1:1 w/Whitney
Location: Long Beach [California Portraits Photographer]
BEING THANKFUL IS MORE THAN ONCE A YEAR. BE THANKFUL ALWAYS.
I had a busy day this Thanksgiving with my in-laws, then on to my sister’s house filled with her own in-laws. EAT! EAT! FOOD COMA!!! I’m sure glad that I wore pants with an elastic waistband! Being around family can really put things into perspective. We’re all growing up so fast, too fast. Which means time is scarce … We should spend more time with the people we love. Now.
(So, this past weekend I did just that.)
I convinced my little sister, Jen, to help me kick off my Tour Dates and travel with me to LA. There, she would assist me on a few portrait sessions as PR while I tried my best to not bore her. Per tradition, we stayed at our auntie’s LA home which is the spot we pretty much grew up in. But, the last time we had been there was over 10 years ago, even longer for Jen (Auntie reminded her!). However, nothing’s changed. Auntie still treats us like her little teen-nieces and fed us constantly — as if we have problems in that area or something. Nope, no problem there! *blush*
A part of my LA tour was a mentoring session. My first mentoring session ever! Whitney is a young stylist based in LA whose work experience was formerly on the set of Warner Bros. Moved by the story of me quitting my day job last November, she sent me an email with inquisitive questions of how I got started in the photography business, then eventually quit her day job, too. Whoa! Although, I would never advise anyone to do anything too drastic, I am glad that I inspired something in her to follow her passion. Whatever questions she had for me, I had answers for her. Okay, I had some very long answers for her … Future Mentees: You’ve been warned. muwahahaaa!
In order to share knowledge, I have to show it in the form of an actual photo shoot. So, Whitney brought Nick, whom she has known since the sixth grade and dated since high school, to help us out. He’s been recently promoted from the title of “boyfriend” to guinea pi— err, model. haha! But, I don’t feel too bad for Nick. I know that as Whitney continues to practice her craft, getting better and better, then pretty soon he’ll not know what to do with all those awesome photos.
“If you have a dream, don’t give it up. You may be just one day away from making it come true.”
(At the end of my six-day trip, I am even more thankful for the life I live. I’m thankful to be living.)
NOTE: See MENTORING page for more details.
