomplishments, disappointments are reflected in their dance performance. They left me speechless... One of them is a good friend of mine so when I asked if I could come and see/photograph them, she made it happen... 

I can’t thank them enough for that experience. Darlings, if you are reading this – thank you once again...

Next Tuesday I’m gonna have the privilege to photograph them practicing and dancing once again.  I just hope I’ll live up to their expectations... 

Self-Portrait Project... Ready, Steady, Go!

Today I’m starting a new series on blog called „Self-Portrait Project“. The goal is to make at least one self portrait a month throughout the course of the next year. Why? There are many reasons – I wanna develop my creativity and think out-of-the-box, wanna preserve memories (good ones and bad ones), wanna know my camera in-side-out and become a Canon ninja, wanna learn rules of composition and then break them, wanna look up other photographs (regardless the topic) and dissect their work in order to improve mine... 

So here is one to begin with :)