Jaime Lauren Photography | Fine Art Film Wedding Photographer | Okanagan, Sonoma, Carmel, Big Sur

I’m not quite sure why it’s taken so long, but yesterday was my first ‘professional development’ experience since I graduated with my photography degree from Emily Carr.  I shook my head in awe on the drive home last night wondering how I’d gone FOUR YEARS without any sort of education or community to challenge the business and creative aspects of my work.  I mean, I’ve read a LOT of industry blogs, books, magazines and reviews, but after attending a 10-hour conference with several hundred other Bay-area photographers yesterday, I am kicking myself for not having forked over the dough to do something like this earlier on in my career.  I’m also completely convinced as to why WPPI (Wedding + Portrait Photographers International) is such an effective source of education and information for photographers around the globe.  Their annual Las Vegas convention is, I believe, the largest convention and trade show in the business, and I will definitely be there this February!

So what went down during those 10 hours of fabulous yesterday?  I’m here to give you a synopsis of the goods and point you in the direction of some amazing industry leaders who are helping new photographers find their sea legs and reviving the careers of established shooters.  Stay with me as I attempt to condense all the info I took in yesterday and send it your way!

Hosts: Boudoir Divas – The vivacious and business-savvy  Marissa Boucher + Kimberlee West of San Diego’s premier boudoir studio.

• Go Big or Go Home.  Well that’s not what Marissa and Kimberlee actually said, but it is the perfect way to sum up the big, no, grandiose, visions these young women have brought to fruition.  My jaw dropped when they played a video highlighting their journey from a home-studio in the garage to the largest boudoir studio on the planet where women from all over the world come to get their supermodel on and strut their stuff for the camera.  The entire experience is meant to make women feel vibrant, valued, and drop-dead gorgeous.  SIGN.  ME.  UP.   And the best part of it all is that they give all the glory to God for their creativity and success.

Educator #1: Jim Garner – Seattle-based wedding photographer with a passion for strong storytelling and relaxed, experiential shooting methods.

• Whether you’re a photographer or not, I believe absolutely anyone could have walked away from Jim’s presentation yesterday with a greater understanding of how to access the creative side of one’s being and bring inspiration to actuality, how to harness the power of visual storytelling, and how to spend more time living and less time rushing around like decapitated poultry.  I could outline a pile of pointers, but since his emphasis is on the VISUAL, I’d recommend checking out his intro video on his studio’s website.  BLEW ME AWAY.  I also picked up his 4-hour long educational DVD which I’m super stoked about watching.  Favourite point from his whole seminar: Why are American wedding days so rushed?  No where else in the world do people rush through the day the way Americans do.  This I can attest to as Canadian weddings tend to be more drawn out and relaxed with more time for photos and time to just enjoy the day.  I haven’t wholly enjoyed adjusting to the faster pace here, but have convinced some of my clients to slow things down as it truly shows in the photographs.  I plan on dedicating a blog post to this issue at some point, so come back if you’re curious!

Educator #2: Dave Getzschman – A San Francisco photojournalist bringing years of experience to the world of wedding photography.

• Now here’s a photographer I just ‘get’.  This guy started out as a photojournalist with hopes of becoming a war photographer.  In the end, he decided that wasn’t for him and that love needed a witness as well.  I totally identified.  I spent my entire education preparing to work as a documentary photographer and was in the process of applying for a photography position in southern Sudan with an NGO when I somehow got caught up in the polar opposite world of wedding photography.  I thought I wanted to document tragedy and instead I was presented with the opportunity to photograph celebration.  A season for everything I suppose.  Anyway, the great thing about Dave’s work is that it’s so full of emotion you just can’t help but wonder how he does it.  While, ‘shoot, shoot, shoot’ is definitely part of his M.O., he also stressed the need to spend time getting to know people.  When a photographer (or anyone for that matter) is genuine and easy to be around, it’s amazing how open and true those around you will allow themselves to be.  Dave’s work is a stunning example of what happens when you a) anticipate the shot and b) take an interest in others.  No wonder he won the Wedding Photojournalist Association’s Wedding Photographer of the Year in 2010!

Educator #3: Jared Platt – A Lightroom guru and Arizona wedding photographer who’ll save you time + money with stellar workflow tips.

• Want to double your hourly rate without charging your clients extra?  WhaWhat???  That’s Jared Platt’s approach to presenting his insightful tips when editing within Lightroom.  The answer?  Cut your editing time in half.  And Platt explained step by step how to do just that, through Comparative Review, (ie scanning a series of images for a favourite and selecting that one rather than looking at each individual image) Positive Selection, (only select your favourites rather than also rejecting the ones you’ll trash because “You don’t need to inform your other images that they suck”) culling images using your Gut Instinct, and lastly, creating a Distractionless Environment.  To be honest, I actually edit using the first three techniques already…he compared them to the way one would select photos from the film era, and that’s precisely how I learned to cull images as well…with a contact sheet, loupe, and pencil.  But I hadn’t thought about using the rating system and colour-coding system within Lightroom to further speed up my process.  And now I will.  Amazingly enough, this man can cull his favourites from 2000 images in something like an hour.  Did you know it takes 20 whole minutes just to click a button 2000 times?  He’s timed it.  That’s 20 minutes wasted just clicking from photo to photo, never mind the time one spends thinking about the image.  Platt also had a lot to say about Presets and how to speed up your processing through their use.  I actually won a set of his Presets and am pretty excited to try them out!  If you get a chance to check out Platt and sign up for one of his workshops, I’d highly recommend it!  He’ll save you time, and of course, money.

Educator #4: Bambi Cantrell – One of the world’s foremost wedding + portrait photographers, leading the industry in producing fine art photography.

• Let me just put this out there in case you’re one of the few who haven’t heard me say this before:  Southerners (as in the Deep South kind) are fantastic story-tellers.  They know how to command an audience like no other subset of any population I’ve ever encountered.  Lucky for me, I married one and life has never been boring since…not that it was before, but you know what I mean.  I digress.  My point is, that when Bambi Cantrell stepped on stage yesterday, I was riveted.  Had I not been furiously taking notes the entire time, I may not have blinked during the entire 90 minute presentation.  She is DYNAMITE.  Not only could this Georgia-born native, (but Bay-area transplant) entrance an audience of several hundred eager photographers, she is one photographic force to be reckoned with.  After 25 years in the biz, Ms Cantrell has earned every right to be as opinionated as she is, and I was thoroughly challenged in my work as a result of her strong convictions and depth of experience.  From lighting to posing to marketing to sales, I feel like I just received a crash course in what it takes to be the absolute best in my field.  But you know what the most captivating part was?  The tender, compassionate side of Ms Cantrell that showed itself when she played a heart-wrenching slideshow featuring a portrait session of an elderly couple.  The collection was so moving and she was so passionate family portraiture at weddings, that tears streamed down my face for several minutes.  I LOVE photographing grandparents and parents at weddings and was thrilled by her challenge to make this more of a priority.  I approached her at the end of the day when the crowds had dissipated and we had a good chat about this subject.  She was warm and genuine and so truthful in every way and I just can’t say enough great things about this master of the craft.  So go check her out!  Oh, and that slideshow featuring the elderly couple I told you about?  She told me she’d put that on her blog, so check back here or there sometime in the near future if you’d like to view it yourself.  Make sure you’ve got tissues on hand!

Well, that’s all folks.  I’m wiped.  If you’ve got any questions, have anything to add, or want any further links, feel free to post a question or piece of insight here or on Jaime Lauren Photography’s facebook page.

Have a fabulous evening!