Charlotte Wedding Photographer | Whitney Elizabeth Photography Blog

:: 06. 3.09

Photography

Yesterday I attended Jasmine Star's workshop down in Orange County and it was so AWESOME! :) When I told my {photographer} friends that I was going, they were all so jealous...sorry guys, I had to pounce on this opportunity!

I LOVE workshops...in fact, I've been to quite a few this year and I wanted to share about my favorites and why I would pay to attend them again! Photography workshops are like continuing education, except way more fun and social!!

I'll talk about Jasmine's workshop first, well because, it was yesterday! Jasmine went over branding (which is uber important not only to photographers, but any business owner) and recounted her steps to building her brand and business and style. And in true Whitney style, I was scribbling furiously the whole time so I wouldn't miss a thing, even when she joked about a clothing mishap, I was making mental notes: "pack change of clothes in the car." ;) Probably my favorite thing I learned about Jasmine is her commitment to family and creating ways that she can be flexible so as to have more time with loved ones. That may not seem like an important point to others, but I think we're all so busy and wrapped up in what we're doing (especially when you have own your own business) that we forget to take time for ourselves and family!

Another workshop that I recently attended was The Modern Portrait by Justine Ungaro and her mom, Diana. Justine and her mom are portrait artist guru's who create a.m.a.z.i.n.g images of kids and families and they teach you allll about their business techniques. I came away from their workshop so rejuvenated and with tons of ideas for my business---I think I took like 20 pages of notes and when I came home at night, I made Mike sit with me for TWO hours while I recounted all my notes :) The workshop that I went to was in LA where Justine's new studio is, but they also do workshops in other places, too!

Last, but not least, LEARNFEST! If you're a portrait photographer and you haven't been to the Learnfest workshop, then what are you waiting for!?!? Learnfest was so awesome because we got to learn from four fabulous photographers: Audrey Woulard, Lena Hyde, Tamara Lackey and Laura Novak. I could seriously go on and on about this workshop for, like, five days but the point I want to make is that you should seriously consider it if you're a portrait photographer! I made the most AWESOME friends at Learnfest and I am so thankful for that!

And because this is a photo blog, not a writing blog, check out these delicious little strawberries from our CSA:

Happy Hump Day!

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Lydia says:

I know! I told Jasmine the workshop should really be at least two days long! Everyone was so awesome! I really wish I had gotten to really talk to you too!

(06.04.09 @ 10:15 PM)

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Santa Barbara Wedding Photographer, ABC Event

:: 05.21.09

Photography

Last night I had the pleasure of attending my first ABC (Association of Bridal Consultants) event...Ariel Yve of Ariel Yve Design invited me and it was so awesome to meet new vendors in the industry! The event was held at the Santa Barbara Zoo after hours, which was so cool because I've never been in a zoo after all the tourists have left....it was very peaceful and serene and we got to feed the giraffes!!! (I have to admit, I was pretty stoked about this--I love giraffes!). James Hickey was our speaker and we had a very informative talk on marketing...the next meeting is in July so I hope more people will come out!

The Santa Barbara Zoo is so pretty...

This one was a loner and didn't feel like socializing...

Ariel coordinated the whole event and it was beautiful! Rincon Catering provided the food (umm, delicious!) and they so kindly let us take some extra cookies and brownies home with us :) Mike was pretty excited about this since he apparently worked up an appetite chauffering me to the event and then walking around town with Bear...rumor has it that they wound up in front of the new Apple store on State Street...

Classic Party Rentals provided the linens and Music by Bonnie provided the background music!

Jan's flowers (805.496.3632) was on hand and she had some gorgeous centerpieces!!! Some of the other folks that attended: Caroline of Indulgence The Home Spa, Marc Bachrach - a hypnotherapist!, Matt Graumann of Matt Graumann Entertainment and Barbara Alessandra Photography

Thanks for the invite Ariel and it was such a pleasure to meet everyone else!!!

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Marc Bachrach says:

it WAS a great meeting!
Thanks for taking some great photos and sharing them!
Welcome to California... North Carolina's loss is our gain!
See you on Facebook and LinkedIn!

(05.21.09 @ 02:19 PM)

Amy Hunsinger says:

wow whitney! looks like a great night! and the photos are awesome!!!! gorgeous color!

(05.21.09 @ 03:30 PM)

Julia says:

Love the zoo photos Whitney! And I too love giraffes!! You may have just inspired me.....a giraffe print nursery perhaps?!?!

(05.22.09 @ 01:04 PM)

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The ShootQ Grant

:: 05. 1.09

Photography

Sometimes I feel like we don't see the big picture. Who is "we," exactly? I mean, us, or society, or maybe just those who have enough to get by but never acknowledge it and are always asking for more. We (you, me, us...) all get caught up in wanting this or that or being this person or that person, but we fail to help those less fortunate than us...and much worse, we fail to even recognize those less fortunate than us because we choose not to look. The ShootQ Grant is changing that mindset. ShootQ is holding their ShootQ grant again this year and the person who wins surely understands what it means to see the big picture. The ShootQ Grant is a $10,000 grant given to a photographer for a personal project that raises awareness on social, environmental or economical issues. Click here to learn more.

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Santa Barbara Vintner's Festival

:: 04.22.09

Photography

WHEW, Mike and I are still recovering from this past weekend. Of the 3,142 things we did, going to the Santa Barbara Vintner's Festival was one the many fun things! I was graciously given the hookup to tickets by Dawn of Decadence Wedding Cakes. After finishing up my 10 mile Chardonnay Run on Saturday, we ventured up to River Park in Lompoc for the festival...this was my first time going and WOW was it a happening place to be! Not only were all the best wineries in the region there, but so WERE ALL THE CATERERS! Can we say delicious?!?

Everyone scurrying off to get in the next line for fabulous wine and food:

Yummmm! One of our favorite things about Santa Barbara: The Olive House.

They sell delicious olive oil and spaghetti sauce, etc, etc...we use their sauces all the time!

Red Barn Nursery of Lompoc had beautiful plants and flower arrangements on hand...

I cannot even describe how amazing all the food was!!!

Municipal Winemakers were so awesome! Their branding caught my eye...not to mention they have fantastic wines :) Their winemaker is from Australia so it was fun to have a change of pace.

Who wouldn't want to be apart of "Club Awesome!?!?!"

The Natural Cafe was there, too, with mouth watering roasted red pepper and garlic hors d'oeuvres

I came by Dawn's booth to get a few shots...

And by the time I got here the only thing left was this teeny, tiny morsel!! (Her cakes are to die for...sooo good!)

Laura Cogan of Passion Flowers provided gorgeous arrangements and is superb with weddings :)

I love her business card holder!

Destination Wine Country Magazine was also present...their magazine is a great resource for wineries to visit and things to do in general out in wine country.

OK, great, I am so hungry after blogging all that delish food...hmm, wonder where I can find chocolate covered strawberries this afternoon...?

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jessi says:

i'm so jealous! this looks absolutely incredible!

(04.24.09 @ 03:07 PM)

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on my mind {again}

:: 04. 8.09

Photography , Whitney Lately

When I went to Charlotte to visit family a few weeks ago, I also went to an awesome photographers meet-up. We all know each other through the bschool, an online community for photographers. It was so great getting to meet Heather, Aaron, Stephen, and Rolf to exchange ideas and network.

Fast forward to last week: Stephen, one of my new charlotte photographer friends, lets me know that he'll be in LA and SB for the week shooting a wedding and wants to get together (and we ate at this really good breakfast joint near the beach). We had an enlightening talk about the industry and I got to meet his super nice mom :) Towards the end of our conversation, we both discovered that we admire what the other one is doing, yet we fail see how much we are accomplishing ourselves. We talked about the tests and trials of owning your own business and I mentioned a famous quote that my Dad has told me my entire life: "Rome wasn't built in a day."

I have been known to be a little (ok, ok, very) impatient with things in life. Whether it was playing softball or studying for trig in high school, Dad would always tell me "Well, Whit, Rome wasn't built in a day," to remind me that everything worth having and working for in life takes time and if you can complete it in a day, then it's probably not that great in the first place. I used to get so frustrated about softball, wanting to go from a regular left fielder to a superstar the next day and hearing that quote always reminded me to be thankful for how I've progressed, but to continue to work hard for what I want.

I told Stephen this is how running a business is. You can project how you want your business to be in 5, 10 or 15 years and yet, sometimes it can be so frustrating to know what to do next or how to get there with all the obstacles in the way. Chanting that often said quote in my head helps me realize how far I've come and how exciting it is to be where I am today (and it remind me of my Dad :) )

Stephen, i hope your wedding was absolutely fabulous in LA and I can't wait for you to blog about it!!

Here's a sneak peek of Katie and Matt...I'll be blogging their wedding soon :)

Happy Hump Day!

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Catie Ronquillo says:

Great thoughts. I totally know what you mean! Things aren't a magic spell (thought it would be nice if it was!!)

(04.08.09 @ 11:18 PM)

Amy Hunsinger says:

awesome blog post whitney! your dad is so right on. and i am so like you......just want to be there. (wherever that may be.) and you girlie are totally taking off and doing huge things! if you don't see it, let this be a reminder!!! love ya!

(04.12.09 @ 05:48 AM)

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