todays q&a is kind of a smorgasbord of questions that i wanted to quickly answer, and i will just start by listing them point form!

Q:”any workshops in your future?”
A: YES!! finally i get to answer this question that was asked in the very first week of this blog series! i am currently offering a basics photography class series called “live to learn”, which will be an opportunity for those who have DSLR cameras and want to learn more about them, as well as some of my favorite basic photography techniques. to check out more information, head over to the live to learn website here. registration for both alberta and lake country classes open on monday, february 19th at 8:00am PST. each class has 10 spots available.
on that note, i am so over the moon excited to also be finally working on the details for a more advanced workshop series for established photographers called {INSPIRE}. i have really been challenging myself and my heart to come up with a workshop that is unique and different, that can provide valuable information and guidance for intermediate to advanced photographers within the business and branding side of photography. once i have the details for this ironed out, i will be sure to make an announcement both on the blog and on my facebook page! i am so excited to be able to give back some of the lessons and knowledge i have experienced on my journey so far!!

Q: “what gear to do take with you when you travel?”
A: when i am traveling for business, i take all of it! i never want to be left unprepared, and i do take my backup gear as well. i also don’t want a client to be missing out on different types of shots because i had to travel to get to their wedding so i didn’t bring all of my gear, if that makes sense. i treat destination shoots just as i would treat a local job, so anything i would bring to a wedding in my backyard, i bring to my international weddings. this includes:
-2 canon 5d mark II’s
-canon 24-70mm 2.8L lens
-canon 70-200mm 2.8L lens
-canon 50mm 1.2L lens
-my newly acquired canon 35mm 1.4L lens
-canon 85mm 1.2L lens
-2 canon 580EX flashes
-flash stands/tripod (if needed)
-pocket wizards
-5 spare camera batteries
-8 16GB CF cards
-3 different external hard drives for backup
-laptop

when i am traveling personally, i usually will only bring 1 camera body, and a few of my favorite lenses… although i just added the canon 35mm 1.4L and the 85mm 1.2L to my collection for this upcoming wedding season (EEK!) so i am thinking i will be wanting to bring those 2 with me wherever i go for the next little while!! ;). a great option if you don’t want to haul around a ton of gear is to only take the one body with the 24-70mm 2.8l to give you a good variety!

Q: “do you check your gear, or do carry on when you travel” “what camera bags do you use and love?”
A: carry on, ALWAYS!! i have an epiphanie “london” travel bag (which I LOVE!), which fits my 2 bodies, lenses and 17inch lap top… and it’s stylish too!! it gets stupid heavy, but i never let it out of my sight. the one time when i first traveled to a wedding, i packed my laptop in my suitcase only to get to my hotel and discover a smashed screen… i will never do that again! 😉 ~ here are a photos of me shooting with my london travel camera bag  ~ i LOVE epiphanie, and they have all sorts of different styles and colors! i also have the epiphanie lyric (brown bag below) which i use all the time when i am shooting too, and sometimes i even just use it as a everyday purse… BONUS!! 😉

…epiphanie london bag (photo credit: janine sept)

…epiphanie lyric bag ~

and lastly… the reason that this post is being put up so late…

Q: “what are some affordable resources out there that you would recommend for new photographers who can’t afford to attend a bunch of workshops or conferences”
A: there are soo so many amazing resources out there for new photographers, one of my favorites is SHOWIT LIVE which is every day at 10am PST… showit live also offers so many free incredible workshops that you can find here in the rewatch section, and if you watch these workshops live you can even ask questions and be a part of it all from home through the ustream chat! scott and i were honored to get to host a show for showit live last june, if you want to check it out here is the link!

another great resource is creative live!! which is why this post is being put up so late… because today i am watching a FREE online workshop put on by creative live!! i started watching first thing this morning, and i am still sitting here and haven’t even got up to comb my hair yet…HA! (so let’s just hope the UPS guy doesnt drop anything off today because i look like i just rolled out of bed…. :p) ~ ANWAYS… A.D.D… back to creative live…  today  jasmine star is going through a business makeover with 3 other photographers live online, and they are talking about branding, and an effective online web presence for your business ~ such valuable information and if you have some time today and are interested in these topics, tune in HERE to fill your brain with all sort of photography business awesomeness!! 😉

happy wedensday! hope you all have a beautiful day!