Hey everyone!  So, I get asked often how I provide final images.  I am going to explain what I currently offer and how I think it will change in the near future.

So, currently I offer a choice to all portrait and wedding clients.  Everyone will get an online gallery.  The gallery is great and can be shared with friends and family and images can be downloaded from it.  The standard gallery everyone gets allows you to download individual images one at a time.  Then, I offer an upgraded version of that gallery or a USB.  The upgraded version of the gallery allows you to download all images at one time.  Once all the images have been posted to the standard online gallery, I ask my clients what they choose for their final product.

Both choices are great and I love the online gallery especially for sharing with others.  It stays online for 10 years and it is nice that you don’t have to worry about losing anything that contains the images.  However, I am a sucker for the tangible and I do feel a little weird when I don’t give my clients anything they can touch.  So, I think I am going to just start offering both a USB and online gallery with all wedding packages and standard portrait sessions.

(Currently, mini sessions and short or discounted sessions only receive an online gallery)

What do you think?  How do you prefer to get your images?

I get these awesome personalized USB’s from USB Memory Direct.  I am currently using the Fiber Wood Tower series.  I like that they are made from sustainable resources and mostly all natural (Excluding the metal parts of course).  They work great and look great and I just love giving them to clients.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.  Do you think providing both is the best option?

XO-Jamie

The post How I Deliver Final Images | Custom USB’s appeared first on Jamie Y Photography.

I am co hosting a Las Vegas Photography Workshop in just a few weeks.  March 11, 2018 is the date.  It is a full day, 8-ish hours or so, of learning.  I am co hosting with Danette from Amberlight Collective.  Some of the things we are discussing are branding, workflow and editing, portfolio reviews, some outdoor shooting, among other things.  This is primarily to help you become more efficient in your work and attract the kind of people you want to be photographing.

We will not be going over basic camera operation but will assist with lighting and whatever you need help with on a photo walk.

We are currently offering a sale price of $99 until Thursday morning at 8am.  The regular price is $375.  So if you want to take your business up a notch, just run over and sign up at www.photographybadassery.com

Just imagine where you would be if you would have started all the things you wanted to do when you first wanted to do them.  This is a great deal that wont last long and I guarantee you will learn so much.

XO-Jamie

Las Vegas Photography Workshop

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I have been waiting to write this blog post for awhile.  It is hard to express in words how Parker’s workshop affected me.  I walked away from this workshop changed.  I still don’t feel quite the same.  It has been weeks.  I have tried to explain to several people how it was and what I learned but I can’t really explain it.  It definitely was life altering and I still don’t even know all the ways that it was.  I think it was definitely exactly what I needed at that moment in my life and I would honestly love to go again.

How it began.  A few years back I was attending WPPI in Las Vegas and wandered into a class by a man named Parker Pfister that I had never heard of before.  I thought the topic sounded interesting so I went.  I was immediately thrilled to be there.  He was unlike any photographer I had seen or watched before.  He shared a slideshow of his work from the last year or so that he hadn’t shared with the world yet.  His work was unlike anyone elses that I have seen.  I was brought to tears and couldn’t stop them from flowing the whole time.  It was so amazing to see photographs created from somebody with little to no influence from anyone else.  They were coming from inside of him.  He was marching to the beat of his own drum.  From that moment I knew I walked into something amazing.  I told myself I would take his workshop as soon as possible.  I wanted to learn how to express more depth and emotion in my photographs and I knew he was the one that could teach me.  The next year, unfortunately the dates did not work and I couldn’t go.  So, I took his class again at WPPI and my desire to learn from him was reinforced again.  Soon after, he released the details for a 2017 workshop in August and I called that day to sign up.  The workshop was titled “Do The Work: A Photography Workshop for The Soul”.

I knew when I signed up for the workshop that I was going to be stepping way way outside my comfort zone.  That has been a goal of mine, but I had no idea how far outside of my comfort zone it would take me. I am a super shy introverted person.  I have an extremely difficult time speaking in front of groups and being vulnerable with others.  I push myself all the time and put myself in uncomfortable situations to grow and learn.  However, I had a feeling this would be the hardest thing and I was right.

A week prior to leaving for the workshop, I find out that my dad who lives in Costa Rica, was admitted to the hospital for heart issues.  Me and my dad are super close.  He raised me and it was mostly just me and him until I was 18 when he moved away to help me grow up.  So, this news was devastating to me.  He remained in the hospital until I had already arrived in North Carolina for this workshop.  He was released on the first day of the workshop, but he is not by any means out of the woods, and it was pretty earth shattering for me to find out that he wont be around as long as I had thought.  This whole situation had me in a super emotional state of mind.  I definitely think it had an impact on me at the workshop and made things more difficult.  So while I would have been an emotional mess anyways, this whole thing with my dad made it even worse.  I only bring this up to explain the fragile state of mind I was in.  I definitely think it had an impact on my whole experience and made me a little bit more emotional.

The workshop was held in a magnificent mansion in the blue mountains of Jefferson North Carolina.  The drive up the mountain was surreal with fog all around and a scene I can only describe as a lush land for faries.  Green blanketed the ground and trees and it was unlike anything I have ever seen.  I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of it!  My new friend Chrystal and I drove up together from Charlotte.  We entered the house to a group of welcoming new friends with drinks ready to go.  There were about 15 of us there.  9 attendees, 2 spouses of attendees, 2 people shooting behind the scenes photo and video and general helping out, the hair stylist/makeup artist/stylist, our beautiful model, Joe the giver of hugs and emotional support and overall awesome guy, and Parker.  We all stayed together in the same house for 3 nights and about 3 days.

We started our mornings at 9am with breakfast all together and ended our days around midnight or later.  We all gathered around the dinner table each night for dinner.  We were all together most of the time.  We had various homework assignments prior to coming.  Each day had several challenges and topics.  I don’t want to go into too much detail or give anything away in case somebody wants to take the workshop.  I think it is better to not be prepared and just give yourself over to the process.

These photos above are pretty much the only photos that I actually shot.  This workshop wasn’t about getting a bunch of portfolio worthy images.  It was about learning to stretch ourselves creatively.  It was about thinking in a different way.  It was about learning to tell a story with our images.  We had many challenges and most of them didn’t include having a camera anywhere nearby.  We talked, we cried, we played, we grew, we learned.  I learned a few fun tricks and am ready to experiment and tell more stories with my photographs.  What I learned the most had nothing really to do with taking pictures though.  I learned so much about myself.  I learned that so many of the things I am scared of, really aren’t that scary once you do them.  But it can be super fricken hard to do them.  I learned that we are all so much more alike then we know.  We all share so many of the same fears and struggles.  We also share much of the same things that bring us joy and happiness.  In the end, learning and knowing all of this also makes you a better and more aware photographer.

I heard recently that Courage is not the lack of fear, it is the management of fear.  Courageous people are those that are scared and do have fear but decide to do the thing anyways.  Usually I let fear stop me from doing so many things, I am glad I didn’t let it keep me from this.

Parker is one of the most amazing humans I have ever met and I feel so fortunate to have learned from him and spent time with him.  The rest of the group was also an amazing group of people and I am so happy to know them and have experienced this with them.

Artemas, with Artemas  Photography, filmed a video during the workshop and you can view that below.

Parker J. Pfister Do The WORKshop August 2017 from Artemas Photography on Vimeo.

The post Parker J Pfister Workshop Review & Thoughts appeared first on Jamie Y Photography.

I am often asked by clients and other photographers how I deliver my final images after the shoot is done.  I have two methods that I use.  Custom USB drives and/or online galleries.  For weddings, this is included in all of my packages.  For portrait clients, the digital files are not typically included, but can be purchased seperately.

The USBs that I use are from USB Memory Direct.   They offer several cool designs with your custom logo printed directly on them.  The ones I am using right now are the leather style with a button clasp on the back.  I purchase in several sizes, 4GB all the way up to 16GB.  16GB is usually the largest size I use for a wedding.  Many computers do not even come with DVD drives so USBs are the best way right now to store images.

The second method of delivery is via an online gallery.  I currently use PASS for my online galleries.  The store the gallery for 10 years.  The galleries can be shared with friends and family who are also able to download or purchase prints directly from the app.  Galleries of less than 100 images are free and larger then 100 images are a fee of $29 to upgrade.  Non-upgraded galleries allow downloads of individual files at a time.  Upgraded galleries allow you to download all at once.

My wedding packages include digital files.  Clients have a choice of a USB or upgraded online gallery.  If they want both, I will send them the USB and they are able to upgrade their gallery directly from PASS themselves.

XO-Jamie

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More Details!

Super pumped to release more details about the upcoming workshop I will be co-hosting.  I recently posted about it here.  Drum roll…….. haha ok here goes.

Jamie with Jamie Y Photography And Danette with The Amberlight Collective are teaming up to provide you with Photography Badassery!  

Danette and Jamie know there is a massive need for fellowship and education within the photography community.  We want to serve other photographers and extend our knowledge and experience to help grow fellow photog’s business and photo skills.  Above all, we want to see everyone around us kick ass at what they do – and have fun while doing it!

So, we decided to team up together and will be hosting our first workshop sometime this winter.  We share a similar style of shooting and similar philosophies, a perfect match!

As we finalize more details, we will be sharing them.  We will get a website up and running as well as some facebook groups going in the near future.

To keep up to date and make sure you never miss a post about the workshop, sign up for the email list below!  If you know somebody in their first few years of business that could use some help, send them our way!

Since everything is better with a photo, here is a picture from a styled shoot Danette and I worked on together.

The post Las Vegas Photography Workshop | Photography Badassery appeared first on Jamie Y Photography.

It happens to all of us! Promise.

You are not alone.  I have personally suffered from burnout more times than I can count.  I have had several times where it lasted for quite awhile and made me question my future work.  It happens to all of us, of that I am pretty certain.  Some people may manage it better then others.  It can be brought on by many things but overwork is often the top cause.

Being in a creative field is a high stress job for many.  You are constantly having to learn and improve and impress your clients, potential clients, and industry peers.  If you are anything like me, you obsess and think about your work and ideas for most of the day.  Unless I am actively shooting a session or fully engrossed in some other activity, thoughts of photography and other work things creep into my head.  Just this alone can cause burnout.  It is pretty easy to get burnt out and not always so easy to get ourselves back out of it.

Below are a few ideas to try the next time you find yourself stuck in a rut or just plain burnt out.

1. Change things up:  This is one thing that I did this past year to get myself out of a huge rut I was in.  There are various ways to change things up.  For example, you could try a new niche of photography, you could get a brand overhaul, you can try some new techniques.  The thing that I did was to change my editing style.  I was starting to feel like my work was stale and hadn’t progressed much.  I wasn’t happy with the work I was producing and needed something new and exciting to get my creative juices flowing again.  So, I did a bunch of research on various presets and editing techniques and found the one that resonated the most with me and made the change.  I am so glad that I did because it totally re-invigorated me and my work.
2. Take a break:  Take some kind of break from your usual day to day.  A vacation would be ideal but we can’t always just drop everything and go on vacation.  During slow season, which is typically summer and winter, it is much easier to close up shop a bit and relax your mind and body.  However many days you can do this will totally help you.  Keep yourself away from all work tasks except maybe email responses.  You will want to catch up on everything first though.  If you are a workaholic like me, this can be quite a challenge.  I often find that I can’t totally unplug and relax unless I am on an actual vacation.  Taking time off from thinking about work and servicing clients and having to “create” is a great way to refresh yourself.  You will often find ideas coming to you that are new and exciting, write those down but then get back to relaxing.
3. Find Your Sweet Spot:  Like I mentioned previously, the number one cause of burnout is overworking.  The key to preventing this from happening is to find your sweet spot with the number of weddings and/or sessions you take.  When I am super slow, I crave going out to shoot.  I miss it and start to come up with all kinds of things I want to do.  I don’t like having extended periods of non-shooting because I feel like I start to forget my flow a little bit.  When I am super busy, it isn’t good either.  I find myself getting overwhelmed and not wanting to shoot at all.  There is a place in the middle of this where everything is just about right.  Not too many and not too little.  Sometimes you have to say no to certain projects because if you say yes to them all, you will risk burn out again.
4. Shoot What You Love:  As mentioned above, sometimes you have to say no to certain projects.  Not always just because you are overbooked, but also if it is just not something that you love to shoot.  So many of us find ourselves booking shoots just to pay the bills.  Then we are stuck photographing things that we are not passionate about.  If you are like me, this leads to a whole slew of negative things.  When I shoot stuff that I don’t love to shoot, I find I don’t do as great a job, then I feel like I let the clients down, and the negative thoughts ensue.  Once you are in a position to turn down work you don’t want, DO IT!  Being free to shoot what you want and love keeps the positive feelings flowing and makes it so much easier to be excited about your work.
5. You Time / Exercise / Nature:   This is one of my favorites because it doesn’t require a lot of time and it benefits your life in more ways than just on a professional level.  You need to make yourself a priority and take some time to get out and connect with nature, exercise, and be alone with peace and quite.  All of these things reduce stress and promote feelings of happiness and joy.  When you are happy and joyful, it is much easier to look at your work in a positive way.
6. New Projects:  Many people find success with starting a personal photography project.  This entails, finding a subject matter that excites you and is not tied towards monetary gains.  Devote some time to shooting for yourself and falling in love with the craft all over again.  Another option is to start a totally unrelated to photography project.  Do you have some idea you have been wanting to bring to life?  Is there some family or home projects that have been on the back burner?  Spending time on these other projects will force you to take a little break from what is causing the burnout.
7. Attend A Workshop or Seminar:  Sign yourself up for that workshop you have been dying to attend.  I promise you that you will be filled with excitement just after signing up.  I signed up for a workshop that is coming up in less then 30 days and I am so pumped about it.  Surrounding yourself with other creatives and being taught by somebody you admire is a surefire way to get the positiveness flowing.  Whenever I go to a workshop or convention etc. it totally pumps me up afterwards.  It is exciting to learn new things and put them into practice.  Workshops can help sharpen the skills that you were starting to have doubts about.  You will often come out of these with new skills and a new outlook on your future work.

Staying a step ahead of burnout is probably the best way to prevent it from happening.  It can be a dangerous road to go down.  Causing you to re-consider this dream or career that you love.  Negativity creeps in all the time especially with all the gorgeous work we compare ourselves with on social media.  Many of these tips have helped me in various situations and I hope that you all get some benefit from them as well.

XO-Jamie

The post Creative Burnout | Getting Out of a Creative Rut appeared first on Jamie Y Photography.

I am super pumped to announce that I will be starting to offer various educational offerings to photographers.  I have been wanting to do something like this for awhile, but lots of things held me back from starting.  I am pleased to announce that I will be hosting a joint workshop with another local amazing photographer later on this year.  We are still working out the details and we will be announcing more soon.  As of right now it is aimed towards people in their first 1-2 years of business.  It will be just a one day thing and as we finalize details I will share more.  If you want to get in on one of the 15 seats, sign up for the newsletter below and you will be one of the first to hear about it.  Which brings me to my next point.  I will be posting educational posts on my blog now as well.  For now it will just show up under the category “For Photographers / Education”  In the future I may have it under it’s own page.  We will see how it goes.

Along with all of this, offering mentoring seems only natural.  I haven’t worked out the details on this yet either (I know I am a total slacker) but I am going to offer them.  Right now I am just going to deal with requests on a one by one basis.

I have been a professional photographer for almost 7 years.  I have learned so much along the way.  I study like crazy and have taken workshops galore.  I would love to pass along some of this information to others.  When I first started out I was always so scared to put myself out there.  I thought if I went to a workshop or class that the teacher and other students would be judging me.  I worried about not being good enough to even go learn.  If only I knew then what I knew now.  If you are passionate and have a desire to learn and work towards becoming a photographer, that is all you need to start.  No judging or snooty vibes here.  And I can pretty much guarantee that almost any other workshop or gathering you are considering going to will be safe from judgey vibes too.

Part of why I haven’t started before is because I was always of the thought that things had to be perfect and 100% ready before sharing.  I am trying to embrace the imperfect more and more.  Striving for perfection is not always fun and it hinders so much.  If we always wait around till everything is perfect before we act, we may be waiting around forever.

So here is to trying new things and putting yourself out there and actually just doing it.

XO-Jamie

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