What’s a Shot Party?

Well, it’s a day of fun and education for fellow photographers

…and it’s much easier to understand if you watch this video.

(Ignore the weirdo doing a “model walk” a little over 2 minutes in…. She’s a little kooky.)

Photobooth fun with my friendly photog comrades. 

This party happened in August of last year. So why am I talking about it now?

Well, I’ve got lots of things I wish to share with you but sometimes things fall between the cracks and this is one of them.

The previous year, Jasmine Star, encouraged us to blog our little hearts out. So you can imagine what every photographers blog looked like the week after meeting with her. This time, it was a little different.

What was different was what we learned from motivational photographer [B]ecker and inspiring photographers Bobbi and Mike.

When [B]ecker said “Know your sh*t”, I made it a point to brush up on my photography knowledge.

(Yes, he literally said that. In fact, I have the photo of the powerpoint slide to prove it but I don’t really have to show you that do I? :))

And when Bobbi and Mike said, “Treat your work like you are leaving each person their legacy.”, I invested more into getting to know my clients, giving them a fantastic photo experience, and honoring who they are through photos.

Bobbi explaining her slideshow and re-demonstrating how posing is important. As you could tell from the video above, this girl’s energy was insane. She was constantly jumping, running, and moving around. Sometimes it was hard to get a crisp photo of her.

…Except when she’s near Mike. Along with what they told us, I was inspired by what they showed us too. This couple loves love. Seriously. So you can see why an lovely couple who’s in love with love would do such a great job at capturing love through photography. 

So, my point is, when Jasmine said, “Blog! Share who your are! People want to know YOU!” we all ran out and did it. After I got educated by these photographers, I ran out and did what they inspired me to do: Take Better Photos.

Hopefully, you can look over my last year and see improvement from when I first started and that’s the point. I want to get better with each session. I want to top myself every time. Sometimes you just need a little kick in the pants to do it.

Speaking of kick in the pants, this spunky photog is the brains behind the operation.

My friend Kelly Manno has been the REASON for Donna Harris Photography and I’ll never forget it.

p.s. I’m also Kelly’s hairstylist and her “extension buddy”. Yep, the secret’s out. That’s not all our natural hair. Well, back in August it wasn’t. We are both proud to say that our natural locks have caught up to our ‘tress enhancements’  …So don’t think we’re posers or anything! 

Sure, I may have stumbled onto photography anyway but she helped fuel that photography fire that was burning inside of me. I’ve attended her workshops, asked her for help, and most importantly, become her friend. I am lucky to have her in my life for so many reasons, but again, the biggest one is the friendship. So you’ll have to excuse my biased opinion that believes anything Kelly touches turns to gold …just like the success of the St. Louis Shot Party.

So, that’s a quick recap of the Shot Party and a little update from me. If you ever wondered what photographers do in their spare time, it’s stuff like this. And blogging. And taking more photos. And obsessing over how they wish they were better.

But with every step I take, I WILL be better… I’m excited to take you on that journey with me.