Lessons

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Course Explanation and Inspiration

Thank you, everybody for coming. I greatly appreciate it. Thank everybody for watching at home. As you probably all know, creative life today actually switched to a la white screen format. I'm not actually this bad. Okay, so they changed everything right away. I have not gained that much weight, but I appreciate being the experiment for the wide screen, so we have a lot to do over the next three days. I have a lot of excitement I want to offer to you. This is my dream workshop in every way, shape or form for the longest time. People always ask me what you teach in your workshops. Do you actually do it on a wedding? And the truth is yes, that's. How we've been able to survive as long as we have, my business has been around for over twenty seven years now. It's thought it off as a family run business with myself. My mom, my dad, and then eventually I had to kick them out as all good kids must it's time for them to grow up and go on their own on what happened, basically was over time, a k...

ind of about time someone who's very system ated someone who's very oriented to do things in a certain way a certain procedure this way I know that what I show my clients is what I guarantee them. So over the next three days, the things that we're going to be working on, we're going to cover everything from with sales perspective to the engagement session to the bride alone, to the groom, alone, to the family, to the bridal party, to the reception to the ceremony I wanted to issue is many challenges, as I possibly could that would kind of show you the real wedding day and being in seattle presents that to me perfectly because the fact is now when I want to go outside for two hours in two hours or three hours for the engagement session, I have no idea what's gonna happen. Lighting is always changing it's always evolving the weather is always playing. We always have different scenarios with the family, the bride's parents don't like the groom's parents, the bride's brother is the one guy is out there, she has the maid of honor who she doesn't really like, but her mother made her put her and we have every scenario that you can imagine and we're going to go into it. In detail because the one thing I've learned over the twenty four years that I've been a photographer is that photo sell themselves there's something that you have to do in order to get people to buy photos and it's not saying this is great, you should buy it, it's a matter of getting them to understand process in the beginning today, I'm going to try to motivate you, I'm going to try to get you excited because I think that's, where every class should begin if I got you excited, you're going to go and do what you need to do. If I have you excited, you're going to want to jump out of your skin to do what I'm doing and that's what we're going to talk about, we're going to talk a lot about inspiration and understanding where its thoughts because photography, frankly, is the greatest job in the world. We get to go toe happy events and people's lives every day we get to go up and be a part of something that's going to last forever, long after your guard, I'm gone, or even the subject's going history it's going to remain alive, tow our eyes, our feelings, our emotions and everything we are as people are job matters, we godless of what the new yahoo ceo says the world is changing, it is changing, it isn't involving photographers are more important now than they've ever been before we just have to work harder and give people value for what we're doing and we're going to talk about that because I don't want people to think that I am ah low end commodity in terms of my job, my profession and this started not just everybody's jumping on the yahoo ceo, but the fact is it's not about that. A couple of years ago, cbs marketwatch ranked wedding photographers as the tenth highest overpaid profession in the world and they ranked motivational speakers as the third most highest overpaid professional. I am excited because I got on two of the top ten list, so the fact is very, very simple we are not overpaid we are not someone who our job doesn't matter it's just a matter if we have to do with different we have that I think differently than we ever have before because the fact is simple everybody who picks up a camera says I'm a photographer I can do this, I'm a photographer I can shoot on people professional tt a whatever the heck that is and go out on my way and take candid photograph so this time this three days is going to be about learning how to create a story the great thing about a photographer isn't just documenting what happens it's being able to create a wedding is just that it's a barry tail it's something that they dreamed their whole entire life off they waited for it they waited for that moment but those of you who are married in here those of you were married at home no one thing a wedding is anything but a fairytale there are so many variables that occur during the course of the day example when I got married I grew up is a wedding five I started at eleven years old my dad I thought the weddings were the most magical thing in the world I was married twenty four I remember my first dance that's sitting there and I'm singing the hiring hall looking around the cake is wrong your sister is wearing this dress your friend over there is an idiot what is going on is nothing magical about it but I needed to create it and I learned that through time because emotion I will always always be a part of it but you have to create it and it's what happens in a pose that's going to create the naturalness of the moment we're going to work on that for three days I promise you you're going to leave this class with more energy, more excitement, more knowledge of how to get it done than you ever have before I want this to be the most hands on intensive I am bursting at the seams to go after you and have fun don't worry they'll give me drugs to calm me down at some point during the course of the three days so let's start where begins inspiration what is it that inspires you what is it that inspires you to do the things you do what is it what makes you happy what makes you want to go is it money is it self worth is it love is it family what is it that get you to that point to jump out of your skin you need to identify by what is it that excites me I look at you and I'm excited I think about the thousands of people who are watching and I wantto form beyond anything that I've ever done before when I go to a wedding I think about the emotion I think about the feeling I think about all of that that's what inspires me to go but would also inspires me is my wife my children I do that things that I do for them they make me when I'm tired I want to get up and go they make me when I'm tied to feel like I can't do it I want to work harder because I know that's where it comes from it's that energy and that energy is going to get me through that's what makes it happen it's understanding that inspiration is not something that's going to interrupt you it's something you have the wine you have the I want it so bad you can taste it I'll admit to you my dream was not to be a wedding photographer my dad was a wedding photographer and he had two other jobs who would have ever thought that success would be this bountiful in terms of this profession for most people I was a baseball player a failed baseball player I was someone who grew up with a cannon oven on I was able to throw a ninety eight mile an hour fast ball is a sixteen year old and god that was the only thing I thought about you could tell by my english language skills that I obviously was not much of a student if you've ever read my tweets or my facebook I don't know how to use their there and they're so there's a lot of big problems that's on lucky at another skill to move on but the fact is very simple I'll never forget that when I got hurt I gave up on myself I had achieved the pinnacle I was going to play in the minor leagues everything was great and then one day I felt a tear and I gave up on myself on but everything I've accomplished there's a photographer I realized one thing that I'm always going to live with that regret that I didn't try I was afraid to fail and I can't do that it's about understanding what I want to do what I want accomplish you were going to leave here inspired the people watching this are going to leave inspired I promise you but inspiration and motivation of great for about ten minutes it's all worthless without any action it's not about you being motivated inspired today tomorrow the next day it's about going out going home, getting off your rear ends and doing it, putting it into practice and knowing that no matter what I'm going to do this I am not going to be a free tow fail I'm going to be afraid not to try because life is about taking chances, educated chances and moving forward in any way possible it's about understanding that fear will kill you it's about understanding that like life fear is that little dark room where negatives have developed do we understand what that means? If we put it in the back of our heads we're never going to be able to succeed I want it so bad I can taste it I dream of one day being the best photographer in the world that's an impossible dream no, isn't it? I can't be the best possible photographer because you could think I'm great you could think I'm average you think I'm hot you think I'm a little bit chubby you're looking at it saying he is magnificent and you're looking say that's the body I want and I understand that the fact is it's a matter of knowing what you want, how to move forward and understanding that nothing is going to stop me and even know that's impossible dream I keep working at it every day every moment I keep moving forward and understanding that there are no boundaries why don't we create boundaries? There are none there are no limits to what's possible if you choose to go be on them into the impossible what am I saying to you? I'm saying do you have a dream? Do you do you dream of what you want? Do you want it to be about money? Do you want it to be about prestige? Do you want to be where I am and be on stage and all the other great people who've come before you want creative life? If you do it's a matter of dreaming about it and putting those dreams into action it's a matter of having a passion so deep and so strong that nothing will stop you it's about having the courage to take chance, take risk and understand that you cannot again be afraid to fail. You have to be afraid do not try it's about understanding that you were powerful beyond any measure imaginable it's understanding that you are power to go above beyond it's about understanding all of that if you put that into place on realizing that you're not afraid of being an adequate europe afraid of being powerful beyond any measure it's not a matter of getting to the top it's a matter of staying them that's when the work's thoughts why is it that every tremendous athlete who gets the big contract all of sudden the career starts going down? I got what I wanted so I stopped working his heart and the fact is it's not about the money for me? Yes, I love the money portion I love having that success but there's nothing more that I want then your approval I work every day and although I realize that I can't have all of you love me, it doesn't mean I stopped trying to make you love me it doesn't mean I stopped trying to make you want to emulate what ideo it's about understanding that you need to find a role model. I was blessed I worked with who I think is the greatest educator and a photographer tea industry of all time studied under a gentleman by the name of monty sucker and most of you probably don't know him but believe it or not he is the reason that most photographers follow principles that they do he understood light he understood, posing the understood motivation he understood how to make people get into positions that make them look great it's about again reaching out and changing make it your goal today to give much more than people expect rather than a little less than you should have. What does that mean? Well, as you noticed, we're failing as a country and a lot of aspects. We're going out and doing things halfway. We've fallen behind in the technology area we've fallen behind in education because we're doing what we have to rather than a little bit more than we should have. And the fact is, that's, what happens with customers? People ask me all the time, doug, where you advertise? How did you get all these weddings? I let my clients advertised for me. I don't spend a single dollar on advertising it's about giving them or so that they love you it's about developing a relationship so they love you. The best place to advertise, quite simply, is what the people you already have it's about making that connection it's about making the relationship if you print an extra photo, don't say I'm going to keep it trying, charge him for it, give it to them so they remember that you did something nice it's about going above and beyond. If we go above and beyond, we're going to be so much happier, it's about understanding that we have an inner strength to accomplish anything we want it's about understanding that. In order to go places, we need to have a vision of what it is we want to accomplish it's about understanding that there needs to be a commitment, what is commitment, commitment is realizing that failure is not an option commitment is realizing that in life I am going to get knocked down, I'm going to get knocked down. But it's not about how hard I got hit it's about how hard I can get up it's a about not the punch it's about the knock down and getting up and keep moving forward. That's how winning it's done that's how we get where we want it's about understanding determined nation I am a bull, I am an absolute bull I am determined to be the very best I will never stop attempting that it's about being courageous. Who would have thought that business was about being courageous? I'm looking at you six and I have scared the hell out of you in the first ten minutes. They're all like this thief act is very simple courage is about taking chances. I'm not asking you to risk your fortune I'm not asking you to spend money, I'm asking you to take educated decisions don't be afraid to not go out there and do something and most importantly it's about having the passion survive those difficult moments all the time. When I lecture I'm constantly given excuses when I do portfolio reviews I'm constantly giving excuses off why things don't look the way they should I'll even get it from my own staff I have twenty two photographers who worked from a full time and I'll ask them why does it look like this what happened here doug you know the lighting was bad the people wouldn't cooperate my camera was acting funky this was that there's always an excuse it's never let me listen you're right we'll do it even when I studied on the marty and I decided monte look at my work I'd be like he doesn't know what he's talking about he's an old man I got this and then it took me another ten years to learn when I had to learn it's about stopping to make not making excuses it's about understanding when people fail to reach tickles they will give the same types of reasons doug I can't do what you do because I work another job I don't have enough time well I'm busy too let me give you a little rundown of what my life is besides running my business I also coach a fourteen you national travel baseball team that's my real passion that my son plays on I love those boys more than anything you can imagine and that's probably one of the biggest pieces of my life besides my family but I don't make excuses last week we left on thursday, I took them all to disney world and we played in a baseball tournament. It was incredible they were spec tacular we are small with a local team where I picked the best twelve kids off twenty four possible kids and we went up against puerto rico. We went up against panama, we went up against the caroline er's, we went up against the floridian teams alabama and we one because we wanted it, they wanted a bed and they realize that it's not about it they took the chances they needed to do, but I got home at twelve o'clock on monday night in the evening midnight and I was on a flight to come here to seattle, leaving for the airport at four a m because I needed to that everything and I didn't make an excuse of wire had to leave or do it it was about making the time to do it. You can always have an eight hours sleep a night and that's not always good for you either it's about realizing I gotta work at times that are interactive to the family I work in between a put my family first it's about prioritizing it's about understanding I don't have the money that you have done, I can't go on by the thief or the d eight hundred I can't a pocket way since they don't have it well then you're going to find a way to be creative with the money that you have and looking used equipment it's not about the camera, you're going to find out there's nothing to do with the camera. I could do the same thing with my iphone at this point, maybe I can't get a twenty by twenty, but if I find the light, if I see the light, if I feel the light, I'm going to be able to create it, so the money is not the most important thing. I don't have the technology you have because I can't afford it or I don't know how to use it well, guess what? I didn't always have it either. I was sixteen years old when I shot my first wedding and I was using a veronica e t r that was older than I was and I had a flash on camera had no idea what I was doing, but I made it work because I wanted to be the very best and I was making one hundred fifty dollars a day. Do you know what that was like in nineteen, ninety one hundred fifty dollars a day? I was so thrilled to be making that money, but then I kept pushing and what little money I had I invested in the right spots, it was about understanding, I don't have the experience you have so guess what? You don't have the experience I have but you've got that opportunity today if you don't have the experience, you better practice go on, get someone dressed up you better go and do whatever you need to do because when you have all of these reasons what do they have in common based on the perception of a lack of resource is you all have this it's not about the resource is you have it's about being resourceful and making up for what you don't have it you don't have time, you better be creative with the time that you have and find a way to get past it and find a way to make time and do the things you need to do if you don't have money, you better have love caring and passion and understanding beyond anything you can imagine because that's what's going to pull you through if you don't have the technology, the passion toe work with what you want is ahead there you're creative life, it is the greatest asset in the entire world you get tow watch hundreds of workshops a year I didn't have this I would have to buy the video from my instructor that I like and then I'd have to watch it over and over again give you an example when I bought montes took his videos, I didn't watch them once and big this a good god I watched them over and over and over again anyone beaches steep? I watch him so much I had to buy them again. He was my scheduled watch him every day no b s this is it seventeen years old? I'd go to a wedding on friday before I left I'd watch the videos I get home at midnight, I'd watch him again, I'd get up to go do a wedding saturday morning, I'd watch them again when I got home after doing two weddings on a saturday, what do you think I did? I watched him again before I left on sunday I watched him again and when I got home I watched him again because I needed to keep putting it in and watch them over and over and over and over. I'm thrilled when students like you by my educational material it's great from a financial standpoint, but I'm telling you and everybody at home don't buy it if you're not going to watch it, don't buy anything if you're not going to use it, you have this workshop right here it's not a matter of just seeing the workshop it's a matter of absorbing the workshop, I'm going put so much information in front of you for the next three days it's impossible for you to absorb it all in one shot, so if you buy it for ninety nine dollars I want you to buy it, but I don't want you to buy it if you're not going toe watch it, don't bother I don't need the money that bad and either this creative life we want you to learn it we want you to understand that if you don't have the experience you need to resolve fall down flat on your face because you are you're gonna fall down and you could either just stand there, roll over and be like I've done or you can just go and try and get up and fix it you I asked you before what is commitment I said realizing failure's not an option you're going to give you a terrible statistic in the united states in two thousand twelve, fifty four percent of americans got divorced that was a wedding photographer on beyond excited about that okay, but the fact is very, very simple it's very, very simple it's a matter because it's easier in some cases people don't wanna work the way it is I'm married just celebrated fifteen years last month you think it was easy the entire fifteen years look it make do you think it was easy? It's very difficult for her, I'm very high maintenance I am a woman in every way okay don't mean in any like that, I've got to have an all female audience almost except for you so now the fact is very simple we worked out we fourth where we made a conscious decision that doing it the right way and working harder was better than the alternative because the fact is, everybody dreams that the grass is greener on the other side, the grass isn't greener, it's just been watered until someone comes and kills it. Okay, keep that mind that'll be a good quote. Good. I came up with that right here. What is the difference that makes the difference? That's hard to understand, isn't it it's kind of a weird quote? The difference that makes the difference boils down to one thing it's about understanding where you are. Where are you? What point did you act in your life? Is this what you want to do? Is this the career alternative you want? Are you loving this job so much that you'll do anything to do? It is a career my career dream was a baseball player and I've had a wonderful run as a wedding tiger. I never dreamed it's what it would be, but I have a new tree. My dream is to be a photographer on main street usa at disney world that is my dream because I love disneyworld more than anything in the world so much that I'm building a home there. And one day I want to watch families like you walk in and take pictures of them because I just love the joy and the happiness that I see I'm going to get to that goal I'm gonna work hard at this until I get to the point where I can retire and do that and it's about understanding where you are I could give up in back I'm going to go do this today, but I realized that it's not so realistic for me to go do that right now, considering I have a family to support and kids to go it's about your beliefs, police have the power to create and the power to destroy its up to you. What does that mean? We all put negative thoughts in our head. We all put negative energy in our head and it's quite odd how we do it. We're afraid we are. I keep saying it it's a matter of having positive energy whenever I get a little bit negative. I am so lucky to have a wife who are we says positive energy just think positive and it'll get through. I'm now with the point and realizing in my life if you know what I don't worry or stress over anything anymore because it all finds a way to work out it all balances out I have heard a million times in my life doug, you are the luckiest person in the entire world. You are so lucky. I'm not lucky. I put myself in situations for good luck to occur. I put myself in spots where good things can happen. People ask why or how did you possibly well, why did you get recommended by over forty tater and facilities? How did that happen? Because I asked because I went to him. Said, who are you recommending? Nobody. I talked to be recommended him really, really good. I asked I was the guy. Believe it or not, who never had a girlfriend in high school? I know you are shocked. We look at this and like, how is that not possible? Because I'm in love with him right now. And I see the way you're looking at me. I feel a tad violated. Okay, it's. All good. Though I like it. The fact is very, very simple and I have a girlfriend because I was afraid to ask. I was afraid to try. So that's what really matters if you put yourself in a situation, good things, a car. My advice to you is very simple when you leave here or if you're at home and you're wondering what to do it's thoughts, but having a plan do you have a plan of what it is you want to accomplish? Do you have a vision? Those air important fundamentals that you're going to need to succeed at a high rate those air important fundamentals that if you don't have them how could you ever know if you're succeeding if you don't have a plan about what it is you want to accomplish its about this one reason so few of us achieve what would surely want is that we never direct our focus we never concentrate on one power we never concentrate our power the one thing I think about it you have a lot going on in your life you're probably families you have bill concerns you have all of this but how could you ever be truly great if you don't concentrate that one power if this is what you love if this is what you do you have to find not resource but resourcefulness to get you there it's a matter of finding a way and working at it even if it means ok the kids were in bed at ten o'clock I'm going to go watch creative life for two hours if it means I don't have the money to go on advertise I'm going to go work for free to get experience I'm going to do these things and I'm going to do it in time because I don't want it to affect my family it's a about concentrating your power and knowing no matter what, you're going to get there it's about again defining your vision, understanding what it is you want to accomplish, you have no idea of the giant capacity that we can immediately command when it we focus our resource is on mastering a single area of our lives you know why? Because as much as I love baseball, as much as I love other things in my life I concentrated on becoming the best possible photographer that I could he is one of the things that people don't realize how much time do you spend on the creative side of your business, how much they spend on the technology side and how much do you spend on business? I bet you business is a small little fraction over here creative is all the way over here and technologies all over here and then he got the smaller part because you never realized in order to truly matched to this in most cases you need to be able to make money doing it and you should make money doing it because the fact is saying you're doing it, you know, like, well, I'm doing it because it's a job I'm a mom and I have spare time and I want to do it that's great, but after a while there's going to become this going to come an event that pops up when you have to miss a family event or something like that, you need to think about that if you're going to leave your family if I'm going to leave my family as much as idea which right now isn't as much as it used to be I probably do between sixty to seventy weddings a year now out of the thousand that our studio does I do about sixty to seven I damn well better make sure that I can give those kids the things they need and the things they want it's about understanding it remember this person the ceo said our job's not important it doesn't really matter you know anybody can do it well, you tell may when I know what I'm doing on july fourteenth of two thousand fifteen when I met the goldstein boy admits for and I'm missing a family barbecue or an event how great is that it's a great can I call in sick I can't call in sick I can't call and be like my kids got something I can't come today people waited their whole lives for what we're going to do that day not just about weddings it's about sessions it's about understanding my job really matters and about focusing its about not compromising yourself that's my beautiful loving daughter who means more to me than anything in the world are you door her on what I've learned from her? She is so strong world even a twelve years old she's so strong well she wants to fight everything I say and as much as I get angry she never compromise is what her beliefs are she wants what she wants a my supposed to kill that in her now I don't know why my wife and I made the decision we have to let her be hard we have to try and reel it in a little bit but don't compromise who you are it's one of the things that we do especially now today when we've become desperate when we've become desperate and we need to make the money we're lowering our prices and all of that it's fine if we want to lower our prices I'm not saying don't do it but I'm saying don't compromise who you are don't let them walk on you because what I've learned over time dealing with close to a thousand rides per year and over five thousand portrait sessions and school photography and event photography and sporting is that if you give them a small little inch there you're going to take miles upon miles because we have changed our clients have changed and it's a matter of understanding now here's the thing if you want to be successful it starts we're taking a path to that success it starts by when you leave here when you walk out if you say I love all of this but this is one thing that's really I love it go on, do it get up and go and do it figure it out going do it because most people think success is kind of a straight line and you're going to see exactly what I'm talking about there's always a way to get where you want to get there is no matter what you will find a way if you were resourceful and it's thoughts what you being committed again? What is that commitment? Are you committed to what you're doing or you think about it? Have there ever been times where you kind of just laid it up and said I'm going to go to bed? You know I'll do it tomorrow we all do it don't wait well, that's the difference the people who are extremely successful a successful are the people who are tired, they want to go to bed but guess what they don't they keep working at it and its thoughts with understanding what a success cycle is. Most people think that it's a straight line that's what most people think it looks like looks nothing like it looks like that looks like a whole bunch of squiggly I got this from one of my friends I don't remember who it was it could have been I think it might have been tamerlan key or kevin cambodia I think drew this up and I stole it from them what it really looks like is that it's a mess it's going all over the place because you're gonna have ups, downs and everything in between even when you're successful one day something's going to come in and all of a sudden you finally got money in a bank and guess what? You drop the camera in the water you forget it somewhere it happens but it's not about being yeah be upset for ottawa but move past it it's about understanding we all say today that there's so much and front of us you go on youtube, you go on creative live and creative life has one hundred instructors on what you're trying to do is take information from all of that and all of those instructors and it's great the problem isn't a technology overload its failure to filter what you really truly like on what you really truly want to get from it because we want to take everything and rather than become our own entity we become thirty other entities of mixed proportions. We take a little bit of everybody and that's ok, but first we have to decide what's the most important and go out and get it don't settle for what is in front of you okay make your decisions so I still got some more inspiration but I want to see what you're thinking or anybody at home we have some stuff over there. Yes we do, doug people are inspired classical romance says okay just bought it doug I will watch it too. Death on snap turtle doug is so inspiring and motivating I need this at fifty nine age can be a distraction. Doug reminds me where my focus should be. Thanks doug for all that you do, we have some questions coming in if you wanna take something I haven't done a technical yet, but we'll figure it out now about about this, about people wonder how I got this hot yes, no it's definitely it's working out once every three years in case any of you want to know if you stick to that regimen, you're gonna be hot like this. Okay, mrs have a question? How often do you recommend people reassess their business goals or their vision galley daily? I reassess everyday here's something I do that this worked really well for me I take a half hour every day. You know, I tried to meditation thing. I thought it would be great for me but if you could tell him a little too you ever do that? But I take a half hour every day I walk around the block and I clear the mechanism I clear the mind and I try to think of doing something I've never done before I on my weddings every day I started with ok today I want to do one post that I've never done. Then it became I want to do one pose of the bride alone I want to do one new family posed I've never done. Then it became I wanted to five poses and it just kept growing and grown every time I kept reaching into the box. On now, one of the things you're going to see if anybody saw, I put up some preview teasers now one of the things that I d'oh that I have so much fun with is I don't walk into a situation and look and say, oh, this is obvious. I walk into a situation and say, where is their complete and total garbage like a dumpster like finding it? I try to challenge myself because if I didn't, I get bored and then it became a real job. So the answer is very simple. Susan, I reassessed daily, I reassess my goals, give you a big one here most of you who know me know that I picked up the name of go pose can I created flow posing and when I started at fifteen years going, so it was ten poses in five minutes, I can now do over one hundred. In five minutes if I want I could do it blindfolded at the recent w p p I I actually because I had done it forty times in a three day period I did it backwards just to see if I could do it and the problem is people at home think that's all I can dio I teach it because it's a necessity for photographers are firmly believe being able to create a rapid amount of post going to do it but the fact is if you watched me from the beginning until now that posing sequence changes or the time changes all the time I'm reassessing daily and I think you need to because you'll find out about a time should get bored with what you're doing but you'll get bored with who you've become and that's never a good place to be I don't want to be that guy which leads me to my next question from sir blocker what our suggestions to help those who lose interest, motivation or inspiration done well it starts with again looking at who you are it's thoughts would understanding who am I and if you're losing motivation a quick maybe it's not for you maybe this isn't your true passion and I don't want to discourage you from being a photographer you know they're always around it there are things I'm not motivated to d'oh but you just got to go and do it and you've got to find a way to motivate yourself like when I lose motivation is, could you imagine I'm thirty nine years old and I've done over thirty, five hundred weddings, thirty, five hundred weddings I've done almost you think about that that's almost one hundred a year for my entire life. How do I stay motivated? I am miss sappy is khun bay growing up? Is an eleven year old when rap started first, coming out with run dmc and everything I'm listening to lionel richie and whitney houston and kool and the gang and now people looking at me like something's, not right with him, because I'm the eleven year old who loves ana richie and board way show tunes and that's okay, but music inspired me movies inspire me if I would ask each of you what your favorite movie is, I would learn so much about you like the guy if he says which we're all I love blazing saddles I love that ghastly scene I know that this is a guy who likes playing around. He likes comedy I love the notebook makes me cry. I love the bodyguard with kevin costner on what houston, I love movies that make me cry love beaches I love putting myself through torture, I find love. And everything I dio even in on me getting I watch on again and every time and cry I watch pretty woman and cry I watch the same movies over and over if I could watch when harry met sally one more time I could recite it to you at this point it's a matter of looking for ways to inspire any other questions of eighties we have a number of questions about getting started and so several folks including including d photo john peru and tough toodle how did you first how did you get your first wedding gigs? How do you build your portfolio? How do you get hired when you don't have anything to show the bride's one of the first step? I'll give you a couple ideas here and this is going to we're going to touch on this more heavier later in the workshop but I'll give you a couple here imagine my dad I worked three jobs he was working roughly eighteen hours a day to give the family what they needed and my mother was working fifteen hours a day so when they first I would've system and then in nineteen ninety on a credit card and a dream my dad says we want to open a studio we have thirty weddings booked this year, which is roughly thirty thousand dollars because they were very inexpensive weddings, he said you could go into the studio and we're going to make you a partner. We're going to give you a third partnership, but you're gonna work obviously for free and go and realize so for twelve thousand dollars rent for the year, the utilities and everything we decided to put it together. Now, if you can't afford these options, where do you get business from? How do you build a portfolio will give you a couple here. I'm going to give you a couple genius. Actually, if you don't have ah portfolio base, you have to learn that giving money is a lot harder to do than giving your time, just like you would for a charity. Okay, so in that case, I'll give you the greatest one ever came up with will make you the most popular photographer in the area. If you have children and they're in school, you have gold right in front of you to gain experience, to gain notoriety. I came up with this and at the time I was obviously my business had already was already big, but it opened a whole another market from a go to the schools on whatever school your child's and be like I'd like to give back. I want to do what we call a family photo night. And what a family photo night is where I come to your school and we're going to charge a ten dollars sitting fake. Normally, the sitting fee is a lot bigger for ten dollars, we're going to do the sitting for free, and we're going to donate the ten dollars to the p t a now our collections, which are normally two hundred dollars, we're going to start a thirty dollars, and then we're going to give every dime that we make over prop over cost to the pita as well. That's pretty good, isn't it? You will have people lined up to come into this family photo night because you're going to give all the money to the school it's a better fundraiser than a book sale that a candy bar sale than any of these things. And now when people like you will they call you for their child's communion? Well, they call you for their child's bar mitzvah. Will they call you for a family event? You start to build a business and build a portfolio? If you are a photographer and you are sitting at home right now and you need to get portfolio experience, I am going to throw you the biggest gift that I could ever give out my studio is based out of long island, we have three there and we have one in orlando the orlando client tells a little bit different, so I'm going to extend this offer for long island. If you want experience, you call me, you email me and you can come and go out on a wedding, or as many as you want on dh, I'll even let you keep your images to build your portfolio. You can come the only expense you have issued travel fee. There we have a thousand weddings a year for you to choose from. You want to gain experience in a hurry and get an education real fast. Come attended a new york wedding on whatever images you get, you can shoot, you can keep it's a pretty good offer us. And now, considering that it's probably twenty, thirty, forty thousand people watching this, that maybe a little bit of a wait. Okay, so