With over 120 MJ2Day alumni now taking over the globe, I thought it would be fun to do a series on my blog to check in on past attendees and see what they're up to now and how their businesses, lives and photography have been impacted by their experience at the workshop. I've heard so many fun stories from past attendees that leave me beaming with pride at their coolness and I can't wait to share!
Today, I'd like to introduce you to Gail of Gail Werner Photography -- an attendee of the very first MJ2Day ever in May of 2009. Gail is located in Muncie, Indiana and just had her first baby yesterday!!! Eeek. So exciting. Here's Gail pre-baby:
Today, I'd like to introduce you to Gail of Gail Werner Photography -- an attendee of the very first MJ2Day ever in May of 2009. Gail is located in Muncie, Indiana and just had her first baby yesterday!!! Eeek. So exciting. Here's Gail pre-baby:
How adorable is SHE? Seriously. I loved getting to know Gail back then and have kept in touch with her over the years. I'm just so stinkin' proud of her. This is one talented girl.
We get photographers at all stages of their businesses at the MJ2Day and Gail was a relative newbie when she came to the workshop -- having just a few weddings of her own under her belt. She was part-time at the time, and continues to work outside of her photography business to this day because she can't part with her other job as the Media Relations Manager at Ball State University. She's a mulit-talented girl with lots of interests including reading (SO many of my favorite recent reads have been her recommendations), writing, and cooking.
I interviewed Gail for this post and I love what she shares in answer to the first question:
Q: I know you made some awesome friendships at the workshop, could you talk about them and the relevance they have in your life/business today?
A: I can honestly say I met one of my best friends at the workshop, though I obviously didn't know it at the time! I bonded with fellow workshop attendee Tina so much on that trip and soon after. To the extent that, the next year (2010), I made my first trip to Philly to visit her at her home.
We get photographers at all stages of their businesses at the MJ2Day and Gail was a relative newbie when she came to the workshop -- having just a few weddings of her own under her belt. She was part-time at the time, and continues to work outside of her photography business to this day because she can't part with her other job as the Media Relations Manager at Ball State University. She's a mulit-talented girl with lots of interests including reading (SO many of my favorite recent reads have been her recommendations), writing, and cooking.
I interviewed Gail for this post and I love what she shares in answer to the first question:
Q: I know you made some awesome friendships at the workshop, could you talk about them and the relevance they have in your life/business today?
A: I can honestly say I met one of my best friends at the workshop, though I obviously didn't know it at the time! I bonded with fellow workshop attendee Tina so much on that trip and soon after. To the extent that, the next year (2010), I made my first trip to Philly to visit her at her home.
Later that year, I flew Tina out to join me as I photographed the Iowa wedding of a fellow '09 Phoenix attendee, Allison.
Allison and Tina have both become such exceptional photographers and businesswomen themselves, and it's been fun to better foster the friendship the three of us forged from those two days together with MJ. Tina and I keep in regular contact and try to visit each other now as often as we can, having seen one another 4-5 times since the workshop.
I've also struck up a friendship with another MJ workshop attendee, Amanda Pair, even though she went to a different workshop than the one I attended! In 2010, I flew Amanda to Indiana to second shoot a wedding with me and in the years since, we've become fast friends who've celebrated milestones with one another long-distance, like the birth of Amanda's daughter and the pending birth of my son. I adore her!
Q: What is the biggest difference in your photography since attending the MJ2Day?
A: After the workshop, I did an engagement session for some family members I was staying with who lived in Phoenix and I'm not kidding when I say there was an IMMEDIATE difference in my photos. On that very same trip! Among the many subjects Melissa taught our group was technical know-how that I had yet to experiment with (backlighting, for example), but even more, what the MJ2Day gave me was the ultimate boost of confidence that I had sorely been lacking before I flew out to take part in her workshop that spring.
Here are some examples of Gail's work before the workshop:
I've also struck up a friendship with another MJ workshop attendee, Amanda Pair, even though she went to a different workshop than the one I attended! In 2010, I flew Amanda to Indiana to second shoot a wedding with me and in the years since, we've become fast friends who've celebrated milestones with one another long-distance, like the birth of Amanda's daughter and the pending birth of my son. I adore her!
Q: What is the biggest difference in your photography since attending the MJ2Day?
A: After the workshop, I did an engagement session for some family members I was staying with who lived in Phoenix and I'm not kidding when I say there was an IMMEDIATE difference in my photos. On that very same trip! Among the many subjects Melissa taught our group was technical know-how that I had yet to experiment with (backlighting, for example), but even more, what the MJ2Day gave me was the ultimate boost of confidence that I had sorely been lacking before I flew out to take part in her workshop that spring.
Here are some examples of Gail's work before the workshop:
And here are some examples of her work shortly after attending (she's gotten even more amazing in the years since!):
Amazing transformation!
Q: What is the biggest difference in your business since attending the MJ2Day?
A: The workshop forced me to focus on taking myself seriously as not just a photographer, but a businesswoman as well. I came home determined to set up systems for myself (systems that now allow me to work as efficiently as I do) and to conquer areas of my work where I had been grossly underconfident beforehand (for example, learning to use off-camera flash -- I would have been LOST with reception lighting without MJ's set-up and tutorial!)
Q: What are some of your goals that you set after attending the workshop that you have since completed?
A: Oh gosh, where to start? I remember on the plane ride home, I wrote down so many goals, I filled two pages of the workbook Melissa gave us! I would say the biggest goal I got to check off that same year (2009) was to give myself a better web presence, to really focus on what branding meant to me. Four months after the workshop, my web presence went from this to a ShowIt web site and a new blog that better reflected the real me:
Q: What is the biggest difference in your business since attending the MJ2Day?
A: The workshop forced me to focus on taking myself seriously as not just a photographer, but a businesswoman as well. I came home determined to set up systems for myself (systems that now allow me to work as efficiently as I do) and to conquer areas of my work where I had been grossly underconfident beforehand (for example, learning to use off-camera flash -- I would have been LOST with reception lighting without MJ's set-up and tutorial!)
Q: What are some of your goals that you set after attending the workshop that you have since completed?
A: Oh gosh, where to start? I remember on the plane ride home, I wrote down so many goals, I filled two pages of the workbook Melissa gave us! I would say the biggest goal I got to check off that same year (2009) was to give myself a better web presence, to really focus on what branding meant to me. Four months after the workshop, my web presence went from this to a ShowIt web site and a new blog that better reflected the real me:
The workshop gave me the confidence to tell myself, "You are worth this and you can DO this." My brand continues to evolve to this day. Earlier this month, I launched a new Web site and integrated blog that I feel is SUCH a true reflection of myself both as a photographer and a writer! But I have to say, it was Melissa who first made me think about the value of a brand and that conversation came as a crucial turning point in how serious I took myself as a photographer and businesswoman.
Q: Have you changed or raised your prices since the workshop?
A: Yes, I've raised my prices from the workshop, though, I have kept a pretty consistent rate in the past two years as I've grown to be really comfortable with my price point for clients and am pleased with the type of brides I'm photographing at that point. What I appreciated about Melissa's discussion of pricing at the workshop was to really think about what works for YOU and for YOUR market -- not what a photographer in southern California might be charging if you're a photographer in the Midwest.
I am SO thankful to have had such an amazing woman at my very first MJ2Day. I feel so blessed to have been able to be a part of Gail's journey, and to be able to see what she has done with the experience and knowledge she gained from the workshop three and a half years ago.
Thanks for sharing with us, Gail! Congrats on the new little man! Can't wait to meet him!
If you're a photographer and would like to take your photography and business to the next level like Gail has, join us at an upcoming MJ2Day!
A: Yes, I've raised my prices from the workshop, though, I have kept a pretty consistent rate in the past two years as I've grown to be really comfortable with my price point for clients and am pleased with the type of brides I'm photographing at that point. What I appreciated about Melissa's discussion of pricing at the workshop was to really think about what works for YOU and for YOUR market -- not what a photographer in southern California might be charging if you're a photographer in the Midwest.
I am SO thankful to have had such an amazing woman at my very first MJ2Day. I feel so blessed to have been able to be a part of Gail's journey, and to be able to see what she has done with the experience and knowledge she gained from the workshop three and a half years ago.
Thanks for sharing with us, Gail! Congrats on the new little man! Can't wait to meet him!
If you're a photographer and would like to take your photography and business to the next level like Gail has, join us at an upcoming MJ2Day!
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