Brianna Graham : Daily Blog

30/30.8

3:30pm...

No winner today; I am having major internet issues, I actually have a tech at my home right now. My internet is in and out, and I am still responding to emails, albeit a little slower due to the issue. I will have everyone taken care of this evening, and into tomorrow. I am definitely not forgetting about anyone~!! Promise...

However: I wanted to release the winners of the last two posts that I was late on. Congratulations to:

Tiffiney - from Westminster, SC - she is the winner of a $250 certificate towards a workshop.
AND...
Brenda Kellam - a past client. She is the winner of a $250 session credit for the future!

More soon -
Brianna Graham

30/30.7

2:52 EST - I will be posting images in a short bit, as well as announcing the winners from the contest.

I will be posting images from my adventure in Chicagoland area with my new best friend in the world Jeff and his beautiful wife Julia Woods, Parker Pfister, and wonderful friend Jesh De Rox

Also, I wanted to add really quick that *everyone* that has sent an email in the last several days will be getting replies from me beginning today. I am guessing that I will be able to be finished responding by tomorrow, but I literally received HUNDREDS of emails... So cool, everyone; I can't wait to talk to all of you! :)

Stay tuned in a bit!
BG

30/30.6

Yup... traveling officially sucks, because I can't post nearly as much as I want to... I have winners from the last two days, and will announce them as soon as I get home. I seriously have to sort through these emails to see who emailed first... this is craziness!!!!! You are all really holding me to this! It's a good thing, actually, I don't mind being held accountable...it's forcing me to pay attention to aspects of my business that I have wanted to be a part of more frequently, so thanks!

OK, so, traveling still... still in Chicago, but wanted to share images from the workshop. This will be a long one, so here goes - grab a cup of coffee...

I wanted to say **THANK YOU** to the amazing amazing people that came to the workshop this time around. I am just humbled and amazed by the wonderful people that I had the opportunity to be around for 2 days... I had the best time talking, shooting, teaching, learning, and experiencing, it was just amazing. We had a great dynamic group, and had a lot of fun.. I loved our dinner conversations, and everything else as well. If there is anything that I love, it's sharing information, and having the opportunity to speak amongst like-minded people... what a great time, and I am so happy to hear that a good time was had by all... Some of the emails that I have received in private from workshop attendees - well, simply put, made me cry. I can not thank you all *ENOUGH* for the compliments, testimonials, etc. You have truly made my last several days so very enjoyable.

When I first decided to do workshops, it was somewhat of a struggle for me. I thought, "I don't want to share my techniques - that's mine..." - "I don't know if I have anything to say to people...that would really help them." - "I don't know if I will be a good teacher, and be able to articulate my thoughts.." But after thinking on it for a while, I decided to stop worrying and over thinking, and just follow my heart, and talk about exactly what I do, everything that I do, with no boundaries.

What I have come away with is that sharing information is one of the most rewarding things you can do. In doing so, we actually grow as individuals ourselves. We free ourselves from the things that confine us, and when we reach out to people, and open up, amazing things happen. Not only did I have a good time, I truly made friends with what I would say would be every single person that attended...and for that, I am most grateful.

Ann, Heather, Misty, Laura, Nanette, Rebecca, Nicole, Char, Wendi, Bobbi, Tara, Kathy, Joyce, Ashley, Melissa, Jan, and my dear longtime friend Jesh - Thank you to all of you. I will cherish our friendships! And a huge thank you to my wonderful husband and the little models as well... what an amazing group of little kids... love every single one of them!! I put so much effort into planning for this, it's just so wonderful to hear that it was appreciated. I really want to say thank you for that too.

I have been in contact with several people, and there *will* be workshops that will be released soon. If possible, could I have people email me here: [email protected] I have received a lot of emails already through the board, and via my website, and I will do my best to sort through them when I get home, but if anyone wants to send a duplicate email to this address, that would be wonderful, since I will be able to track them better. If you could please put in the subject line the location you are interested in, I will be traveling to (at the moment) at least 4 workshops before the end of the year, as well as having the October workshop here in Grand Rapids, and a studio lighting workshop here as well this summer. What I want to do is pick locations based upon the area, and the amount of interest. I am not sure I will be able to take my lights on the road, as I really need my studio to be able to show what I do, but that's just for studio lighting... Urban is totally free to travel. ;) Soooo, please use this email address. I will respond immediately with information, details, etc. (well, as soon as I return from Chicago, which will be this evening).

Here are some images from the day... and a few are of "Little Dude" a few days before the workshop, since his family flew in for me to photograph them a little early. I apologize for not posting more... I don't have a ton finished as of yet and I am still working remotely - and if the colors seem wacky, it's due to the laptop. Hopefully they will translate as they are intended to.

(The following two were shot by Tara - Great job Tara!!)

Just one thing with the contest...

Regarding timing: I will be posting the time every day that I blog. Right now, it's 10:27 EST time.

I **will be posting** images in a moment. :) trust me, I will be giving away everything that I promised that I would, but only when I am officially late on a post. So, from here on out, I will be better about documenting the time, for the record, just so we are all on the same page.

I am traveling, and am currently in Chicago right now staying with friends: Jeff and Julia Woods, Parker Pfister, and my dear friend Jesh DeRox, and it's been difficult to post images, due to the fact that I am only working from my laptop...hence the reason that I have been only able to post text entries...

Hopefully I will be able to figure out how to post images from this little laptop. ;)

BG

Traveling

** In Chicago right now, staying with several photographer friends (more on that one later). This post WILL be replaced with a real post...but I HAVE to get to my own laptop first. I am posting from a friend's laptop right now. I hope to post images from the workshop soon - tonight still. I gave away a workshop credit yesterday, and don't want to so soon again, so this post will be replaced with a 'real' post soon. (no Laura, it wasn't because of you guys - had SOOO much fun with you all ;) ) **

Talk soon!
Brianna Graham

30/30.4

In tomorrow's entry, I will be posting images from my April workshop that just finished this evening. What a JOY it was... I will be sharing images, and thoughts this eve still...

Stay Tuned - and in the meantime, I wanted to announce the first, but probably *not* the last winner of the challenge: Congrats to Stephanie in Georgia. She is today's winner of the $250 paid deposit to any of the future workshops that I will be hosting.

I actually *did* have a legit reason for being late...But a challenge is a challenge, and I am willing to pay. :) I was, however, working up images that were taken from the workshop Monday and Tuesday...so, like I said. Good excuse - haha...

I want to remind people that this is not the only time that credits will be given for me posting late... Anytime during the next 20something days that this happens, just be the first to email me, and you either have a $250 session/print credit, or a $250 payment towards a future workshop!

Talk soon...More tomorrow

30/30.3

Personal challenge: Day 3 - Still . ;)
Please refer to the following post for more info: Contest

Lets play a game!
I want to know who you are. Please share - I would love to 'meet' you!

30/30.2

Personal challenge: Day 2 - no freebies yet. ;)
Please refer to the following post for more info: Contest

Well, here I am... bloggin'. I wanted to share some images of these adorable little sisters that I photographed a little while ago. I love it when siblings feel comfortable enough with me to show me their true colors, like you will see in the below collage. I just adored working with these little girls, and hope to have many more sessions as rewarding as this was.

More tomorrow :) -
Brianna Graham

30/30

Lots of things going on in the last two months since I have posted. I have done a lot of soul searching, if you will, and have come to the conclusion that I am happiest when doing what I love. Never at any point did I want to turn this profession into a "job"... and if anything, that's what it was for a while.

I am happy to say that I have:
Scaled back a bit, and am now back to *my* way of doing things. I am taking a limited amount of bookings per month now, as opposed to the many that I have in past months - all in effort to establish the connection with my clients that I feel has been somewhat pushed to the wayside.

I will also be holding several more workshops in the coming months. I have received an unbelievable amount of interest, and am so flattered!

So, what I have decided to do, in effort to keep myself honest and on the ball, is put out a little challenge for myself.

I will be posting one post per day for the next 30 days. Some will be upcoming events, some will be just little bits of what I am up to, some will be images - or just random thoughts... but all of it will keep me inspired and on my toes, and hopefully will establish some great communication between my wonderful readers (many of whom think that I have fallen off the earth - thanks for the emails, everyone!).

What happens if I don't post one post per day?

If you are a client: The first client to email me at: [email protected] if I have missed a post, will receive a $250 gift certificate towards a future session.

If you are a photographer interested in my upcoming workshops: I will pay your deposit ($250) to any workshop that I have coming up (to be announced on or before May 1). Email here: [email protected]

Some might think that I am setting myself up to fail... let's see what happens... I might be giving out a ton of session credits and workshop deposits in the near future...

Either way, hopefully this will keep me on my toes! I look forward to the challenge, regardless of the way it turns out. :)

Just a little fine print:

• No going by the midnight rule either... most of my best work is done between the hours of 12midnight and 5am. This contest utilizes the 24hour rule -- 24 hours from the last post...regardless of the actual day.

• This contest does not have a cash value. Only session and/or workshop credits will be given

And - What good is any blog post without a few images? Well, OK... since you asked! ;)