“I’ve never seen a potato chip look so GOOD!” Eric ( or is it Mark?) exclaimed as Course 4 of our 5 course meal arrived to the table. We roared with laughter at our closing meal together at the inaugural LUXE Workshop hosted by Annie Marie, Annie’s son, Nelson, a professional Chef had been delivering one gorgeous, delicious dish after another, and Eric ( Mark?) was right! A potato chip HAD never looked so damn sexy!!

I spent 3.5 days with photographers from around the country this past weekend, in Minneapolis at a fine art workshop hosted by Annie Marie. Annie Marie is one of 14 Photographers in the world to earn the title of Fellow. She is ranked 11th in the Country and 62nd in the world by WPE International Photography Awards. In addition, she is hands down the most humble, kind and caring individual I think I have ever met. Her willingness to teach and give of her time is SO incredible in an industry that can, at times, seem very cut-throat.

To be honest, I knew I should be excited to be going to this workshop, that I purchased back in January, but I wasn’t feeling it as I made the drive to Minneapolis. The world has been in a bit of a hiccup the last couple years, this past spring was trying and tough for a variety of reasons, and I was feeling emotionally, professionally, and creatively drained. I had not had any kind of professional workshopping/training/ or fellowship in over 2 years and it was taking its toll.

Owning your own business is HARD. So many days feel like pulling a plow uphill. In an industry that doesn’t have criteria, certification, or really any guidelines as to what makes one a “Professional Photographer” it can feel like whack a mole trying to stay ahead of the continuous influx of “photographers.” This isn’t just in our industry though… It’s in is so many where the lines between Professional and want-to-be are greatly blurred and consumers don’t have the knowledge to know the difference.

I drove to Minneapolis listening to podcasts by Jena Golden, another industry leader, just trying to find some inspiration. Through the hours of listening, I definitely heard some golden nuggets in them, and I was feeling a little more like what I do actually has a purpose, by the time I rolled into Minneapolis.

Meeting the gang! From front left, Alba, Carrie, Eric, Annie, Karen, Regina and myself!

Flower Crowns

We spent the first evening eating and then building flower crowns. It was so fun to see everyone’s creativity come to life as we picked our colors and burned our fingers and made these gorgeous crowns!

Day 2 consisted of learning Annie’s lighting tips and techniques using both Natural and Strobe light. She had 4 models scheduled to come through the day. She would be in charge of styling and lighting two, and then we had the opportunity to completely style our own model.

First up was Annie’s beautiful niece Jenna. She styled her in two different looks and photographed her, and then we had our own opportunity to photograph Jenna.

Edit 2 of this look. I was getting “Mad Hatter” vibes and went with it.

Next up was Ethan, who was incredibly adorable and patient with all of us!

Fart jokes always make little boys laugh!

Our amazing Models, CeCe and Ali arrived and we went to work styling them. I had picked a long green dress for CeCe that reminded me of a twist on a 1920’s dress, so I went with that vibe.

Another BTS…

Adjusting lights and posing…

To have this opportunity to play with everything Annie has, from her style closet to accessories was such a blast. On day three we learned valuable editing techniques that I utilized on the above images. Her wealth of knowledge, from being in the industry 28 years is incredible and her willingness to share goes beyond anything!

Annie surprised us by saying we, ourselves, would have an opportunity to be photographed by her. I will be honest and this terrified me. Noone tells you how much your body will change in your late 40s, while trudging through a pandemic, while owning a business. To say I’ve had some major body image issues lately, is an understatement. Usually I don’t recognize the person in the mirror. But I trusted her, and placed myself in her hands.

There she is… I can finally see her…. she has changed, but she is older and wiser. She is full of conviction and knows who she is, more than any other time in her life. Thank you Annie, for allowing me to see myself with eyes that are not full of shame and, honestly, disgust. Thank you for reminding me to show myself grace, and that I need to be real, not perfect.

I feel like I have made relationships for life with these people. We came together in a “Real World” show kind of way and bonded incredibly. From potty breaks to learning lyrics to songs I don’t ever need to listen to again and boy did we laugh!. We renamed each other, learned about lefse, Quatemala, El Salvadore and heard a lot of excited Spanish! We all needed to bottle some of Alba’s energy for ourselves, and it was absolutely an experience I needed more than I realized.

Whatever your passion is, take time to connect with others who care as much about your passion, as you do. To sit with these people and swap ideas, links, horror stories, fears and laughs filled something in my soul that was definitely lacking.. Owning your own business can get really damn lonely. No one will ever care about it as much as you do. Take time to connect, to learn and grow, to re-ignite your passion. Connect with others and you will remember what you do, really is important and valuable, and you will remember that you have gifts to give, gifts that the world needs you to share.

Top 100 Senior Photographers to follow!

Learning, Laughter and Rediscovering Purpose

Day 2 consisted of learning Annie’s lighting tips and techniques using both Natural and Strobe light. She had 4 models scheduled to come through the day. She would be in charge of styling and lighting two, and then we had the opportunity to completely style our own model.

First up was Annie’s beautiful niece Jenna. She styled her in two different looks and photographed her, and then we had our own opportunity to photograph Jenna.