For your Saturday Viewing Pleasure...

March 13, 2010 in For The Pro's, LOVEe

This video makes me happy for so many reasons! I love you all!

LOVEe

We are Invincible!

March 03, 2010 in For The Pro's, LOVEe

So, last night, I went to the John Mayerconcert. It. Was. Amazing! For some reason, whenever I am at concerts, the lyrics hit me like a ton of bricks and I have these big realizations about life, love and business!The last song John sang is called 'No Such Thing' and as the song started, my friend Erin (who I went to high school with, but we were never friends-until-after-high-school-sort-of-thing) said to me, "Wow, Eliesa, think of how far you have come..." I didn't know what he meant by that, I mean, yeah, I have a successful business and I love what I do, but he's on a fantastic journey of his own through school, why would he say that? The lyrics go something like this:

"Welcome to the real world", she said to me Condescendingly Take a seat Take your life Plot it out in black and white Well I never lived the dreams of the prom kings And the drama queens I'd like to think the best of me Is still hiding Up my sleeve

They love to tell you Stay inside the lines That something's better On the other side

I wanna run through the halls of my high school I wanna scream at the Top of my lungs I just found out there's no such thing as the real world just a lie you've got to rise above

So the good boys and girls take the so called right track Faded white hats Grabbing credits Maybe transfers They read all the books but they can't find the answers And all of our parents They're getting older I wonder if they've wished for anything better While in their memories Tiny tragedies

I am invincible (x3) As long as I'm alive

and suddenly it hit me...we are living in a completely different world now.

I am also reading this fabulous book called Linchpin by the one-and-only Seth Godin and it talks all about this new world we are living in. His major point is how we have all been trained to think that our lives are suppose to go a certain way. We go to school (which is very structured), continue on to college, graduate, and go on to work for a company who will determine how much money you make - but alas - they will give you health insurance and really 'take care' of you. We've been raised to think that this process is the way to happiness.

Yesterday I also had a conversation with a friend who told me her father just got laid off from his job and he is having to face a world that he never thought he would have to learn. The world of computers. Her father literally has to go back to take classes to learn about the internet, because that is THE only way to apply for a job. It's not easy for my friend to see her father, who she has always envisioned as a strong leader to be back at the level of a 5 year old - and I am sure terribly aggravating and frustrating for him to be back at square one when he is 'suppose' to be enjoying these years.

As the song above was playing, I kept thinking about the book, my conversation with my friend and the comment that Erin just made about how far I've come and the BIG realization I made was that in other people's eyes, I have constantly gone against the grain. I have always done the opposite of what I was 'suppose' to do and I most definitely did not take the easiest route to get where I am. But I believed in myself, in my craft and in my dream. To other people, I have not just built a business, but I have shown other people that following your dream and being successful at is IS A REALITY!

The world that we are in now is not structured and safe. It is essential for everyone to look inside themselves and figure out how to be indispensable - to be sooooo good at what you do that people can not look away! There is no longer the guarantee of health insurance or a high paycheck out of grad school. This doesn't mean that I think everyone should go and start their own business, just because I did, but whoever you work for - it is still up to you to 'seize-the-day"! Think out of the box, challenge others, get creative and be a leader in everything you do. I'm a big believer the our mindset and world views are going to need to change in order to adapt to the new, fast world as-we-know-it.

There are no longer rules - get use to it and enjoy it.

Embrace the change.

With this new world comes new opportunities for you.

What are you going to do?

LOVEe

Linchpin by Seth Godin - Video Book Review (chrisbrogan.com)

LOVEe Consult : Emily Steffen!

February 15, 2010 in For The Pro's, LOVEe

I absolutely love my job. Sometimes I can't believe that my work is to create, inspire and empower people! And then I realize, yes, Eliesa, this is your work, but it is also deeper than that - it is my purpose. This past fall, I launched LOVEe Consults, which is my one-on-one mentor session for photographers (or any small business owner for that matter), and I am simply smitten with these days! Yes, they are all about learning, but again - it's deeper than that. They are more about having conversations, exploring our deepest secrets and dreams and developing a plan to create the best life possible for us! Just as much as I teach the photographers who sign up, they teach me so much more!

This past week, I had a LOVEe Consult with the lovely Emily Steffen. I absolutely love this girl! One of the best things I adore about Emily is the fact that she gathers inspiration from SO much more than images. Many times we talk about looking at magazines, ad campaigns, labels, websites, branding, etc. to be inspired, but in Emily's case, she doesn't seek inspiration through any of those visual aesthetics. Instead, she is majorly inspired by crafting, knitting, sewing, gardening, baking and simply loving. I realized in our conversations that sometimes, as working artists, we forget to be creative in the sense of creating. Maybe that statement doesn't make sense. It is SO important to have other outlets of creativity besides just taking photographs (or painting, drawing, etc - whatever your art might be that you get paid for!) I realized I really haven't had another source as a creative outlet for quite some time, and I am empowered to do so!

The essence of who you are and what you love = happiness.

Another awesome conversation we had was about how stinkin' far behind the Midwest appears sometimes. We are, in fact, not far behind in Minneapolis, but sometimes people's mentalities are when searching for a wedding photographer and how we need to educate our clients on our shooting styles. We talked about how funny it is when (usually the older generation) make comments about your photos, such as, "Oh, isn't that nice." or "Yes, these are sure...different." Emily put it into the perfect quote, " In our state, when people call your photos 'different', that is Minnesotan for 'suck'!" The fabulous part about this statement is that when you do find your perfect clients - the words/feelings/comments about suckage will absolutely never be an issue - ever again! I am also a firm believer that there is some KILLER talent pumping out of the Midwest now that is truly remarkable - and I am SUPER stoked for this revolution!

There is no doubt in my mind that Emily is going to do some really amazing things in her life! In her own words, her goal is...

"To share the love and effect the world in a way that I can to make an impact. I want my life the be simple and I want to live my life to simply inspire people."

LOVEe

My consultations are more than a how-to-be-an-amazing-photographer, they are truly meant to be life-changing. If you are interested in more information about a LOVEe Consult, click here!

If you are READY for THIS, e-mail me: eliesa@photogen-inc.com

Unconditional Love!

February 13, 2010 in LOVEe

As Valentines Day approaches, the big L.O.V.E. is on the minds of many! Despite if you celebrate the hallmark holiday or not, we can't deny this time of the year makes us reflect on the love that surrounds us! To me, I see the purest form of love every day from my dogs. Yes, the love me, but more importantly, they love and care for each other and their 'friends'. Yes, my dogs have friends. They have, over time, inherited three stuffed animals that are life-size to them and they looooove these stuffed animals unconditionally! Laugh all you want, it's totally true. They always have to be near by - and if they don't know where they are, they will surely go find them! They bathe them, cuddle them and sleep with them at night - these friends mean absolutely everything to my dogs.

Love is simple.

What is LOVE to you?

Happy Valentines Day!!

LOVEe

Lofty Goals

February 07, 2010 in For The Pro's, LOVEe

Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day. ~Thornton Wilder

Lofty is the perfect word for me, and especially right now.

Many times I have people say to me, "Oh, Eliesa. You've done so much already and you're always doing something! What is next for you?" This is always immediately followed up by the question," And how do you keep going?"

This whole thing, my life, my business, etc. is all fueled by passion. I am passionate about doing big things. I'm not interested in being mediocre or okay - I am determined to be great. I am determined to be a legend. These are big words and I have set some extremely high expectations and lofty goals for myself, but I always have. I think there have been two keys to my success thus far. 1) Everything has come about and happened very organically and naturally for me. I have never tried to be anyone else but myself and I have stayed true to the art that I want to create. I have always put my efforts into projects that I believe in and I have not compromised anything to get to my dream. 2) I have always had momentum. I am constantly pushing myself - and those around me - to go out of our comfort zone and create things and chase our ideas to make them a reality. If you own a business and want to continue to do so for the next 30 years, you better not get comfortable. In fact, you better get UN-comfortable...the more, the better.

On the flip side, this past week, I was out to a little impromptu dinner with some fellow photographers and one of them said, " Sometimes I just hate being around you Eliesa, because you are so god damn motivated and that is just not me! It's exhausting...but deep down I suppose I need a little of that right now." She is absolutely right! You shouldn't feel like a horrible person if you are reading this and thinking, "But, I don't want to be a big deal. I just want to make photographs that make people happy and have my little happy business." Great, fabulous, lovely. Everyone has their own vision of how they want to impact this world and Oprah is no better than the volunteer in the soup kitchen.

However, my point for the whole post is to encourage all of you to do something that is uncomfortable for you and see where it takes you. Whether you are interested in photography and you've been putting off buying that camera - do it. Maybe you want to quit your day job and pursue your passion as a full time career - do it. Maybe you feel like you need to do some soul searching and you really want to book that trip - do it. Sometimes in life, your best decisions are made as spontaneous ones. I guarantee you that by taking a big risk, you will be absolutely terrified, but I also guarantee that it won't be as scary as you think. You will have catapulted yourself into a situation that you simply can't fail at. Failure has never been an option for me, and big surprise...I've worked my ass off, but I have never failed myself.

You can thank my great friend Josh Elliott for this photo up above, which started me thinking about all of the above thoughts! This image was taken about a year ago when we were at a workshop together and I love it, because I am SO focused on whatever I am doing.

Passion. Truth. Momentum.

Don't get comfortable - ever.

LOVEe

The Best and Worst Times to Raise Your Prices (blogs.photopreneur.com)
8 tips for starting your biz while working full time (cnn.com)

The Hills!

February 01, 2010 in LOVEe

There are two things that I absolutely love to be around. The mountains and the ocean. I think that is why I am so obsessed with Vancouver, because it has THE perfect balance of the two beauties! However, considering that Minnesota has a very flat terrain, the ocean and hills of California were a warm welcome to my soul! The Juddster traveled with me to Orange County, where I was the guest speaker at the first-ever JNP Workshop (more details to come in my next post)! We took some time to enjoy the sand, sun, almost 70 degree weather (which felt like a dream!)....and I got to indulge in my all-time-favorite treat, Pinkberry! We also had the opportunity to see some of our fabulous friends...yes, Cali was pretty much bliss!

Here's to Sunshine and Pinkberry!

LOVEe

Making [Your Dreams] Happen...

January 20, 2010 in For The Pro's, LOVEe

There's been a bunch of buzz in the wedding industry about something called Making Things Happen. To be quite honest with you all, I wasn't so sure about it. All of the twitters, facebook updates, blogs and e-mails circulating about it were all super mushy and preached about how 'life changing' this event was. I was sure it was good and all (I mean, if you know Lara Casey - everything this woman touches turns to gold, so there was no doubt in my mind that she was sharing valuable and empowering information.) However, I was on overload. There is a saying that 'Too much of a good thing makes it turn sour' and if I heard one more tweet about "OMG! I am SO Fired Up and Ready To Take on the World #MTH2010"...I was going to vomit.

Now, please don't get me wrong, I love Lara and her movement. I was just overwhelmed by this CONSTANT chatter in my industry and it was too much. However, part of me was absolutely curious as to what all of the buzz was about! One of my biggest frustrations with where I am at this point in my career is continuing education. I've been to many workshops and I have learned and built an incredibly strong business. I have my dream studio, an amazing crew, I am booking my perfect clients and pushing our limits to be the best possible photographers and people we can be. I mean....shit.....I. MAKE. THINGS. HAPPEN.

So, did I need this motivational speech? I mean, I've got it all figured out, right?

Wrong. I learned a lot about myself yesterday and I am incredibly happy that I decided to go. The big thing that I think anyone who will attend this workshop in the future should know is that it is what YOU make of it. The session really has absolutely nothing to do with Lara and Jeff, but everything to do with yourself. They are simply creating a safe environment for you to explore yourself, which is the foundation of owning a great and successful business - and also allowing you to dream big....like REAL big. (I confessed I was going to be on Oprah someday and be the next Richard Avedon....)

I also want to encourage all of you 'veteran' photographers, coordinators, vendors or people who DO have it all 'together' to attend the Making Things Happen tour. I had to dig down really deep to find things that I needed to change or face some fears that I was holding back from and when you are established, there are expectations that you are suppose to reach. I fully intend to reach those lofty goals, but they are scary and personally, I had been putting off many of those BIG things, because I might fail. Well, fuck it if I do, but I am also the type of person that if I go for it, I will absolutely succeed, so what's the point in putting it off? There is always, always room for growth. Challenge yourself and live your dreams.

I am also very proud of the Minneapolis industry right now! I live in such a great community of artists who really do offer a great support system for growth!

Midwest is the best, yo.

A big thanks to Lara and Jeff for bringing their workshop to Minneapolis! These two really opened up and gave ALL of themselves, emotionally, to the attendees, so thank you! I am a big believer in the Midwest photographers, so it's nice to get the support from others in our industry!

LOVEe

Devotion

January 18, 2010 in For The Pro's, LOVEe

People think I'm disciplined. It is not discipline. It is devotion. There is a great difference.

~Luciano Pavarotti

Happy Monday!

LOVEe

Buy The [Film] Book, Donate to Haiti!

January 15, 2010 in LOVEe

The images are horrifying, that is for sure. The past couple days, I've sat around thinking, What can I do to help these people? Then it dawned on me....duh, Eliesa. You're selling a book.

From now on, all of the proceeds from The [Film] Camera Book are going to help bring food and water to the people in Haiti!