The Fix with J*

It's been a bit of a blogging frenzy: everyone's take-away from The Fix with Jasmine Star.  And rightly so...it was amazing.  I had put off blogging about it because it didn't seem that there was a need for one more post about it.  But then I changed my mind...because although I learned so much from what she said...things that will absolutely change some aspects of my business, the most important thing I learned happened after the talk.  If you don't know who Jasmine Star is, she's a very successful photographer and speaker from California.  Someone asked me why she's such "a big deal" and the only way I could think to describe her was that she was the Taylor Swift of the photography world...the girl everyone can relate to.  The one who isn't afraid to write about things that other people pretend don't bother them. She's kinda a big deal because she doesn't think she is...which is what we all kinda love about her.

The evening was filled with a lot of laughing, stories, Q&A's, and Amen's!  There were aprox. 250 photographers in that room, and even though the night went late, everyone wanted to meet with and get their picture taken with Jasmine.

I was about the 10th from the end of the line, and by time I was close to meeting her, I was regretting staying...not because I didn't want to meet her...not at all.  Rather, because the last thing I wanted her to think while meeting me was, "Ugh, seriously...when is this going to be over?!" Because of that thought, when I hugged her, I quickly said, "Don't worry, you're almost done!"  To which she replied, "Oh my! I'm not thinking that at all!"

In my mind, I was running a sprint so she wouldn't be annoyed that I was keeping her from her pj's and bed.  She must be exhausted...I don't want to be selfish by taking a lot of her time...let's get this picture taken. About that point in my mental race, I saw that she was looking at me...like she wanted to hear what I had to say.  If my thoughts had sound effects, it would have sounded like that screeching halt when Tom and Jerry almost run into a wall.  It so completely caught me off guard that I found myself stuttering for a thought...

That's when I reminded her of an instance that happened when we had met about a year and a half earlier...fully prepared for her to not remember.  Apparently, I like putting people in awkward situations like that! :)  But to my big surprise, she remembered.

Side note: This picture just makes me laugh because it looks like we're having such a girly hyper moment...I should have suggested a secret handshake. :)

We laughed...we hugged...and then she asked me about my business.  In that moment, I felt my face turn the color of my shirt (as you can see in this picture!)...because I was fighting with everything in me not to let her see my tears.  I wanted to tell her of the day I quit work after hearing her speak, because I knew (to quote her husband, JD), that I would rather fail at something I loved than to succeed at something I hated.  I wanted to tell her that I was inches from giving up photography at one point because I didn't think I had the weddings I needed, but she posted a video on her blog telling us to hold on...that we would get the weddings that were meant to be ours. I wanted to tell her that through her stories of insecurities and awkwardness, she affirmed me in mine.  I just really wanted to somehow convey to her a thanks deeper than those two words could express...but instead, I think I replied with a stutter of, "Yeah...I mean, yeah...it's good".  

But what I learned...beyond techniques of posing, lighting, business models, and pricing schemes...I learned the value of taking time for people. Always.  Not just to see people, but affirm who they are where they are.  We all want to know and be known. I was just number 240 in a long line...but she treated me as like I was the first.  So even though Jasmine doesn't read my blog, I wanted to publicly thank her for practicing what she preaches of genuinely caring for people instead of trying to get them to care about her.  She makes it SO EASY for us to rejoice in her successes because she celebrates us just where we're at. Thank you, Jasmine...lesson learned.

Also, a BIG thanks to my beautiful friend, Christy Tyler who took all these pictures!!