Meeting Jasmine Star

It started sometime in December, in between wrapping gifts and writing out my holiday cards that I took a break to go online and catch up on facebook.  I remember reading an entry from a photography site that I “like” that said something like “Watching the amazing Jasmine Star on creativeLive”.

My curiosity was peaked!  Who, I thought, was Jasmine Star, and what is  creativeLive?  So, I clicked on over to CL to see this woman photographer being filmed live photgraphing an actual wedding.  I was hooked!  Hours later, I was still in the same position glued to my computer screen. 

From that moment on I started reading her blog.  Her story is so motivating and I feel like I got to know her so well just by visiting her blog on a daily basis.  I was so impressed with how she set up, started and built her business, but even more impressed with the person that she is.  So, when i was making my goals list for the new year, one of them was to meet Jasmine Star. 

Fast forward a few months later, one day when reading her blog she mentions she will be at a photo convention in Connecticut in March doing a 4 hour presentation.  There ya go!  I knew I was going to make it happen.  I had to take advatage of her being on the east coast!

I registered online and then realized the hotel where she would be speaking was 2 1/2 hours away.  Being the city girl that I am, this was going to be an obstacle.  There was no way i was going to drive that far,  to somewhere I’ve never been, all by myself.    I admit it.  I don’t love to drive.  I drive when I have to, but on weekends, for example when we do family activities, it’s the passenger seat for me all the way!

AMTRAK!!  Used them all the time during college, so it couldn’t hurt now. 

It was a long day!  3 hour train ride each way, plus the subway, but it was all worth it!

When the presentation was about to start,  Jasmine’s husband JD was setting up the computer and making sure everything else was working the way it needed to.  Awww! How sweet!

Then Jasmine came into the room – dressed in cute jeans and a tank top showing off her AMAZING arms!!  The presentation hadn’t started yet  so I decided to go up to her and say hello.  She was sooooo sweet and friendly!  Giving me a huge hug and saying she recognized me from her facebook page.  I was so flattered!  We had just enough time for JD to snap a picture of us before the presentation started.  I was thrilled!  (kinda obvious from that weird stuck on smile I have going on)

Her presentation was great – nothing technical about photography, but instead all about branding. 

She was so REAL and basically was just herself – telling her story, without any fluff or arrogance.

Another benefit of going to these conferences is the potential networking.  I met another photographer (Allison) in the morning just as we were getting off the train.  We ended up having lunch together and basically hung out for the rest of the conference.  We also met up with some other photographers she knew from an online forum.

They were all nice and it was interesting to hear everyone’s story and to see where they were in their own business.

Starting from the left is Allison, then me, another Stacey (we even spell our names the same way),  Crystal & Lisa.

photo by Crystal Starr

When I finally got home at about midnight and peeled my contacts off my eyes, I was both exhausted and so excited about the day I had.  Excited to implement the new things I learned, and the new friendships I made.

Is there someone in your field that you’d like to meet?  How do you feel about  networking?  Love it?  Hate it?