Mike Larson : International Lifestyle Wedding Photography

Casual Portrait - Rick & Adrienne

2010-03-05T12:34:00.000-08:00

I am so amped on the light today, and this sweet couple. Here is a sneak peak!! I'll be blogging more of them with my new blog!

WPPI Las Vegas Seminar | Kiss Wedding Books Presents: Mike Larson, Character Marketing

2010-03-03T23:11:00.000-08:00

Photographers: If your desiring to have a sustainable business in 2010, to grow and to do find that "something" that will set you apart.

I've put together a brand new presentation that will cover the following:

- Learn how to assess where your at right now, and who you want to be.

- How to focus your branding on who you are, not just what your products are.

- Learn practical ways on how to develop your character in 2010 to rise above the industry average to excellence.

Kiss Wedding Books has sponsored this workshop for photograhers who are developing their business and mastering their craft. The workshop will be at WPPI 2010 in Las Vegas and I'm honored to be here! Located at the MGM Grand on Sunday March 7th from 6:30-9:00pm, I'm going to be presenting my Brand new talk "Character Marketing". For more info and to sign up, click on the picture below.

For further details, for this and other workshops and upcoming speaking events, check out my upcoming workshops page.

Mike Larson Experience Workshop - Day 3

2010-03-03T14:06:00.000-08:00

guest post by Matt Hollingsworth

Today was the third and final day of Mike's San Luis Obispo photography workshop. After spending two intense days with each other, the 16 participants had really bonded and we are beginning to get to know each other on a deeper level. By the end of this final day, we all felt like we share a common bond that you only experience as you go through challenges and periods of growth with other people - like we have been through the trenches together, as it were.

In fact, as you have seen me mention already in my first two posts, a big theme of this workshop is relationships - the relationship we have with God, the relationships we have with our team, the relationships we have with our clients, and now the relationships we have with our peers. Mike's business is centered around relationships, and he has both instructed and demonstrated the importance of each one of these relationships in our lives as a business owner.

After the creative and inspiring photoshoot we did the night before, Mike began today by opening up Lightroom and walking us through the images of a recent engagement shoot he did.

He talked about his mindset as he approached each shot, any inspiration he had, why he used a certain lens, and how he setup the shot. We discussed the interactions he had with the couple as he shot - e.g. how he directed the guy to position his arm a certain way around the girl's shoulder to better flatter the appearance of her head and neck. We all asked a lot of questions and Mike basically opened up his entire thought process to us and execution of the shoot.

I can't overstate the value of this walk-through discussion for me, and other similar types of sessions I've experienced recently. If you've ever seen an amazing photo and said "wow", if you're a photographer one of the next questions you probably ask is "how did he or she do that?" The how is definitely important and as we talked about yesterday, the "how" requires mastery at a technical level.

But I think what we really need to know many times is not the "how" but the "why". Our manuals explain how to set every feature and setting on our cameras, but they don't very well tell us why we would ever use a particular setting. The "how" is the technical, the "why" is the art. A master must know the "how" and the "why" and make the camera work for him or her. Being able to have instruction during a photoshoot and then to discuss the thought process with Mike was such a powerful way of learning.

After the engagement shoot "how" and "why" discussion, we moved on to talk about some important yet simple Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques. Being easily accessible when people are looking for you - i.e. on Google - obviously means it's easier for potential clients to connect with you. But it's also important for people to find you when they aren't looking for you specifically. Mike talked about some easy things we can do as photographers to enhance our findability, and I'll share the highlights here:

Have a blog. A website is great for showing portfolio images, making it easy for people to contact you and helping people know the basics of your services, style and personality. But a blog is like a magazine that you get to publish as often as you like. If you don't have a blog, you're missing out on numerous ways for others to find you.

Put the venue name / location first in your blog title. Google places more importance on the first part of the title.

Link to other venues and vendors in your blog. Links are the basic form of search capital in the Google world, and linking to other related sites helps them, and can encourage them to link back to you.

Use alt tags in the images that you post. Put some basic descriptive text in the <alt> tags in the images in your blog posts. Google indexes these tags and can then show your images in image searches that match text that you put in the tags.

Ensure the first few sentences of your post are relevant and descriptive. Google will display the first 120 characters of your post in the search results, so make it engaging enough to make someone want to take a deeper look.

Following the talk about SEO, Chloe from Mike's team came to talk to us about the sales and client management processes they have put in place. Essentially, it all revolves around using the ShootQ studio management service that was developed exclusively for photographers by photographers. Chloe showed us how they use some of the unique features of ShootQ to track leads, manage tasks between all the members of Mike's team, follow-up on time with clients, review and electronically sign contracts, send invoices and integrate with a merchant gateway to accept credit card payments, and even more. I personally have been using ShootQ for about 9 months and even for a one-person business like mine it has proven to be a tool that I can't live without. You can sign up for a free trial on their website to try it out for yourself.

Chloe also talked about her role in the process of initially meeting with potential clients and how she approaches that as an opportunity to educate and set Mike's business apart from other photographers. Mike continued the theme with us by walking us through a mock bridal consultation.

Establishing trust between you and your potential client is the paramount objective of the discussion. Think about your own purchasing experiences and how you feel and respond to different ways that salespeople present themselves. When the salesperson is confident, knowledgeable and genuinely makes an effort to listen and understand you, you know it right away and feel safe talking to them more. But we all know that feeling of trying to make a purchase when, like the innocent wildebeest grazing on the plain only to find itself suddenly pursued by a ravenous lionness, we fall into the clutches of a hungry salesman interested only in extracting the maximum possible number of dollars from our wallet.

Don't do that to your clients. Spend the first part of your sales consultations asking questions, listening, finding connection points between you that have nothing to do with photography. Pay attention to their body language and find ways to put them at ease if they are nervous. Study body language if you are not skilled in reading and understanding it. Research your clients and get to know something about them before the meeting so that you can find ways to meet their needs.

Then, after you have established trust and a relationship with them, turn the conversation towards photography and the service that you offer. The best and most memorable forms of communication are usually stories, so find ways to tell about your services in terms of stories. Show an album, but take the leadership in the discussion to walk your potential client through the story of the album rather than letting them flip through pages while halfway listening to you.

Present yourself in the best possible - but completely truthful - way to your clients. Convey to them the experience and skill that you have, and not the experience that you don't have. Then, find a way to wow your clients, as I talked about yesterday. Make sure you can give your clients something to remember you by. If you set out to make a genuine connection with those you're meeting with and see them as people with needs you may be able to meet rather than just as dollars you may be able to get into your bank account, you will foster the trust required to ultimately have a satisfied client who can't help but refer you.

You'll see that I've already mentioned several people in addition to Mike that were part of teaching in this workshop. Mike actually had most of the members of his team come and walk us through their area of expertise and specific part of the business they work in throughout the two days of teaching.

Next up was Rachel, who manages the bookkeeping for the Studio and, more importantly, is Mike's wife.

Rachel went through the financial processes and checklists that his business uses to effectively manage their money. One of the key strategies Rachel employs is batch-processing: grouping similar types of jobs together and setting a regular time to do them to be more efficient. For example, try paying all bills on Mondays, making bank deposits on Tuesdays, etc.

Necia then came in as the final member of Mike's team to present to us.

Necia handles all the album design and follow-up with clients that involves. She shared how she uses PhotoJunction to efficiently design albums, and talked about some considerations in shooting photos that will be most effective in an album. She then demoed the AlbumExposure service they use for online client reviews of albums.

As I reflect back on these individual topical presentations by Mike's team, I'm struck by 2 things. First, how well each person knows their stuff - they each possess expertise and a high level of skill in their specific areas. That's impressive for us getting this behind-the-scenes look at the studio, but it must also be impressive to clients as they interact with each of these people. And, each one is a photographer as well in their own right, shooting weddings and portraits with the studio.

But something else makes an even bigger impression on me as I watched and listened to them these past few days. The best word I can think of to describe it is unity. I listened and specifically noted how each team member, all on their own and in unique ways, related their job to the core values of relationship, trust, service, and Godly principles that Mike has described as the core of his business. Every person was on the same page. Each person clearly supported the rest of the team and built each other up.

This unity was taught to us not with words, not on a chart or in an app, but with real - and no doubt unintentional - examples. How many businesses do you know where at least 6 people contribute their own unique personalities and skills, but in such a totally harmonious and mutually supportive way that you can actually feel it?

Mike actually spent one of the final discussion of the day talking about how to build a team. Most importantly, you have to be crystal clear on the vision and purpose of your business. You have to have it written down so everyone who works with you can read it and refer to it in all the decisions they will make and actions they take on behalf of your business.

How do you decide when to outsource something, or bring on someone to help with the business? Make sure you have a list of what you want to do and what you don't want to do in your business. Start with the things on your don't-want-to-do list, but make sure you plan for paying someone. When you hire a new person, you take a temporary pay cut. But the keys to making the hiring decision ultimately effective for your business are to invest the time and effort in mentoring and training that person in well-defined responsibilities, and to have the discipline to use the extra time you eventually will have to further develop your business.

As the in-studio time drew to a close and we prepared to head out to our final photoshoot, Mike encouraged us with a few final thoughts that I'll share:

Write down your personal mission statement - who you are and what you do - as well as your purposes in life.

Get your financials in order. Know the condition of your business, when you're profitable, when you're not.

Set a goal for your blog - either to get one if you don't have one, or to update it at a specific interval, re-design it, etc.

Connect with at least one other photographer from the workshop and commit to maintaining a relationship with them.

Get mentors in your life - ideally 2 or more.

Finally, don't waste a single day more in your life. Don't waste the time we've spent here learning. Put together plans and put them in action so you can grow your business and your character.

We then spent the rest of the day on a bridal shoot, with two awesome ladies and one great guy - a couple whose wedding Mike photographed a couple of years ago, and another great model. As you can see from some of the images below, we got do utilize some of the wonderful environment in San Luis Obispo, do some night shooting, and continue our hands-on learning from Mike.

After the images I'll share my final thoughts...

As I leave this workshop, I feel that I've been blessed with an incredible opportunity this week. It's been interesting, inspiring, encouraging, challenging, convicting, at times exhausting, humbling and eye-opening. I received a wealth of information - some new, some good reminders of what I know but haven't been doing, some affirmations of what I already am doing. I learned-by-doing in example shoots and hands-on practice. I saw some things about myself that are uncomfortable and that need to change - both on a photography business level as well as a personal level - and I come away with a conviction to work on those things.

I see better where I am in my business and my character than I did before this workshop, and where I need to apply myself. I need practice. I need confidence that comes through repetition. I need mentors. I need to hone my speaking and presentation skills. And I need to work on some specific areas of my character.

But I also come away with the affirmation of knowing that my desire to genuinely connect with and serve people through by business is not only a worthy goal, but the best way to approach my business. I was able to witness an awesome example of that attitude and how it practically plays out in every aspect of a photography business this week.

If you're reading my updates, I truly hope that they've been informative and helpful in some way to you. And if you are a photographer who wants to develop - in technical skills or in business practices - I cannot encourage you enough to take advantage of an opportunity like this to learn and grow.

Go to one of Mike's workshops - you can see more about them here. Go to another workshop - there are many out there to choose from.

But, I urge you to consider this. In any workshop you attend, you will learn more than just what's on the agenda or syllabus. You will be taught the character of the teacher, whether it's intentional or not. This week I learned that business is all about character, and character drives your business.

Don't waste a single day of your life or career making mistakes you don't have to make. Take advantage of the opportunities to learn from someone who's been there before ... and pay attention to your character.

Comments? Please post 'em! If you'd like to complain, feel free to contact me directly - matt@reallifebeauty.com :) Thanks for reading.

And thank you Rachel, Sophie, Necia, Jake, Chloe, Rachel and Mike for the awesome opportunity this week!

Here are some samples of Mike's shots from the workshop:

Nighttime Camera toss with 3 wireless flashes!

2010-02-28T16:50:00.000-08:00

At my recent workshop last week in San Luis Obispo we did a camera toss on the beach of the whole crew! Thanks to Evandro Rocha from Brazil, he put together this little video!

Casual Portraits in the Snow | Mark & Christyn, Denver, CO.

2010-02-19T10:46:00.000-08:00

I LOVE the snow. Right during the snow, we shot these shots for a demo I was shooting for a Pictage PUG (Pictage User Group) Presentation.

I shot Mark & Christyn's wedding back on 7/23/2007 at the Montage in Laguna Beach. Check out the link to the post here What a beautiful wedding they had. Since we have become great friends and

Thanks you for helping, and thank you to God for making it snow in Denver!

(P)ictage Camera Toss (ver 2.0)

2010-02-18T14:49:00.000-08:00

In Preparation for the WPPI Convention in Las Vegas, Pictage asked me to

They are about to release their logo and I'm really excited about it!

Mike Larson Photography Workshop Day 2

2010-02-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

guest post by Matt Hollingsworth

After the great free Biblical Business Principles workshop on Monday, today we began the actual photography workshop. Each day is divided up into two parts - a speaking and interacting session in Mike's studio in the morning, then an afternoon and evening shooting session.

Mike began the morning by talking about the reason he is doing this, and what his desire is for us: that we would not waste a single day of our lives, but that we could have knowledge and training to effectively grow our businesses so that we can effectively grow our character.

Too many people don't learn new things because they don't think they need to. This is the growth-inhibiting pride that we talked about yesterday, and we need to be able to be humble enough to know that we can learn something from anyone. In fact, there are two ways to learn: through the wisdom and instruction of other people, or through your own experience. Since you can only have a limited number of your own experiences, why not try to learn as much as you can from others, which will make your experiences even more valuable?

With this encouragement, we began the day of learning and growing.

Right off the bat Mike shared an idea that really convicted me. I actually heard this from him when I saw him last month at a PUG (Pictage User Group) meeting, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Are we as photographers consumers of our own service?

If you are a photographer, when was the last time you hired another photographer to do a shoot for you? For me, it's actually been a long time, and I came to realize how hypocritical it is of me to talk about the value of photography and the photography experience with clients, but actually not value that experience enough to consume it myself. Yes I take pictures of my family and we enjoy them. But I want to hire a photographer - and yes, pay them - and live the whole experience with my family (and actually have myself in a photo!). Small nugget of truth, but it was a big impact to me.

Next we dove into the first tool that equips us to be more effective and valuable at our craft - shooting right the first time.

The simple principle is this: the more time it takes to post-process your images, the less time you have to spend on every other part of your business. If it takes you 10 hours to edit your images from a wedding, then if you can cut it to 5 hours then you've just doubled your efficiency - and pay - for that portion of your work. But you've also gotten back 5 more hours you can spend focusing on your clients, meeting with vendors, growing your character, or spending time with your family.

What can help you shoot better the first time? Like most things, there are two elements: education and practice. Mike gave some instruction on how to better setup your camera to give you more control on focusing, about how to nail your exposure every time by knowing some reference points and then adjusting from there, as well as some other practical tips from his own experience.

And then there is practice.

How important is practice? If you took your child to the hospital to have surgery, and the doctor fumbled around with his instruments, tried one scalpel, then said "oops, let me try a bigger one and see if that works", cut in different places until he got it right, would you have much confidence in him? Would you want to pay him? Would you think he had ever done that surgery before?

We can approach photography the same way. But we have the benefit of being able to practice on live bodies! Mike encouraged us that if we need to work on shooting and editing, then go talk to 50 people and ask them to do a photoshoot for you. Chances are you may get 10 who actually will agree, and then schedule them all on the same weekend, back-to-back so you can be more efficient. Then process them all, and go evaluate yourself and your photos. Write down what you learned, what was good, what wasn't so good. And then do it again. Put in the work required to master your craft as a professional.

We then moved on to talk about developing the client relationship. The themes are trust, caring, and servant leadership. The relationship with your client really starts with you - how you treat them, how you appear to them, how you talk with them.

Your goal should be to develop a trust between you and your clients, and trust takes time. Therefore we need to prioritize time with our clients. Find out about your clients' background, interests and lives so that you can be better equipped to meet their needs.

Also, find ways to "wow" your clients. Do you ever hear your clients say "wow" when they interact with you or talk about you? Wowing requires forethought, initiative and sensitivity to your clients' needs so that you can give them something unexpected. Mike actually wowed us with some gifts for each of us at the start of the day:

Market your relationship-building to your clients as one of your strengths. Educate them on the importance of having this relationship with their photographer. Help them think through "Who will take better care of you on your wedding day - someone who knows your or someone who doesn't?"

"Photographers are problem-solvers of light and social situations." The technical aspects of photography solve light problems, but we must be equipped and prepared to handle the social situations as well. This also requires that we spend time and effort developing our communication and relationship skills. If you need more instruction and resources to help you develop in this area, take advantage of things like Toastmasters International, where you can learn confidence in speaking and giving presentations.

All in all, having a quality, genuine relationship with your clients should be at the heart of what you do. The trust you build with them can then be easily transferred to people who they recommend you to.

When you serve your clients with genuine care, find ways to deliver the unexpected and share your passion with them, you will become known more for your character and how you make your clients feel than for just your images. And when that happens, you can have the kind of meaningful referrals that will allow your business to grow.

Next we discussed some ways to implement both the technical and the relational business practices we had just learned about.

Here are some quick ideas:

Be first in something in your area or sphere of influence.
Meet with up-and-coming vendors who are at a similar level of experience and growth as you are. Do joint marketing with them. Find ways to give them something truly valuable to them and serve them. Build that relationship of trust with these vendors.
Have an assistant film a photoshoot, but have them focus on your interactions with your clients. Go back and watch yourself - painful as that may be - and seek their input on what you could do better.
Meet the owner / manager of a wedding venue and do a walk-through with them, suggesting things that may enhance the artistic and photographic qualities. Give them some images of the venue they can use to market.
View yourself as a humble leader, and take ownership of having positive and encouraging influence over other peoples' lives.
Specialize in what you do best, and then you'll eventually be known for what you do best. Find ways to delegate and outsource what you do not do well and be humble enough to let go of those things.
Don't get overwhelmed by a perceived lack of progress. Think about how a brick wall is built. The bricklayer doesn't throw 20 bricks down all at once. He puts down one brick at a time in exactly the right place. Then he builds on top of it. Track your progress and keep moving forward.

We had two focused presentations by members of Mike's team today as well. Sophie, Mike's studio manager, walked us through the Lightroom workflow they use, and Jake, who does the graphic design for Mike, talked about the importance of logos and branding. Both Sophie and Jake provided some great ideas and resources for us.

Sophie:

Jake:

By this time we had all had lunch:

and were basking in the perfect February afternoon sunlight that was pouring through the windows in Mike's studio. It was time to go to the beach!

We met two couples and Mike walked us all through some different types of shoots - portrait, lifestyle and an engagement-type shoot. Mike talked through posing and lighting approaches in several different situations. More importantly, he modeled the type of leadership and interaction that we had talked about all day.

Check out some of the images from the afternoon below. The images of the couples are Mike's.

And finally, a nighttime camera toss of the whole group, complete with the sunset!

Thirst Relief Benefit: Photography Mentor Auction (open until the 17th!)

2010-02-16T12:33:00.000-08:00

Grow as a photographer while saving lives!

I'm participating in the 2010 ThirstRelief Mentor Auction. Our mission is to save lives by tapping into the incredible talent and generosity of the photo industry.
Did you know that every 15 seconds someone dies of a waterborne illness? That's 5760 people every day! You can help. Bid on a mentoring session with your favorite photographer!

100% of the proceeds directly benefit Thirst Relief. Add to that the incredible wisdom and talent that is being shared in the one-on-one mentor sessions and you have better and more successful photographers! It's truly a win win for everyone involved!

The winner of the auction of me will win the following, above the 90 minute mentor session:

- A seat in any workshop coming up during 2010 in either Europe or in the states.
- Shadowing/assisting at a stylized casual portrait session
- Shadowing me at a 2010 wedding
- A Tour of our studio and operations facility
- My studio resource manual
- A hug

Mike Larson's Workshop Day 1 In Review

2010-02-16T01:38:00.000-08:00

Hi. I am Matt Hollingsworth and I and guest-blogging for Mike this week to bring you some of the highlights of his San Luis Obispo photography workshop. I'll be sharing my perspective on each day, some of the things that really impacted and challenged me, and some photos of the day.

Today Mike put on a free one-day seminar as a precursor to the photography workshop that starts tomorrow. The topic - Running your business on Biblical principles.

Did you know that the Bible has more to say about money than about any other single topic? God doesn't necessarily place a greater importance on money than on other truths, but our attitudes about money and the way we use it indicate our deeper spiritual condition. Since business involves the exchange of money, it stands to reason that God places a significant value to the way business works.

Indeed, today we really saw that a business run by Christians should not just be better than other businesses, it should be totally different. If Jesus is really at the center of our own individual lives, or if we aspire for Him to be, then our lives should reflect changes as we grow and allow Him to refine our character. And then, as business owners, as our individual lives change to become more Christ-like, our businesses should also become more Christlike.

What, then, is a Christ-like business, and why would we try to have such a business?

The answer to the second question actually answers the first question.

A big revelation for me today, something that completely resets my approach to "work" - especially as a new business owner - is this big-idea truth that Mike shared:

Business is a tool that God uses to refine our own character and to glorify Him in ways that our personal lives may not allow us to do.

As I let that sink in, it changes how I see what I do. Business for the Christian isn't just making better products, isn't just sending invoices and receiving payments more efficiently, isn't just becoming the market leader, isn't even just giving people something great that they will treasure for a lifetime. Business is about God's deeper work in us and the people around us.

This means that God is ultimately more concerned about our character than our profit. Of course profit is important and necessary in a business. Without profit, there is no business and you just have a nice hobby that doesn't provide for your needs. But at times God calls us to sacrifice in the area of profit for the sake of doing what is right so that He can shape our character to be more like Him. Profit and the money the business produces will be a by-product, or "symptom" as Mike put it, of a business run on Godly principles.

This means that as a business owner, I have a not just the opportunity, but the responsibility to lead and develop the character of the people that work with and for me. Wow. Have you ever thought of your position as an employer as including the responsibility to help employees personally develop, and not just do their job? Jesus set the example for us as a leader by pouring His life into the lives of those around Him.

This means that as the leader of our businesses, we take ownership of communicating the style, the values, the principles by which we conduct business to everyone on our team. We ensure that everyone is on the same page and we take the initiative and time to train each person. We provide both correction and praise to people who work with us, just as God does to us - all in a backdrop of patient love.

And this means that we deal with and understand people not in terms of their status - "boss" vs. "worker", or "$400k revenue business" vs. "$40k revenue business", or "been shooting weddings for 7 years" vs. "I've shot 2 weddings", or "my camera costs $x" vs. "your camera costs $y", or "client who makes $500k a year" vs. "client who makes $35k a year". All these things simply promote pride and arrogance, which are only obstacles to our growth. All people are equal in God's eyes, and when we relate to our staff, our vendors, our peers and our clients we must honor them as individuals rather than as categories.

Pretty challenging, isn't it? But if business is a tool that God uses to develop our character and to glorify Him, it will be different than just going to work.

Mike also talked about six symptoms of business bondage - signs that your business may not be in line with God's ultimate purpose for it. These aren't death sentences, though. Just like pain in our bodies, they are signals that we need to change in some area in order to experience God's best for us.

1. Superiority, which is really just pride and arrogance. Do you compare yourself to others and either think you're less of a person when you don't measure up, or more important and valuable when you come out ahead of someone else? The answer to this is humility and esteeming others higher than ourselves.

2. Selfishness, which we can understand as greed. In place of greed, we need to give.

3. Overwork, which is an indicator of financial bondage.

4. Excessive use of credit means that we're not completely trusting God to provide for us with what He has already given us.

5. Disorganization, which has at its root laziness.

6. Trying to get rich quick - this indicates our love of money above our love for God.

Finally, we talked today about some practical strategies to implement these ideals and qualities in our lives and businesses, and to address some of the root problems that the symptoms of business bondage bring to our attention.

Here are the highlights:

Pray - praying is a muscle. If you don't pray when you don't have to, then you won't be able to when you need to. Pray specifically for wisdom and direction each day.
Make mentoring a priority in your life. Find a person or people who agree to spend time with you regularly and give you part of their lives - their experience, wisdom and knowledge. Be open to their guidance and to learning from them, putting aside your own pride.
Know your vision for your life and your priorities and write them down. Make your life vision the lens through which you make your everyday decisions.
Have people around you that hold you accountable. Ensure there are one or more people who have the ability to stand up to you when you need to be corrected or instructed. Don't surround yourself with "yes men" and be humble enough to accept the correction.
Ensure you have time each day for prayer and connection with God in your own personal life.
Spend quality time with your family. Compartmentalize work so it does not take over your life.
Debt is bondage, so avoid it wherever possible.

Today I am renewed in my approach to work. I not only have a better understanding of God's true plan for business, but a vision of how amazing and fulfilling a business could be when surrendered to God. Business can bring growth to my character; strength to my family; blessing to people who work with me who may not have otherwise been blessed. It can give me the chance to learn through sacrifice and giving.

It may or not bring a lot of money, but it can be something that brings me closer to God.

Here are some more images from the day. I'm looking forward to tomorrow!

Workshop Day 1 of 3

2010-02-15T18:10:00.000-08:00

Today was day 1 of the 3 day workshop and it was great to see everyone here. We had guests from Brazil, Austria, Idaho, North Carolina and all over the state. Here is a group shot of us! Matt is going to be guest blogging this week. You can follow as Matt guests twits and updats on twitter of some of the wisdom, and cool thoughts and photos as they happen!

Lake Tahoe Engagement Session #2 | Chase & Bernie

2010-02-13T23:59:00.000-08:00

Chase & Bernie met us up at Lake Tahoe for their second casual portrait session and we got some sweet shots. When it comes to these portrait sessions, it would be easy to hit up a field, park or beach, but we spent some time location scouting the days before and found some sweet spots that worked perfect. The last spot was my favorite and I'm showing a sneak peak here on the Blog. I'll be posting more soon!

Digital Photo Buzz Spotlight

2010-02-09T12:21:00.000-08:00

A fun feature about the camera toss on Digital Photo Buzz - Check it out! Thanks Mark!

Squaw Valley Resort, Lake Tahoe Wedding Photography {Jon & Jessica}

2010-02-07T09:08:00.000-08:00

Last nights wedding was SO amazing. I love how couples get original and just do something risky. Get married on superbowl weekend in the winter at 8,206 feet in the Mountains above Lake Tahoe. For me, it was 100% worth 12 hours of covering a spectacular group of people, wonderful family, and friends gathering to celebrate Jon & Jessica celebrating their nuptials at High Camp at Squaw Valley Mountain Resort.

It was snowing all day and created an amazing aurora that surrounded them as if a big white fleece blanket of quiet and warmth. That's one of my favorite things about the snow, it makes everything clean and quiet. Here is Jessica proudly walking towards her bridesmaids a few minutes before the wedding.

Then Later after sunset, at 5:45pm, with almost no light, using my new Canon 1D Mark 4, at ISO 1250, 1/50th, & 1.2, I was able to grab these shots. The only way I was even able to focus was by having my assistant (sweet Rachel) hold up her iphone near their faces and focus on that.

Thanks to this new gear and some tricks, I was able to get an extra 30 minutes of shooting in. Later at the reception, it was a fun reunion to see 2 other couples we had photographed in the last year there. Near the end of the night our highly anticipated slideshow was about to play and the projector bulb went out, JUST as the DJ cued the soundtrack for the music. I had nothing else to do but pray for the gear to work. God was victorious and everyone was amazed that the "burned out" bulb worked one last time. The slideshow was sweet and was such a hit. Thanks guys for a great night. I'll be posting more of the images in a few days.

Latest Speaking Tour

2010-02-04T18:40:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Pictage, who sponsored the 1st 11 days of 20+ in my "Character Marketing" speaking tour to the Pictage user groups, or PUG's. It was an open invite however to photographers in each city. Here is Nashville

The Nashville crew here with a wireless flash setup on each side. Simple.

Here is a shot from a friend who was shooting me speaking.

The week earlier I was in Portland, Oregon and met with a sweet group of photographers there.

Eric Farewell's wife, Nellie was there, they were such a help to me during my shoot in San Francisco and again here in Portland. Great people.

Eric shot these shots of me sharing about character marketing and growing ourselves as much as our art.

The Portland skyline, Here we used the YongNuo wireless transmitters, which powered my Canon 580ex II flashes at 1/128th power.

Same exact settings, just a couple, and you get sweet light.

I stopped in Seattle and this was the 1st day that I was able to speak after 5 days of being on 100% vocal rest. Thanks to everyone who was praying. It was a blessing to be able to share that night!

Again, a great group of photographers in Seattle as well.

Here is my view, for 2 hours sharing my heart and experiences. I was blessed to hear people share how they walked away with renewed vision.

Tech specs, 1/5 second, F 1.2, ISO 1000, shot on the ground so the middle ground was limited to the couple standing, the orange clouds are from the city lights.

Here is the view of the photogs surrounding and the flash setup. Simple 1/128th power on the flash heads. I did 11 demos, and 2 weddings on the same batteries before I had to switch them.

San Francisco. Thanks to Gene Higa for helping out shooting this shot!

On Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, this is the leftover crowd from the demo shoot we did for the Los Angeles PUG.

Detroit Michigan. All I can say is that it was 13 degrees out! But it was worth flying up and sharing with another great group of photographers here.

This was the 1st stop in the tour in San Diego, thanks to the Youngrens, and the La Vida Crew, they took great care of me.

Near the end of the 1st 3 weeks, about the 1/2 way part of the tour, we stopped at Kevin Swan's house for the presentation, where we did the camera toss. I should have had my fisheye on for this shot, as in the Camera toss which was a few posts earlier.

I wanted to give a special thanks to Pictage, for sponsoring this, also for Drobo, for giving away a gift certificate, Album Exposure for giving away a year subscription, and to Show-It sites, for giving away a special discounted rate on their AMAZING slideshows and websites for photographers.

Upcoming on the tour are the following cities: Philly, DC, NYC, uptown NYC, Baltimore, Boston, Salt Lake City, Pheonix, Orlando, Miami, Hartford, Chicago, Sacramento, East Bay Area, Vancouver, and maybe Kansas City. I hope to see those of you in those cities coming up. For more info, check out my workshops site.

Etsy Spotlight

2010-02-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

For all brides, Etsy is an amazing resource for unique handcrafted special touches for your big day. One of our dear brides, Lauren of Lo Boheme, makes custom vintage inspired accessories that several of our brides has sported. It was fun to see so many familiar faces in the pictures of ours that she has posted on her website. Check it out!

Where have you been in the world?

2010-02-01T23:30:00.000-08:00

I found this cool map locator and it shows you what percent of the world you've been to! It really puts how big the world is, into perspective. If only flying over the country counted as well! I'd have "seen" more of the world too! Visit the link, put in your own travel, then copy your "world map" in the comments section below. I feel so blessed and thankful to have my photography clients and business development partners ask me to travel all over the world! I've learned so much and yet learned how much more I have to learn.

Duel Camera Toss

2010-01-27T15:40:00.001-08:00

Thanks to my buddy Kevin Swan, we met at his house for the Indianapolis Pictage Pug presentation, which is part of my 20 city Photography Tour

We could not resist throwing our cameras in the air so we gathered a few of the friends remaining and went out for a shoot. See the results below!

Here is my shot of his camera in the air. Pretty cool because two simultaneous cameras in the air has never been done before! Here is video that someone took on facebook of the event!

Next up I'll be in Detroit on thursday. See you all then, and after that I'm back in San Luis Obispo for a few days before I head up to Tahoe for a wedding on the North Shore!

and his shot of my new Canon 1D mark 4

Thanks kevin!

San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge Engagement Session| Jon & Jessica

2010-01-22T06:30:00.000-08:00

What a day, more images to come, but here is a sneak peak!

Robert Hall Winery | New years party!

2010-01-07T15:57:00.000-08:00

Wow, what an amazing event, Kramer DJ's & Lighting put together this lighting setup downstairs in the wine cellars for new years eve 2009!. Catering Unlimited did the tasty food and Corinne from Panacea Event Floral Design did the fabulous decor. We had the Photobooth Experience there as well rocking it out all night. There was a constant line of people having a great time for the Photobooth!

Here is another event we did at Robert Hall this year

Winter 2010 Pictage Speaking Tour

2010-01-04T12:04:00.001-08:00

Get prepared for 2010. This is going to be a full 2 hours of intense information sharing and great practical things to apply to your life, business and art. 2010 is going to be a defining and refining year for photographers, as the demand for excellence is going to go up and at the same time, our production must get faster and we must compartmentalize our business, our personal life and ensure success in both areas. DON'T have a lukewarm business!

We are going to also do a mini night casual portrait session shoot with some cool new gear I got.

I'm super excited to share my passion for what helped us have a great year in 2009 and Its my hope that this would equip you and gear you up for an amazing 2010, where you have freedom and success.

Freedom happens when you choose to do whats right, right now. To achieve greater success than you have right now, requires doing things your not currently doing right now. Bring a friend and be ready for good times.

The presentation schedule is here!

Vineyard Engagement Shoot { Marcus & Liz }

2009-12-17T11:53:00.000-08:00

Meet Marcus & Liz, Marcus is a rancher, and Liz a viticulture expert. What better location to shoot than in the Santa Inez/San Luis Obispo County wine country area. Fall colors out here are stunning and I wish I could have paused this light and shot forever! Thanks guys for an amazing shoot!

This is a secret vineyard that nobody knows about and there is a ominous looking chain guarding the road.

I love sitting on the job. Always a different perspective.

It was great to hear Liz teach Marcus what she did and what she was looking for as she inspects grape vines in her day to day work on the vineyard.

Meet Liz, a vine expert.

Meet Marcus, he is a hard working cattle rancher. Don't mess with him. But he's cool. We had fun shooting and I totally was digging his "what are you looking at", look.

They had fun, too much fun at times, and this was telling of their relationship, and how much fun they have together.

They love to fish, and we shared many fish stories, so it was fitting to see them with their poles and dreaming about the next fishing trip and the all famous fishing stories.

Piggy back rides are good for your health if your a married couple. Good for the relationship too.

Then there was their dog. He loved chasing balls and running around.

I loved this shoot and am looking forward to their wedding in a few months!

The Photobooth Experience

2009-12-14T20:02:00.000-08:00

Today we photographed The Photobooth Experience or @boothexperience for twitter followers at several locations and finished with a shoot at Dolphin Bay. The sunset was amazing!

Big Sur Trees & Sun Engagement Shoot {Mike & Jeanine}

2009-12-02T11:21:00.000-08:00

Mike & Jeanine are getting married at the Highlands Inn in beautiful Carmel Ca. So what better than to shoot in the middle of one of the most amazing places on earth, AND coincidentally its their favorite place too! We headed up the coast after thanksgiving to meet them. The light, and cool fall colors were breathtaking.

They spend a lot of time being involved with YMCA, so they sported their "rags".

Since we had early fall rains, the clovers were out and we got some sweet shots in the redwood trees! I'm always looking for cool textures, backgrounds and things that are NOT normal.

I shot this shot with a 1/20th of a second, walking and panning with them, using a 16-35mm lens, my lens flare/landscape lens

Sunset times are the time of day I cannot get enough of.

No really, they were this much fun, and I can't help having fun with people who are having fun. Which is exactly what they wanted recorded of them, the story of them having fun being themselves!

Craggled trees, perfect backdrop, middle ground for this sweetness.

The end... of the shoot, but the beginning of their lives being recorded amazingly and forever they will have something that will remind them of why they enjoy each other. This is who they are and how much fun they have. Thanks guys for a great day!

Fall Favorites

2009-11-27T18:08:00.000-08:00

I am going through all my favorite images from recently and have found some amazing ones I've never blogged. Here is a shot from Robert Hall Winery and i LOVE the fall colors here in the wine country. Stellar sunset warmth and Indian summer days.

Final Thoughts as I leave Europe...

2009-11-22T16:15:00.001-08:00

This was such a blessed couple of weeks. After the final dinner tonight, How we serve people matters much more than we think. There is more to life than the thoughts that run through our head about how business is doing, and if it will continue next year like it did this year. Or even "what the economy" is going to do to us. I learned a lot about my heart for others this trip, areas I need to improve on, and areas I want to continue to be good at. I'm learning more & more that the people that retain us for our talents, or give us opportunities to do what we do best, are all around us. We just need to achieve excellence consistently, to not be so full of ourselves, all to often, unknowingly. The only way I've been able to do his is by seeking my God daily. There is so much growth for me to learn, achieve & explore. Yet its me who doesn't see those people who would seek us out, or I get in the way trying to reach my big hand into the cookie jar just for myself, instead of finding ways I can serve them instead. The latter however, being much more fulfilling.

I enjoy learning this and focusing on others, traveling in Europe the last few weeks during this workshop tour has taught me a lot, and I'm excited to implement my thoughts. I have a fresh perspective, I've had a chance to hear from a lot of people, but most importantly, getting time reading the Word. I am setting aside Dec 1st as a day totally devoted to getting alone, and putting aside the whole world, to stop, rest, pray and just read. To seek direction in my life so I do not waste my time, or anybody elses. I want to put my God and my wife 1st. I don't want to run down a path of glittery business, fame, or chase something someone else has just to end up at 80 with something that never really fulfilled me.

I know I've been given a gift, a gift that nobody else has, something just for me and its given to me so that I can bless others and serve them with it. I just need to un-distract and unplug myself from the barrage of information and thoughts that pass through my head every day. I love getting closer to freedom, as my friend DJ has inspired me with not judging my success on how busy I am. I apologize to those who I've may have been too busy to connect with.

I'm staying in my hometown for the entire month of December and not leaving. I want to live a life where I look back and it was not all lived for what I wanted at that moment. But for something greater. Thank you to all of those who made this trip a pleasure and more than I could have deserved. I had so much fun today! But I'm so excited for tomorrow. I hope you stay inspired, challenged and I encourage you to seek vision and direction. I love this quote:

“Without a vision, men perish.” Proverbs 29:1

How often do you stop, and seek vision. You were created for a purpose. Don't let another minute go by without knowing where your going, and why. Live life to the fullest.

Thank you everyone, I'm so thankful for everyone in the last few weeks. Be blessed. :)