Sweet Chaos

Meet the Hubbard family… Nathan, Lindsay, Hailey, Tess and new baby Jackson. It was a typical family photo shoot – the girls were lively, the baby fussy, the mom unnecessarily apologetic and the dad just kind of taking orders and trying to keep up. The new guy, Jackson MacDonald Hubbard, has the distinction of being the 1st Pacific Palisades Baby of 2009 (a tradition since 1954, sponsored by the Palisades Post). And he is quite a big little guy!…

Here are a couple of my favorites from our morning together… this is Tess who reminds me of my favorite doll I had when I was a kid :)

Hailey is trying to suss me out here… not quite sure she buys what I’m sellin’ yet…

Ahhhh, I’ve won her over! She did make me sweat for it though, and by the end of the shoot, Hailey made sure I walked away with some beautiful refrigerator art.

Oh my goodness how cute is this?… Big sisters, Hailey and Tess, sing “Do Re Me” to their little brother…

Nothing like Dad tossing you up in the air!… again, and again, and again!

What a cutie… cheeks for weeks!

On a personal and professional note, I am finally recovered from WPPI in Vegas. It’s a week-long photographer’s convention, workshop, trade-show, and total geek-fest. It was my first time, and I loved every minute of it… I came back completely on fire and inspired. One of my favorite parts was sitting in on the Print Judging competition… it was such a rush to hear a panel of master photographers critique photographs and fascinating to hear why each thought a print was below average, average, above average, excellent, superior, outstanding, and perfect. About 90 out of 100 were average or below, and when a merit print came along – it just stood apart. I could have sat there all week, and it was really a nice surprise to learn that my eye was pretty much in line with the judges.

After the print judging, I spent three crazy days on the crowded trade-show floor, which had over 2,000 booths I think, and I came away with a stunning new product line that I am so exciting about adding to my boutique…. details and photos coming soon!

Lastly, I had the extreme fortune to hear a few of my favorite photographers speak, and actually spend time chatting with each. They are each so different, but they all know themselves, their photography, and their brand very well. My favorites were:

Elizabeth Messina is a goddess of photography… she shoots film, has the sweetest disposition and her images are unmistakably her’s… soft, romantic, sensual, and well, just darn pretty. I admire her photography as well as how she runs her business and life. Even though she is very high-profile, she works out of home and keeps her family first. She also got a camera at a young age (like me) and carried it with her everywhere for awhile (like I did). Geeks.

Tamara Lackey is another photography genius… She is smart as a whip, generous with information, a brilliant photographer, and a super-mom to three kids to top it all off. Her talk was geared towards running a successful studio, reaching your target market, and really “seeing” the kids that you’re photographing.

Gene Higa is quite a showman, and his entertaining talk was geared towards creating your brand. I love Gene, his energy and enthusiasm, and love for what he does. He is a well-known, top 10 destination wedding photographer… and his heart is bigger than his brand.

I learned a lot from being at WPPI – to be true to myself and my art, find my niche and own it, tell people what I’m up to, and above all… to put my love of photography first. Because sometimes it’s so easy to forget that and get lost in the business side of things. So, just like back in the day when I got my first professional camera (Christmas day, age 8), I’m going to carry my Canon around with me everywhere (for two weeks as a mini-experiment), to get back in touch with shooting what I’m attracted to…

We’ll see what happens!