Yesterday this vivacious mother of four traveled from LA to ATX to shoot with me for a second time. Since Karen first started following my work less than a year and a half ago, she has done 2 shoots with me, my mentorship program, my Vegas workshop, @theportraitmasters SBE membership, completed my Boudoir Series, and has purchased every other piece of educational material I have to offer. When I first started working with her, she was in the very beginning stages of photography...and currently, such a short time later and later in life than many would expect to learn a new craft, her work has improved as though she’d been working and learning for years and years. She is doing the damn work.

I love seeing this sort of fire and drive to learn this craft. It’s the same determination that I’ve had from the beginning....and photographers...I assure you...that mindset is EVERYTHING. Your attitude will make or break your success. Stop with the excuses, stop expecting your mentors/educators to drop the skill into your lap for overnight success. Go after it. Be passionate about learning new techniques because I assure you, the learning is never over in this industry.

That’s one of the things that lights me up about photography—-I will never ever be the best photographer in the world. There are always more stairs to climb so I’m never bored. Let’s all be more like K, here, and get fired up about mastering our crafts. 🖤
Oh, and also, I love these images of her. Sorry....I got a little lost on my soapbox.

SHOOTING IN MILAN WITH A LATVIAN BOMBSHELL.

Ohhhh it sounds so glamorous, doesn’t it!? I’m not going to pretend like it wasn’t.

While in Milan, I was booked for a shoot with a fantastic photographer, Liana from Latvia, who had followed my work for years and had to take advantage of me being way closer to her than a Latvia > United States trip would be. She booked a little getaway to Milan for herself and her husband, and we had an absolutely incredible shoot.

Listening to Liana tell me why she selected me to photograph her, gave me a reaffirming grasp for what my work says about the women featured in it. She told me that she didn’t want some distorted view of herself, or an overly glamorous one. She loved my black and white work, and that the women weren’t overly retouched. She loved the editorial/fashion style of my work and was so enthusiastic about the entire process. So we rocked out ALL those different facets and created magic together.

We laughed a TON, flowed like crazy, took what felt like 3 million images, ran way over on time, and shot until the sun would no longer let us. Then we hit the hotel bar for a little libation and a chat between now-friends as I was in NO hurry whatsoever to navigate my navigationally-challenged self back to my house .

"I knew it would be an amazing experience, but it actually far exceeded that. The easiness of feeling completely free in your bare skin- it is life changing! And then, when the images do come in and you get to see all your badassness - well, not many things in life can make you feel like that."

"The good old term “self love” has gotten materialized. Subtle and not so subtle changes in all levels of self awareness, which was not the goal, however turned out to be a major bonus. The best money ever spent (way above shoes and bags and other feminine treats 😁)!"

"It all came together in a best possible way." -Liana

I ADORE my studio, I do. I love it love it love it. I know every nook and cranny, I can photograph a woman there in 3 zillion ways, and because I know all of those ways so well, I can do it in record time. But there’s something to be said about a shoot in a new place. New inspiration, new light, new shapes, new lines, new shadows. It’s all the reason why I will ALWAYS opt to schedule “work” any place I travel to, because I ALWAYS adore the outcome so much.

Thank you so very much, Liana, for choosing me, for traveling for me, for trusting me, for laughing with me and not at me when I made a fool of myself (how many times did I fall???), and for allowing me to share your images and your experience with the world.

Until next time!