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My silly fear

By Personal8 Comments

Marissa just sent me a text message that made me laugh out loud, and I decided- what the heck, this is a good random story to tell on a Monday afternoon. So I’m just going to go ahead and bare my soul and share our text-conversation here with the wonderful world wide web. Here’s the conversation.
Marissa: ‘three of us are at seaworld missing you’
Me: ‘noooo! i want to go!’ [I can’t because I’m not in San Diego right now].
Marissa: ‘we sent you a bird picture. he was the scariest bird ever. would you even go in the penguin encounter?’
Me: ‘Yeah, penguins can’t fly at your face and attack your eyeballs. So I’d go in there.’
Marissa: ‘they can belly slide at your ankles though!’

Good point, Marissa, good point. So… yes, I do have a little fear of birds. Not so much an all-consuming fear as described here, but nonetheless, I would just rather stay away from flocks of seagulls and such. And the aviary at the San Diego zoo is not the place to find me hanging out. (It all began when I was a child, and a horribly mean-spirited rooster pecked my leg). Just a little random story that has nothing to do with boudoir or photography or business or marketing or workshops or anything else that we usually talk about here. Happy Monday, everyone! 🙂

November 24, 2008
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Workshop Announcements

By Inspiration, WorkshopsNo Comments

Hey everyone!  So first of all, we want to let you all know that we’ve decided to push-back the Santa Barbara workshop.  We want to be sensitive to the devastation in DJ’s neighborhood, and we have also had many more inquiries for our Vegas workshop in Feb.  Therefore, we’ve decided to postpone for now.  [DJ, we can’t wait to come up there in 09!  Also, know that our hearts and prayers go out to your neighbors who have lost so much this past week].

Ok, so now for Vegas info.  We’ll be holding a full workshop there (2 days)… this will be exactly like our San Diego workshop, only cooler because it’s in Vegas!  😉  The dates: Thurs-Fri, Feb. 12-13… that’s right before WPPI week!  Shooting with gorgeous models – studio lighting – shooting with only available/natural light – marketing – pricing – processing – selling – the ‘supermodel experience’ – posing – all of this packed into two full days!  Then on Saturday, we’ll be doing our demo shoot again at the KISS house (not a workshop, but a demo shoot… we’ll be shooting and explaining what we’re doing; you’ll have the opportunity to shoot behind/around us).   (*Note: those who have signed up for our workshop will have first-dibs on spots for the KISS demo shoot).

We’ve already had about 5 people ask to be on the list for this workshop… but we haven’t officially started taking registrations.  We’ll start THIS WEEK, and you’ll be notified through our newsletter when you’re able to sign up.  If you’re interested in joining us for our boudoir workshop in Vegas, make sure you’re on our newsletter list so you don’t miss out!  We’ll see you in Vegas!

November 22, 2008
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BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

By Inspiration6 Comments

Guess who’s going to have a booth at WPPI this year??? 🙂 We are SO excited about this tradeshow… it’s going to be awesome! AND… we’ve got free tickets for anyone who wants to come to the tradeshow this year. Simply click on the image below, then print out the ticket and bring it with you to Vegas, Baby! The biggest announcement is what new product we’re going to have for you at our booth (but you’ll have to wait to find out!)  ***EDIT TO ADD: If the link below doesn’t work for you, CLICK HERE!  Thanks!

November 20, 2008
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My purple place…

By PersonalOne Comment

When we moved into our new office all of us were thrilled at this glorious new production area. Weston had his own window office and Deena and Crystal started to set up there workstations at two of the four desks in that area. (I think Crystal claimed hers first!). I started to set up my space in the production area as well, a bland, yet very productive looking corner. That’s when I got a very curious “what are you doing?” from Weston, my hubby. “Uh, there is an entire open office three feet away from where you are setting up.” This is where I would usually say I had a “Marissa” moment, one of those too frequent instances where my brain and my reality just can’t co-exist. But, really, I had seen that office over and over, and later found out everyone assumed it was mine, except me! I must have been in the whole “dreams coming true” shock thing. Even 6 months later I have to admit that I really love this little office. This photo was taken awhile ago, it has since had a little sprucing, but when I see this I can’t help but be so grateful to God. I have since declared purple, our production area’s color splash, the official color of gratitude here in our studio. When other little girls were dreaming of their gorgeous wedding, or being actresses, or pretending they were singing to an audience, or nursing cabbage patch dolls, I was pretending I was in my own office, doing something I loved, running a business and being surrounded by my friends. It’s late at night right now, and I am sitting in my purple office alone. I tend to be extra, extra grateful late at night. Thank you God for the amazing surprises you give us when we least expect it!

November 18, 2008
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Mentor Sessions during DWF

By InspirationNo Comments

Hi everyone! Marissa and I have been SO privileged in being asked to speak at the DWF convention this year. We’ve also been asked to be a part of the mentoring sessions (raising money in support of cancer research)… we’ll be doing 3 sessions each, so you’ll have the chance to chat with one of us and pick our brains about anything/everything boudoir-related! The cost is just $50, and it goes to a great cause! There are a TON of talented photographers who are offering mentor sessions, so go to the DWF forum and check out the list. [You’ll need to check out that page for details on how to sign-up… we aren’t handling the sign-ups]. You can start signing up TODAY (Mon 17th), at 12 noon (PST). Click here for more details!

ALSO – we’ll be hosting one of the tables at the “Birds of a Feather” luncheon… we’d love to have you join us! Click here for more details!

November 17, 2008
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Boudoir Divas Workshop Promo Video!

By Personal, Workshops11 Comments


Boudoir Divas Do Workshops!!! (Paris France, Las Vegas, Santa Barbara, San Diego) from The Bui Brothers on Vimeo.

We are SOOO excited to announce the world-premier of our Promo Video, filmed and produced by the fabulous Bui Brothers! Thanks, Lan & Vu, for making this happen. You guys are so incredibly talented, and so much fun to work with (and we love the way this video turned out!!!) The other amazing people we want to thank for making this happen: Amanda, our gorgeous model. Olga, a past workshop attendee and awesome photographer who said some very kind words about us… and finally, Weston (Marissa’s hubby), for all that he did during the filming, and for all that he does on a daily basis to help us out with this crazy Boudoir Divas venture. Haha, this is starting to sound like an acceptance speech at an awards ceremony. Seriously, though, we just want you all to know that we are very thankful for all your help in making this video happen. Thanks, everyone!

November 12, 2008
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Boudoir Marketing Campaign

By Boudoir Tips3 Comments

Even though Woman Captured began many years ago, we didn’t launch the biz with full gusto until 2006. Being that WC’s biz model accommodates up to 6 boudoir shoots per week, with multiple photographers and designers working in the studio, our goal was to make a big splash on the San Diego scene and hopefully create a “tipping point” for Woman Captured in the SD area.

We started the big launch in 2006 by creating packages that didn’t necessarily have a huge profit margin, but created a very large client and interest base. We have since dramatically increased our prices, but this initial client base generated referral after referral. I definitely can’t recommend this strategy to everyone, it really depends on your long term goals and energy level!

A few months ago we took out a loan to create a massive 2008 & 2009 marketing campaign for WC. It is this campaign that we hope will gain us enough buzz and referral momentum that we will hardly have to advertise at all in 2010. We figured instead of spreading out advertising dollars evenly year after year, it may be more effective and gain more attention to have a large marketing campaign right now, focusing on these 1-2 years. We hope this will create a “tipping point” for our boudoir studio, where the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable, or “something once rare becomes becomes rapidly and dramatically more common” (The Tipping Point, Malcom Gladwell). We will see if this is a risky move, but so far it seems to be working.

Here is where we have spent the advertising dollars:

Bridal Bazaar
San Diego Style Weddings Magazine & Article
Wedding Quick Guide
Grace Ormonde Magazine
The Knot Online
Head to Toe Women’s Expo
Salon Networking Program
Bellissima Magazine
Google Ad Words
Newsletter Program (EMMA)

November 11, 2008
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Check out our Paris flats!

By WorkshopsOne Comment

We are getting so excited for Paris! We’ve officially booked our super-cute Paris flats for our attendees! This is more than just a workshop… it’s going to be an amazing experience of living with other photographers for five days. Sharing experiences, knowledge, learning from each other, encouraging each other, and having the time of our lives in the City of Light! Here are a few photos from the sweet flats where we’re all going to be staying. Workshop peeps, email us ASAP to get in your room reservations!

November 7, 2008
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