Jasmine Star Workshop: Chicago

Can I just shout to the rooftops how appreciative I am to be able to do what I love and make a living doing it? Admittedly, there are many days when I'm incredibly overwhelmed with the sheer idea of being my own boss--the idea that my success (or failure) lies soley in my hustle. Because let's be honest, as with many things in life, it's so easy to both catch and lose that hustle. It's even easier to get down on yourself. (By the way, if you are currently down on yourself, I encourage you to read one of my past posts on that topic, here.)

Nonetheless, with that rollercoaster of emotional ups and downs and wondering if my hustle will ever be fast enough, driven enough, creative enough, I'm ever grateful to have worked for several opportunities for travel this summer. My travels aren't over, but thus far, taking some time to adventure to new places and learn from others has truly been a breath of fresh air. (If you need some inspiration on the importance of taking breaks, I have a post for that too, here.)

A couple of weeks ago, I had the absolute pleasure of attending a wedding photography workshop in Chicago put on by one of the key people in the creative professional industry who truly inspired my own personal decision to change my course of studies from English several years ago, and graduate with a B.A. in Liberal Arts to pursue a career in fine art wedding and portrait photography. Jasmine Star is a wedding photographer based in California who has mastered her art and her business through her sheer hustle and online voice. In college, I spent countless hours in between classes, at night, and during study breaks reading every inch of her blog, daydreaming about my own business and how I hoped to someday have the hustle that she possesed. I watched every online video and course she posted, I bought the magazine she published--I wanted that drive. Well, my friends, so much sweat tears and tears go into that hustle, I can assure you and I'm so far from where my dreams lie, but a tiny bit of me felt so at peace having met a woman who had such an impact on my career decisions. And how? All through her voice, love for writing, and dedicated blogging. Her true passion for wanting to help those willing to hustle, succeed.

 

Not only did I have some extra time in Chicago to experience a little adventure, but I walked away from the workshop reinvigorated in how to approach my art and be of even better service to my dazzling clients. Our workshop took place at Robyn Rachel's drool-worthy warehouse/loft-esque studio in Downtown Chicago, where we spent the day learning, networking, and having the most casual business chats over delicious food. During the workshop, we had the opportunity to watch Jasmine shoot, and even got a little time to take away some of the knowledge she yielded us through our own lens.

Our shooting portion of the workshop took place at a super swanky Chicago venue, Salvage One. Also, drool-worthy. If anyone wants to have a wedding full of retro mismatched chairs and a mid-century feel, let me tell you how game I am...

The rest of the Chicago creative team that made our day ever-fabulous were:

Hair: Nicci Loiacono Makeup: Megan Hauser Accessories: Left Bank Jewelry Dress: Valentino from Belle Vie Bridal Tuxedo: Formally Modern Tuxedo Flowers: A Stem Above

During the shoot, I also snapped a few of Jasmine instructing and JD being super awesome at everything else. Literally. I'm pretty sure he's the other half of her brain--which I can only imagine, as Preston already fills in the gaps where my brain turns to mush on wedding days. Husband-wife teams for the win!

 Jasmine, thank you for the countless moments of inspiration throughout my career, and for your confident, steadfast drive that lifts up this industry. Oh, and the "Gheushh."  (; I mean, how do we even spell that?

Chicago & Finding My Inner City Girl

This summer has truly been a ball of excitement. Preston and I vowed to travel as much as possible over the next few years, and that's exactly what we've started doing. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to take this and a couple of other business-esque trips with me this summer due to school and military, but undoubtedly, we will be hitting up these places again. Especially Chicago. The windy city captured my heart more than I'd ever expected it to--from public transit to basement apartments to people walking dogs everywhere--I fell in love. And seriously, I felt like I was straight out of 101 Dalmations with so many people walking their big, beautiful dogs in parks and on sidewalks in the middle of the city.

My main reason for making the trip was to attend a wedding photography and business workshop with the ever-fabulous Jasmine Star--more of which I'll be sharing with you next week. But for now, I wanted to share some of the personal adventures I had while in the city. I feel as though the architecture of a city is a form of self-expression in the same manner that styles of clothing would be for a person--and well, Chi Town's architecture sure said a lot about her personality. I loved the warehouse feel and the straight-out-of-a-movie city feel, and so much more...

The fog was pretty enchanting. One evening as we were driving through the city, it was so thick that it looked as though there was a large fire and smoke was engulfing the streets. Nope, just fog. Mysterious fog. (:

Another thing I wasn't particularly expecting the city to woo me with, its food. But oh, let me tell you about the food. Chicago knows how to brunch, my friends. My tastebuds were flirted with at every meal. I snapped some shots at one of our brunch spots, Birchwood Kitchen because it was just too cute...and delicious. We ate on the back patio hidden amongst busy city streets, but you would have never known it by the quiet and greenery out back. Birchwoood Kitchen, you're a charmer, you. 

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen my post that I bought a freshly juiced green juice FROM A WALGREENS. Not super hating on the South, but I sure do wish trends like this would pick up more in the deep south. Freshly made juices in convenience stores are a luxury I'll keep dreaming about here, for now.

The photo to the left below was that Walgreens. It used to be an old bank in the city that Walgreens bought and converted into one of their stores and the architecture inside was just breathtaking. 

Can anyone identify the building to the right below? I couldn't, although the men working on the street as we were taking a stroll told us that people pass and take photos of that building all of the time. I assumed it must be from some movie or show that I just couldn't recognize. So, I snapped too. (:

More fog, and pretty street art.  And this last one is just for funnies, because that's a Nikon in my hand. Happy, happiest Friday, my friends! Stay tuned next week for more photos from the actual workshop.