Tilt Shift MINNeSHOP!

WOOOO to the freakin' HOOOO! Yesterday I hosted the first-ever (and first of many!) MINNe-SHOP! The topic was all about Tilt Shift Photography, which I feel is an area of shooting that many photographers want to learn more about and/or are curious about. The thing about using a Tilt Shift lens is that it is quite tricky. It's an all manual lens, but there are many, many more things to think about than simply just the technical function of the lens! When shooting with a T/S lens, you need to take your time and think about a few things:

1)Composition. Where and how am I going to place my images in a setting that is going to benefit from this lens?

2)Exposure. The light changes WAY often when using this lens. How can I nail this exposure?

3) Focus. How is this lens/effect going to benefit my image? How am I going to use this tool to draw in the viewer?

(And this is all before you even take the photo!)

It's super tricky, but absolutely stunning when you nail a good image! This lens takes nothing but time and patience to learn, hence the MINNeSHOP. I wanted to give our attendees an opportunity to use all of the T/S lenses available out there and just have time to play. There is a lot of artistic freedom with using this lens, but I think there is one MAJOR rule that all of us photographers really need to follow:

Every time you pick up your T/S lens, ask yourself, "Is this the right tool for this image? How is this lens benefiting the overall composition? Am I using it to really captivate and draw in the viewer or am I just using it to be trendy and cool?"

I must say, I was very impressed with all of the MINNeSHOP-ers! Some of them had never even picked up this lens and they got some amazing photos! We had an AMAZING turn out (one girl even came all the way from Iowa!) A special thanks to everyone who attended!

Emily Steffen Jen Schultz Jessica Newbauer Emma Freeman Alicia Struble Brianna Kopka Vickey Weiss Bethany O'Day Paula Charchenko Shelly Anderson Tom DeBruyn

A HUGE Thank-You to our super HOT couples who came out to model for us! Erick, Bri, Emily and Matt, you ROCKED it!

Here are some awesome images from the attendees!

The purpose of the MINNeSHOP is to educate photographers in the Midwest about specific topics of the photography world! It's also designed to be a very casual learning environment with some hands-on opportunities and bring people together! I'm hoping to be doing a MINNeSHOP about every 2 months, so please write in with any suggestions on topic that you would like to learn about!

eliesa@eliesajohnson.com

Happy Tilting!

LOVEe

LOVEe Consults: PhotoJessic!

This past week, I sat down with the lovely Jessica of PhotoJessic for her LOVEe Consult! As artists, we talk a lot about our Personal Style. This also comes with many questions: What is my personal style? How do I find it? What if it changes, is that ok? There's no doubt about it, finding your personal style is a process, but it must not be forced. Jessica and I talked a lot about how there is a big trend in the photography industry right now with the Vintage theme. Soft colors, leaning towards warmth and romance are everywhere. Jessica's major question was, "I don't want to be like anyone else, I don't want to be trendy, but I really, truly, love the vintage vibe...how do I stay original?"

The thing that Jessica didn't realize is that she has her personal style nailed down. When you walk into her studio space, the light is soft, her building is old, and she even has a vintage clock. Her favorite colors surround her and even the way she dresses is just soft and pretty. She exudes everything that is soft, pretty and vintage. Her images reflect her personal style, which is key.

Defining what your personal style is should be natural, because it comes from YOU and everything you are about. It is derived from your personal experiences, the kind of music you like, and everything you are attracted to in this world. Above all, by staying true to yourself, your images will be of things you are passionate about and ultimately they will be executed in a way that no one else can, because it is YOU. Your style will evolve, just as you change as life goes on, but there will always be core elements that will be timeless. Embracing the process of change will lead you to finding - and then realizing- what makes your images yours.

To learn more about LOVEe Consults and to schedule yours today, CLICK HERE!

Have an amazing weekend everyone!

LOVEe

Award Winning!!! Hell Yeah!

As I briefly stated in my previous blog post, I was super excited to find out that one of my prints had won in the 16x20 Print Competition in Las Vegas! I was incredibly excited, but then today I got the official results of all of my prints that were entered - and SURPRISE!!! Not one, but TWO of my prints were big winners! The two famous images are below and come from the fabulous Fine Lines shoot and the lovely Siegfried Wedding! Entering images in competitions is so much fun - and I also believe it is essential. It is most definitely a way to put yourself out there, and continually hold yourself accountable to creating solid, mind-blowing work. It's also very interesting to go out of your comfort zone and have judges critique your work, which is again, an essential part of growth for any artists!

Competitions can be a pretty penny to enter, and in the end, there is no guarantee that you will win. But I also think it is an investment in yourself as an artist. Not just in the cost of printing and actually entering, but an investment to your creative health. It feels so good to win...and without taking risks....I would never be AWARD winning! (For the 2nd year in a row...don't worry, I'm brushing my shoulder off right now! ;0)

LOVEe

For your Saturday Viewing Pleasure...

This video makes me happy for so many reasons! I love you all!

LOVEe

LOVEe Consults Presents: MINNE-SHOPS!

WHOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!

I am SUPER excited to announce the first-ever MINNe-SHOP!!

2010 is all about giving back and educating photographers all across the country and also right here in the MPLS!

The MINNe-SHOP is an afternoon for Minneapolis photographers to get together and really learn about a specific part of photography.

The first topic will be all about creating amazing images using the Tilt Shift lens! This has become a big trend in the industry all around - and with any trend, there are good and bad ways to use this tool. My goal is to pump up the volume and really help photographers feel comfortable using this amazing piece of equipment!

Agenda:

Tilt Shift Talk Live Shooting / Practice with T/S lenses Group Critique of Images

We will be renting T/S lenses for the attendees to try out and practice your mad-skills! Food and Beverages will also be provided throughout the day!

TO SIGN UP FOR THIS AWESOME DAY, CLICK HERE!

FAQ:

How much does it cost?

$125/person and this includes the class time, lens rentals and food!

What will I learn from this MINNe-SHOP?

This first-ever MINNe-SHOP will be focusing directly on Tilt Shift Photography. We will cover everything from the technical reasoning behind the lens to how to use it to create an EPIC image!

Will I actually be able to use a T/S lens?

Yep! We will be renting T/S lenses for both Canon and Nikon Cameras. If you have your own, absolutely bring it along! We will also be having real couples as your subjects to practice on!

Will the group critique be scary?

No, no, no. Group critiques are meant to help you grow as a photographer! No one is going to beat you down to the ground, this is all about encouragement! I am a big believer in critique...in fact, I think it is essential!

What is the difference between a LOVEe Consult and a MINNe-SHOP?

LOVEe Consults are one-on-one, 8 hour mentor sessions. During these days, we cover anything and everything about your photography business. MINNe-SHOPS are mini-workshops designed for groups and we will only cover a specific topic during the afternoon.

Will there be future MINNe-SHOPS?

Absolutely! Do you have a topic you want covered? E-mail your ideas to me: eliesa@photogen-inc.com

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE FUN!

I'm Sooooooo excited!

LOVEe

We are Invincible!

So, last night, I went to the John Mayerconcert. It. Was. Amazing! For some reason, whenever I am at concerts, the lyrics hit me like a ton of bricks and I have these big realizations about life, love and business!The last song John sang is called 'No Such Thing' and as the song started, my friend Erin (who I went to high school with, but we were never friends-until-after-high-school-sort-of-thing) said to me, "Wow, Eliesa, think of how far you have come..." I didn't know what he meant by that, I mean, yeah, I have a successful business and I love what I do, but he's on a fantastic journey of his own through school, why would he say that? The lyrics go something like this:

"Welcome to the real world", she said to me Condescendingly Take a seat Take your life Plot it out in black and white Well I never lived the dreams of the prom kings And the drama queens I'd like to think the best of me Is still hiding Up my sleeve

They love to tell you Stay inside the lines That something's better On the other side

I wanna run through the halls of my high school I wanna scream at the Top of my lungs I just found out there's no such thing as the real world just a lie you've got to rise above

So the good boys and girls take the so called right track Faded white hats Grabbing credits Maybe transfers They read all the books but they can't find the answers And all of our parents They're getting older I wonder if they've wished for anything better While in their memories Tiny tragedies

I am invincible (x3) As long as I'm alive

and suddenly it hit me...we are living in a completely different world now.

I am also reading this fabulous book called Linchpin by the one-and-only Seth Godin and it talks all about this new world we are living in. His major point is how we have all been trained to think that our lives are suppose to go a certain way. We go to school (which is very structured), continue on to college, graduate, and go on to work for a company who will determine how much money you make - but alas - they will give you health insurance and really 'take care' of you. We've been raised to think that this process is the way to happiness.

Yesterday I also had a conversation with a friend who told me her father just got laid off from his job and he is having to face a world that he never thought he would have to learn. The world of computers. Her father literally has to go back to take classes to learn about the internet, because that is THE only way to apply for a job. It's not easy for my friend to see her father, who she has always envisioned as a strong leader to be back at the level of a 5 year old - and I am sure terribly aggravating and frustrating for him to be back at square one when he is 'suppose' to be enjoying these years.

As the song above was playing, I kept thinking about the book, my conversation with my friend and the comment that Erin just made about how far I've come and the BIG realization I made was that in other people's eyes, I have constantly gone against the grain. I have always done the opposite of what I was 'suppose' to do and I most definitely did not take the easiest route to get where I am. But I believed in myself, in my craft and in my dream. To other people, I have not just built a business, but I have shown other people that following your dream and being successful at is IS A REALITY!

The world that we are in now is not structured and safe. It is essential for everyone to look inside themselves and figure out how to be indispensable - to be sooooo good at what you do that people can not look away! There is no longer the guarantee of health insurance or a high paycheck out of grad school. This doesn't mean that I think everyone should go and start their own business, just because I did, but whoever you work for - it is still up to you to 'seize-the-day"! Think out of the box, challenge others, get creative and be a leader in everything you do.  I'm a big believer the our mindset and world views are going to need to change in order to adapt to the new, fast world as-we-know-it.

There are no longer rules - get use to it and enjoy it.

Embrace the change.

With this new world comes new opportunities for you.

What are you going to do?

LOVEe

Related articles:

• Linchpin by Seth Godin - Video Book Review (chrisbrogan.com)

MN Photostars!!

MN Photostars!!!! What is this, you say? It's a little group I put together back-in-the day with the uber-awesome Sara Montour, who has since moved to Seattle! Our vision was to create an environment for the raddest photographers from Minnesota to just get together, have fun, grab a beer and chill! We hosted a few of these, but since Sara moved, I kind of put it on the back burner until Stephany lit a fire under me one day and said, "Hey! We should still do this!" Hence, a new generation of the Photostars is born and I am thrilled to say that we had THE best turn out EVER at Photogen Inc Studios! These events are an open invitation to any and all photographers in the area. Experience level doesn't matter, your niche in the industry doesn't matter - all that matters is that you BRING the FUN!

I have this vision of putting MPLS - or the Midwest for that matter - on the map in the photo industry and let me tell you, we have some KILLER talent in this town!

We also have some killer looks...obviously!

Thank you SO much to everyone who came out to the event! I foresee many of these in our future!

To view all of the photo booth images, click here!

LOVEe

LOVEe Consult : Emily Steffen!

I absolutely love my job. Sometimes I can't believe that my work is to create, inspire and empower people! And then I realize, yes, Eliesa, this is your work, but it is also deeper than that - it is my purpose. This past fall, I launched LOVEe Consults, which is my one-on-one mentor session for photographers (or any small business owner for that matter), and I am simply smitten with these days! Yes, they are all about learning, but again - it's deeper than that. They are more about having conversations, exploring our deepest secrets and dreams and developing a plan to create the best life possible for us! Just as much as I teach the photographers who sign up, they teach me so much more!

This past week, I had a LOVEe Consult with the lovely Emily Steffen. I absolutely love this girl! One of the best things I adore about Emily is the fact that she gathers inspiration from SO much more than images. Many times we talk about looking at magazines, ad campaigns, labels, websites, branding, etc. to be inspired, but in Emily's case, she doesn't seek inspiration through any of those visual aesthetics. Instead, she is majorly inspired by crafting, knitting, sewing, gardening, baking and simply loving. I realized in our conversations that sometimes, as working artists, we forget to be creative in the sense of creating. Maybe that statement doesn't make sense. It is SO important to have other outlets of creativity besides just taking photographs (or painting, drawing, etc - whatever your art might be that you get paid for!) I realized I really haven't had another source as a creative outlet for quite some time, and I am empowered to do so!

The essence of who you are and what you love  = happiness.

Another awesome conversation we had was about how stinkin' far behind the Midwest appears sometimes. We are, in fact, not far behind in Minneapolis, but sometimes people's mentalities are when searching for a wedding photographer and how we need to educate our clients on our shooting styles. We talked about how funny it is when (usually the older generation) make comments about your photos, such as, "Oh, isn't that nice." or "Yes, these are sure...different." Emily put it into the perfect quote, " In our state, when people call your photos 'different', that is Minnesotan for 'suck'!" The fabulous part about this statement is that when you do find your perfect clients - the words/feelings/comments about suckage will absolutely never be an issue - ever again! I am also a firm believer that there is some KILLER talent pumping out of the Midwest now that is truly remarkable - and I am SUPER stoked for this revolution!

There is no doubt in my mind that Emily is going to do some really amazing things in her life! In her own words, her goal is...

"To share the love and effect the world in a way that I can to make an impact. I want my life the be simple and I want to live my life to simply inspire people."

LOVEe

My consultations are more than a how-to-be-an-amazing-photographer, they are truly meant to be life-changing. If you are interested in more information about a LOVEe Consult, click here!

If you are READY for THIS, e-mail me: eliesa@photogen-inc.com

Lofty Goals

Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day. ~Thornton Wilder

Lofty is the perfect word for me, and especially right now.

Many times I have people say to me, "Oh, Eliesa. You've done so much already and you're always doing something! What is next for you?" This is always immediately followed up by the question," And how do you keep going?"

This whole thing, my life, my business, etc. is all fueled by passion. I am passionate about doing big things. I'm not interested in being mediocre or okay - I am determined to be great. I am determined to be a legend. These are big words and I have set some extremely high expectations and lofty goals for myself, but I always have. I think there have been two keys to my success thus far. 1) Everything has come about and happened very organically and naturally for me. I have never tried to be anyone else but myself and I have stayed true to the art that I want to create. I have always put my efforts into projects that I believe in and I have not compromised anything to get to my dream. 2) I have always had momentum. I am constantly pushing myself - and those around me - to go out of our comfort zone and create things and chase our ideas to make them a reality. If you own a business and want to continue to do so for the next 30 years, you better not get comfortable. In fact, you better get UN-comfortable...the more, the better.

On the flip side, this past week, I was out to a little impromptu dinner with some fellow photographers and one of them said, " Sometimes I just hate being around you Eliesa, because you are so god damn motivated and that is just not me! It's exhausting...but deep down I suppose I need a little of that right now." She is absolutely right! You shouldn't feel like a horrible person if you are reading this and thinking, "But, I don't want to be a big deal. I just want to make photographs that make people happy and have my little happy business." Great, fabulous, lovely. Everyone has their own vision of how they want to impact this world and Oprah is no better than the volunteer in the soup kitchen.

However, my point for the whole post is to encourage all of you to do something that is uncomfortable for you and see where it takes you. Whether you are interested in photography and you've been putting off buying that camera  - do it. Maybe you want to quit your day job and pursue your passion as a full time career - do it. Maybe you feel like you need to do some soul searching and you really want to book that trip - do it. Sometimes in life, your best decisions are made as spontaneous ones. I guarantee you that by taking a big risk, you will be absolutely terrified, but I also guarantee that it won't be as scary as you think. You will have catapulted yourself into a situation that you simply can't fail at. Failure has never been an option for me, and big surprise...I've worked my ass off, but I have never failed myself.

You can thank my great friend Josh Elliott for this photo up above, which started me thinking about all of the above thoughts! This image was taken about a year ago when we were at a workshop together and I love it, because I am SO focused on whatever I am doing.

Passion. Truth. Momentum.

Don't get comfortable - ever.

LOVEe

Related articles:

• The Best and Worst Times to Raise Your Prices (blogs.photopreneur.com)
• 8 tips for starting your biz while working full time (cnn.com)

JNP Workshop!!

Last Monday, I had the extreme pleasure of guest speaking at the first-ever JNP Workshop in Santa Ana, California! Jeffrey is one of my absolute best friends in both life and this crazy photography industry. We met 3 years ago at a workshop and have since developed a beautiful relationship! Jeffrey and I are complete opposites in almost everything, but we are constantly challenging and encouraging each other to dream bigger.  We often talk about that workshop and how the best thing we took away was not necessarily the content but the lasting relationships and friendships with other photographers. When Jeffrey approached me about speaking at his workshop, I was absolutely on board! Our vision was to simply inspire the students to live their dreams and spread the love! (I know, it sounds totally hippie...)  The workshop came together beautifully with an amazing table scape from the ladies at Utterly Engaged and Treasured Petal (sneak peek below...the rest of the beautiful images will be in an upcoming issue of Utterly Engaged E-Zine!)

The workshop was filled to the brim with some intense information! Seriously, we covered everything from Branding to Building your Personal Style to Pricing to Getting Your Dream Clients! It was a fun filled day of learning, but I think what the students appreciated most was the hands-on-shooting time we had with lots of new equipment that they might not have had the opportunity to use before! I enjoyed this time the best, because I was able to get out of the classroom and actually teach the students how to direct and shoot!

Putting on a workshop is definitely not easy. There is a ton a prep work that goes into a day like this and both Jeffrey and I learned along the way. However, it is absolutely worth it! I had SO much fun being a part of this day and it really solidified my passion for giving back to my industry! It also proved that I am a leader - and a strong one at that. There will be many more workshops in the future, that is for damn sure. Boo Ya!

A special thank you to all of the amazing attendees! You made this workshop and I am SO excited to see what you all accomplish in the future!

ROCK ON!

LOVEe