Even though we taught elementary school and spoke publicly six hours a day, every day, for years, each time we get up to teach fellow photographers, we still feel those nervous jitters in our stomachs in the moments leading up to any talk. Of course, as the natural extrovert, Jordan’s a lot more comfortable in front of big crowds. He always has been, ever since he hosted the elementary school talent shows as a first grader dressed up to impersonate Steve Urkel. Seriously. That actually happened. If we can ever find that glorious footage, you’ll be the first to see it. Amy, on the other hand, is a natural introvert who can function and appear like an extrovert because of her competitive dance background, her love for people and her teaching experience, so even though she’s grown into a confident public speaker, that doesn’t mean she’ll ever shed the butterflies that keep her company every time we head to another event where we’re expected to be in the front.

we still feel those nervous jitters in our stomachs in the moments leading up to any talk

The most embarrassing pattern we’ve found? Our serial jazz hands and habitual spell casting. It’s impossible for us to get through a talk without multiple episodes of each of these chronic conditions making an appearance. They’re never planned, of course. We never realize that we’re doing it, but Amy’s become notorious for forming jazz hands when she speaks enthusiastically and Jordan’s guilty of raising his hands and curling his fingers in a way that looks like he’s putting the audience in a trance. When friends pointed this out, we joked with our last audience that we should make a drinking game out of it. Okay, everyone, when you see jazz hands or spell casting, throw one back! It was a funny idea at the time, but, looking back on photos from our past events, we realized that our audiences would be drunk in the first five minutes. Not good.

This week, we had the pleasure of helping launch the Phoenix Showiteers group in our hometown and speak about publication. Here are some highlights from the evening with mostly semi-normal, photos, but you just might also spot some of our trademark hands that seem to have a mind of their own…

We gathered in our friend Elizabeth Langford’s new studio called Studio East, a beautiful space where local creatives can pay a small monthly fee and use it for client meetings and indoor photo shoots. We absolutely love this idea, love her heart and love this space! It’s such a great idea and fills a huge need in our city. If you’re a Phoenix-area photographer, definitely check it out! It’s such a cool place!

We’re pretty sure this is the part where someone in the audience suggested we create a drinking game for every time we threw up jazz or spell casting hands.

We loved sharing our five steps for getting published more. Publication has been such a blessing to our business, but it’s intimidating to get started, which is why we’re so passionate about sharing our step-by-step blueprint with our peers. And also why we can’t control the excitement in our hands…

JAZZ HANDS!! SOLID APPEARANCE IN THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES!! #nailedit

Here’s Jordan talking about how to communicate effectively with your client to make sure you have enough time to shoot all of the details on a wedding day — and shoot them well.

SPELL CASTING!! YES!! You can see Jordan laughing in the front row as we discovered that wizard hands are clearly contagious. Before and after our talk, Field Denny, Showit’s Commnity Lead, and Todd Watson, Showit’s CEO, talked to our fellow Showiteers about all the exciting changes and updates happening at Showit. They showed us all some pretty awesome stuff, and we can’t wait to create a better browsing experience for our clients!

This is what we look like when we get called out for our jazz hands and spell casting. If we were to sum up our introverted and extroverted personalities in one photo, this would be it. Our reactions tell it all.

Umm… amazing. Our friend brought our favorite flavor of BLUE BELL as a “thank you” for teaching. We’re considering creating our own backstage rider and making this the only item on the list. You know how some rappers require speciality champagnes chilled in their rooms when they arrive in a new city or how Mariah Carey demands fresh flowers in her dressing room? All we want is a little Blue Bell!!

It was so fun hanging out with our Phoenix clan! We had such a great time hanging out with people we love in this awesome community! We’re so blessed to be part of such an amazing local crew!

A special thank you to Field Denny of Ace & Whim (and JT, too!)  for snapping all of the photos of us.

We l-o-v-e traveling! Wanna catch up with our adventures around the world? You can do that here!

International: Ireland • England • France • Spain • Italy • Greece & Turkey • Anniversary Photos: Venice

Domestic: Nashville • Denver • Phoenix • Vancouver • Seattle • Vegas • Atlanta • Santa Barbara • Florida • Virginia • New England/New York • Sedona • San Diego • Nantucket • Boston • San Diego • Virginia • Arizona