Posts tagged jasmine star
Tuesday Top 5

What a week! As you saw from my last post, last Tuesday I attended the J* workshop which capped off my "February Workshop Learning Extravaganza!" It was incredible and totally complimented off what I learned at Justin & Mary's Spread The Love Tour! I also this week attended my first ever LA Smug Meeting, where I got to hear Lawrence Chan aka Tofurious speak for the second time! It was totally free but his nearly 2 hour talk could've have really been a workshop as well! It was a real treat! So this week, has really been full steam. And my brain is like whirling and pumped with ideas about how to make 2010 a life changing year, where dreams come true!!! Which brings me to my Tuesday Top 5...5. Inspirational People. I gotta admit I'm not a cheesy-mantra-loving-chicken-soup-for-the-soul-reading kinda gal. I'm not at all. But sometimes you just meet amazing people and hear their stories. Hear the major struggles and obstacles they faced. Hear how they overcame the hurdles and now are mind-blowingly successful. And how can you not get the warm and fuzzies? How can you not want to go out and change your life and the world around you?! I feel like, as mentioned above, this month I have gotten a huge dose of inspiration and have been lucky enough to meet amazing people like Justin & Mary, like Jasmine Star. And then there is the Olympics. I absolutely love the little stories on some of the featured athletes. These people have HUGE risk-it-all dreams, and they have often overcome a lot of difficulty in their personal lives, and here they are at the friggin Olympics. INSPIRING. I hope to be half as awesome as these people one day ;)4. Speaking of the Olympics. THE OLYMPICS are sooooo my number 4 pick! Not just because of the inspirational stories, that maybe I secretly tear up hearing, but because of the sheer fun of watching the events. I'm not really a team-sports gal...I can't get into it at all. And I'm not sporty or athletic at all. But I have always had a weird thing for the winter Olympics. I love watching the luge, bobsledding, the moguls, the speed skating (APOLO OHNO PEOPLE!!), and of course THE FIGURE SKATING. Oh my gosh. Love love love! I still say there is nothing better than a dude in a bedazzled outfit skating his heart out! Nothing better...except for you know, my cats and husband...LOL3. HDTV. So pretty much since I met my husband, all he talked about, all he wanted, was a nice big flatscreen HD TV. And when it came time to propose, he spent his TV fund on my engagement ring. He had to think "Ashleigh" or "TV"...and he chose me! Awwww. LOL. So it was back to square one. Saving. And this week was the week. The deal was right, the money was there, and we went all in and bought that dang TV. And he is so happy about it! I love that it makes him so happy! Something so simple! But I gotta say, it IS pretty nice. It's like having a home theater! Not too shabby!2. Hot Tub Time Machine. OK I HAVE NOT SEEN THIS MOVIE. I just keep seeing the commercials. And I gotta say, I'm so confused how this movie ever got made. Or maybe I'm not. I used to want to be a filmmaker and spent a year interning at a production company-- mostly my job entailed reading scripts and deciding whether they were good enough for someone more important to look at them. I was like the script filter. LOL. And I just can't imagine this concept getting past a filter. "Ok so these dudes get into a hot tub, that turns into a time-machine! It's like Back to the Future meets Wild Hogs, but with a hot tub!"Riiiiight. On the other hand, there are always crappy movies that get made so I shouldn't be so shocked. As much as I'm perplexed by the title and concept for this film, I shouldn't dog it.  The commercial does make me chuckle a bit. Maybe it is somewhat humorous, despite how formulaic and just plain bizarre it appears!1. Tracey Ullman's State of the Union. Have y'all seen this show? It's on Showtime on Mondays and its amazing! I have always LOVED Tracey Ulman! She is so good at creating different characters and being just plain hilarious. And the way she does her impersonations is spot on! I love this show especially when she makes fun of "celebrities." My absolute favorite is her Dina Lohan impressions. TOO DANG FUNNY.  If you all don't know who Dina Lohan is, then bless your heart. You obviously don't get caught up on perezhilton like I sometimes do!Now here is a preview of some wedding-y goodness coming VERY soon!

The Jasmine Star Workshop

Tuesday was a great day. A fabulous day. A Jasmine Star day. But let's start with Monday. I met 19 other photographers and Jasmine Star for a dinner/mixer thingy at Javier's. It was really fun to get to know everyone in person! You see I had become facebook friends with these people, followed them on Twitter, and even stalked there blogs. But the internet is one thing. Real life? That's something different entirely. So ooooh boy was I relieved to see how friendly and open everyone was. Everyone was so supportive. And a few people even said how much they admired my blog and work, which almost made me cry. Really? ME?!! I needed to be pinched. A year ago I would have never imagined this for myself. When Jasmine arrived she was so friendly, down to earth and personable! She truly is sucha giving and generous person. I thought I'd be a bumbling fool in front of her, but she made me feel like an old friend. She is truly that cool!! Then she treated us to Pinkberry and I nearly died! How deliciously sweet! Oh J* you know the way to my heart is through my tummy ;)By the start of The Workshop Tuesday morning, I felt like old friends with everyone. Not intimidated at all but just ready to learn. We spent the morning talking about branding, which was so helpful as its a concept that I didn't fully understand. I didn't take any photos of Jasmine talking 'cause y'all I was taking notes! I don't mess around with note taking. I wanted to get every word of what she had to say down on paper. But I did take a few pics of the pretty stationary Jasmine gave us...looksy...plus its branded ;)

Jasmine reiterated a concept I already knew to be true. A hand written note goes a long way! I will be saving this one for sure ;)

One thing that really struck me about Jasmine is how self aware and deliberate she is. Everything in her business is done with clear understanding and reason. Its like "I am doing this because of this..."And I think that being intentional is such a key part to running a consistent, successful, well defined business. This year I will be spending A LOT of time further developing my brand, and being intentional with what I do in my business. No more just doing because I feel I am supposed to do it that way or because peers seem to do it a certain way. No more haphazard actions or intentions. I will be intentional and aware from now on!My other favorite part of the day was of course THE PHOTO SHOOT. Oh my gosh! First can we talk about the yummy prettiness going on here?! The models, married couple Jodi and Matt, were so good looking it hurts, and also sooo sweet together! The hair and make up was done by Vivian Tran's All Made Up Team. The divine jewelry was provided by Noaki Jewelry. And Jodi's breathtaking dress was designed by Joan Shum. I'm kinda in total awe of Joan's work! Its just so unique and fashion forward-- pure art, to say the least! Make sure to check out Joan's etsy store!

I would always read on Jasmine's blog how she uses "natural reflectors" to get stunning images even in the harshest of lighting conditions and I had NO CLUE what the heck she meant! Thankfully, Jasmine planned the day with this lesson in mind. Our photoshoot was in full day sun with harsh light, and J* showed us how to rock it out using natural reflectors. And it all clicked. J* you are a smart one, you really are. I will be using this technique all the time!!!

Jasmine wanted us to all walk away with a signature image from this shoot! The following image is most definitely mine!!

The florals were provided by Kristin of The Treasured Petal, someone who's work I've been obsessed with for awhile now! She just comes up with the most stunning arrangements. And I loved the bouquet and boutonniere she designed for this shoot! Just lovely!

Jodi you are stunning! Really really stunning!

I'll end this post with the group shot!! I'm the silly little blonde one in the lower right ;)
Thank you again so much Jasmine & JD for being so open, honest and generous! This was such an amazing experience, and I know will make me a much better photographer and businesswoman! To Diandra, Kristy, Melissa, Ellie, Lara, Caitlin, Meng, Laurie, Sia, Suzanne, Anna, Anna Kim, Carrie, John, Angela, Janna, Molly, Brittany, Tracy, Jennifer and Cori -- thank you all for being so awesome! I had so much fun getting to know you and hope we can all stay in touch! I am excited to see where 2010 takes you!!! :)