Last Friday I met up with two amazing ladies, Emily & Megan, who are also fellow photographers! We met in Lynchburg for coffee and then headed outside for some headshots! The historic area of downtown Lynchburg is one of my new favorite locations! Cobblestone streets, exposed brick, monumental staircases…need I say more?! After we were thoroughly frozen from taking headshots, we visited Megan's favorite photography shop in Lynchburg, Lynchburg Photoworks & went to lunch! It was a perfect day filled with lots of my favorite things…coffee, photography, mexican food, and friends!!
When I attended the Creative at Heart Conference, I asked several photographers about furthering my education. I asked, in their opinion, if would it be better to take classes or to do coaching sessions with other photographers? Most answered that while classes are fine, coaching/mentoring sessions are great because they give you the opportunity to ask questions in a one-on-one atmosphere and you can learn by doing and practicing in that very moment. Instead of learning things via an article or a book and then trying to apply them during a shoot, during a coaching session, you're learning with a camera in hand. I love that! When Megan initially contacted me (and Emily), we planned to meet up for coffee to talk about our experiences, the industry, and we just wanted to connect with other photographers in our area! As we talked, it was so great to hear about Megan's experiences, and as we were shooting, she answered questions and gave us tips! What started out as a coffee date turned into somewhat of a coaching session! Something that is really neat about Megan (and several other photographers that I've met recently) is that she is not secretive or 'closed-off'! Megan answered our questions and genuinely wanted to help us with our photography! She wasn't worried about the 'competition' aspect of talking with another photographer…she even told us that she wanted to teach and help other photographers grow!! WOW! I absolutely love that mentality, and as I see it more and more in our industry, it makes my heart so happy!!
So, thank you to Megan for the unexpected but oh so helpful & fun 'coaching' session, thank you to Emily for being my model ;), and thank you to BOTH of you for my new headshots!!! You both are so very talented, and look forward to the next time we get together!
