Lessons

Lesson Info

Teaching 2 Photographers in 28 Days

What I'm gonna do now is I'm gonna take you through my very first training manual. And, I'm going to explain why I wanted the girls to learn this in the first 28 days. Now remember, what I'm gonna show you tomorrow is like the most comprehensive version, but this is my first version. So this was back when I was shooting the way I've been showing you all morning. So I figured one thing. You might actually look at this version and get a lot more from it from a starter perspective. I think when you've been doing something so often, so long, I pose like fluidly, and I pose quickly. And I feel like sometimes I may leave people behind. But, do you feel that way? Or do you think I talk to slow? Like, I kind of talk fast, right? So, I kinda feel like maybe I'm missing something. So if I take you back to the nuts and bolts, then you're gonna actually see the real poses and the real reasons behind everything, and I kinda think that maybe I will learn something from seeing this manual. I've never...

showed this manual to anybody other than the girls that I've taught in my studio, three of them. Nobody has ever seen this manual. And it's always existed in a computer in a private file that says Original Training Manual, Do Not Change. I don't know why. But luckily I didn't, because you get to see how I trained them, and this is kinda cool. So, I'm gonna take you through it. This first slide that's here, it was about trying to teach my photographers to shoot horizontally. That's kind of a joke in itself, isn't it? As portrait photographers, we're all shooting on the vertical, on the portrait. And landscapes shoot on the landscape. But, you'll notice now that since I've been doing videos with Hailey Bartholomew, I've been shooting just about everything on the horizontal. I can't stop doing it, and it looks fantastic both on my blog, it looks fantastic on all my images. I just absolutely love shooting that horizontal. Back then, nobody was shooting horizontal. We were maybe doing one percent on horizontal, the rest were vertical. So I was trying to pull them into the horizontal constantly. Like look, you can crop in camera. The top one on the left, as you can see, is the original image, she was a very lean body, and she didn't have a very long neck, and I wanted it to look very fashion. So, I showed the girl how I tilted the camera to correct the box shot in the front. I tilted it, and then slimmed down her neck. Now, ironically, if I think back to that time, now I would just correct my camera instead of having to correct it in Photoshop, but let's all be honest. When you're starting out you're correcting more mistakes in Photoshop than you are retouching. Now, I'm the first person to admit that. Because I told you I'm not a great photographer. I'm a really good Photoshopper, though. Okay, and you have to be, okay, when you make so many mistakes in camera. So then I learned how to get better in camera. And the second one down was about dropping her neckline so it looked really fashion, like she had a longer neck, and the other one was about slimming the arms so it went straight down. And you know, I was just trying to teach the girls really, just about getting the horizontal fashion look. And so, that's where that one came from. The next slide was, so their first, their first rule, or their first thing to learn was try and shoot beauty images on the horizontal. A lot of you aren't doing that, are you? You're shooting beauty images, boudoir, and you're shooting, unless they're lying down, you don't go for the horizontal. Most of you are editing vertical images. So, if you are posing really well, you can shoot beautiful beauty images on the horizontal like those. And so, this was, you know, page one on the training manual, and it was just to show different crops and different ideas on how to shoot on that horizontal. So then, more of the horizontal. It was about bringing arms up, moving shoulders, moving the head around, and I just wanted to give them as many ideas as possible. So, I printed these out, and I put them into a plastic covered book, and the girls would, before a shoot, thumb through the whole thing, you know, look at it, and then, 'cause we didn't have apps back then and all that sort of stuff, and then thumb through it, and go right, I've got two sisters and I'd go to the sister's page or the two girl's page, and they would get, and map it out in their mind how I taught them, which is one of the challenges, it's really cool. And then I would show them simple things like this. When I was posing this girl, I wasn't looking at this part of her body, 'cause you would naturally go to this part. And so, this shot's not working 'cause she looks like she's got a hunchback. I was looking at this part, and I could see that I could fix that part really easily. So even though she's in an awkward position and she's curvy, it works because I could already see the image before I fixed it. Do you understand that? So I was trying to teach my photographers to shoot knowing what you can fix in Photoshop. Oh, I've been saying some controversial things today. (group laughter) And that is definitely going to be one of them. Shoot a beauty image knowing what you were going to fix in Photoshop. If I had a perfect body angle here, and I had a little muffin top-- If only I had a little muffin-- Hanging over the top of my skirt, I would still shoot that image knowing that it was the perfect body shape, and I would fix the muffin in post production. Okay, so there. (group laughing) Alright, cause I, what's the rule with women? Take away what they don't like so they can focus on what they do. Okay, I don't want to see a double chin. Push your chin forward. I don't want to see bags under my eyes, or shadows under my bags, that's what you're really shooting. You don't remove bags. You remove shadows on the bags. If you light bags correctly, there aren't bags. Okay, I don't want to see muffin tops. I don't want to see that little fat there on my arm like that, what is that? Where does that come in? You just wake up with that, right? 'Cause one minute you're 30, and then you're like... You know, I don't want to see that. And nobody buys portraits with those things. So you take away the bits we hate. The little bits we hate. And then all we see is (gasping) look at my eyes! Awe, look at my curves! Look at my hair! Look at my expression. We focus on what we like, what we hate comes out first. So, this was a lingerie nude, trying to shoot this as dark as possible, that's the instruction in the book. I think reading through the instructions, I thought a lot to myself, I always wanted to try and be arty in my formula. So do you get it? Do you see how formulated my whole business model is? Light down here, stand up here, lean against the window here, that's how you make money. Alright, you do the same thing over and over again. And you get paid every week until you're bored doing it and then you can go and do something else, or employ a photographer, teach them how to do it, and they can learn your business while you go and create art or whatever it is that you want to create. That's the definition of building a business and building wealth. You are not to reinvent the wheel every time you go and shoot somebody! You are there to create a formula. All hands up, what if Jane comes in on a Tuesday, and Margaret comes in on Thursday, and then you find out they're best friends, and you've taken exactly the same photograph of Jane and Margaret? Okay, it's not possible, because Jane and Margaret will have different clothes, they'll move a different way, they'll have a different expression, they'll have a different connection to their own body, they'll have a different connection to the camera, they'll have a different connection with me personally, and even though I'm teaching you the formula, stand on the green wall, there are a million different ways Jane and Margaret can stand on that green wall, right? Because that's what I've been teaching you. So you flow, and you make them different. But the formula is there. So this is Maria and she is my makeup artist, and I was like oh, let's map it out for the new photographers, and we were just sitting at work one day, and it was summertime, and Maria's just doing all of the little poses you can do on the wall. And then I wrote on the bottom, this is the anaglyptic note. If I'm writing anaglyptic, that means anaglyptic is a style of wall, frilly wall paper. That means that anaglyptic wall corner is in the right side of my studio, so I have set my photographers up to walk to that corner, stand in that corner, lean and do all of these poses in that corner. And I've given them nine options that can be corporate, that can be added onto, I've done this in the challenge. I've showed you every possible position that you can get into in one corner. Now, you ask yourself what if I don't have a studio, and I don't have one consistent corner. Go outside, find a corner, make a corner. You know? Pull up a pulley board, make a corner. Make a corner there, lean on that corner. Find any wall with a corner. Hotel room as long as it's a corner, a window light, and a reflector, you can do these poses anywhere. You want to make them yours after you make them mine, fine. But this is where you start. Because those are nine incredible options and sellable images, right there. Okay, and that's what I needed to teach them. Then, this is the best part. All I did here was showed them then what you could do in that corner. All of these were shot on that corner. So I can turn the girls sideways, I can pull them off the wall, I can set a couple, I can set a funky girl in the corner and hit my crop slightly, I can use that back wall, but all of them were shot there in that one tiny little corner. And then it was about having options that also flowing, but also having a formula. So, here's the crazy thing. I needed to teach three photographers to be me. I needed to do it quickly, and I needed them to turn over money, so I created this basic little formula, and I didn't even realize until I did that that I had one. And that's cool, because now I'm like, my system is so easy to learn, and once you learn it, you can knock out great portraits of people that make money. If you want to freestyle, become your own person, throw your own spin on it, please, I, I, I invite you to put whatever you want on it. Just get the fundamentals right. The weight goes on the back foot, the hand goes away from the body, she's working her shoulder forward, she's lifting up, her chin is pushing forward, she's projecting, she's joining her body language together, she's making me believe that she can do this pose, and she's also making me believe she's entirely comfortable in front of the camera when inside she is freaking out. Because, I'm directing her so strongly through what I know, what I know looks good, and I'm teaching her that. Okay, it's that simple. So what I did was I got Maria on the left, and I shot this independently of each other. I got Maria to go through the poses that I know really well, lying down, silhouette, on the couch, recline, recline backwards on the ottoman, cover girl, and then I matched them to images that were in my auto folder, and look how close they are! I can replicate a pose just like that (fingers snap). That's how well I know them. So when somebody says to me, how do you take that fear away from somebody when they sit in front of you with a camera, when you've got your camera and they're terrified of you. And I'm like do you think for one minute if I'm standing in front of you going sit up nice and tall, bring your chin towards me, push your shoulder this way, that's it, wink that for me, just relax your mouth, eyes to me now, it's a tiny little smile in your eyes, good girl. Do you think she had a minute to think this woman doesn't know what she's talking about. (group laughter) Because what she was doing was following my instruction, and if I did it suitably and with confidence, people are too busy being told what to do to freak out in front of your camera. She can't help but look down into everything I'm saying, because that's what I'm telling her to do. The ottoman, you know, don't just lie somebody down on the ottoman. Learn their rules, it's 45 degrees people, I've told you. So what I did was I sat down at 45 degrees, I've showed you but guess what? I've videoed the posing videos through live view. You are not watching it from 45 degrees over there, you are watching through my camera at the changes and posing. It's to show you what I can see, so that I can teach you. 'Cause you know when I stared you down in front of me, and I'm like what are you doing? I'm here, I can see her, you can see her, what are you doing? I don't get that. And, the thing is, you can stand as close to me as you want, Samona stood on my arm pit, you know how I shoot with my right arm up, Samona stood in my armpit doing hair and makeup for two years and she said to me, I'd pick up the camera and it's like-- I'm that far away from you. And what I'm seeing it different. But when you see through my camera, you understand angles. What I'm teaching you is just to see angles. It's about bringing the bottom half of the body back, and the top half forward, but without it being a tilt down. It's about teaching you the difference between that and that. And that's what we're showing you in camera. Those angles, once you master those, you can pose anybody, wedding, mother, family, same fundamentals, right? So here we are its awesome, light up, all angles, hand up, hand down, feet up, feet down, lift the hip, composition face, and full body. So that's what I've told the girls, and that's in my training manual. This is a go-to pose. It sells to everybody. And, I show you in 28 days how to add on to twos, and how to add on to three, and then how to add on to four. Okay, personality series, free-styling, gray wall, laughing, dancing, cheeky, animated. I want to be photographed and I want to not look posed. I want to look candid. You know how many times people have said that to me? And I said cool, I will pose you in the most candid way that I can, and then I'll make you laugh. So you won't be like this. You'll be like this. And I know that I can make you do that. So, I'm like yes. In order to be candid, I need to sneak up on you, so you need to allow me to direct you to be candid. And I said, trust me, I can do that. And so I taught my girls how to do that. Make them laugh, play a game, be silly, just like you do with kids at a photo booth. Have fun with them. It's the moments in between that, that you capture when they're laughing, when you're laughing and I'm going click click click click click. That's when you go click click click click click. (speaker makes mouth noises) (everyone laughing) That's when you go click click click click click. And I'm going awe, you know, 'cause my photographers are all laughing and that's when you get that real laughter from people when you give 'em, allow them a space to not feel stupid. And you know, we do some stupid things. You've seen it. If you watched One Day With Sue, did you see Tiffany and Susan go (making silly laughing noises), and then I'm crying laughter 'cause it's, and she's laughing cause, and I'm taking photos of her, and it was absolutely hilarious. We do that, but worse. 'Cause we weren't on camera. Okay, so then this one here was about babies. So, in my studio, in my studio a new market, we knew that if we could market to women, then women bring boys and babies in, and this was where it started to be the family portrait studios. So, it was a glamour studio with a makeup room that was making a whole lotta money offering contemporary family portraits. So I gave the girls some options there. And, I gave them a baby that I photograph, and I just gave them some options on how to capture a beautiful newborns. And then, in the beauty and makeup. And I call this free-styling, which means she's standing. So free-styling is when there's no prop involved. They're standing on their own. Most girls can not pose without being on a prop when they're out on their own. All of a sudden, it's a whole different ballgame. Even sitting on a bath stool is easier for people, 'cause for some reason they relax into their body position. When they're here, it's all awkwardness. So, it's about learning free-styling. Free-styling's one of the hardest things to teach, and it's one of the things that you have to practice the most. It's a lot of free-styling in 28 days. Okay, so from here, it's about the beauty and the makeup shot, now notice I've put everything into the category of what sales. The beauty shop sells. The ottoman shop sells, okay? These are what sells to my client. So, I'm teaching my photographers what sells so if they've got two sisters coming in, then I'm gonna go right, you're gonna do the recline double, recline single for both girls on the backlight, and then you can do the dark recline dutch on a black wall, same series but just mix it up a little bit with the hands are, where they're posing, get in closer, then you can do a silhouette of both girls an individual shot at the window. I just mapped their shoot. And they're gonna go and do it. And the best part was, that after 10 days of shooting with them, they could be in the studio and I would wait in the office working on Photoshop, and they would come into the office with the back of the camera, and I'd go, you didn't get that. Look at that. Why is that hand there? Okay, good connection, but you know, you're making these mistakes. And they would go back and keep finishing. So they were coming in and checking in with me, but shooting on their own because it was easier for them to shoot on their own without me there. Because when I was in the room, they would sweat and cry. Yeah. (group laughing) And I would sweat and cry, then the client would sweat and cry. (group laughing) Okay, so the beauty shop. These are what works. The boys. And I've done a whole video for boys because it's a really cool video for you to see they are the opposite to us. You know, they put their body language out, we put ours in. We're trying to go inside the hour glass, they're trying to go outside, you know? The triangle. They want to be strong, masculine, you take your reflector away, the more shadow on the face, the stronger they look. The chin is projected forward, but it is by no means down, and no man should connect his chin to his shoulder. (group laughing) Sorry, sorry. No straight man should connect his chin to his shoulder. That's cool, or the gay man can do it as much as they like. And, with the basic rules. And teaching also simple things like how to touch their own chest, and how to put their thumbs into their jeans. How to work their body, how to roll their shoulders forward to make them look stronger, bigger, more masculine. I've done all of that. I've photographed Ras, I photographed Ras through like a casual, like he was just a casual guy that's coming for a shoot, right through to his business suit. I've photographed Adam Bower, so Adam's here as well. I photographed him as well in Calvin Klein boxers, and I did it right through to the fashion boy look. So, right through to this here, where boys are shirts off in their undies, okay? So it goes right through across the board. That contemporary boy, posing, and that's a great video. Can't wait for you to get your eyes on that one, 'cause it'll be a good one for you to practice. None of you have ever seen me shoot boys before. Single female. So, I put this up as a single female contact sheet. She's in how many outfits? She's in one, two, three, four, five. So, I basically just said, right there's a point to get five different looks from one outfit. So if you shoot a really good shoot, keep it as a mat. Print mine out as mats from 28 Challenges, and then if one of those challenges like, the two, three, and four, if you've got four girls coming in, go and refer to that map. We will give you a PDF to print out, so you've got I've got Sue's posing two, three, and four map. And I'm gonna do all of those poses in that shoot. Map it out, and shoot it. Now, I can hear a thought maybe out in the inter-webs, that says how uncreative of you. Well, here's the thing. I'm a creator, I'm an illustrator, so I can draw. And, I am a creator at the highest level. So, what I do when I'm at my strongest, I'm a creator. My worth dynamics profile is 100% creator. But I want to create a successful business. I don't need to walk into a shoot every single day, and try to take the best shoot I have ever taken. I'm just trying to please that woman there, so that she pays me for her photographs, alright? And you don't need to reinvent the wheel. And if you feel that you are getting tired of this formula, that means you're making money. And if you're making money, then you can afford to take a month off, and go and be as creative as you bloody will please. Without having somebody else tell you what to create. Because, I'm sorry, but there is nothing creative about being a portrait photographer or wedding photographer. I don't agree. I don't think there's anything creative at all. I think you are working for someone else. It would be like me going to be an interior designer, and you paying me to design your house, and then telling me how you want to do it. I'm like um, no. You see, you employed me because I'm an interior designer, there's a big argument there, and that will go on and rage online, enjoy that. But the truth it, (group laughing) is rage away, and be the interior-- But I am an artist. And that's good. You can go into that category of starving artists, and you know, maybe when you're sort of getting eaten by your offsations and whatever you know, in your own feces, and all that stuff, you can be starving. (group laughing) But you're starving artist, I want to create a strong, successful business, and I want to get paid for it! So, there's the bottom line. Okay, here, every couples, couples mix. So, we've got to mix it up, how many different poses I have done a couples video. So in the couples video, on the challenge of that, a couple's video traditional, and then I've taken it right through that Calvin Klein-esk type look. Where they're both in their undies, and I don't know whether you saw it, but on my blog, this month, I did a beautiful shoot of Jill Burzynski Connolly and her husband, and they had their shirts off. And it was black and white, and there was that dark, artsy Calvin Klein. We have done that. I've done the full artsy quints on the floor for you to see, and it's so great to watch. And I shot Monty who's also one of the technical directors at Creative Live and his beautiful girlfriend. And I've done, I've photographed all the staff at Creative Live, because they're like I need models. And I was like, you have a lot of beautiful people here. A lot of beautiful people in this room. And so, I photographed that. And that's amazing to watch. It's about going into a couple's shoot knowing six strong poses, then work with their personalities. Okay, but don't go into a couple's shoot and feel that feeling, you know that feeling when you don't know what to do. And you take a photo and it's not working, and you're trying to look calm, and they're like is it alright? Is it coming out? And you're like no, you look like crap. (group laughing) And I don't know what to do right now. But, I'm not gonna say that out loud so I'm just gonna go yes. So before you change the pose, you'll take 83 more bad photos because that's how you default it. You panic and you just bang out another hundred. (group laughing) Well, you can delete those later on while you're wasting time, and then the best part, you usually hit your stride about two and a half hours into the shoot when they've got to go, and you're just coming into your own confidence. And, they're tired and hungry. And that is not how you shoot. It should be other way. You should be able to stick the formula, and then move into it. Alright, this one I love. Dark window leg ottoman. So that means to me, they read the line or they're sitting on a chair with their hands on the box. Now, this was a setup from my studio, there was a go-to. Everybody bought it. I haven't done this set up since then. But, it works. So this shot here works for all girls. Slim the arm down, they can bring their hands up, it was like a dark version of the beauty shop. If it worked, I told them, and I saved it. Look at this, curtain poses, all angles. I love that. That's amazing. It was about coming forward, coming back, and then working with the shoulder, and then turning around. That's all I did. But I wanted to be able to give 12 examples right there, of how to make that different. And making that work. And all she's done is this. She's opened her body up, she's pushing her shoulder forward, she's opened her body up, so when I'm directing people, remember this. Everybody sit up nice and tall, right now, like this. Thank you, sit up nice and tall, bring your chin towards me, this way, and down just ever so slightly. Work your shoulders this way. I want that shoulder to go back, and this one to come forward, okay? So you're like this. Connect your front shoulder to your chin, beautiful. Lift up nice and tall, push your chin forward, push your chin forward 'cause you wanna go-- (group laughing) Alright, and so you're gonna push it forward, push it forward, and then I want you to open your shoulder up to me, and then I want you to shut it down, but when you shut it down, don't do this, 'cause it's amazing that the head is connected to the shoulders but it does a-- (group laughing) And then you go okay, now bring your head back to me, and they go like this, and you go okay, you know, keep your head still and just do your shoulder. And then they go-- (group laughing) You know, and then you get the movement where people are like, but it doesn't go any further. And I go, yeah it does, it kinda goes like that. (group laughing) So, the idea is that I'm working that shoulder. And I'm opening it up and closing it down is simply a matter of this, open your body to me, and tuck down. Which gives more space here, open and close it down, and shut it down. And open it up to me, but we never shut it down like that. Okay, cause our head doesn't come off our shoulder. We have a neck, and it's very important to keep the neck. So, for curvier girls, you stay open. For leaner girls you can shut it down. If you shut down on a curvy body like mine, it doesn't work. My arm will look fat from the front, my neck will look short and I won't buy your photograph. (group laughing) Right? Okay, so that was that, learning movement like that. So you stand somebody at the window. Go home, practice that. Or, you're gonna get a good chance to do that, 'cause that's one of the challenges. Is to stand somebody by a window light, and just change their body around, all the way this way, this way, this way, this way, this way, this way. Don't lose sight of the face of the camera. Now, move the body, put the shoulder's back, putting the arms back, watch how slim that looks from the front, do bobbing hands, to just prop nice and close. Bring them up, work the body, work the body sideways, push it forward, but the whole time you're up, up, forward, forward, chin forward, everybody sit up right now. Chin up towards me, and pushing forward it's all about posture. It's about keeping your face square to the camera, and no matter where you turn, it's about you staying on point here. And then creating that body language there, okay? So no matter where I move the body, the face is what I'm photographing. (group laughing) Okay, from here, families. I don't want to shoot families! But $5,000 families tells me yes, I do. (group laughing) $5,000 said you can shoot families. So on 28 days, I taught you how I pose families. I'm a little unconventional. I hang children upside down. I actually said drop that one on it's head, but he didn't let go. (group laughing) Um, I composed 13. I'm gonna show you how to pose family of three, family of four, family of five. I'm gonna then tell you how I take that family and market the shoot to the mother and the daughter, and the grandmother, and then they come in for hair and makeup, I shoot the generations first, I shoot the girls as glamour shoot, and then I bring the boys in, in the last 15 minutes, and I create a $5,000 shoot, by how I market and pose that, right? And I can map that for you, so that you can open that entire genre up to your business. Then what I do, is I've not only incorporated glamour and family portraiture, mapped it out for you, I then do an entire challenge on simply marketing to that demographic. Alright? In a glamour way. So I'm enticing the women, and via bringing them in. And when the men come in, the sale goes up. Because a woman is allowed to spend a certain amount, but when he's involved, they can double it. We are persuasive, but we are not that persuasive. No, we are persuasive, but they know that. I think it's probably more accurate. So, families mixed in all horizontal. And then I went families mixed vertical. 'Cause I want to teach my photographers how to do all those poses in the horizontal and the vertical building triangles, creating body language, making sure the hands are touching each other, making sure the body language is towards each other, that's it's family. You'll find families that don't even want to touch each other, it's the most hilarious thing you've ever seen. It's kind of like really weird, you don't want to stand next to your own brother or sister or mother. I can't imagine having a family like that, you know. I love being around my family. So it seems pretty odd that-- And they hiss at each other like (hissing), and you've got to learn to take control, you know? Especially when there's teenagers, 'cause some teenagers just can't stand their parents and visa-versa. And you know, just makes you want to have children. (group laughing) Um, and so here they are free-styling on the gray wall. I've gotta do more free-styling, I want to teach free-styling all the time. The more free-styling I could teach my girls about teaching them the movement, the crossover, the connection with the shoulder, the movement, how to ham it up, how to make people ham it up, how to make people have fun, and not feel stupid. That's all you have to do. Because when everyone starts moving, they just feel stupid, and as soon as you make them feel safe, they'll move and move and move. And you know, the shyest girls will turn into a Marilyn Monroe on the fan, if you are making her feel like that, if you are going with it, you're loud, and you're elevating as well. Okay, now if you're a really shy, introverted person, and you find a struggle to bring people up to that level, don't do this shot. I can't help you. People often email me things like this, what if I'm not loud and extroverted and fun like you? And I'm like, then do quiet photographs. I think people will be attracted to you for what you create. So if you're introverted and you create these silent, beautiful images, that's what people will come to you for those images. They will be attracted to your work 'cause that's who they are, but the people who come to my studio, they want the big dresses. They wanna dance. They wanna have fun. They wanna be candid. I love that shot. I love the shot on your website of that woman dancing in the white dress, you know? I love that shot down there. I love that that woman's 47 years old, and in that gorgeous white dress, and she was dancing and laughing. I think that it's magnificent. Okay, I wanna teach people that you can change an image just by changing the hands. And, that's called one composition five poses. And that is a challenge on 28 days. I want you to change the hands every time you take a photograph. If they're sitting here, I want them to be here, I want them to be here, I want them to be here, I want them to be here, I want them to be here, I want them to be here, I want them to change. But if you're not changing, you're not changing your image. How many of you are getting into one pose and then taking 20 shots, be honest. We've all been there, okay. If you're not changing and flowing, you are not creating multiple images. Why do we create multiple images? So that we can sell multiple images. It's that simple, right? We want to shoot to sell. We shoot to sell. So we're not shooting for ourself, we're shooting for the client. End of story. You are not shooting for yourself, you are shooting for the person who is paying you. And you're a service provider. I love this one. The advice on the bottom says this. Babies, follow them around, sing silly songs, take lots quickly, good luck. (group laughing) Follow them around, sing silly songs, take lots quickly. I love that, anyway, we'll move on. 'Cause I think I probably did that with them anyway. I was just like, do your best. I know that you'll be fine. In fact, I think the girls took better baby shots than me. I don't get it. I mean, when they're little, I just kind of try to do the ottoman pose, and they don't hold it. And they kinda lift their neck up, so I'm like neck up, neck up and they look neck up, and then when they run, they just run out of the-- I'm just like turn around for me-- I was like whoa, that was fast! I said to my best friend, I was photographing her one-year-old, I was like, can you make it stop running? And she's like no, Sue, she runs. And I was like, what am I suppose to do? Like run after her? That's why I'm a glamour photographer. I don't have to run after any of my clients. But you know, if you're going to open it up to families, and this is something that might intrigue you. If you're a newborn photographer, if you're a baby photographer and you're transitioning into glamour, you're opening a glamour genre in your business, or you're transitioning into both, then I suggest you find a way on 28 days to market to both. 'Cause I tell you right now, that woman has that child. That woman is paying for her portrait of that child. But there is not a woman alive who wouldn't walk into my studio and put her child over there and go, so I can do this too. You're gonna do my hair and makeup, and I'm gonna look gorgeous while you photograph my child. That's even bigger. Because then I can have my hair and makeup done while you're photographing my child right there. And then, I can have a photo with my child, and a beautiful photo of myself. And, that's why women are constantly going into children photographers and saying no not me, just my kids. Because you're not offering that service to them. And, we know it's the truth. Women buy family portraits if they look good. Like, they'll look at the kids and they don't care. They love their kids even when they're ugly. They're crying, I love Johnny. He's wonderful. But I look hot, I'm buying that photograph for the wall. Okay, lingerie and sexy mixed horizontal ottoman. So, this is as far as I even went into boudoir. I don't do boudoir. I do a contemporary glamour photography, they just happen to be wearing undies, okay? So, I kept it that simple. I gave them multiple choices across the genres of what people bring into wear. And then I created a training manual around it. So this is lingerie sexy standing with mixed backgrounds. And then they could identify the background in the training manual to the studio that I've mapped out. So let's say right now, after you do your 28 Day Challenge, like, there's a flow, one of the challenges is a flow pose over a couch. And I've mapped it for you. I then want you to go into your own studio, and then practice that so you can master it. But what I want you to do, is I want you to get a model-type girl, someone who moves well, somebody with a lean body, because when you're learning it's easier to start there and then go into curves. 'Cause curves is a lot big challenge. And, what I want you to do is I want you to do your own map in your own space. And then make a book of it for yourself. Use mine, use yours. Mix it up with your own stuff, see what looks good. And then refer to it every time you have a shoot as one of your scenarios. Okay, and then, it was about mothers and daughters. I've done a mother and daughter challenge. I have done a beauty challenge, which is absolutely fabulous. I've showed you all these beauty shots. I have done the ottoman. I've done mapping over an ottoman laying down. I do the ottoman over and over again. You'll see that come in the challenge. I do a lot of recline sitting, which is slimming on the body, slimming on the arm, this is the go-to pose for curves. This is a go-to pose for all girls, and it's one that sells. I'm teaching people about spontaneousness and laughter, rolling around on the ottoman to try and create some personality. And this series alone reminds you to do that. To not just have them sit still and take a photograph of them, reminds you to make the move. Okay, and then here, standing same personality series. So lying down and standing is directing them to do something different. So you can create a series of images to sell a series of images. And this is how they learned, single female mixed, silhouette. So the silhouette's a go-to image in my studio. It's when you cut down the light to about that much light, and you take away the reflector, and you get them to pose towards the light so it's feathering on the face, never away from the light. This is a go-to pose for me for guys and girls. I address it in 28 days, I do it with the guys in the Calvin Klein shoot. I cut the light right down, take the reflector away, show you how dark and gutsy it is. It looks magnificent. And then using the white chair. So I actually started to map the props that I have in the studio. You can do this, like, she doesn't have to be doing anything to the camera. Like, I don't have to look at her face. This is just a map for me. So, I can learn all of these poses, teach them to other people, and also, my makeup artist would flip through it too because ironically, when they assist me, they could setup the next pose because they knew what was coming. So while I was turning to my client and saying get into that black dress and helping her get ready, my makeup artist could set up the next shot. And then go do your makeup while I changed everything around and it was done. And so, formula. Just like that. Had white box sitting up right beside it. Threes. Three standing. Four. That's one of the challenges. Three beauty. Two, three four beauty. That's one of the challenges. Three in a bath door. I did this posing twos, posing threes, posing fours. It's a really good one. And then, that's it. By the window, you get to see that, multiple times. You get to see that as a challenge so you can master it. And that's what Chrissy told me. This is another quote that Chrissy sent me. What I love the best about what I do is Sue taught me how to unravel people. You unravel them and then you never know what you're going to get, sometimes you're a therapist. But that's when you get the best portraits, okay? If my focus is on the experience, and my focus is on you feeling beautiful, and my focus is on you being relaxed and calm, then I have to know my posing really well so I'm not worried about that when I'm giving you all of my time and attention. It's really important that my focus is on creating amazing photographs of you instead of trying to get my pose right and trying to get my light right. So if I sent you into a scenario, I will find a different groove than another girl had in the same scenario, but I will do that because the foundation of what I've done is set and I know I'm safe, secure in my light and in my posing. Then, I have time to go in and pull you out. Then, I can stop and say look at me. Listen to me. Let me direct you. Let me capture you. And, you are now trusting me. 'Cause I sound like I know what I'm doing. I'm confident, and I'm doing it confidently. And it's so easy to learn, alright? Just the formula. Do we have any questions about that? My question is about the mapping that you've done, would you actually have that in front of the client, or would you look at that beforehand? Do they have confidence in you if you're looking at it while you're shooting? I would never look at it while I'm shooting. Okay. Yeah, never never never. I would map it in my own studio so after you get my map, create an identical map in your studio so you can fill every one of the poses, that you can compare them to yours, that you can see how close they are. And then keep that, reference it. So, out of everything you've just seen here, the interesting thing here is if I was doing three sisters, I would pull that page and then I would pull that page, and then I would do all of the individuals, and then I would pull maybe, something different, like a personality series of them if they like the candid stuff, or an ottoman shot of each of them. And so that to me is four looks. They'll get four different changes. They get two different beautiful threes. I've already created 80 images that I can show them. So I have to put a stop to that. You're not going through every pose of that manual, you're choosing what suits their body, what suits their clothes, what suits the mood, and what suits the style of how they want to be photographed. How do you know that? You ask them. Okay, so, when they come into you, you say two things. One of them is show me what you've brought in terms of clothing, that's one of the challenges. I'm going to show you how to educate your clients so that they are not only fully committed to the shoot, that they're coming so prepared, and I've created a really, amazing little way to do that. I have done like a clothing catalog map of what looks really great photographed so that they can choose outfits around that suit them. And you can send that out to your clients. If they come in with the-- If they make the most effort, and they come, and I know how they want to be photographed. Because if you bring in pink tutus and big skirts, I know you want to jump around and have fun. If you bring in the big skirts then you want elegant, portrait catour. If you bring in that slinky black dresses, I'm gonna do slinky shots. I'm gonna do lying down, slinky, curtain shots. And if you know, if you bring in lingerie, it's gonna be more boudoir. I can tell by the clothes that you bring in and the images you like by how you want to be photographed. So, you know, I just think that's really important. You pull the five that relate to them while they're in hair and makeup, and you've already mapped it, so you know it. You just have to go and do it. And yeah, you practice it. Because the whole point of 28 Days is not that you learn something, is that you master it. Okay, so, one of the challenges is shooting the backlight. I'm good at that. I do that every shoot. It is the most requested shot in my portfolio, especially by other photographers if I ever shoot photographers. But like, all your back lit stuff is beautiful. So I've done that so that you can master it. And I'm gonna show you how to open it in Photoshop, how to expose for it, how to do one thing. What you do within that backlight is up to you now. With all the foundation posing. But I need you to master it so you can create these beautiful backlight images. And then, yeah, I guess I just map it. I then go and look at my map while they're in hair and makeup, or quickly just glance at it, reference it in my mind. It's just to stimulate more options. Sometimes when you shoot, everything you've learned goes out the window. You go on autopilot, and that is so easy, you in autopilot, and then afterwards, like, when I'm training photographers and I notice with Susan because I always say to Susan, critique this image for me. Now remember on my blog when I said you must critique your own work, okay? And how do you critique your own work? Chin, shoulder, hands, hourglass, body language, asymmetry connection. Did you get all of those? Is the reflector good? Was your exposure good? You can usually correct those. And then focus, okay? Critique your own work now. Chin, shoulders, hands, hourglass, body language, connection. So, you can critique your own work, but you do it after. Right, and after you've shot it. And then you're like ah, I forgot about the hands. Ugh, Sue said I should have done the rotation. And, so for me, looking at a map like that and setting my shoot, to me it's like writing a shoot list. Hey, here's a shoot list. And that's something that always works. I've showed this before on my Creative Lives. I get a legal pad and I will stick figure draw the scenarios in front of the girl. Now to her, I'm not referencing a manual, I'm designing her shoot in front of her, but really I'm referencing my manual and then I'm reminding myself I have to do it. I've done that a million times. So, I would get a legal pad, I would stick figure draw it out and I was like, you know what Collete? We're gonna shoot you here, and then we're gonna shoot you here, and then we're gonna put that black dress on and do that silhouette that's really gorgeous, like, like that shot over there that you saw in my portfolio. She's really working it in the light. And really what I'm doing is I'm mapping it out so I don't forget, and then I go through it. That's how I would not forget when I went into autopilot. Do you consult with your client first? And have you ever met a client that you just weren't feeling? You thought she and you wouldn't work well together? And how did you handle that? Um, I consult with my clients in two different ways. I either have a consultation with them. In the studio, we used to have a consultation. Then we went to phone consultation, which is dangerous, because you can miss out on really good education on the phone. And you get lazy and you start to revert to email. And then like have, and then don't you all, 'cause you're all nodding, and then you don't create a relationship with them and then they don't turn up the day of their shoot because you were just sending an email. Alright, so there's no personal connection, there's no desire, there's no enticement, and there's no education of what to wear. So you get lazy if you don't do one-on-one consultations. People are busy and they want stuff now. I would rather Skype somebody than, and have a live face-to-face with them. Have I ever had a client that I think I'm not gonna like you? All the time, of course you do. You don't like everybody. That's just the way it is. But, again, I'm not there to make friends with her. I'm there to offer her a service, some shoots are like pulling teeth, and some shoots are the most fun you've ever had in your life. The pulling teeth ones are often the ones that spend the most amount of money. Which is kinda weird, because I think to myself, I didn't like that at all, I didn't like the experience, and I certainly don't like the images, and she's like, spending money, still doesn't like you, but still writing a check for like, four grand, and you're like you know, you don't like me at all. And I was like, I don't think she was paying me to like me. She was paying me to produce good photographs. So as long as I give her good service, you know, there's painful clients. I mean, you know, sometimes the good ones turn out to be more painful than the bad ones. And the bad ones come around, right? So we're talking about Chrissy and Karen, right? Keyrn. Keyrn, and you're training them in 28 days. Question from Fashion TV in Singapore-- Hi, Fashion TV! You said it's okay to make mistakes when we shoot real clients. Right. How did you decide that your two girls were ready to take on real clients? I put them with real clients are day one. What were the signs? (group laughter) I was like this. I think we're gonna forward this to see this as a sign that you are ready to take portraits. First day, mirror me for two or three shoots. Then I do, so they're right on me, like, right on my shoulder. Then I do a mock shoot with one of my makeup artists or something, and I'm right on their shoulder. And then I work with them in this way. So, I teach them the most basic setups. All they have to do is stand there. And I'm controlling them from the back. So I'm pushing them down, pulling them forward, moving them around. But what I do is I do it in a way where I'm directing the shoot, so I'm like, she's standing here taking the photo, and I would walk in line and say, "Hi, this is Keyrn. "Keyrn and I are shooting you today." Nobody questions that. Everyone was just like oh. She's holding the camera, and I'm like, Margaret just bring your chin around here, Keyrn's here, and I'm just like, oh that's beautiful. Wow, you see that nice line shoulder? Oh yeah, get this closeup. Oh that's wonderful. And I would just like, puppet her. And I'd puppet them for a week. And you only need to puppet for a week before you let go and they are learning your scenarios really easily, and then they are on their own in terms of, I forgot the hand, I forgot the chin, like everybody else. They go back as soon as I leave the room, they go back into autopilot, and that's where I critique their work after, but what I would get them to do, is I would critique it and I would get them to go and correct it before they got changed. So they had the potential to fix this shot. Right there and then. And never at any time was it um, like, I have to go and show this to my boss. You know, there's lots of ways to do that. Lots of ways to discreetly move around the shoot. And, let me get you some water. (group chuckling) Not working, it's not working. Well, then try harder. (group laughing) Take the manual, check the manual. And you know what? We had makeup artists and myself, we're buffers. So if she's checking the manual, we'll walk in, what do women like to do? Oh yeah. So you know, we're gonna oh, you're having a great time! Oh my God I love this dress! Where did you get that from? I can tell a story about where I bought that dress. And you know, before you know it, she's come back and she's on, and she's like now I know what to do. And it's so easy. It's just easy. Women love to hang out. They love to talk, they love to tell stories. Mel C, along the same line talking about the photographers you've trained, how did you get Keyrn past her connection issues? Keyrn didn't have the connection issues, Chrissy did. Oh, Chrissy. Yes. How did you get Chrissy- So, Keyrn was definitely the strongest connection, and Chrissy was definitely technically better. And so, they differently had their own strength there. What it was with Chrissy was at the end of the day, Chrissy has an amazing, she holds her own space really well with people. But she was more inclined to go towards the technical. So when we said to her you're missing the connection, she got it straight away. So she was just pulling the connection, she was pulling the connection straight away, when we told it to her. But, she was still just being technically accurate. Whereas Keyrn was going more for that straight-away for the connection and making different mistakes. So, different style, definitely popped up really quickly. The connection is a 28 Day Challenge, and it is the most asked question on my Creative Lives, it is the most talked about thing that they say over and over again. So what I did was I found through Live View, connection through Live View so that you can see people go from nothing to just the slight shift in their eyes. And, it is so easy to teach, it's something that is probably not easy to, you need to really work on that. So, the whole point again is to master the connection. You mention about educating your clients about the value of your photography. Any tips on how to do, like, not for somebody who's already established, but like someone who's starting. How do I educate my clients so they can justify what they are paying for? Tomorrow, when I do pricing and value, the first thing I'm going to teach you is I don't need to educate, I don't need to educate my clients to the value of what I do. You know why? No, 'cause I believe in it. You need to tell yourself. If your clients don't value you, you don't. So, until you value it, you will never sell it. You have no value for your own work. I'm gonna teach you how to change that. But the truth is, I don't need to educate you into the value of, like I don't need to sell it to you. You're gonna have a two-and-a-half hour session with me. And you are going to just love the way you look. You might not. You're gonna bring in five outfits, and we're gonna do your hair and makeup, and you might need to tell them the value of what I do. You're gonna keep these photos forever. I'm selling the experience, yes. But the value is set in my own self. And, all I have to do is talk to you about what you want. So it's different than if I'm trying to sell you something. How about I ask a question. Tell me, what's your name? Katie. No Katie, I'm sorry, I'm-- Me? Yeah. Heather. Heather. How do you want to be photographed? I want to look gorgeous and thinner I guess (chuckling). And? Is that it? Are you amazing? I-- I'm gonna put you on a little, younger, slimmer, gorgeous, yeah? Who would you like to be photographed with? You? Yeah, but who with? I'm gonna photograph you, but who would you like to be photographed with? Anybody? No. You just wanna make it about you? Yeah. Good girl. (group chuckling) My family, let's make it about you. Okay, I need you to bring in five outfits. So, when you think about those outfits, what would you like to wear? Something that's fun and flirty. Right, you want to dance, and laugh, and be candid? Yes. Okay, that's fantastic. Let's talk about those outfits. I can give you a whole lot of ideas there, and what to bring, and what would look good on you, and what I've already got in the studio. I don't have to build value, I have to just listen to her. She's just told me how she wants to be photographed. It's not about anybody else in her family. It's about her. I want to look gorgeous. I want to look slimmer. I want to look fun. And I want to look flirty. I want to dance, and laugh, and have a good time. We nev-- At any time was it about me? It's not about me, people. I'm not staring, you're not staring in my photo shoot. You know, I'm staring in yours. And as soon as you get that, you change it. Because, that's turning your value into service, and suddenly my service just became really valuable to that woman. And you know why? 'Cause I listened to her, I delivered to her the one thing she wants, right? She'll pay for that because I have delivered it Do I always deliver it? No, I'm human, I make mistakes. I say that all the time. I fail, I failed twice this year, last year. Did shoots, fail, epic fail. You didn't listen, you didn't give me the time, you didn't give me the super experience. Eh, not a sale. Happens to me, happens to me after 23 years. You know what I do? I apologize, I offer a re-shoot, and then I make sure I don't do it again. So, there's my manual. I'm going to take you through that 28 Day Challenge. If I can now after the six years of experience that I've had with these girls, if I can't take you to their level, then I'm gonna be shocked. So I am putting that 100 percent out there. 100 percent. I watched these girls transform in a month. I watched them transform my business. I watched them make money for me. Can I tell you something really interesting? The day they left my studio, their average dropped by a quarter, by three-quarters. What does that tell you? When they're shooting for me, they could sell $7, worth of photographs. But when they were shooting for themselves, they could only sell $400 for the photographs. What does that tell you? The belief came from them. Them, they control that. And so that means they didn't believe they could make the same amount of money. Why, Sue's studio was fancier? You think my garage studio was fancy? You think my work back then was fancy? No, I did the work, people. And I did the work on myself, on my belief system. On what I think about money. I opened that up. I now have money in the bank, and I can buy whatever I like. For the first time in my life, I can say that without feeling weird about it. I can pay for my parents to fly to Vegas and see me speak. What a gift! My parents came last year to sit there in the audience, never been to America, never had a long-haul flight. You know, I changed that. And you can change it too. That is so easy, it's a mentality, and I'm gonna show you how. I'm just so passionate about that, it's stupid. You do not need to struggle in this world. Struggle is a choice. It is a choice, and you do not need to struggle anymore. It is a lie that you have told yourself, and you can change it, you can change it, I swear to God it is easy. You can change it. And we're going to change it. You can change it. You can change your work. You can change your attitude. You can change, these are all things that are in your realm of control, these are all things you can change. Where are they now? Chrissy Ropati is currently in labor. (group laughing) I think she's giving birth to a little girl. She is, had three babies in three years. So, she said, I'm kind of a mom now and the whole photography studio is just somehow, I need to be a mom. You can't have three brand new babies and run a studio. She said I found that I needed to think about the studio all the time, and I wasn't thinking about the kids. So Chrissy was talking to me, after Chrissy worked for us. And so that, by the way, is Chrissy's Facebook page if you want to get in touch with her or follow her. She's an amazing girl. She's got 322 likes on her Facebook page. Chrissy Ropati Photographer. Chrissy, her website, is RopatiPhotography.com. She designed this website three-and-a-half years ago when she left the studio, and then she was pregnant with her first baby. She had her first baby, and she started her business with a baby, and then got pregnant straight away again. So she was pregnant with a baby in her first year of business. Chrissy sent me this. After two years at the studio, I was married and having my first baby. I'm more than happy to give you my first year turn over on my own in a new town. They got married then move away from Oakland, they started a business in a small beach town community in East Coast of Oakland. I shot 45 clients between September 10th, or September of 2010 and September 2011. These clients 40th and paid 99 dollars for a sitting fee, which is not part of the sales average. The sales for these 45 totaled $43,831.70. My average was lower, but I had no studio space or selling space. This was shooting Saturday only as I had my firstborn Sienna with me and I was pregnant at the time, okay? So I was a full time mom and pregnant, not bad as a side job while parenting. I'm excited to see the revenue when I go back to shooting full time, a wee while off though, as I'm due with my third today. So the idea there is that she was pregnant with a her baby, that she was only shooting Saturday with no studio, and she still did $45,000 in turnover in her first year of business, and that was half her average that she did for me. Half. And I believe if she had had a studio space, if she had put money into a studio space, she may have in her own value seen a higher perception of what she was worth. Because I think when you don't have the space you think you're worth less, even though the photographs are just as good. So that was really important. This is Keyrn. She's Captured by Keyrn on Facebook. And, Keyrn is this changing her website this week. So she was already in transition when I got her. So she's gone from Keyrn Maree Photographer to there, which is Capturing Your Beauty, Captured by Keryn. And this website has got a whole new vibe to it. She's introduced weddings. Beauty is still one of her genres, and she's introduced editorial and personal because they're both something that really intrigues her. So, Keyrn is running a little small studio, and this month she's purchased a home with her boyfriend, and they are turning that into a studio, home studio that has a front room and a beautiful shooting space. So she's taking her studio back to the house, and she's bought a house that will accommodate that. Both of them are self-employed, and like Chrissy said, ultimately Sue, you set me up for life. You set me up for life to be a professional photographer for the rest of my life. And she loves it enough to return to it once she's had babies, and like Keyrn said, she decided to be a photographer at 14, she said it's been a crazy journey 'cause Keyrn is still on this side of thirty, she's still in her 20's, it's amazing that she has her own career and is now buying her first house. And she said I would be lying if I didn't tell you it was hard. I would be lying if I didn't tell you what you put in you get out. She said because I know it's been tough. She said some things work, some things don't. And Keyrn's average was lower than Chrissy's. Because, they both had different money attitudes. So, when I left the studio and I started my own business, my biggest hurdle was I couldn't make money for myself, but I was doing $7,000 portrait sales for my studio for 10 years. So, how could I not make money for myself when I'm shooting exactly the same work. And that is in the perceived value of yourself. Not in the education of the value of what you do. And here's the problem. People keep saying that if you value yourself, you know, price is only a problem in the absence of value. So you start to sell your value. Okay, if somebody has to sell themselves to you, what are you thinking? What are you saying? This is really weird that-- Yeah, you're talking me up, right? I don't have to sell it to you. It is, if I believe it, it just is. It's the way you sell it. It's the language you use. You reek of it. You reek of not good enough. 'Cause you're standing there telling me why I should spend money with you, instead of me telling you what I could do for you. Oh my God I'm gonna take beautiful photos of you. Let me show you some examples of beautiful skirts that I've done, I love flirty, fun, photographs. They're my favorite. You can incredible skin, by the way, Heather, and amazing blue eyes. And, I look forward to photographing you because I'm gonna knock your socks off. I don't have to tell her why it's worth it. I just have to listen to her, and then provide her with that service. Okay, that's one of the challenges, too. And this afternoon. This is a business model. This is Wanna Be Sue Bryce, and this is in the add on genre. Decide who you are today. Do you wanna keep babies and weddings, and add glamour or beauty or contemporary portraiture as a brand in your business? Then add it. Add my business model to yours. And if my business model is easy and makes more sense, and starts to take over your other tow business models, then combine my business model with your genres. If you want to be Sue Bryce and you want, just like these two like this, to create a business that looks exactly like mine, because it's a formula, do it. And if people say to you, you wanna be Sue Bryce? You say yes, she trained me. And you know what she did? She taught me how to make money. So I, it's like buying a franchise, right? We're flipping burgers here. (group laughing) We're flipping burgers and we're getting paid. So, I know something. When you do your wealth dynamics profile this afternoon, when you work out what you are, whether you're a creator or a star, or a mechanic, I know one thing. I'm a creator, but there's not many creators in this world. There are mechanics, lots of mechanics, lots of supporters, so that tells me one thing. You can achieve greatness in a business if that business is given to you, if that model is given to you. 'Cause all you have to do is apply it. And as a mechanic, you apply it bigger than anybody else. Because a creator never finished anything. Now I can give you 100 different ways that you could spend your marketing, 'cause I'm a creator. But I can't go and finish it. I have to pay somebody to do that. I am a creator. So find out what you are, and then play to that strength. That is your strength in business. As soon as you understand that, then you can go forward and make money. Now tell me this. If you can't market yourself, go pay somebody who can! Stop bashing yourself up for this is the best part. Instead of just saying, I suck at marketing. I have no confidence when it comes to marketing. I'm gonna confront that in myself by putting myself out there in a service way. You can do that or you can get a marketing guru to just focus on getting bums in seats. Someone who loves doing it. If you ha-- 'Cause that's gonna be on your hate list. If it's on your hate list you're not gonna want to do it. I hate marketing. I hate it. So don't do it. And I can't afford to pay anybody else. Oh my God, you're getting tiring. (group laughing) (Sue making noises) I hate marketing. Then do it. I don't want to market myself. Then pay someone else. I can't pay somebody else. Oh my God, go and get a job. (group laughing) Okay, be creative, think of a way out of it. Find it, find somebody. Go and find a marketing guru and let them buy into half your business. If that's their specialty, they will happily, you know, I had marketing people knocking on my door going, I want to market you. I could sell your work like that (finger snap). And I was like, well I can't! So I kinda like the fact that you can. Isn't that 50 percent of a successful business better than 100 percent of one that's not making money? I was like yeah, but I'm giving half my business away! Well, they could buy into it, if you've done all the work. They could pay, they could take a percentage. But don't tell me you can't pay somebody to do something you hate. And if it's not hate, if it's fear in your way, well, I'm going to pull that out of you tomorrow. So, you're going to show me the difference. Because there's a big difference between hating something and being crippled by it. Right? I was crippled by speaking publicly. I don't know why. At 14, 15, I was on the stage singing. Somewhere between 14, 15 and 50, I lost my mojo. And yet, I had, I was one of those people, there's always someone at a workshop, we don't have any here today because no body does this to me 'cause you couldn't get a word in edgewise anyway. But, there's always someone at the workshop that doesn't ask a question that they want to just add on to what the speaker's saying, so they're always putting their hands up and going, and further to that Sue, I found in my business and you're just like, okay, she needs to shut up, right, cause she's always the one with the microphone. And then as the workshop unfolds she gets the microphone she gets the microphone, and everyone else in the audience goes like this. (group laughing) And all the introverted people in the room just sitting there going, God, I'd love to tell her to shut up, but I can't 'cause I'm introverted and I'd just like to, I just wish I could ask a question, but I can't, so I was gonna get Sue in the lunch break. And there's always that one person that you just think shut up. And I'm too assertive when I'm speaking, so I don't get those anyway 'cause I'd just be like, uh, you've had the microphone three times. Away you go. And I realized that I was that person. That's how I identify you as being a pain in the ass. Because it was me. And, I used to sit in a workshop and think, oh my God, I know this, oh my God, oh, I've got something to add to that. Thanks John, can I also add that I'm your comerse-- And they would look at me like this, and this guy actually said to me at a workshop one day, would you like to come and teach this class? In front of like, 100 people. And I was like, yes I would. (group laughing) I sat down, looked at him like this. (group laughing) And then I cried when I got home because I was so embarrassed. But I realized something. There's a difference between hating something and being afraid of it. Now, I wanted to be a speaker. I wanted to teach. 'Cause I've got something to say. God dammit, I've got something to say. I've always got something to say. I teach by nature, I guide my friends. I'm an over-supporter of everybody that I know, I'm all about, you can learn this, you can do this, you can empower yourself, you can educate yourself to do this. You can change this about yourself. You can do this. This is me, in my everyday life. This is one of my highest values. I'm gonna teach you that tomorrow as well. What are your highest values, and then go towards them. I realized I was one of those people that would constantly was adding onto the speaker. Yet, when I stood up on stage, I tremble and I cry, and I'm unable to speak. Not like showing you the hucker. That was different. That was emotional for me. That, that's my life blood. That's where I'm from. I'm (foreign language word), I'm from my land. I feel that deeply. But when I say that I was terrified, I was terrified. And I had to confront it. My grandmother died, my beautiful grandmother died. I was holding her in my arms. I wrote her eulogy, and I delivered it at her funeral. And I said Lord, be with me. If I can say this, I can speak to anybody in the world. Because, that would be the hardest thing to do. Is to write a eulogy for someone you love and then deliver it to a room full of people. Luckily everyone was crying because it's quite appropriate to cry when you're at a funeral. So I cried through the whole thing. And, not just because of my terror of public, but because I was crying for Luna. And I remembered in that moment that she cured me. I was like, you cured me. 'Cause I confronted my greatest fear in the greatest situation that I could be in. And one where I was allowed to be emotional. And then, all of a sudden, here I am following my true path. And that, that, and shooting, is a great gift for me. Alright, so, these girls have followed their path. These girls know where they're going. They know what they want. And they're building their business. I want these girls here after talking to them to listen tomorrow, if Chrissy's not in labor that is, to the part of valuing themselves and turning it back into a service so they can now go and make more money because they're both set up now, they're both in business, they're both in the same struggles. We're gonna talk about struggles and first year struggles at the end of today. And, I want them to get that formula, grab it, and open up themselves. So can you see what I'm doing today? I need to know this. I can give you a business formula, but you need to open your mind and your heart. You need to open it up to earning and income. And you need to open it up to creating a business that it has a sustainable income, and a sustainable business model. Now I know that I built that, and I know how I did it. And I know I can show you that. But until you open up your blocks, your fears, and everything that you believe that's getting in your way, you will not change anything. And I hear this, this grates me, I find this grating. Is that, you speak to all of these people, and maybe one person will go and do it. And I always look at them, and I go, you know what, no! I did it, and yes, somebody said yes, you can do it and I believed them. So, I don't believe that. I believe everybody here will embrace this business model in some way, so it will either be here, it will either be as a business model Wanna Be Sue Bryce or an add-on genre. Those are the three ways you can do it. And if you get any flack from anybody from the outside, you just say you know what? Did Sue Bryce, um, did you want to be Sue Bryce? Say, hell yeah! Hell yeah! I wanna be Sue Bryce. Because I've been the person that didn't make money, and now I do! And I've been the person that didn't take great portraits, and now I do. And I've been the person that didn't like their job, or their life, and now I do. So, if that's the worst flack that you can get for being a successful business, then what are you gonna say? Yeah, watch me make money. And you know, people will criticize you all the time. That's life. They'll criticize you, generally, they're only showing you back your own fears inside anyway. So I'm gonna teach you about that as well, 'cause it's a mirror. But, the truth is, is that at the end of the day, if it's not mirror, you don't hear. Why do I care what you think of me while I'm making money and having a life that I love? And if I'm doing it and I'm enjoying it, why do I care what you think? I don't.