We are officially sold out for the February workshop. I have had quite a few inquiries about the next workshop so I thought I would go ahead and announce the next dates. I will be hosting this workshop in my new studio (I will share more details about this later) on May 21st-23rd. If you are interested in pre registering and making monthly payments please send me an email. Our contest to win a free seat will start on Monday February 21st and registration will open on Monday February 28th. And just because I think that posts without photos are just boring……
Blog
Jan 20th
February workshop is sold out!
Dec 22nd
And I’m off…..
What an amazing year it has been! With three workshops under my belt, I am more than excited to meet all of the amazing women signed up in February for our fourth! I am oh so happy to have another year under my belt and had a more amazing year than I ever could have hoped for. Thank you to all the wonderful women who trusted me enough to be a part of the workshops and I have absolutely loved watching you all turn your dreams of running a successful photography business into a reality.
I am headed off the radar for a couple weeks for some much needed recharge/family time and will be back in the beginning of January. I will be answering all emails when I return, but of course you can still sign up while I am away. You know you want to 
There are three seats left and we would absolutely love to have you! Have a safe and Happy Holiday and I will see you all back here in January!
Dec 12th
Anyone looking for a roommate?
If you are interested in sharing a room with another attendee in February please send me an email so that I can hook you up. I have at least one attendee who is looking to share. I hope everyone is surviving the holiday season. I am taking time between clients to enjoy the season with my family.
Dec 1st
ok so I’m not superwoman.
Do you ever have those days where you just know that there is no possible way you can get to everything that you need to? Is it possible to be everything to everyone? Your husband, your kids, your business, your friends. let alone yourself? My answer to you is no. It is not possible. At least not every day.
This time of year is busy for me. For all Photographers. If you price yourself inappropriately in your market (ie too low) you are no doubt drowning in family photography sessions wondering why it is that you thought you wanted to be a photographer in the first place. It is easy to go into survival mode and forget to slow down and smell the roses, or the family Christmas tree that you just lugged home to decorate.
My 13 year old daughter who is fearless in everything she does was riding a 4 wheeler at our families property on Thanksgiving when she lost control and rolled it over her leg. One minute we were sitting on the back porch enjoying the day and then next we were in the ER assessing the damage. Of course when something like this happens you immediately get down and your knees and thank God that it was only her leg. Legs heal. Since they did not see the break in the ER we were sent home to wait until Monday when the Orthopedic Surgeon was open. She is in a cast now and on the road to recovery but needless to say I missed several valuable work days.
So today I choose to stop and recognize that life happens and I choose to give my self a break, breathe deeply and know that today, I am not superwoman. Maybe tomorrow.
Nov 11th
Meet our beautiful winner, Ryan….
It is SO HARD for me to pick a winner. Seriously, so hard. I have used different methods each workshop from choosing a comment that spoke to me to random.org. This time when it was time to choose, I just couldn’t. So, at the very last minute I asked my fourteen year old son, Brandon to choose. I asked him to read through the comments and pick the comment that spoke to him. He is my sensitive, soulful child so I knew the task was in good hands. He chose Ryan. When I read her answers to her Q & A, I smiled. What a funny girl she is. I am happy to introduce our latest winner..
Tell us a little about yourself
My name is Ryan. I was named after a soap opera (thanks Mom & Dad!) I have a wonderful husband (Dave) We’ve been married for 6 years and have two kids, Reagan (age 4) and Archer (age 2). They have an aversion to my camera already 
I’m told that i’m spunky and fun and random. I’m a Nikon girl! I recently discovered jeggings and honestly don’t know HOW I lived without them all this time. I cannot stand people who say “cheese” and I have panic attacks if I see steel wool. I’ve lived in the same town since I was born (except for a short jaunt to Germany when I was really little) and watched it grow from a sleepy little beach town into a pretty big tourist destination.
Where do you hope photography takes you in the next year? How about the next five?
Hmmm. This is a toughie. In the next year I would like to be in business full time (currently i’m building a portfolio.) In the next 5 years, I’d love to have a thriving business with an actual storefront/studio space.
What is your favorite thing in the world to do?
I really, really enjoy taking fun trips with my family. My husband is a pilot so we take our little plane somewhere almost every single weekend. I adore taking pictures of the clouds we see while flying. Eating delicious food (especially Cuban food) follows closely behind traveling!
If you could take just one thing away from the workshop (don’t worry, you are going to get WAY MORE than one thing) what would it be?
Confidence! I currently have trouble believing that someone would actually want to pay for me to capture their family. I think this is the major thing that is holding me back from fully diving in and going at photography full time.
What were you doing when you found out you won the free seat?
I was multi-tasking to the max. Making dinner, breaking up the RvA (Reagan vs. Archer) wrestling in the dining room, keeping the dog from trying to participate in RvA, and thinking to myself “I guess I didn’t win the seat. Bummer. She would have called the winner by now.” THEN, the phone rang. I heard “Hi! This is Stacy!” and then I proceeded to act like a teenager who just got asked out by their celebrity crush. LOL. Sorry about that Stacy!. I hope you’re eardrum has healed by now
If you could be a super hero what would your powers be?
I would want to be Super Mom. I’d have the power to get everything on the to do list done each day without meltdowns from anyone (including myself) and still have the energy that I so desperately search for at the end of the day. I’d also be able to stop time (and even rewind sometimes) to be able to savor every morsel of my kids childhood.
Who is a photographer that you admire and why?
Nicole Fields- Her style captures life as it is. She has a way about her that is indescribable. I’m lucky enough to have had a family session with her this year and to have many canvases of hers grace my walls. I’ve also recently discovered VUE Photography and love their clean yet funky style.
Nov 7th
And the winner is…… Ryan Magee!!!
Congratulations to Ryan, I can’t wait to meet you in February!! Registration officially opens tomorrow at 8am!!
Oct 24th
Enter to win a free seat to the Tampa workshop February 2011!!!
CONTEST IS CLOSED. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!!
Here we go again!! I am excited to announce the next Launch workshop will be in Brandon, Florida at Stacy’s natural light studio on February 5th and 6th with an optional third day on February 7th!!!
To enter to win a FREE SEAT to the two day workshop leave a comment on this post as well as email stacy@launch-workshop.com with your name and phone number where you can be reached with the fabulous news of your seriously good fortune We will be picking a winner Saturday November 6th and announcing the winner on Sunday November 7th. Registration opens on Monday Monday 8th at 8am.
I thought it only fitting that I share a very kind testimonial from our last winner, Jennifer. We LOVED having her at the workshop.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the Launch Workshop weekend. It was exactly what I needed to continue and go forward with my business. I had launched my photography business over a year ago but there were few things that I felt I was missing out on. Once I attended the workshop I got back on track, discovered where I want to go with my business and I am happy to report that I am implementing everything that I learned. If you are thinking about starting your own business or even have started it but need a little help, I would definitely recommend Stacy and her Launch Workshop”!
Thanks Jennifer!
Oct 4th
Can I just say WOW?!
I know, I know it’s terrible and horrible that I haven’t posted sooner. It’s not because the workshop hasn’t been on my mind non stop since I got back it’s just that well, LIFE IS CRAZY!! I have been busy unpacking (okay you got me, I am still living out of my half unpacked suitcase), shooting newborns (five have been born in the past two weeks) and loving on my family who I missed tremendously. We had an amazing time and it is never creases to blow my mind how fast the time goes!!! We laughed A LOT and I am pretty sure that each and every one of the attendees left feeling, well overwhelmed!! I mean that in the best way though. The weekend is so jam packed with so much information that it’s normal to go home and need a minute or ten to gather your wits and start out on the task of creating or recreating your business. Every workshop (we will soon be embarking on number four) makes me realize why I am doing this. This is the workshop that I wish I had when I was starting out. Meeting these beautiful women and being a part of their journey is a true honor and one that I do not take lightly. Thank you to all the women who left their lives behind for the weekend to learn and grow. I would not be doing what I do without you and I am truly grateful.
Aug 27th
Vendor Spotlight
I am thrilled to have a new vendor on board Launch workshops! I was asked by ProofPress to give my input into what I need in a proofing system. Their willingness to listen and develop a system that works for me and my business is what makes this product so AMAZING!! Be sure to head over to the ProofPress site and register to recieve 30% off when the product releases in October 2010!!
We are so excited about this product, can you tell us a little bit about how it will work?
We are as excited as well! We never expected to have such a response from the photography community. We are thankful to all of our friends for spreading the word about ProofPress. Our system will be a revolutionized photo cart which will give the photographer a multitude of options for client management. We spent hours interviewing many photographers to understand what other systems lack and what “special” features they feel are needed. Although we have developed the system we prefer to say that it was created by photographers, because it’s their ideas that we are implementing. The system works directly out of your WordPress blog. We noticed that the majority of the photographers out there either own a WordPress blog or blogsite, or have been planning to switch to WordPress, and knowing that most of them struggle with having several administration sites to manage, we decided to develop our system to work from inside the WordPress admin.
When will the product be available?
We are planning to launch the first release in the beginning of October. We currently have several photographers testing the product to insure that it is ready for release. Our entire testing team is comprised of professional photographers so as to make sure it works for their needs.
Do I need a word press site to use your product?
Yes. ProofPress will not be available as a stand-alone system. You will need a self-hosted WordPress installation to run ProofPress. Seeing as WordPress is the most popular CMS for blogs and blogsites, it was fitting to develop a system that worked with it.
There are a lot of proofing systems out there, what makes yours unique?
It has been created directly for the needs of photographers and works directly from your WordPress blog, simplifying your administration process. Our system will work on a per client basis and will include basic book keeping features. We are also enhancing the way in which collections and packages are managed. There are various other features we have been developing, but we do not want to give all of our secrets away just yet. As we inch closer to the launch of ProofPress, we will continue to release information about the features of our system. You can follow us on Twitter, or find us on Facebook to receive this information. Oh and before we forget, ProofPress will be packaged under a very competitive price. Sign up in advanced at www.proof-press.com to receive a 30% discount upon it’s launch!
Keeping my brand consistent is important within every aspect of my business from my blog site to my business cards and packaging. Is it possible to achieve this with your system?
Absolutely! Photographers can customize their proofing site by editing a multitude of options such as logo, background, fonts and colors without having any knowledge of HTML or other programming languages. ProofPress will also be compatible with custom developed templates.
Thank you so much for sharing your products with us! We can’t wait!!
