What I'm Reading & The Meaning Of Success

A couple of months ago, for Christmas, I got some pretty awesome new stuff! One of those things just happened to be my Canon 7D DSLR, a few AMAZING lenses (the 35mm 2.0 & 100mm 2.8Macro to be exact), and some pretty sweet photography books as well (which is what this post is about).

Now, for those of you who know me, you know that I am not a reader. I mean, I have tried to read all kinds of different books but could never seem to stay interested (maybe it’s the ADD? I don’t know...) I know this may sound kind of silly, but I really only like books that have pictures in them lol. Honestly! I get bored just looking at words. I need some art too!! I think Andy Warhol said it best; “I never read I just look at pictures.” That quote is totally me! So why am I excited for the books I got for Christmas? Two reasons:

1.    Since they’re photography books that means they have TONS of pictures in them! It’s a match made in heaven! Also, I just really enjoy anything & everything about photography.

And

2.    I heard a great quote by Dave Ramsay from Zach & JodyGray; “Where you will be in five years is dependent on two things, the people you meet and the books you read.” I take this quote to heart! I hope to meet some amazing people this year but more importantly I hope to read more books this year than I have ever read before.

In the book “The MillionaireNext Door” the author claims that the average millionaire reads one non-fiction book a month. So since I plan on becoming a millionaire one day, I better get started! :) Here are the non-fiction books that I am currently reading:

Exposed

By: Jasmine Star

Jasmine Star is a California based wedding photographer and kind of a celebrity in the photography industry. This girl is probably my biggest inspiration and I just love her! This book/magazine tells the story of how she got started in photography and how she got to where she is today. I swear when I read this book I feel as if I am living her life all over again. I completely relate and it’s nice to hear someone as big as her was once going through the same struggles.

Fine Art Wedding Photography
By: Jose Villa & Jeff Kent

Jose Villa is also a California based wedding photographer and has been named one of the top 10 wedding photographers in the world by American PHOTO. He is one of the few photographers still using film and I just think that’s awesome! This book is about Jose Villa, who basically invented the term “Fine Art Wedding Photography,” and how he captures his trademark technique.

The Digital Photography Book Volume 1

By: Scott Kelby

Scott Kelby is president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and Editor-in-Chief of both Photoshop User and Layersmagazines. He also has an educational website called, Kelbytraining.com, where there are tons of videos to learn anything and everything about photography and editing in Photoshop & Lightroom. I am a member of this website and really enjoy all of the useful information! This book takes you step-by-step through the basics and fundamentals of digital photography in a very easy to understand dialogue.

And last, but certainly not least…

The Canon EOS 7D Instruction Manual

Yes, you read that right. I am reading my instruction manual. I put this one in here because I think so many people just think they don’t need to read the manual and they’re wrong. I have learned so many things by just reading my manual that I probably would have never learned anywhere else, or at least it would have taken me years to find out. It may not be my favorite thing to read (there aren’t very many pictures lol) but I think it’s super important so I force myself to do so. And if you’re a photographer who hasn’t read their manual yet, I highly suggest you get to it! :)

So there you have it! My 4 small steps to becoming a millionaire. Hopefully I can stick to the one book a month thing and update you guys on what I’m reading next month. To end this post, I have a video of some amazing photographers sharing their perspective on success. Enjoy! :) (Photographers Include: Jasmine Star, Jessica Claire, Kevin Kubota, Jesh DeRox, Mary Marantz, and Sarah Rhoads)

[suhk-ses] WPPI 2011 from stillmotion on Vimeo.

Happy Wednesday!

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A Kodak Moment

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! <3 I absolutely love this day! And I’m not just saying that because I’m married. I have really and truly ALWAYS loved Valentine’s Day, even when I was single. This probably partially has to do with the fact that it is also my mom’s birthday (Happy Birthday Mom!), so it was always kind of a celebration in my house. But the real reason why I love this day so much is because I just love, love! It’s as simple as that! Whether that love is with a spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, friend, child, sibling, parent, dog, cat, etc. it’s a day of showing your loved ones (whoever that may be) that you care and I just love that! :) Oh, and not to mention it’s the number one day for guys to “pop the question,” and as an aspiring wedding photographer that = another reason to love this day!! Lol


Anyways, enough with my rambling about how awesome this day is, let’s get to the good stuff! So as some of you may know today marks a year since Daniel bought me my first DSLR camera! (The Canon Rebel T2i) And since that last Valentine’s Day I’ve already upgraded to the Canon 7D and I’m loving it! So I guess Daniel decided to keep with the tradition of buying my first DSLR camera with buying me my first vintage camera to start my collection! I have been saying for months now that I want to start collecting old cameras and I guess he was listening! He’s such a good husband! :) Anyways, he got me a Kodak No. 2A Folding Cartridge Hawk-Eye Model B, made between 1926 and 1934. It’s so old and pretty. I just love it! I took a picture for you all to see below:

Until next time, Happy Valentine’s Day! :)

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Downtown Fort Worth Portrait Session

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I posted a preview of my sister-in-law’s Downtown Fort Worth portraitsession? Well, since then I have been super busy with school, among other things, and just hadn’t found the time to edit the rest of her images. However, yesterday I found a little time in-between studying for two exams and preparing for Valentine’s Day weekend (my mom’s birthday is on V-Day so it’s also a birthday weekend). Anyways, enough rambling, here are the rest of the pictures from Heather’s portrait session! :)

If you would like to see more, I will be posting all of these along with some others on my Facebook page. So friend me on Facebook to see more! :)

http://www.facebook.com/micheleshore11

P.S. for Photogs: If you don’t already know, the 3 day Boudoir Workshop with Christa Meola starts today at 11:00am (central time) on CreativeLIVE! I will definitely be watching and hope you all will too! :) Just click the link below to watch live:

http://www.creativelive.com/live

Happy Friday!

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Official [b] School Member!!

Last week I joined and got accepted into the [b] school! Woohoo! I’m so excited! The [b] school is a social mentoring and referral network for professional/aspiring wedding and portrait photographers. It was founded in 2007 by the famous Becker and co-founded by Keats Elliott, two amazing photographers in California. This site is an awesome community of photographers all over the world helping each other grow their business and I’m glad to finally be a part of it! :)

You can check out my public profile here:

http://www.thebschool.com/photographers/micheleshorephoto

If you are a professional or aspiring wedding and portrait photographer like me, I highly recommend you check out the [b] school and become a member! Just click the link below.

Happy Wednesday! :)

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Photographers vs. Videographers

It’s the never ending battle of photographers and videographers in this hilarious video filmed at AfterDark Education. Check it out:

In all seriousness, a wedding day is about the bride & groom, not the photographer or videographer. We (the vendor) should be respectful of their day and work together to deliver a great product to the client. Even though sometimes we may want to scream; “Get out of my shot!” lol

By the way, if you’re interested in going to After Dark, they will be in Dallas Sunday, February 26^th – Wednesday, February 29^th. You can check out the details and register here on their website. Sadly, I won’t be able to attend because of school. :(

That’s it for today. Until next time, Happy Groundhog Day! :)

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