Photog Divas

Remember when I mentioned how I met a new friend at the park who also happens to be a photographer? Well, God has an amazing way of putting people in your path to help you grow... and it doesn't hurt that they're fun to hang out with.
We'd been messaging each other back and forth  randomly since we met, trying to find a good time to get together again and also "talking shop". She invited me to this Girls' Night Out event, solely for photographers, a group called the Photog Divas. She told me how the photographer that heads it up is absolutely amazing... how she travels the world (she'll be photographing in Paris and Munich this summer) and is even doing this new underwater photography thing in Hawaii. Then she said her name... and wouldn't you know it? The lady is the very same one who we hired to photograph our wedding! I couldn't believe it. This is so a God thing.

Even though I was a little nervous, I thought it sounded fun. It was a reason to get dressed up and go downtown to a cool restaurant and meet new people.

I think this was the most fun I'd had in so so long.
My friend and I originally weren't planning on staying very long... we ended up staying for three hours.

It was truly humbling to even be standing in the same room with these amazing women. I actually had no idea who most of them were. My friend was a bit star struck, nudging me when a high profiler was among us, quick to give me the scoop on them.
Had I known? I probably would've been a fumbling mess. I looked them up later and felt like an idiot that I was even included in their group.
I was the amatuer with a starter dslr and a nifty-fifty lens standing next to a woman who has a contract with all of the Atlantis hotels as their exclusive wedding photographer.
Yeah. Talk about humbling.

The thing is? You never would've known it. I was very up front about the fact that I was a newbie. Especially when I was asked for my business card (ha!). When I was asked what I shoot with, I was honest about my not-quite-pro-level camera. The response was always gracious, never condescending. They all recognized that at one point, they were at the same place I am right now. Just a girl with a camera and a big dream

I swear, I learned more in just 20 minutes of talking to these women than I have in hours spent watching/reading tutorials. Tips on how to run a business, hiring a good CPA, awesome locations, and how to get a great sky shot without your couple getting blacked out. Not one of them talked down to another. There was zero competitiveness. In fact, all of them had wonderful things to say about each other. They accepted compliments graciously and were quick to reciprocate. They even celebrated one of the girls' birthday.
At one point, my friend asked a bunch of them who had taken photography in college. Out of the group of six highly successful photographers, only one had ever taken a course. There was a history major, a criminal justice major, and other random unrelated fields. It gave me hope. haha.
I found out that this group also gets together for "shoot outs". In a nutshell, they create a mock wedding with models, and they all go out and get some good shots. Just for practice.No pressure to get them back out by a certain time. If they all suck, no big deal.

Basically, I hit the jackpot of learning environments.
To see these women and their work was so inspiring. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, like "holy crap, I'm never going to be that good...", I left feeling motivated. Determined to be that good one day. It may not happen for another 10-15 years, but I'm going to get there.



*I was trying to hold off on this post, because the girl that heads it up got some fun photos of the night, but she's been a bit busy this weekend. So if she happens to post them, I'll add the photos later. :)

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For those of you curious about the ladies I'm talking about, or just to see their work, here are a few links to check out:
Critsey Rowe  (our wedding photographer)
In His Image by Julie
CS Photography (my friend's website, although she admitted she hasn't updated the gallery in like a year. She mostly uses her FB page)
Kristin Vining
Dianne Personett