Light bulb moments.
Those are the moments we live for.
Before we were ever full-time photographers, we were full-time educators, and those light-bulb moments were the driving force of our everyday life. We worked tirelessly for those golden “ah-ha!” moments. Moments when something clicked with our students for the very first time. Maybe they’d struggled the school year before because of health reasons, a learning disability or a cross-country move. Maybe it was a family dynamic, like a divorce, or even just a bad teacher. Maybe it was that nobody in their life had truly believed in them, so they had a hard time believing in themselves. Whatever it was, for us, there was nothing quite like seeing one of our students go from feeling stupid and incapable when they walked in our door at the beginning of the year to knowing they were capable, and walking out the door at the end of the year feeling confident and successful.
So when we made the decision to leave the classroom, we also committed to making sure the classroom never left us. We’re educators at heart, and helping others grow is a passion that we could never give up. So while our students might be a little taller than they used to be, our principles, philosophies and methods are the same!
The best part? Teaching photographers is like teaching elementary school… on steroids! Because those light bulb moments? They happen ALL the time! And fast! That’s one of the biggest differences, in our opinion, between child and adult learners. For kids, it can take months (or even an entire school year) for a teacher’s hard work and love to bear fruit. Those golden moments are so rewarding, but they are much fewer and farther in between. With adults, it’s the total opposite. When we speak to groups of photographers and coach individuals one-on-one, we see those positive “Yes! I’m getting this!” sparks in their eyes like a flickering lamp, one after another, over and over again. And it happens fast! For us, as teachers, it’s one of the most euphoric feelings in the world seeing someone go from “I’m not sure I can do this…” to “I know that I can!” in a matter of hours. The emotional change and charge is indescribable, and there’s nothing that makes us happier than to help be a part of that growth.
In light of that, even though we’ve been doing them for a while, we realized we should probably “officially” announce that we’re offering coaching sessions for photographers at our home in Scottsdale, Arizona! The sessions include eight hours with both of us to ask anything you want about photography or business. There’s no set curriculum or determined agenda, because every photographer (like every learner) has unique and specific wants and needs. We want to focus on your specific needs, the ones that are currently on your mind and the ones that will really help you grow. So whether it’s marketing strategies, branding, portfolio critiques, website advice, nailing exposure and color in camera, using an Expo Disc, interacting with clients, finding great light, managing workflow, working in Lightroom or anything else that can help strengthen your business, we’re here to help! In the eight-hour window, we’ll also take a head shot for you to update your blog, website, and social media, which is a great excuse to have some hands-on shooting time!
If you’ve been ready to take your business to the next level for a while but weren’t sure where to get that boost, we’d love to meet you and help! To schedule a session, visit our brand new website for photographers, fill out a short contact form for a coaching sessions, and we’ll get you scheduled as soon as possible. Our summer schedule is almost completely full, but we still have a few spots available! If you’re not sure if a coaching session is right for you, here is a snippet of an email we just received from Whitney, a newborn and family portrait photographer who just came to visit us this month!
“I just wanted to say thank you again for all of your help, wisdom, and encouragement! I came home feeling so refreshed and all the additional advice that you gave me literally transformed my photography already.”
This sweet girl came all the way down from Denver, Colorado and her coaching session was a birthday present from her husband and parents. To say were totally honored would be a HUGE understatement! We spent the first half of her session hammering out a list of 31 questions she’d written down about everything from photography to business (we LOVE prepared students!), and we spent the second half doing some on-locastion shooting and ExpoDisc training. Watching Whitney’s reaction after seeing her in-camera work get to a perfect exposure and white balance in just minutes was amazing! We’re so excited for her future in the Rockies and can’t wait to see her thrive with the families and newborns that she loves so much!
Also, if you haven’t checked out all the free resources we have for photographers, definitely do! We want to invite you to join hundreds of photographers who get The Monday Minute delivered straight to their inbox for free every week! The Monday Minute is packed with free tips and tricks that we don’t publish anywhere else online — even our blog! — so it’s like a bonus post every single week! Click here if you’d like to sign up now! We hope it will be a blessing to you and your business!
