the laura kay blog »

So this week I started mentoring Stacy. She is my “intern”. She is working in my office one day a week and one day a week I am going to teach her something. We are going to work on learning the basics on the camera, composition, creativity, editing and post processing.  She wants to learn more about photography and she wants to learn her new 5D camera better. So she gets to learn and shoot with me and in return I get an organized and well kept office. Good compromise I say! I am not sure I will post each session and what we did (well maybe) but I thought I would share our first lesson. Back to basics. We worked on focusing and how to achieve what you want. It seems so simple but getting comfortable shooting in manual and knowing how to get what you want yourself is so important. I feel like today many new photographers rely on the camera to do it all for them and they fail to learn how to do it them selves. So lesson 1 was turn off auto focus, put your camera in “M” and learn how to focus on what you intended to. Pretty simple but OH SO IMPORTANT!  I am excited to teach Stacy and have a fun shooting project each week! Thanks so this weeks models: old buttons, coke tab and my cute basset hound Molly who hates having her picture taken! So now I am looking for “models” of any age for fun weekly shoots. If you or anyone you know would be interested in modeling for me send me an email along with a picture! I want a variety of types of people so don’t be shy email me! 

On Tuesday I went on this super fun girls shoot.  Eliesa of Photogen inc. , Sarah of Sarah Rhoads Photography, Danielle of Mind Castle, Melissa of Melissa Louise Photography and my super good friend Brooke of Brooke Schwab Photography went out and had some fun! Cadence and Eli modeled for us and they were so fun and super HOT! We had a blast in old Vegas. We went downtown on Fremont street and just wondered around together. It was so good to get out and shoot with other amazing photog. women. This has really inspired me to do more fun just because shoots. Models Wanted! Also the one single call I attend while I was in Vegas was a completely not planned and I had no clue what it was about when I sat down but I could not have hand picked a better class for me. I was inspired. Really truly inspired! Tanja Lippert spoke about “Dork Energy”. Seriously! I know I am a dork and I am comfortable with it but holy cow! I can not even begin to explain what it was like sitting there in that room. CRAZY!!! Tanja is awesome and I am so excited to try out a few of her tips. Speaking of. This time coming to WPPI was different. I know I talked about this a little bit but here is the difference. Two years ago I went still trying to find myself in this art. Still looking for me and what kid of art I was going to make. I didn’t even reallize that at the time. So instead of leaving with my head spinning and feeling lost I left feeling inspired and excited. I am so blessed to have photography actually be my job. I love my life! 

Well I’m back and I am still tired. I had so much fun and meeting a ton of new people, hanging with friends and getting inspired is what I would say this trip was all about. The WPPI convention was fun! Amazingly I walked away from the huge and amazing trade show only purchasing one thing: a cool new camera strap. That is it! I have come home with a new wish list of lenses but no impulse buying for me this time. So I went with my great friend Brooke and if you want a play by play of our trip read her current blog post. I am amazed she remembered all of that! Anyhow my highlight of the trip was a super fun shoot in old Vegas. I went with 5 other photographers some some girl time and fun shooting and playing around together. Cadence and Eli modeled for us and they were HOT! We went down to Freemont street in downtown Vegas. It was amazing to get off of the strip and breathe some fresh air for a few hours. This fed my hunger for shooting. So here is the sad news: I lost my voice. If you can imagine being in vegas and the point of your trip is to network and talk with everyone and then all of the sudden you can’t do that. ummm. Not  so fun! During the day it was not so bad you could still hear me, I sounded raspy but it was ok.  But nighttime was a different story. Each night we had 2 or 3 parties to go to and the music was so loud no one could hear me. So I gave up and did not make it to all of the parties. Oh well I guess I should not have talked so much the first day. I will write more about my time in vegas and post more pictures soon. I also have to tell you all about what inspired me and what I learned. For now here is a super cool sneak peek!

This morning I am headed out to Las Vegas! I am going to be here for the next 4 days. I am going to miss my family very much and I am actually sad to leave them for so long. I am going to be in Vegas with somewhere around 12,000 other wedding and portrait photographers. WPPI is a yearly convention and trade show for all of us photographers. WOW! I have lots of events, parities and classes to attend. But, one of my favorite things to do is to check out the HUGE trade show. This is where I go check out what the latest and greatest products are. I look at tons of album companies, canvas companies, say hi to the canon peeps, my professional printing lab, Adobe people, my website people, the apple people. It is going to be a super fun but super busy 4 days. I am so excited to be going with my friend Brooke and we are staying with 6 other girls in a suite! SO FUN! So anyhow, I will try to return emails and phone calls while I am there but if I can’t I will get back to you when I get back. If I can blog while I am there I sure will but, if not expect some pics when I get home. Have a great week! 

I have had requests to see some details of what a modern canvas looks like. So Jen this post is for you. These speak for themselves so here you go! If you care to stop by and see one in person just let me know!  

I am having a super great day with my family today. Josh and I decided not to get a sitter and go out tonight but instead we are having family date night at home. We are having cheese fondue mexican style (velveeta and rotel) with chicken tacos and jalapeno chips. For dessert we are having chocolate fondue with heart shaped marshmallows, strawberries and bananas. YUM! My kids love doing this. Nothing fancy just fun and spending time together.  I hope all of you have a happy day with the ones you love!

So I recently started a facebook group with a few goals in mind. One is that I want my past, current and future brides and clients to be able to communicate and share ideas. Everyone has for sure one thing in common. ME! So that means we know you love photography and it is very important to you. That also means you are fun, modern and a great person. Seriously, I only work with great people. NO bridezillas here. I attract laid back fun clients, just do. So if you want the opinion of someone about your wedding who better to ask than people with similar taste who have done or are doing the exact same thing you are doing. Getting married! My past couples are loyal beyond belief. I truly love them. I can think of 10 that are for sure reading this blog post tonight. I love that they are good friends now and I know that having this community is going to be a good thing. I also have amazing family and friends. I have amazing photographer friends and wedding planner friends too. My group is open to anyone and feel free to start a discussion, ask a question or just say hi to let me know you where there. I love that I can share my business with each and everyone of you. So what are you waiting for? Join my facebook group! Facebook is powerful and can reach out to many people. If you like my group and want to share it copy the link into your status! 

Wishing the Ritzy Bee Blog a Happy 1st Birthday! If you have never been to this fabulous wedding blog you really must check it out! Maria is awesome! 

The new and improved EAD site is fabulous! It has always been amazing but now it has lots of cute little graphics to make it more fun. The Library has all sorts of resources ideas, vendors, everything you need for inspiration for your wedding. Be sure to stop by and check it out! I love it when brides find me from this site and when my brides go there for ideas and inspiration. LOVE IT! Happy Friday everyone!!