JFP was back in mentor meeting mode last weekend! Boy it’s fun to teach and share one of my passions. I really hope there are plenty more mentor meetings (and maybe some official, large JFP workshops…hint, hint! 😉 ) in my future because being able to help other photographers in their journey and repaying the industry for what they’ve offered to me so far….wooh! It feels good! Knowing that others trust me and seek guidance from me is a gift and I’m so thankful for the gracious opportunity to share and teach. Yay! 🙂

John and I first connected almost a year ago when I was selling some lenses and he was interested in purchasing. He had been following my blog from time and time and needed to add to his equipment arsenal. After making the transaction, he reached out and offered himself as a possible second shooter. I haven’t been able to take him up on his offer, mostly because he’s in Arlington, VA, but we were at least able to plan a mentor meeting. So after about six months of figuring out when and where, we finally met up in Alexandria during one of my “travel wedding” weekends.

Technically, John is pretty solid when it comes to photography and knowing how to use his camera. But he wanted to improve in other areas like pricing, advertising and lighting. He’s a friendly person who enjoys the constant activity of weddings, so he’s ready to make his hobby a little bit more official. His “next moves” will be to figure out whether or not to blog, do more second shooting and to become more confident in what he has to offer. Here’s what we captured after our meeting in downtown Alexandria…

Look at that face!?! How could you not want to hire this man to shoot your wedding!?! He looks friendly and takes pretty good pictures. 🙂

Look out for the cool guy with the shades… 🙂

I chose this spot so I could give a little lesson about shooting in harsh sunlight and finding shade…

Oh man. Coolest mentor meeting picture EVER! I hope you love this one as much as I do, John!

John, I’m so glad we were able to FINALLY meet! Thanks for being a follower and thanks for being so enthusiastic about your craft and desire to be a good wedding photographer. And thanks for trusting me with giving you guidance in doing so. Good luck with everything, keep in touch and maybe we’ll be able to shoot together sometime in the near future!