DeWayne and I joined a group of amazing and accomplished professional photographers throughout the country a few weeks ago as the guest of the Professional Photographers of America to christen “The Haven”. “The Haven” is located in Morton, IL and is the brain child of Vicki and Jed Taufer. This one of a kind education facility is designed specifically to help train photographers. Since the introduction of digital technology, industry leaders have dubbed the photography industry as the “new Tupperware”. I predict that someone in your family, your office, your child’s school, your child’s playgroup or maybe even you, is now a professional photographer. This is truly an exciting time in our industry. A time that we find thousands of new people entering our industry every week. This has created some tremendous opportunities for me and other industry leaders to fill the roles of teachers and mentors.

Pictured with me on the left is Lori Nordstrom. Lori helped popularize simple, yet artistic black and white images of expecting moms and babies. “Capturing life as it happens” is her mantra. She is tremendously talented and has inspired thousands of photographers with her simple, yet beautiful techniques. She prides herself for working in her jeans and flip flops and capturing real life. Many of you may recognize her work as several new photographers in our market have been influenced by this style. Certainly I have drawn much inspiration from Lori’s work as well. I value our friendship and am very proud of the mark she has made on our industry.

Pictured in the center is Jed and Vicki Taufer, a dynamic husband and wife team who founded the Vgallery and The Haven. These two have set a new high mark for marketing brilliance, customer experience and whimsical portraits that also celebrate life. They have led the “Boutique Photography Studio” wave. In a rural area they have created a breathtakingly beautiful boutique studio. The studio is the centerpiece of their experience. Vicki popularized the technique of shooting wherever, whenever. She is known for taking old sofa’s (and she has at least a 100 - poor Jed or whomever has to haul those things) and putting them in unusual places like a cow pasture, an alley, the beach or even a city street. Her sessions are fun and vibrant. They create and market their services in amazingly unique ways. This duo has influenced many beginners and old timers. They have become such sought after platform speakers at the national and state level - that they decided to build an educational facility at their studio. Again, you will recognize their influence on my work and many other photographers in our trade area. We hope to host the Taufers in our Statesboro and Savannah locations soon. In fact, Jed is working on a few special projects for us. Stay tuned for more about that.

On the right is the Goddess of the Photography Industry, Ann Monteith. Ann is the immediate past President of the Professional Photographers of America. Few people have had a greater impact on our business than Ann. DeWayne and I first met Ann 17 years ago. Ann and her husband Jim have been great mentors to us. Ann is one of the smartest entrepreneurs I have ever met. She has devoted her career to helping increase the professional standards for the photography industry and transform the industry from a hobby or part time profession - to an industry that can afford some great opportunities for the few who truly want to make it a full time occupation.

On this trip, DeWayne and I visited several other cutting edge studios. I will share more about them later. After 20 years, now more than ever before, DeWayne and I devote a great amount of time visiting the top studio’s in the country, studying their techniques and best practices in an effort to keep our look fresh and exciting. At the same time, we never want to loose sight of how high we have raised the bar on technical perfection, creativity, quality and phenomenal customer experiences every time a client selects me. I understand the importance of the opportunity and the trust they have and continue to instill in me to create “the portrait” of them, their children or their family.