All I can really say is “Wow.”  And my head is still spinning.

I spent the whole day yesterday at the gorgeous venue of the River Rock Casino Hotel and Conference center at ImageQuest, an annual 3-day professional photographer’s convention. This was only the second year that ImageQuest has been put on and I must say, the line-up of seminar speakers they had for this event was pretty stellar including Dane Sanders, Jasmine Star and Vancouver’s local husband and wife team Blue Olive Photography. I made it to the third day of the convention with Emily of Liberty Tree Photography and Heidi of Caged Bird Designs to listen to Jasmine and Blue Olive talk about the importance of social media and branding your business. I am also especially happy I managed to make it through the very long day of sitting in really uncomfortable chairs at 9 months pregnant and ready to have a baby at any moment. A big thank you to peanut for being so patient!

I must say the day started off with my wonderful navigational skills of Richmond *ahem* ~ we eventually got to River Rock and ended up parking what seemed like miles away from the conference center. After 15 minutes of trying to figure out where we were going, we got to the right spot and hopped right into Blue Olive’s talk on social media. One of these days I might actually join the 20th century and get a cell phone…..I used to own a cell phone years ago when we were living in Vancouver but there was no need for one after we moved to Smithers, especially since the provider we were with didn’t have coverage in that region at the time. I am realizing more and more how important all these networked tools can be for boosting a business and I know I am not even using them to a fraction of what their abilities are. I think after yesterday I have a better understanding of what Twitter is and how it can work for you. Aaaaand enter shameless plug. If you are on Twitter, you can follow me at simplyrosephoto. Or my Facebook Fan Page at Simply Rose Photography l BC Photographer. But in the meantime, I am going to go over my Blue Olive notes again and incorporate some of their ideas.

This, being my first photographers convention, it was really neat to see some faces that I recognized from browsing other websites online. I got to meet some really great people, newcomers and seasoned veterans alike, including Mikaela of Mikaela Ruth Photography in Abbotsford, Philomena Hughes from Prince George and even (drumroll please) Jasmine Star and her husband JD of Orange County, CA. Mikaela and I actually had the privilege of having lunch with Philomena, Jasmine and JD through a series of random events and it was fantastic! We chatted over salads, fries and tiramisu ~ Jasmine and JD are 100% genuine and some of the kindest people that I have met in the industry so far. They are obviously hopelessly in love with each other and JD is so supportive of his wife’s endeavors (he also shoots with her) ~ it reminds me how fortunate I am as well to have a husband that is so supportive of my pursuit of photography, even when it doesn’t feel like it’s going anywhere fast most of the time.

Jasmine’s talk for 4 hours in the afternoon (4 hours! woo!) was astounding. I am not sure I have ever been so mesmerized or drawn in by a seminar speaker before. She imparted so much valuable information that I almost felt like I shouldn’t be listening to some of her trade “secrets.” But that is the beauty that is Jasmine Star. She has no secrets. She is an open, honest book, willing to share her life and experiences as a photographer to everyone. Listening to her talk, I loved how confident she was in herself and how she doesn’t compromise on what she believes she is worth. I think a lot of photographers do this, especially new ones starting out in the business and was a really great reminder to me to not compromise on certain aspects of my business. The biggest take home lesson was that YOU are the biggest asset to your business and being yourself is the most valuable thing. There were so many gems from that seminar talk and I am still processing quite a bit of it. I hope to incorporate some of her ideas as well, but with my own spin attached. She is truly one of the most inspiring people I have come across, not just from being a small business owner that happens to be doing photography but also from a life perspective. As the one lady in the audience said during one of the Q &A periods, “Jasmine, I love you.” Indeed! Oh, and this would qualify for number 18 on my 90 in 2010 list! Even though it wasn’t one of Jasmine’s own teaching seminars she hosts in her neck of the woods, I think the amount of information I walked away with yesterday afternoon is enough to strike this off.

Emily, Heidi and Mikaela before Jasmine Star.

The fuzzy peaches that cost Emily her lunch with J*!

Jasmine Star.

Wow. I never realized I had grown a double chin. I hope that goes away….