November is coming up quickly, which means Flourish deux is only a few months away! We still have spaces available, so if you are a wedding photographer who is looking for motivation and inspiration with your business and photography, head over to the Flourish website for more information and to reserve your space!

Angela, Kitty and I first came together with the intention of Flourish being a no-holds barred look at how- and why- we run our studios the way we do. We talk about what works for us and what hasn't. We talk about where we have come from and what we've done to get where we are today; owners of successful boutique photography studios in an increasingly saturated market.

January's attendees came from all over the United States and were at all different levels in their businesses. Some were considering making the leap into wedding photography, some were just starting out in the industry, and some were several years into being a full time wedding photographer and already enjoying successful businesses. Between the gourmet dinners, fabulous digs, and inspiring shoots, friendships were formed, knowledge was gained, and inspiration and ideas were planted. It's a business/practical/shooting/creative workshop all wrapped up in a gloriously indulgent little package. :)

Don't miss it.

The new dates for the Flourish photography workshop have been announced. Our next workshop is being held in Louisville, Kentucky November 16-19, 2008. We are currently accepting reservations, so if you missed the first one, this is your chance for redemption!

Flourish is a three day workshop geared towards wedding photographers. Whether you are just starting out or have been in the business for years, you will leave inspired to take your business to the next level. We discuss the joys and challenges of running a boutique photography studio, and give you plenty of insight about what we've done right (and wrong) along the way. We also have several shooting exercises designed to give you creative ideas for lighting, styling and posing. This workshop is all inclusive, and your experience is rounded out by staying in the trendy 21c Museum Hotel in downtown Louisville, plus breakfasts, lunches and gourmet dinners, and lots of fabulous extras.

I'm hosting this with the lovely and talented Kitty Maer and Angela Anderson. For more information, or to reserve your seat, head over to the Flourish website.

Well I have had some good news in the midst of everything else that has been happening. Style Me Pretty contacted me in the beginning of March to ask me to be featured in their Little Black Book of wedding vendors. Style Me Pretty is a very popular wedding blog which features the best of the best of real weddings, stylish trends, inspiration boards and ideas for the 'style-obsessed bride'. Their Little Black Book of vendors is a handpicked list of the "hottest, most creative wedding vendors" in each city.

They recently added Pittsburgh to their list, and I am delighted to be chosen as one of their featured wedding photographers. They only choose 3 industry professionals in each category, so it's quite an honor to be selected!

Also, today is our 4 year wedding anniversary- how time flies! Happy Anniversary baby!

Thanks to everyone who has been bidding on the mentorships with photographers. Thousands of dollars have already been raised, which breaks down to hundreds of lives being saved.

The Anti-Snipe Feature.  This means that if a particular auction is experiencing a bidding war at the time it is SUPPOSED to end, the auction will stay open instead.  As long as bidders are willing to bid on a mentor the auction for that particular mentor will stay open until no one bids any more.
 
If you are the winning bidder  for an auction, check and write down your payment information so that you will be able to immediately go to www.thirstrelief.org to make your donation.  Donations need to be made in 48 hours or the auction will go to the next highest bidder.  Exactly how to make you donation is in the payment details of every auction.
 
Also, a reminder that ALL auctions are closing at different times.  This avoids having too many people trying to bid on any one person at a time.  Make sure you know exactly what time your auction will close.
 
Thank you all so much for your support and donations to Thirst Relief International. Again, even if you are not interested in a mentorship with me, there are many other amazing photographers who are donating their time for this cause. Bid on one of them, or in lieu of bidding, consider making a donation to Thirst Relief. $5 saves a life.

You can now sign up for the Flourish workshop mailing list on the Flourish website. We'll be making an exciting announcement about Flourish in the next few weeks, so you'll be the first to know!

Thirst Relief hosts a charity mentorship program that occurs at WPPI in Las Vegas. These mentorships are the probably the best way to get one-on-one contact with a photographer…all while supporting a good cause. It's a win-win!

Here's the exciting news:

This year I'll be one of the mentorships that are available! I'm so humbled and thrilled at this, not only because it's a chance to help such a worthy cause, but because the other photographers offering mentorships are some of the best in the industry.

Here's the breakdown…
*This Saturday-Tuesday, February 9-12, 2008 Thirst Relief hosts an online auction where people can bid for a date with a mentor.

*If you're the winning bidder, we'll arrange a 90-minute meeting in Las Vegas. Lunch is on me. If you can't make it Vegas this year, we'll arrange another time- via phone or ichat, or if you happen to be in the Pittsburgh neighborhood. We can discuss anything you'd like (marketing, branding, pricing structure, shooting, critique, lighting...whatever!). We'll cater our session to meet the needs of your business.

*The auctions end at different times, so please note when mine ends. Each mentoring auction has a different ending time.  However, when the auction is supposed to close, if there is a bidding war happening over my mentoring session, (fingers crossed) then the auction will stay open until the bidding war ends.  If this is the case, the auction ends when people stop bidding. (This is not like ebay, where an auction ends at a specific time, period.)

*The auctions will not be visible until they go live on February 9th at 10am EST.   All times listed through out the auction are based on Eastern Standard Time.

*Nearly 2 million people die annually because they lack access to clean drinking water. 90% of those are children under the age of 5. All of the proceeds of this auction go directly to Thirst Relief- an organization that provides clean drinking water to those in need around the world.

You need to register in order to place a bid on my mentoring session. If you'd like to go and pre-register, be sure to CLICK HERE, then click on the Thirst Relief banner.
 
This is such a great cause! Even if you don't want to mentor with me, check out the line up of other photographers and bid for one of them. There are an amazing group of photographers lined up, including Jessica Claire, Becker, LaCour, Mike Colon, and Jasmine Star.

Also, check out Thirst Relief's website and blog to learn more about their cause and consider becoming a monthly $5 donor.  Five dollars saves a life.  It would be an amazing gift and a visionary movement if every photographer helped save one life a month for one year.

So go mark your calendars and bid for a mentorship with me!

I'm soooo excited to announce my new 'boudoir' photography website. I'll be honest- I'm not a huge fan of the term 'boudoir' to describe these kinds of sessions, so I'm calling mine 'Femme Couture'. Think: high-fashion, tasteful, glamorous, sexy, artistic.

If you live in the Pittsburgh area and are looking for sexy, edgy photographs of yourself, check out my new website: Femme Couture Photography. (There is no nudity on the website, but it is probably still not safe for work, if you're wondering.)

Brides, a pillow book of images from these sessions make a great gift for your husband on your wedding night or first anniversary. Guys, this is a great gift for your wife or fiancee for Valentines Day.

If you'd like to book a session, send me an email or call the studio at 412.389.3669.

Here's a preview:

Ok, I finally booked my flight to Vegas. I'll be there for 10 days in March for the Anti-workshop, and then the WPPI convention, followed by a jaunt out to Red Rock canyon for a photo session with some of the industries coolest photographers. 10 days, 4 flights, 3 hotels, 2 industry parties, and not enough sleep in between.

This is exciting on a few levels- The Anti-workshop promises to be ultra-cool and chock full of boundary-pushing inspiration and motivation courtesy of John Michael Cooper (credited as the grand-daddy of the Trash the Dress trend in wedding photography) and the equally talented Boutwells.

*Incidentally, I'm currently free on the evening of Saturday the 15th (between the end of the workshop and the begining of WPPI). If you're getting married in Vegas on the 15th, drop me a line. I'd love to photograph your wedding!

The WPPI convention and trade show is the largest of its kind in the photography industry. This is the first year I'll be attending, and I'm stoked to check out the trade show. I'm a touchy-feely find of girl, so it's helpful to be able to see products firsthand before commiting to incorporating them into my studio or workflow.

The photography session at Red Rock Canyon is going to great- it's always interesting to shoot in new locations, and I love watching the way other photographers work. Plus, my friend Shannon is going to this also. She recently moved from Pittsburgh to Denver, so it will be fabulous to be able to hang out with her!

Fun fact:
This will be my second time in Vegas. The first time was part of a west coast roadtrip I took about 8 years ago with my best friend from college, Lyndsay. That time we had been driving for days, sleeping in the car, and eating protein bars as our meals. Lyndsay's aunt and uncle just happened to be in Vegas for a convention at the same time were were rolling in, and they were incredibly kind enough to let us crash with them while we were in town. It was the first real bed and shower we had seen in days, which felt like bliss! We didn't have much money, so we basically did some sight-seeing around the Strip and played the quarter slot machines. (Once each, I think. Neither of us won.)

What I remember most about Vegas from that trip: the heat, neon lights, and the flyers for nudie shows- someone was always handing you one, and they were scattered all over the sidewalks. I remember feeling like Las Vegas was pure sensory overload- and we were only there for one or two nights. I'm a little worried about being there for 10 days straight this time around: I think I'm going to need sensory detox when I get home to recover. I'm thinking dark room, silence, and clear liquids for a day or two.

Wait, did I just make Vegas sound like a migraine?

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