Better Late Than Never | Jasmine Star Workshop

This post has been put on hold until today thanks to one person… Jasmine Star! I had been following Jasmine on Facebook for about a year and loved her work.  However, I looked forward to her Facebook posts not to see her work but to read her newest blog post or witty status updates!  Then when I found out that I also had been following her dad, Pancho Juarez, well double like!!  Her dad is a pastor that I have listened to on the radio over the years, and loved!   I decided one day to just randomly email her and ask if she did workshops in Orange County.  I may have sounded a little like a stalker when I said “I shoot at some of the same locations and as much as I hope to run into you, I also would probably just walk right by without saying anything!”   She emailed me back in spite of myself!  But had no workshops on the books at that time, then 2 days later she emailed again saying she was releasing a workshop in Irvine the next day but I could sign up that night!  I was in, even though Jasmine is a wedding photographer and I was never going to shoot a wedding!  And by the way she is a darn good wedding photographer! (voted one of the Top 10 Wedding Photographers in the World and a Top 5 Most Influential Photographer)   Her workshop was on Branding Yourself, exactly what I needed even if I was never going to shoot a wedding!!

The day of the workshop I was a little (or maybe a lot) nervous, 20 awesome photographers plus Jasmine and her husband JD in the same room with me!  EEK!  JD greeted me in the parking lot with a hug, carried my super heavy bag and smiled the entire time!!  Then I met Jasmine who also greeted me with a hug and a huge smile!  That’s when I made the brilliant remark that I think Im more excited to meet you because of who your dad is than you!  Who says that to someone – oh thats right me!!  Then I meet her mom Millie and yes said something brilliant again!  I just have to say Millie is the sweetest woman and its easy to see where Jasmine gets her warmth and compassion from.                                            

The workshop was amazing I learned so much more than I imagined I would learn.  I have taken so many classes and workshops I was wondering if she would present something new.  She did, her heart!  She spoke straight from her heart about the ups and downs she has experienced and how she got where she is.  Then…the critique that I didn’t know was coming!  All of a sudden my blog was on the big screen!  Yikes!  I knew I need to change things up, thats why I was there right?  She gave us great advice that I have taken to heart and tried to apply to my business.  I need to be me!!!                                                
 I was not created to be “like” Jasmine Star, I was not created to be “like” Spanki Mills, I was not created to be “like” Ana Brandt, all photographers I look up to.  I was created to be me!  When people hire me to take their photos they are hiring me!  I realize I need to stop trying so hard to be something I am not and be me in my branding, in my photography, in my blogging.  Who am I?  Thats how you brand yourself!  Wow, she saved me a ton of money on therapy I’m sure!! So this new website/blog and direction are all due to asking myself a lot of questions and determining who I really am not who I wanted to be.  I am more confident in what I am doing and the direction I am heading.  I realize that I’ve always loved babies and want to photograph newborns, I love interacting with the new moms.  I said I would never do a newborn session but I am so glad I opened myself up to try it.   I would have missed out on my passion if I hadn’t!!  I love maternity sessions and the anticipation of that new little life that changes everything.   I am still going to take sessions for families, high school seniors and engagement and will enjoy every session that I shoot, and I will bring myself every time!  You will get someone who talks too much, loves to have fun and goof around, that makes mistakes (big ones!), sometimes says dumb things, but loves what she is doing!  Oh and she can take wedding photos if she wanted to!                                                                
  The biggest thing I took from that day was when I was talking to Jasmine at the end sharing some struggles and she told me she would pray for me.  I knew it wasn’t just a flippant response, she really meant it.  That is who Jasmine is, she is real, she is genuine, she is fun and she is a business genius.  So thank you, Jasmine for everything you gave that day!  Thank you JD for your kindness and that genuine smile!  Thank you Millie for taking care of us!