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My brother is going to BRAZIL!!

So my brother Daniel just got his mission call and he's going to Brazil!! He is going to be serving a mission for our church and he is SO super excited! (and so are we). He was happy because he wanted to go somewhere foreign and wanted to speak another language but something close to Spanish since he took it in high school. So he pretty much got his wish b/c he's going to be speaking Portueguese. He is going to Sao Paulo - which is evidently a really nice climate and is going to be somewhat like the weather in in Cali. Anywho, I'm really excited for him and can't for him to start his adventure!!

(Oh, and in the upper left corner of this map is Colombia & Venezuela where my Dad served his mission in the 70's!) :)

PUG Holiday Party! What a blast!!

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Last night was the PUG holiday party and we had a rockin' time! David Jay graciously hosted the party at his unbelievable home that he just moved into. It has the most AMAZING view of Santa Barbara!! Here are some pic's that I grabbed off his blog. (my iphone pictures didn't turn out that great!! I need to remember to bring my camera to these thing!) So here is Michael and I taking our pic in the "photo booth.' Is my smile kinda big?? I think Ricky Mia took this pic of Michael - isn't he so cute! And then this group picture is of Shaun Austen, Amy Nave, Ricky Mia, me & Michael. And of course the great big group shot of everyone (yes I am in the hot tub doing something crazy with my arms!). And lastly here is a shot of me being a "poser" - again a shot by Ricky!! What a fun night! Thanks DJ!

Ahhh...To have a clean house...

This is the best day of the week because it's house cleaning day! Our fearless (and when I say fearless I mean FEARLESS) house cleaner Aquilina came over today and made our house spick and span! It's funny because since I cook - Michael is in charge of the dishes. (Which he does meticulously well) until, of course they start piling up to the point where he says, "Honey, can you call Aquilina?) hehe. 

She usually comes a few times a month, so it's nice that we can save time by having her come by to help us out.  AND she does our laundry - washes/dries/folds and puts away! She's the best! 

Unity Shoppe

So, I am a youth leader at my church and our activity tonight was serving at the Unity Shoppe in Santa Barbara. It was a really great experience and it was so great to see the kids in our church donating their time for a good cause. They are all really smart kids who most likely have a ton of homework and other things that they could be doing - but they all chose to come and help out in the community. 

The people at the Unity Shoppe were really nice and so if anyone is looking to volunteer definitely give them a call!! Here are some pic's of my kids!! I love them!! (These images were taken with my iphone so a couple are kinda blurry)

My Husband - Winner of TWO WPJA Contest Awards!!

What can I say? I am a very proud wife!! My husband keeps winning all of these awards all the time for his photography. He is so talented and I feel so lucky to be married to such an amazing man. (It's okay for wives to brag about their husbands, right?) :) Check out the photo's at the WPJA website. He has one image in the "Creative Portrait" category and the "Detail" category. Congratulations to my bear! :)

Oh, and Michael also won the 9th place award for this last image in the "getting ready" category from the previous contest!

Daily Schedule...

What is your daily schedule? This is what I did today:

9:00 am - Woke Up/Took a Bath (I am a soak in the tub kind of girl)

9:30 am - Read Scriptures

9:45 am - Ate Breakfast

10:00 am - Returned Emails

10:30 am - Got ready for the day

11:00 am - Interviewed a possible intern/studio manager

1:00 pm - Had lunch with a girl I recently reconnected with from High School/Networked

3:00 pm - Deposited Checks at Bank of America

3:15 pm - Returned home and gave my bear (aka husband Michael) a hug

3:30 pm - Started working again. Emailed people etc

6:00 pm - Barbecued Chicken with my new Barbecue

8:00 pm - Went to the store. (Originally to get Michael some "Green Machine" to help him feel better - but then I ended up doing a full grocery shop)

8:30 pm - Ate Dinner/watched "The Royal Tenebaums" with Michael for the 100th time. :)

9:00 pm - Continued watching the movie while paying bills

10:00 pm - Got sucked in to reading posts on OSP!!

10:45 pm - Decided that I wanted to write a post on my blog and started a post about my recent experience at the dentist office...then thought better of it. 

11:08 pm - Finishing up posting this post.

It's interesting how I do business stuff all day - but mixed in with other things too. Maybe I'll try working for 8 hours straight one day without doing one personal thing and see what happens. Okay, I'll let you guys know how it goes... :) 

I just auditioned for a musical! Can you believe it?

Many of you probably don't know that I am actually an avid singer & actress and LOVE performing in Musicals! I went to UCSB for Theatre and at one time really had a dream to be on Broadway.
But then I married Michael and realized it was much more fun running a business and being a photographer! (And the pay is WAY better!) But I still like to keep my toe in performing as much as possible. :)
So, I drove all the way down to Thousand Oaks this morning to audition for the musical Jekyll & Hyde - The Musical. It went pretty well, see we'll see if I get a call back! I was auditioning for fun more than anything since it is a big commitment to do a musical - but still it would be fun!
It's funny b/c I left at 9:00 am, audition around 10:15 and then got home at 11:25 or so. When I walked in the door Michael had JUST gotten up! It kind of made me realize that you can really accomplish a lot in a short amount of time! Maybe I should start waking up earlier....fascinating....!

Whew!! My dogs are barking! (Just finished Xmas shopping)

Oh, goodness - my feet hurt! Michael and I were Christmas shopping ALL day today! AND it was freezing cold outside. (Well, freezing for Santa Barbara - 55 degree's). We had to get all our Christmas shopping done early b/c we are flying out to Canada in a week and a half to shoot a wedding. I didn't want to wait until it was too late!
Funny story - when I went up to meet Michael's family for the first time, Michael did his Christmas shopping as last minute as you can possibly get! It cracked me up to see him frantically trying to figure out what to get his Grandma and Uncle on the way over for our Christmas Eve Dinner!! He ended up getting his Grandma a gift certificate to a restaurant and his uncle some nuts and a candy bar from a drug store. Needless to say, I have started to oversee all of the gift buying since - although Michael does help! (He's my elf!) :) But it's okay b/c I'm HIS elf when we shoot weddings! :)
Anyway, happy shopping to those of you who still have presents to buy!!

xo

p.s (This was little animation that I found, but just took a screen shot of it. Funny!)

Below is the typed up version of the interview I did with Jared Bauman!!

So I did get requests for this interview to be shared - so here it is!! It's filled with helpful tidbits, so definitely read it through when you have the chance! FYI Michael and I are speaking at WPPI this year along with Jared, so this will be a great preview to some of things he might talk about! Here are our pictures so you can visualize us talking... :) hehe

-AC – I have 2 associate photographers and am looking to hire a studio manager and an intern. But I’m getting overwhelmed with managing so many people. What advice do you have?
JB - Implement A LOT of structure!! The more structure we introduce to everyone the more excited they get about the accountability. Also, make sure that everyone has a separate duty. If everyone has a specific job that they are in charge of individually – then there is no confusion. Also implement some sort of check & balance so that you can keep on top of everything.
AC – What would you say is the biggest thing when picking team members? Especially when it comes to interns, how do you choose people that will actually enhance your business and not take up more of your time than it’s worth?
JB- I always pick the best option (which is not necessarily the best person). I make sure that they are willing to work at least 4 months 8 hours/week.
AC – What do you have your interns do? I am nervous about giving them anything too important!
JB – Our interns do slideshows, (for the bride, venues, vendors) and I have them prepare disks for all the vendors and so forth. We have what’s called “work request forms” that we give to our interns that outline a job that needs to be done and specifics of the people and images they need to get. Everything that we need to get done goes down on paper!
AC – What does your studio manager do?
JB - Kristen does all the emails. We are on an exchange servers so all the emails that come in, Kristen goes through them and forwards onto me my emails, or Bronson his emails. Also, once the client is booked we hand it over to Kristen and she handles everything else. She handles all the day-to-day emails and phone calls.
AC – How long did it take to train Kristen when she first started?
JB – It took Kristen about a month to get up to speed.
AC – How did you find out about her?
JB – I found Kristen through getting the word out with friends and family that I needed someone and she was recommended. I find when you put out the word that you are looking for someone (rather than putting up an ad or what have you) you will end up getting people that aren’t job oriented but industry and career motivated.
AC – How many hours a week does Kristen work?
JB - Kristen works 40 hours a week.
AC – Tell me about your associate photographers.
JB – Well, we offer what is called a “Partner” photographer and a “Crew” photographer to our clients. My partner photographer, Bronson charges the same amount as me and gets a percentage of the monies earner minus the cost. My crew photographer (which is basically an associate photographer – we just didn’t want to call it that) gets paid an hourly rate for his time at the wedding and the engagement shoot. Overall, Bronson has a lot more responsibility, whereas my crew photographer basically gets to just show up and shoot!
AC – How do you come up with what to pay your people?
JB – I feel that paying your people more than you think they should be paid and treating them better than you think they should be treated is the best way to see great results and retain employees. In the end it works out 10 times more in your favor. Bronson and I have been working together for 4 ½ year. My crew photographer and studio manager have been here for a 1 ½ years.
AC – Tell me about your amazing office. Do you find that the overhead is worth it? Do you see a direct result from having an office?
JB - The office space is definitely expensive – and you don’t see the direct benefits but there are a lot peripheral benefits. For instance, 1. The credibility side is a big thing 2. Helps out with the high-end image 3. Putting images of your studio online (which we are getting on our website very soon) can help the bride who books over the phone still get a more tangible feeling about your business. 4. Having a place to work make you much more productive. It’s like a magazine ad – you may not see a direct relation to your brides booking, but chances are it’s raised your image and awareness more than you know!
AC – What is your booking policy?
JB – Okay, my Booking Policy – I tell everyone that the day is NOT booked until you sign the contract and get us a retainer. It’s also great for helping the process move forward more quickly if the client feels a sense of urgency. I make sure that each potential client knows that if someone else books over the phone, then I WILL take the job.
AC – How many hours a week do you work? How many months in a year?
JB - I work about 40 hours a week during the summer and about 20 hours during the winter. I take off about 3 months total a year. I generally take off for about a month every year during February and then get a few weeks off at Christmas, a few weeks off during the summer and then a week here or there. Many photographers are surprised to hear that I take this much time off, but I’ve realized that often times we THINK that we have to do certain things. When in reality if your clients know that your time is valuable they will work around you a lot more than you might think. In the same way I have structured the amount of time I check my email to certain times of the day so that I don’t find myself constantly check it and wasting time.
AC – What album company do you use?
JB – I use Leather Craftsmen
AC – What do you generally do for your sales presentation. Do you prequalify over the phone?
JB – I do chat with my clients over the phone and try to get a ballpark number so that neither of us are wasting our time. But I like to do most of my sales presentation over the phone in the studio.
AC – Do you advertise?
JB – Yes, I believe in advertising. I currently am advertising with two magazines and online with 5 different wedding websites.
AC – This has been SO helpful! Your business is so inspiring and I’m really looking forward to your Platform presentation at WPPI this year!

Tim Halberg...what can I say?

Okay, so our really good friend and fellow wedding photographer in town Tim Halberg has been our technical guru since day one! I think he acquired these skills by working many long hours at Brook Institute of Photography's computer lab - and we have been blessed to have his brain around whenever we have questions! So, today I went to his awesome office on State Street to have him help me yet again with some technical blog stuff. As I'm walking up the steps to his office, he greets me holding a plastic bag with a bottle of Bailey's in it. He's like, "I just got your voicemail (I had just called him) but I was out buying Bailey's for my interns to put in their coffee!! I totally had to laugh!! When we got up to the office his interns we're eagerly awaiting the Bailey's to put in their Starbucks Coffee!! :) So if anyone is interested in interning for Tim you can count on having a good time!! Love you Tim! :) (BTW this is a picture I took with my iphone of Tim trying on a pair of new shades that Mike had just bought - we had just randomly ran into him on the street. (which we seem to do a lot of in Santa Barbara) He looks pretty cool, no?)

Interview - Jared Bauman of Bauman Photographers

So, Jared Bauman (an awesome photographer and business owner out of San Diego) did me the honor of letting me interview him about his business. It was actually an interview that spanned two days! We were chatting for so long the first day that he actually had to go and so we picked up the rest this morning. Anyway, I have to say that I learned SO much from picking another photographer/business owners brain and it really helped me grow in a lot of ways. I seriously think that if we all took more time to learn from others then overall we'd all grow a lot faster! I love this guy!
(If anyone is interested in the actual interview I'll email you my notes!) Here he is with his awesome team! He's the man in front with the cool jacket!

Bear Sighting in Santa Barbara!!

Okay, not really. But everyday I wake up next to a bear! I seriously think that in a previous life Michael must have been a bear. He is So cute and cuddly and fun to hug! (And he LOVES treats!) Can you see a resemblance? :)

Ahhhhh...Monday Mornings...

It's pretty funny how Mondays are usually a day that most of America is dreading. But for me it's a blissful and happy day! Because we work weekends mostly, Monday is basically our Saturday! Today I woke up at 10 am, got some breakfast and watch one of my favorite movies, "Planes, Trains and Automobiles." I will be of course working today (my staff photographer Kristen is coming over in about 10 minutes to work on some stuff with me) but overall I LOVE Mondays! :)

Beautiful Santa Barbara - What More Could I Ask For!?

So, today Michael and woke up super early (10 am :) because we had a client meeting at 11. We live right next to this hill that has a road that takes us up and over to the beach. I LOVE the view from this road and often walk up the little trail by myself to just sit and look at the amazing view of Santa Barbara. So today, as we were driving over this hill I realized that no matter how long I've lived in Santa Barbara I never get sick of looking at that view. It made me realize how blessed I am and how grateful I am for living in such a beautiful place! I took a picture of the view with my iphone but it wasn't that great so I pulled this off of santabarbara.com!! It's really close to "my" view, just a little higher up!!

Barbecuing Chicken and Returning Emails!

So, Michael and I have been barbecuing big batches of chicken lately, so that we'll have something healthy and delicious ready to go whenever we are hungry. So I was walking back and forth from the kitchen to the bbq outside when I realized that I could pull up a lawn chair and return emails on my laptop since I was getting reception outside! I'm sure if anyone saw me I looked like a complete idiot in my pajama's barbecuing chicken on a Friday afternoon with my laptop!! haha!

The Start of a New Life....Blogging!

Hello All!
Welcome to my new blog! So, I have been meaning to start new blog for sometime. You see, my husband Michael and I already have a photo blog linked to our website but I felt that I needed a more personal outlet as well!
So, lately I have been working really hard with Michael on so many projects for our business. One project is submitting our weddings to magazines to hopefully be publish. Every magazine has different specifications and deadlines, so it can be a little overwhelming! We were published in the last spring/summer issue of The Knot - Southern California so that was awesome! :)
Also, we have had great success this year with our awesome associate photographer Kristen Grinnell, and so we recently got up her official website! Check it out! Okay, more to come!!