Scarlett Lillian Workshop reviews.

My life's mission statement:


Before I buy a piece of camera equipment, I read reviews. Before I go on trips and choose a hotel, I read reviews. I love to see the good and the bad of what people are saying before I make an investment.

Though I've been familiar with the feedback people gave privately in their post-workshop surveys, public reviews are now coming out about my workshop, both good reviews and other candid reviews. I think it's a GREAT thing to show both sides of the experience. While I enjoy the great reviews and am excited I could be of help to most of the girls who attended, I actually appreciate the more candid reviews because those are the ones I learn the most from how to improve as a teacher and create a better value for the investment next time around.

It reminds me of the time in college in my journalism reporting class. Mrs. Tripp walked in the first day of class with a red pen in her hands and held it up. The first words she said were straight to the point:

"See this red pen? Get familiar with it, because I am going to bleed red ink all over your papers this semester. Get ready."

At first, it made me nervous. I'm sure in teacher reviews, Mrs. Tripp got some bad reviews for her style of teaching. But by the end of the semester, I realized, as much I had also griped and complained throughout the semester about her, she in the end was my greatest teacher I had had to date because she wasn't afraid to give it to me straight. Though her approach to teaching was different than how I would have taught, and trust me, I tried to fight her time and time again about it, in the end, I chose to walk away and focus on the positive things I did learn from her, which after I put my stubbornness aside, I realized was quite a lot.

When deciding to attend a photography workshop, I WANT you to be informed before you go, whether mine or someone else's. I too have gone to workshops I have put a lot of money into where I didn't feel like it met my expectations, but I have always walked away with a few new tips and tricks to implement into my business, and made great new friendships in the process. That was worth the investment to me.

I decided to start hosting my own workshops because my inbox gets flooded everyday with questions from other photographers. (I encourage you to leave your questions on my FB page here where I will soon be starting video blogs to help you out and answer them!) While I try my best to answer each email and help on my own time, it does interfere with serving my brides and grooms. So I wanted to create an opportunity through workshops where you can come ask your questions. I have never said I'm the richest photographer, most booked photographer, best artistic photographer. I have never said my way is the right way, it is simply... my way. I love empowering women through my workshops to go after their dreams. And with Jesus at the center of my business, that has been the source of any success my business has been given. That's MY message. If that can be of help to you, that's great! As my friend Mike Colon said at his workshop I attended, "I don't care what level of photographer you are , you ALL have something to give and share with others."

If I never give another workshop, that's fine by me. But I give them for you because I want you to succeed. I remember how frustrating it was starting out and just wishing I could sit down with someone for a day to answer all my dumb questions. If you are still interested in attending one of my future workshops and feel I could be helpful to you, sign up to my newsletter at the very bottom of my blog where you will be the first to be notified once I've set new dates. :-)

In the meantime, here's some Scarlett Lillian Workshop reviews from gals that got a lot out of the weekend:

Mandi Singer's review
http://mandisinger.squarespace.com/blog/2010/2/25/scarlett-lillian-workshop-day-1-2.html

Amy Gibbons's review
http://www.stillframesphotography.com/engagements/scarlett-lillian-workshopday-twowhitney-thompsoncycle-10-americas-next-top-model-winner.html

Kerry Andriuk's review
http://www.nativeskyphotography.com/blog/the-fabulous-friends-i-made-at-scarlett-lillians-workshop-maryland-portrait-photographer

Erin Campbell's review
http://erincampbellphotography.blogspot.com/2010/02/scarlett-lillian-workshop.html

Sarah Bray's review
http://75.125.179.157/~sarahbra/2010/02/scarlett-lillian-workshop-day-1-orlando-wedding-photographer

Virginia Rhoad's review
http://memories-by-virginia.blogspot.com/2010/02/hmmm.html

Kayla Mercedes' review
http://www.kaylamercedesphotography.com/?p=311

Esther Kraus' review
http://www.estherlouise.com/blog/2010/03/the-fabulous-scarlett-lillian

Jerri Lynn's review
http://photographybyjerrilynn.blogspot.com/2010/02/new-blog-for-new-year.html

I believe the greatest testimony comes in the long run, if the education a person invested in paid off after time has passed. I decided to move forward with hosting group workshops after I got this email a year later after Katie DeWinter came to my 1-on-1 workshop. I was super excited to read her words about how much her business has grown since our day together.

Why I love Picasso.

So there's been a lot of heated arguments going on in the wedding photography industry lately about "rockstars." Somehow our industry has formed it's own little micro-celebrity world. Somehow, people have lumped my fiance and I into it and made us targets to pick on. Somehow, photographer tabloids have popped up and are trying to imitate the Hollywood gossip-holic, PerezHilton.com.

Personally, I think the whole word "rockstar" is ridiculous. The bottom line is, we, photographers, take pictures of OTHER people. We are not rockstars. It is our job to make our clients feel like rockstars.

Yes, there are photographers who have blogs. Some post only photos. Some post photos and personal stories. For me, I graduated with a degree in magazine journalism, I am above all else a storyteller in the depths of my heart. I need to write just as much as I need to take photos. So I choose to write about (some of) my personal life and showcase photos. That is why I call it my photo journal instead a blog. If you are inspired by my story and my faith, that's awesome, if not, I won't be offended if you stop reading. But whatever you do, please don't call me a rockstar.

In addition, other people are tearing down people's art. In a day and age where any one can go buy a digital camera and turn it on auto and take a photo, the more experienced photographers are standing up to preserve the art of photography. I'm all for preserving the art, but I'm not all for tearing people down to accomplish that. And it's not just me getting criticized, I have heard story after story from others at all levels getting attacked. My heart breaks for those who have shared their experiences with me. This isn't high school. The bullying needs to stop.

The bottom line is, we all see the world a different way through our cameras. For the very reasons other photographers critique my work saying it's overexposed, overcontrasted, oversaturated, that is the VERY reason I love it. That is the very reason my clients hire me. That is the very reason my wall is full of thank you notes from clients raving about how much they loved their photos.

That is the very reason I have always loved the painter Picasso. In his world, people had 2 faces. In my world, the grass is neon green. Just like beauty, art is in the eye of the beholder.

I'm ready for a movement in the photography industry that CELEBRATES the fact that as photographers, we have the coolest job in the world!

Let's CELEBRATE that each of us has a unique perspective in how we document the world.
Let's CELEBRATE the beauty out there that is yet to be photographed.
Let's CELEBRATE that we get the honor to preserve family history for people.
Let's CELEBRATE that God has given us a gift and a passion and we live in a free country that allows us to pursue that.
Let's CELEBRATE individuality instead of pointing fingers.
Let's CELEBRATE each other as artists and stop tearing each other down.


"My mother said to me, 'If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope.' Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso."
~Pablo Picasso

The fab girls of Maggie Jo Law

When you walk into Maggie Jo Law offices, you have to question if you are really in a law office. The walls are splattered with vibrant color in paintings Maggie Jo Hilliard painted herself. She has fluorescent green chairs and decor that is oversaturated and full of life.

I love that Maggie Jo is an out of the box lawyer. And that's why she's mine.

She needed some new pictures with her and the other lawyers in her office for their marketing material. She wanted something out of the box with the same punch of color you see in her office. So she pulled out one scarf after another to add to the typical black suits. With her office a block from the beach, she wanted pictures to show that she is the kind of lawyer whose not afraid to kick her heels off to walk in the sand.

Here's some of my favorite shots of Maggie and the girls!


















A few personal ones of Maggie

Prayer request. Can you help?

When my dad got sick, an angel named Connie appeared in my family's life. She became an instant prayer warrior for our family helping to keep us grounded in God's word and His strength. Connie once too battled with cancer, but is now a survivor who boldly gives credit where credit is due as you'll see in her video above!

She has remained great friends with my mom and I, and today I got an email from her asking to join a prayer "pager" ministry for a close friend of hers. I was intrigued at the concept of this ministry, so I've copied and pasted the email:

"We have friend that is believing God for healing of cancer. Her name is Maggie Walls. She is the daughter of a dear friend of mine who stood beside me when I was believing God for my healing.

Maggie's church has a prayer pager ministry. After you pray for her then you call this number...it will beep on your end and it will beep on her end to let her know someone has just prayed for her.You wan't talk to anybody, you will just hear beeps. It is really neat.

She is the mother of 4 little people. She has triplets that are 4 and another child that is 7 and a precious husband Jason. They are leaving in the morning to go to Little Rock AK for tests out at a cancer center there that specializes in the type of cancer that is trying to attack her body, but we know we aren't moved by the report of man. We believe in the report of the Lord that says by the stripes of Jesus she is healed and whole.

So, if you feel led to pay for her and want her to know she has been prayed for I am going to give you her prayer pager number. 770-636-0653

In His Love, Connie

The joy of the Lord is your strength. Neh.8:10"

You here on my blog were SUCH a beautiful part of my dad's journey praying for him and my mom and I, so I wanted to publicly put this email on my blog to ask again for your prayer. My stat counter tells me that I get thousands of hits to my blog each day, so I know you're out there, and I want her beeper to go off for each of those hits my blog get. It only takes a few minutes to lift her up in prayer and call the number above that will notify her of the beep that she was just prayed for.

I want the masses to attack this in prayer and get rid of the cancer in her body and heal her. Her 4-year old triplets need her, as well as her 7-year-old and hubby. Thank you for joining me in this prayer movement! May God bless you in return!

The most beautiful day.

“Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

One thing I have loved about being a wedding photographer is hearing the love stories along the way from my clients. Being single all this time, it continued to give me hope that I would one day have my own happily ever after.

When I was a little girl, I use to look up at the moon and wonder where my Prince Charming was underneath it. I knew he was somewhere out there and refused to settle for anything less than my perfect match. I knew no one was perfect, but I believed with all of my heart that there was someone God perfectly made for me.

If you’ve been with me from the beginning here on my blog, you have been through the ups and downs of love and loss. Always the romantic at heart, I can’t help but wear my heart on my sleeve. While yes, I love posting my client’s weddings, this photo journal has become a place for me to simply remember my journey. To remember each chapter. To remember the good, the bad and the in between. To remember everything I longed for, the things I had faith in before I could see it, and watch how God fulfilled that in His perfect timing.

In 2007, when I was just beginning to blog, it had been over 2 years since I had dated anyone. I boldly held myself accountable by publicly putting a "Relationship Manifesto" list out there on my old blog of everything I envisioned for my perfect match. I had no idea if it was even possible to find someone who matched everything. I even had people tell me my expectations were too high. But I clung to the fact that my God is a BIG God and that delighting in Him, He would one day provide the desires of my heart like Psalm 37:4 promises. And while I was hopeful about other relationships that came and went on the blog, it wasn’t until I met Stephen that I just… knew.

What first attracted me to Stephen as a friend was his heart for Jesus. In our first few emails, we simply gushed about our mutual love for the Lord. As our emails grew longer and longer, we started to share the desires of our hearts in what we longed for in a partner to share life with. As Stephen shared more of his passions and heart for serving the youth in his church, my heart began to melt. I knew he was someone who I could run toward Jesus’ heart with on this marathon of life.

Our emails turned to video chats turned to when we finally hung out in person in San Diego last October. That week I realized I had left something off my list I wrote in 2007.

Laughter.

I discovered with Stephen that I could laugh a lot more than I had been in life. And just in that first week, I knew he was the one I wanted to laugh with forever.

Fast forward to Tuesday.

Ok, so yes, I had helped him pick out the ring, and from all his hints, I knew the proposal was coming at some point during the trip (he’s really bad at keeping secrets!) He told me on our last day to dress pretty because we were heading to some famous flower fields just north of San Diego.

“A ha, flowers fields, good place for pictures,” the photographer in me thought. Yes, I requested to him that it be documented because I wanted pictures to remember and show our family who couldn't be there... and, yes, our grandkids one day.

Next thing I knew, we ended up at a beach in Encinitas. I was totally confused.

“Hmm, must be a pit stop,” I thought.

As we walked on the beach I asked, “Aren’t we going to be late getting to the flower fields that close soon?”

“Umm, well, we aren’t going there,” he admitted.

“Why not?” I questioned. After all, I did choose a nice floral motif of a wardrobe to match the floral background picture in my photographer head.

“Well, I, uh, thought we could just walk on the beach and watch the pretty sunset,” Stephen said. “Afterall, the beach has been so important in our relationship. One of our first worship sessions was on the beach, and the times we gone to the beach to do our quiet time and pray on the beach here and in Florida. And the firepits at the Hotel Del Coronado on the beach.”

Then it hit me. OH. MY. GOSH. My vision was happening.

Rewind.

So back in late September, before I even went to San Diego to hang out with Stephen the first time, I was doing my own quiet time out at Jacksonville Beach writing in my prayer journal. I was writing about something else random, when all of a sudden, the Lord took over my sight and He gave me a vision of how Stephen would propose. Mind you, we weren’t even dating at this point yet. But in the vision, Stephen told me he chose the beach b/c he knew how we both felt closer to God there. I wrote it down in my prayer journal kind of confused why the Lord was showing me this, and I didn’t even know if Stephen was interested in me the way I was totally crushing on him. But the vision ended with tears in my eyes of how beautiful life could be with a man who truly put God first in his life and in our relationship, so I wrote it down out of curiosity… you know, in case in case it would actually happen. After we started dating and we told each other we knew we were the one for each other, I never told Stephen details about the vision, only that I had a vision the Lord gave.

Back to Tuesday. As Stephen and I continued to walk along the beach, he spotted a ledge on the cliff and led me to it to sit. As we sat, he began reflecting on the beginnings of our relationship and pulled out of his pocket a few pages of email excerpts he printed out from our first few email exchanges where I talked about everything I wanted in a husband.

Then he asked if he could pray for us.

We held each other and as he prayed I just thanked the Lord for the amazing man I held in my arms. So thankful for the way he always looks at me so adoring and calls me his "sweetheart." For the way he prays over our lives together each day. For the way I know my daddy sees in Heaven how much Stephen makes his girl baby laugh.

After the prayer, Stephen reached in his pocket and said, “So, uh, I have something to ask you.”

I waited.

And waited.

He really knows how to torture a girl. I kept waiting.

Then finally he got down on one knee and opened the box of the ring of my dreams! Then he asked the most beautiful question I’ll never forget.

“Scarlett Lillian Williams, will you spend forever with me?”

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I of course said a big YES!

Then he said “You will?”

“YES of course!” I responded.

And he jumps up and tries to put the ring on.

I was like, “Uh, you’re supposed to be on your knee still!”

He laughed and was like “Whoops, let me try again.”

Then on his knee, he slipped on the most gorgeous ring I’ve ever seen!

Then I jumped up and just hugged him.

Then we have this little game we play called “Guess what?” I said “What?” and he said “WE’RE ENGAGED!”

I literally screamed! I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe it! Stephen says that was his favorite moment seeing how excited I was. I literally jumped on him and wrapped my legs around him the way I always do when I’m excited about something.

And we couldn’t stop laughing.

I still can’t stop staring at the ring. What I love most about it is the history behind it. When Stephen was born, his grandfather left him some savings bonds that he has been holding onto for something special. He told me how he was saving that money all these years to invest in something meaningful that he could put his Grandpa’s hard earned money to a good use. He told me he couldn’t imagine anything better than the ring that will start our future together. Sooooo sweet.

To everyone who Twittered and Facebooked and emailed and texted your congrats, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for sharing the joy of this special time in our lives. We are so thankful for your kindness, and so thankful to have you sharing this journey with us in excitement. We cherish your friendships.

And to those who asked…… here’s the FAQs:

*We have NO IDEA who our photographer for the wedding is going to be.
*The wedding will be in Jacksonville, but we have no idea when the wedding date will be yet.
*Stephen will move to Jacksonville, unless the Lord calls us somewhere else.
*Yes, we will combine our businesses eventually and do the husband/wife photog thing once we get married!

We’re just taking it one step at a time as we follow God’s will for our future. Thank you for your prayers and love! God bless each and everyone of you! :-)

We were so blessed to have our good friends Gavin and Erin Wade there to capture every moment. Here’s a few of my favorites and the slideshow below of all the special moments in between played to one of our favorite songs!






My hand was literally shaking at this point!


I love how much we laugh together!


Can California beaches get any prettier?


On my right hand, I was wearing a bracelet from my dad. I was so glad to have him there in spirit during this memorable moment.


I totally didn't notice this in person until I saw it in the picture, but I thought it was cool how someone had etched in the wall "I <3 U!!" twice right behind where we were sitting.




Ahhhh, the California sunsets!






And just because we are goof balls like that...

For The Love workshop

One thing I love about being a photographer is the opportunity it gives me to cross paths with other photographers who love the Lord, who view photography as more than an art, but an opportunity to serve and love through the gift God has given us. At WPPI's UNITE worship service, I met a beautiful soul named Ginny Corbett. She led the small group I was in, and as she spoke, I could see through her words and the way her eyes lit up as she spoke, that she was someone who truly radiates God's beauty.

Last year, the Lord called her to put together a retreat/workshop called For The Love for Christian photographers to come together and seek God's will for their businesses. I'm excited to join the next retreat in November in Oregon. She hasn't released details yet, but is collecting names of those who want to be the first to know when final details are revealed. On the For The Love blog, she just released this amazing video recap showing how powerful the first retreat was.




If you are interested in more info, be sure to sign up on the For The Love blog at:

http://www.fortheloveworkshop.com/blog

Hope to see you there as we come together in worship of our beautiful Heavenly Father.

A Day In The Life of a 1 Month Old.

Back in 2002, I stepped into the elevator of a new place I was living. It was my senior year of college and I had no idea what the future held in store. In the elevator, I started talking to a new neighbor,Katie, who I found out was also a Christian and we decided to try out Campus Crusade For Christ at University of Florida. That year, we became fast friends as we shared our joys for the Lord, and our heartbreaks over silly boys. Also, that year, Katie met a new guy, Matt, who, back in her home town, was the basketball coach for her little brother's team. Over Valentine's weekend, she and I went and sat in the stands to "cheer on her brother", but really it was so she could see Matt. They eventually started dating and in 2005 I got the honor of standing beside her as she married the man of her dreams.

Fast forward, Katie and Matt now have a new love in their lives, sweet little Hannah. On a recent visit, I documented a day in the life of Hannah. Here are some of my favorites from the day!


A sweet pic with Hannah and her grandma.










I thought this was the cutest breast feeding pillow.




What I love about this pic is that, in the corner of the crib, is a bunny I gave to Katie back in college for Easter. I thought it was so special that now Hannah gets to use that bunny.


Hannah adoring her grandpa. Or was it the other way around?






Gotta love a good cry!

No autographs please.

So I gave in.

I've really been trying to boycott the whole "Fan Page" thing on Facebook. I just hate the name. I'm not a Hollywood celebrity, I'm just a photographer. I would much rather call you a friend than a fan.

But alas... everyone seems to be doing it... and I heard Facebook caps your friends on your personal page at 5,000... so as I approach that number, I didn't want to start rejecting people's friend requests, so I created a Fan Page in hopes that I can start separating personal and business just a tad.

I'm not exactly sure what the point is otherwise of Fan Pages, but then again, I didn't understand the point of Twitter at first... and once upon a time I didn't understand the point of blogs.... so I'm just assuming I will eventually come to understand the point of Fan Pages once I dive in and actually get things going.

One thing I have started is a discussion thread for you to post your photography questions. While I wish I had time to respond to everyone's emails and Facebook emails, the reality is I'm unable to, so this discussion thread on the Facebook Fan Page will be the best way to connect with me. I'm going to start something called "2 Question Tuesdays" here on my blog soon, and I'll be pulling questions from the discussion thread, so be sure to leave your questions there!

So there's my press release. I have a Fan Page. If you want to join it, I would love to have you there and participate! If not, no worries, I'm still trying to figure out the point too. :-)

Scarlett Lillian is a fan of

Scarlett Lillian Photography

Create your Fan Badge

Hanging in the [b] school!

Yesterday Stephen and I had a fun time driving up to Mission Viejo to chill with The Becker for an live broadcast of Study Hall for The [b} School. The fabulous Jessica Claire also crashed our lunch and it was fun to catch up with both of them post-WPPI and chat about photography and life.

Here's a few photos Jessica snapped of us during the broadcast. Thanks so much to the photogs who participated and joined the chat and asked questions. And a special thanks to Becker for inviting us on guests on the show. We love paying it forward and sharing our experiences to help you succeed along your own journey! If you are looking for a great place to connect with other photographers and learn, the [b] School has a lot to offer!

Scarlett Lillian Workshops: Gavin and Erin are married! /// Las Vegas desert photoshoot

It's becoming a tradition that each year at WPPI, I host a fun photoshoot to help other photographers get some amazing images in an amazing place. The past 2 years I took the group around the strip with all the flashy lights, but this year, I wanted to get away from the fabricated Vegas buzz and out into the raw desert. We shuttled out into mountains and found some cactus and jumped out in the road a few times. Our models were the gorgeous Gavin and Erin Wade, both Orange County wedding photographers who got married last October.

A special thanks too to Giselle Sanchez who did Erin's awesome makeup!

We had such a blast shooting and I absolutely adored the images I got, it was so hard to narrow down my favorites, so here's a ton below!


























































And of course a few of the group in action!







Here's some of the attendees images from the shoot they already blogged too! Go give them some comment love! :-)

Sia McDonald
http://siamcdonald.com/blog/2010/03/happy-lungs.html

Terra Dawn
http://www.terradawnblog.com/2010/03/16/wppi-2010-scarlett-lillian-workshop/

Katrina Wheeler
Her fan page of the shoot

Meg Sexton
Her fan page of the shoot

Janet Power
http://www.janetpowerphotography.com/blog/?p=624&cpage=1

Tricia Bennett
http://triciabphoto.com/blog/2010/03/red-rock-canyon-las-vegas-ttd-shoot-with-scarlett-lillian/

Michelle McKeen
http://www.michellemckeenblog.com/2010/03/gavin-erin-wade.html