We’ve got a couple of super fabulous deals going down TODAY…and today ONLY…so jump on the crazy train real quick like…so you don’t miss out! Read on for the details…

SUGAR SWEET DEAL #1 ::
Register for one of our LAST TWO Online Training Classes of 2011 or Private Training TODAY…using promotion code ‘cybermonday’ and you will receive Sandi’s Six Custom Actions along with your training session…AND you will be entered into a drawing to receive her Focus Workshop Workbook FREE! One winner will be chosen from all registrations received TODAY using the promo code.

THE ICING ON TOP DEAL #2::
Post a link to this post on your Facebook Wall or your blog…letting your peeps know about our Cyber Monday Promos…and you will be entered into a drawing to win a FREE Private 1 hour online Photoshop training session with Sandi. In order to be entered to win…you must post the link to your wall or blog BEFORE 5pm AZ Time TODAY…AND comment below with a link to where the post can be found. The winner will be chosen TODAY at 6pm AZ Time…and announced here and on our Facebook page!!!

Register for Online Training HERE.

Alrighty…Happy Cyber Monday to you ALL!
Sandi

Just a quick FYI…there are only TWO spots left for tomorrow morning’s Online Photoshop Class. The webinar will be held from 9am-10am MST and the cost is $95. Please click the link for more details.

XOXO!
S

Photoshop Training  |  Online Photoshop Class

I’ve done several private training sessions this week…so I wanted to share a few before and afters from those sessions…as well as a few images from our two SENIOR FOCUS WORKSHOPS this past month. The senior workshops have got to have been my favorite workshops so far…I LOVE working with high school seniors…and the attendees at each workshop were all such lovely people! Ya’ll make teaching workshops such a blast! Thank you for making that part of my job so very much fun! And…thank you to ALL of the models who came out and poured themselves into several hours in front of the camera…ya’ll did a fabulous job! Thank you!

That good looking kid belongs to moi! I can NOT believe that my oldest son is going to be graduating this year! Unbelievable! Thank you for modeling for us Lane! I love you!!!

XOXO!
S

Phoenix Arizona High School Senior Photographer  |  Scottsdale AZ Senior Pictures
Sandi Bradshaw Post Processing  |  Sandi Bradshaw Workshops
Focus Photography Workshop  | Sandi Bradshaw Photoshop Training
Senior Portraits Scottsdale, Phoenix, Paradise Valley, Arizona  |  Urban Processing

AND…there is still one opening left for the September 2nd and 3rd workshop…and a couple of spots left for the 12th and 13th! So…it’s not too late to join us! You can read all of the details HERE.

And…because I do not like to post without a picture…here ya are…the ever so lovely Miss Jess…

XOXO!
S

High School Senior Photography Phoenix & Scottsdale Arizona
Focus Senior Photography Workshop by Sandi Bradshaw, Avenue 17

We are so excited to announce our NEW
Mini-Workshop FOCUSED entirely on SENIORS!
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
for BOTH Mini-Workshops to beheld in
Scottsdale, AZ
September 2nd & 3rd and September 12th & 13th

The SENIOR Mini-Workshops will be focused entirely on working with high school seniors…and discovering all of the specific and unique elements that go into running a successful Senior Photography Business. Our Senior business has grown every single year…and we believe that it’s due to some very specific decisions we’ve made in how we run Avenue 17…as well as how we work with our seniors individually and on a personal level. We are SO excited to share with you everything that we’ve learned over the past 5 years about working with our very favorite subjects!

The Mini-Workshop will be ‘mini’ timewise…but, not in content! We will cover everything that we know in 9 PACKED hours of shooting, detailed post-processing, marketing specifically to seniors & branding that will set you apart. All of the following will be covered and is inculded in your registration fee:

The Mini-Workshops will be held from 4pm to 7pm the first day and 10am to 4pm the 2nd day. The first day we will jump RIGHT into styling our models. Kaylie, my Style and Design Assistant, will be instructing on exactly how we consult with our clients and help them pull their ‘looks’ together for their session. From there we will head out to our shooting location for 2 hours of live shooting with the models.

There will be an optional dinner the first night after we finish shooting at a restaurant within walking distance of the studio and the recommended hotel. Dinner is totally optional, but strongly encouraged because it’s a great time of asking questions and for building relationships with the other photographers…and it’s just plain FUN!

The second day we will spend the morning covering marketing, branding, pricing, and products specific to seniors…break for a short working Q&A lunch…and then wrap up our day post-processing.

This will be a FAST paced workshop…like SUPER FAST!…but, PACKED with extremely useful information that will help you take your senior business to an entirely different level!

*** ATTENDANCE IS LIMITED TO 10 PHOTOGRAPHERS PER WORKSHOP ***

Be sure to JOIN US ON FACEBOOK!

I hope to see you at the Senior Workshop!

XOXO,
Sandi

Senior Photography Workshop  |  Sandi Bradshaw Workshop  |  Focus Photography Workshop

This is just a quick note to let you know that there is a last minute spot available for this weekend’s Focus Workshop. April 15th and 16th in Scottsdale, AZ. There was a cancelation due to a family emergency. This spot is open to local photographers as well. You can register online through the Focus Workshop website.

And…I’ll leave you with just one shot of this GORGEOUS couple who are expecting their first little sweetie-pie very soon…more from this session soon!

xoxo!
Sandi

But…I will say just a few quick things…The February Focus Workshop in Scottsdale, AZ was RAD!…The March Focus Workshop in DC was AWESOME!…and The April Focus Workshop in Scottsdale will be FANTABULOUS!…and there are just 3 seats left!

There are also 3 Private Mentor Session dates open for April…4/8…4/18…& 4/21…email me if you’d like more details on the one on one mentor sessions. Private mentor sessions are held at my studio in historic downtown Scottsdale, AZ.

There is a great new resource available to photographers looking for workshop reviews…Workshop Jungle. Be sure to check it out…and you can read some of the comments left by our workshop attendees under the Intermediate and Advanced workshop tabs…you guys are THE BEST! Thank you for the love ya’ll!

Here are some images from the past couple of workshops…it’s been crizzazy busy around here!!!

Awww….I’ve missed bloggin’! If you’re reading this … I’d like to personally commend you for being ever so patient and not giving up on my little corner of the ever tangled web. I have been so very busy since January shooting, editing, traveling, hosting workshops, mentor sessions, and running Project 52 from our Facebook Page. (which is such a fun project … if you haven’t checked it out … you really outta!)

Up in the next few days … some client newborn session sneak peaks … and a sneak peek of my very favorite maternity session ever!

XOXO!
S

Photography Workshop  |  Focus Workshop  |  Sandi Bradshaw Workshops
Phoenix Photography Workshops  |  Arizona Photography Workshop
Arizona Child Photographer  |  Childrens Photography Scottsdale, AZ
Senior Photographer Scottsdale  |  Paradise Valley Photographer

XOXO!
S

Scottsdale Child Photographer  |  Scottsdale Children’s Photographer  |  AZ Child Photographer
Arizona Children’s Photographer  |  Photography Workshop  |  Sandi Bradshaw
Phoenix Childrens Photographer  |  Gilbert Kids Photographer  |  Focus Workshop

And now…for the winner! I have to say that as I was reading through the comments…there were some of you who said such kind things that truly…my eyes would just fill with tears. Maybe I’m hormonal. I actually dreamt last night that I was pregnant. I’m NOT! (Phewwwww!) But…anyway…some of your comments just completely melted me…and one of them came from a local photographer. Her comment literally made me cry…and quite honestly humbled me to the very core. This is NOT how I see myself…but it is proof to me that we can all be an encouragement to each other…and should be…because THIS is what I strive for…and someone else sees it in myself and my work…even when I don’t.

Here is her comment… (the one that had me blind with tear filled eyes)…

:: SEE, TRULY SEE ::

Sandi, I saw you shoot once, while I was out location scouting. I didn’t know who you were and hadn’t seen your work. You had a little girl sitting at table and she was little – maybe 2 or 3. And I saw the set up and the cute everything that went along with it but what stopped me in my tracks was watching YOU. You captured the honesty of this little girl because you forced NOTHING from her. You did not direct, you were not aggressive and in her face and you had a comforting command over the entire shoot. By allowing her space and letting her BE, I could actually SEE how you SAW HER, with complete acceptance and HONESTY. You captured HER and not how you or anyone wanted her to be. To this day that experience transcends anything I have learned about photography. If I want to capture WHAT IS, then I have to first accept what IS. When I accept what IS then I will SEE, TRULY SEE what IS.

“When people ask me what equipment I use, I tell them my eyes.” This sucked the air out of me. And I love getting the air sucked out of me because it makes me take action. Very profound and wowza. So this year I will be packin’ my eyes!

Thanks for the post, inspiration and for bringing us all together! And thank you everyone for sharing!!! I am inspired by all of you!!! 

P FIfTy-2 RoCkS!

*****************

I was thrilled when I chose her number…not because hers was the only comment that I loved…but because I am SO excited to have the opportunity to give her something back for the way that she blessed me with her words.

THANK YOU DANA!!! AND CONGRATULATIONS!!!

*****************

And…I thought it’d be fun to post a couple pictures from the session that I believe she’s talking about. These were taken probably a year or even longer ago. Time does indeed flyyyyyyy!

THANK YOU ALL for your comments…and I am just so grateful that so many of you even want to win a seat at my workshop! I am so blessed…because of all of you!

xoxo,
S

I’m feeling all of those things…very deeply this year. I feel a desperation for those things really…a desperation to reconnect with the art of photography…and a desperation to create. I had an amazing conversation last night with a photographer who’s work I GREATLY admire. His name is Ed Flores…and if you are not familiar with his work…familiarize yourself…his talent knows no bounds. And even if his ‘style’ of work is not your style…his mastery of lighting can not be argued. He’s simply brilliant…and a genuinely nice guy. During the course of our conversation he inspired me on many levels…but, I think that what has stood out to me the most was his generosity, encouragement, and his humility.

I woke up this morning feeling a great need to define what my deepest desires are as a photographer. What resulted was the list at the top of this page. It’s not just a list of photography related clichés…not to me anyway. To me…it defines what I need right now and what I need to accomplish…in order to satiate my heart’s desire as a photographer.

I need to CREATE because creativity is the foundation of every single thing that I love about the art photography.

I need to INSPIRE because if my work doesn’t inspire others…to something…whether a thought, a feeling, an emotion, an action, or a desire to create for themselves…then I have to question the purpose of my work.

I need to BE INSPIRED because a stagnant photographer is not an artist. The whole world is filled with inspiration…and I need to allow myself the time and the freedom to indulge in it.

I need to BE REAL with myself, with others, and with my expectations. I tend to speak my mind…and wear my heart on my sleeve…and sometimes I’m pretty opinionated…and I need to be completely okay with that…and with the fact that it might not always be okay with everyone. Because if I want others to be real with me…and in front of my camera…then I need to be real myself. There are people in my life who I disagree with on nearly every ‘important’ topic of conversation, yet I love and respect them with a fierce devotion…solely due to the fact that they are real…and not hiding behind any sort of facade or persona.

I need to GROW. I know where my weaknesses lie as a photographer…I’m acutely aware of them…painfully aware of them, actually. If I’m content to stay where I am…then I will never be where I want to be. So…growing is not an optional decision for me. Ever. Growth is the very reason that I started my Project 52 group. It’s only week three and it’s already challenging me in ways that I hadn’t expected.

I need to CAPTURE because it is the very essence of the art of photography. Capturing is, by definition, representing. As photographers we are blessed…so blessed…to have the skill, talent, and knowledge to represent…life, moments, feelings, beauty, emotion, and elements…and to represent them in a way that is ours…and ours alone. That’s an immeasurable gift if you really consider it.

I need to SEE, TRULY SEE. “When people ask me what equipment I use, I tell them my eyes.” I read that quote on Ed’s website…and honestly, I don’t know if it’s his words or if it’s an anonymous quote…but, I can’t even describe the profound impact that it has on me. As photographers, we need to see the world…truly see it…not just look at it.

I need to TAKE RISKS…I need to be constantly willing to challenge myself and not ever allow myself to stay in my proverbial photographer pjs. The lure of comfort and familiarity will always have a suffocating vice grip on me if I’m not willing kick and scream to free myself of it. I need to be willing to fail…and even fail hard…because ultimately, the status quo price tag that I’ll pay for not taking risks will suck me dry.

I need to BE UNIQUE. I am the only me. I need to pour my heart, my vision, my ideas, and my skills to every image I create…because if my voice isn’t heard in my work…then who’s voice will be? *I’m gonna run off on a little tangent here for a minute…actually NO…I won’t. I’ll save it for a blog post in the next day or two…or a note on my Facebook Page…because it’s a little too long and opinionated for a simple tangent.

I need to BE AN ARTIST because if I’m not giving myself permission to call myself an artist…then I have no right to call myself a photographer. For whatever reason…I’m always very comfortable with the label ‘photographer’, but I’m never comfortable with the label ‘artist’. I think it might have something to do with the possibility that deep down…on some level…I really do buy into the fallacy that anyone with a nice camera can be a photographer. But…the truth is…that’s degrading the art of photography to the mere ability to click a button…and I’m here to tell you…there is FAR more to being a photographer…and artist…than that. I need to be ever willing to grow in artistry…and I need to be willing to embrace the fact that God made me artistic…to which I have the most overwhelming abundance of gratitude. Thank you God!

I need to BE ME. In the profound words of Oscar Wilde…”Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.”

I would love to encourage anyone reading this to consider making your own list…whether you’re a photographer or not…maybe you need to make a list that’s more about personally defining who you are or who you want to be. But…it’s an exercise in discovery…and decision. And…I feel blessed for having done it…and I think you will too.

Have you made it this far? If so…I applaud you. Brevity & I don’t know each other very well!

But…if you’ve made it this far…and you’re a photographer…and you’ve wanted to attend one of my workshops…then you’re in for a little love gift from me. I feel so inspired to GIVE after my conversation with Ed last night…that I’m going to give away ONE spot ($800 value) for my February FOCUS WORKSHOP in Scottsdale.

*(Past attendees are welcome to enter…and so are currently registered photographers…if you are currently registered and you win then your registration fee will be refunded to you).

Here’s how this will work…I don’t want it to be overly complicated.

Simply comment on this post and tell the ONE thing from MY list that you were most inspired by and WHY…and ONE thing that YOU are going to be working on this year in your own life.

I will choose a random number from the list this Friday morning at 9am MST. There must be a minimum of 250 comments from unique IP and email addresses in order for a winner to be selected. If the minimum number of comments is not reached then I’ll still choose a random number and the chosen person will receive a lovely parting gift. And historically speaking…based on my gift giving track record…trust me…you WANT the workshop!

So…share if you’d like…feel free to post a link to this post on your blog or Facebook page…but it’s not a necessary step to participate or to win. I’m not a fan of coercion. If you think that it’s worthy of sharing…or inspiring…or you want to give others the chance to win…fabulous…by all means share! But…that’s the end of my promotional speech.

***The winner will receive their entire $800 registration fee waived. If you’re chosen as the winner and you are currently registered…you will receive a refund of any deposit or balance you’ve already paid. Previous attendees are welcome to participate. Lodging, transportation, and meals outside of the workshop are not included.

Crossing my fingers for every one of you!

XOXO,
S

And to leave you with an image…this was my image for my Project 52 assignment this week. I assigned the group to take a BW image of something that shows something about who they are, but it could NOT include people. I love Midori…and I wanted to show it in a creative way…this is what I came up with. This project has been so helpful in forcing me to get out of my comfort zone already…and forcing me to be deliberately thinking more creatively.