happy Tuesday!
i hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! did y’all watch the Super Bowl? i have to admit, i don’t follow football throughout the year, but i watch the Super Bowl every year & wonder why i don’t watch football more regularly…i get so into it! and the whole power outage thing definitely added to the excitement.
anyway, i am SO excited to share about my 1st Me Ra Koh Confidence Workshop today!!! this post is a little lengthy, but i hope you’ll stay with me!
last year i had the amazing honor of being one of 14 women selected nationwide to be a Me Ra Koh CONFIDENCE Workshop teacher.
prior to that, i had been teaching private photography lessons and exploring the idea of teaching workshops locally. if you’re interested, you can read more about how it came to be here: My journey to becoming a Me Ra Koh Confidence Teacher: Where it all began!
and you can learn about the training i went through in Seattle here: My Journey to becoming a Me Ra Koh Confidence Teacher: A Magical Weekend
in the weeks and months leading up to my first workshop, i felt a range of emotions: fear, excitement, stress, impatience, exhaustion, elation, doubt…you name it, i felt it! it had been a long time since i stood up in front of a group of people to teach, but i just knew this was the next step for me!
early on in my training, Stephen decided he wanted to teach the workshops with me. i couldn’t have been more excited about this new journey together. he’s been a part of this adventure from the very beginning, so it only seemed natural to have him there with me. and let me just say, he was a rock star!
we walked into the room at The Wellness Loft at 8am last Saturday morning. i took a moment to take it all in, then got to work setting everything up. i made little goodie bags for each of the women and had a blast putting those together.
i set up the food table and we had a special coffee cart from Augie’s Coffeehouse. thank you, Robb, for making some delicious coffee for all of us!
Stephen set up the projector and took care of all of the technical stuff for me. and, once we were done setting up, i just took another moment to take it all in. i couldn’t believe this was finally happening.
as the ladies began arriving, it was so cool to hear them talking and recalling things that they had shared with each other in emails in the weeks prior to the workshop. everyone seemed to hit it off right away. each of them is in a different stage of their journey with photography. some had never taken their camera off auto mode, while others had been shooting in manual but just weren’t happy with the final images. some were just interested in taking better photos of their kids…others were interested in starting their own business.
once i finished my introduction, any nervousness i had been feeling subsided, and i just had a blast teaching these women all about their cameras & how to take better pictures. we ended the day with a live photo shoot. two beautiful mamas & their babies volunteered to model for us, and the ladies got to practice everything they had learned. it was so amazing to watch as they all began to understand the various concepts and take these amazing pictures.
i felt so much joy as i saw one beautiful photo after another on their cameras. i hope you enjoy some of their favorites from the day!
Amanda De Jager took these beautiful images! girl, all i can say is…WOW!
Dana also shared a few of her picks. i have known Dana for a few years now, and i literally got emotional when i saw her photos for the first time yesterday. you blew me away, woman!
and here were some of my personal faves that Stephen and i took a few moments to capture…
i can’t tell you what an amazing feeling it is to be able to share with other women the way Me Ra and Brian shared their passion with me just 3 years ago. here are some quotes from the ladies…
“Loved every minute of it!!! You have a gift…thanks for sharing it. I’m so excited to put what I learned into practice. You and Stephen did an AMAZING job today!!” (Sherry)
“Thank you Jess and Stephen. You are amazing and to be able to share with us is such a gift. You did an amazing job and I am excited to start getting those pictures!” (Dana)
thank you again to all of you beautiful women for taking the time for YOU and spending the day with us! we could not be more honored and love you all dearly & can’t wait to watch how you all grow in your photography skills and passion!
and a SPECIAL THANKS to all of the amazing businesses that donated items for my workshop! you all made this SO special for the attendees! thank you again from the bottom of my heart for your generosity!
Colorati – professional post production services and the BEST team of people!
Kraft & Jute – hand-crafted, eco-happy packaging for photographers. i can’t say enough amazing things about these ladies!
ProPhoto Blogs – a gorgeous, high-end blog designed for pro photographers. love them! love my site! AND you can get $10 off your website if you use this code at checkout: JROB5210
BorrowLenses – we always love to test out any camera gear before we purchase it, and we LOVE using BorrowLenses for this! rent professional Canon, Nikon, Sony or Olympus cameras or just lenses!
The Gourmet Pizza Shoppe – located in the heart of downtown Redlands…amazing and unique pizzas! thank you for a wonderful lunch!
Fox Dance Studio – Salsa, Swing, Ballroom & Latin dance instruction studio in the heart of Redlands!
Augie’s Coffeehouse – a wonderful, independent coffee shop that Stephen and i frequent in Redlands. they provided the amazing coffee service for the ladies in the morning!
State Street Deli – best sandwich in Redlands!
Martha Green’s – a beautiful restaurant and amazing bakery located in downtown Redlands
if you’re looking for an excuse to have a wonderful day to yourself, learn some awesome photography skills, and build your confidence, i still have some openings for my February 23rd workshop in Pasadena, CA! click HERE to sign up.
there are also 13 other Me Ra Koh teachers all over the country! see below to find one near you:
To find out more about our Oregon Teacher Beth Wendland, click HERE.
To find out more about our Virginia Teacher Laura Swift, click HERE.
To find out more about our Wisconsin Teacher Tina Erdmann, click HERE.
To find out more about our Washington Teacher Cheryl Bidleman, click HERE.
To find out more about our northern California Teacher Lynda Kennedy, click HERE.
To find out more about our Georgia Teacher (and new mom), Jennifer Tacbas, click HERE.
To find out more about our Illinois Teacher Kelli Kalish, click HERE.
To find out more about our North Dakota Nicole Elliott Teacher, click HERE.
To find out more about our Nevada Teacher Amy Rhodes, click HERE.
To find out more about our Texas Teacher Summie Roach, click HERE.
To find out more about our Texas Teacher Veronica Bernal, click HERE.
To find out more about our Virginia Teacher Allison Gallagher, click HERE.
To find out more about our Washington Teacher Tonya Todd, click HERE.
thank you again everyone!!!
xo
jess
Thank you again SO much Jess! I have said it a million times and yet it never seems to be enough to express my gratitude. You are such an amazing person through and through. You touch peoples lives in ways you cannot imagine. This is just another seemingly logical step on your path in life. This workshop was such a wonderful way to take a step back from the chaos of life, enjoy some time with inspirational people, gain the confidence to capture those small amazing moments we sometimes forget exist among the chatter, and walk away feeling ready to take on a new journey. I hope more and more women will take the opportunity to do the same. Congratulations Jess on your 1st workshop! p.s. you have a great assistant too!
so awesome Jess!
& thanks for using the picture where everybody looks good :o)
@Dana thank you so much for your sweet comment 🙂 it really made my day! xoxo
@Lynda lol thank you and you’re welcome!