Stephanie Williams Photography Blog

The wedding season is still in full swing around here, and we have been so blessed with shooting + traveling so much recently, but I feel I haven’t had too much time to keep up with blogging! There are so many things I still need to post about and many awesome weddings that I can’t wait to share. This week, my little brother is getting married, and I’m so unbelievably excited for him. Isaac and I are in the bridal party, so it’s going to be very interesting being on the other side. I’m going to try my best not to pick up my camera and start documenting everything! Now onto our post…a while back we did a full day mentor session for Nancy, who was just starting out in her photography business. We focused on developing a shooting style, learning how to nail exposure quickly while working in the field and using/harnessing natural light, and what it takes to start a small business. She’s such a sweet and amazing woman, and we had so much fun that day! Jordana + Mike were our awesome model couple for the afternoon! We love these two and can’t believe their wedding at Darlington House in San Diego is just right around the corner!

March and April seem to be the months for mentor sessions! Here are a few images from a half day session we did with the talented + lovely Karleen. She’s just at the start of her photography business, and so we went over a broad range of topics on the business and networking end of photography, and then we headed out to the field to go over directing and working with natural light. Here are a few images of the lovely Karleen….

and a few of Viet + David, our awesome, funny, totally in love couple!

Here are a few frames from a full day mentor session we did a few weeks ago with Tiffany. Tiffany is just getting back into shooting weddings after taking a few years off, and so we spent the afternoon going over current trends in the wedding industry, directing and styling a shoot, etc. Our model couple, Tom + Stephanie, get extra props for riding a tandem bike through uneven dirt paths…these two have major skills.

A few weeks ago, Isaac and I taught a half day mentor session for Kristin Genna, a Southern California photographer who is just venturing out into her photography career. Kristin has an incredible love for photography and takes amazing band + concert photos, but she wanted to develop her portrait photography a bit more and get a better sense of how to run a photography business. We went over a lot of business/branding/networking and post processing, and then headed out to shoot a quick couple’s session to go over our directing style and how we conduct our engagement/couple’s sessions. The next day, Kristin sent me the sweetest e-mail:

“Thanks again and again for the mentoring session yesterday! I  feel like I’ve been given an entirely new and different perspective on my work and what I do - and I feel like a beginner all over (not in a bad way, in a more aware way). I can see so much that I need to be more aware of and improve upon. It was so wonderful being able to see how you and Isaac do what you do and receive so many useful tips, small details as well as the big stuff pertaining to photography and business that I need to be thinking about. I deeply respect your photographic eye and learned so much from you. I’m so glad you offer mentoring sessions! I know I really love taking photographs and the quality of those photographs will certainly benefit from the session with you and Isaac. I just want shoot more now so I can get a stronger sense, comfort and ability with the craft. I may, in the future, check in for a short mentoring session with more questions as I move along this path. I’m starting my lists of ‘to do’ and ‘to buy’!”

Julie + Justin were our awesome model couple for the demo session, and just for fun, we played with some paper mache masks for a few frames.

I’ve fallen behind on blogging a bit over this past month (I can’t believe March is almost over!). We’ve been shooting a ton and teaching several mentor sessions this month, and I realized that I  never blogged about Cami - an amazing and super sweet photographer who I met with back in October for a one on one half day mentor session. We discussed a bit of everything, including an emphasis on branding and networking since she is just stepping into the wedding photography business. You can check out her website to see more of her work. After our session, Cami sent us the sweetest e-mail:

“Dear Stephanie and Isaac,
Thank you so much for the mentoring session yesterday. I learned so much from both of you- my brain is still processing all the information! The biggest lesson I walked away with was that I need to make my photography my own brand and not anyone else’s. I realized that it’s okay to be me and decide what my ideal client is, instead of trying to change for everyone. This lesson was invaluable and increased my self-confidence as a photographer and businesswoman. The very first thing I did this morning was decide what my brand will be. I’ve already thought of something I love and am going to work on reflecting that on my website, blog, photos, and documentation.
Thank you so much again. You both are so pleasant and I have so much respect for you and all that you’ve accomplished.”

Thank you Cami - I’m so excited to see where your photography talent takes you!

A huge thank to Mai + Josh and their awesome pup Roji, who came out to be the demo couple for the mentor session