Quotes from Jasmine Star @ Creative Live Course

Here are some of the quotes fromWedding Photography Course with Jasmine Star:

• "I'd rather see you fail at something you love than to succeed at something you hate."
  
• "Your website is your handshake and your blog is your voice."
  
• "Under-promise, Over-deliver."
  
• (On doing post processing) "I'm a photographer. Not a Lightroom or Photoshop expert."
  
• (On using camera flash) "Nobody ever sees life in flash."
  
• (On shoot at a ghetto location) "Take the Ghetto out and shoot the fabulous!"
  
• "KIR Keep It Real."
  
• "In the sea of professional sameness - I was the blip that was different."
  
• "If I win at my own game, then the playing field will be equal."
  
• (On being able to compete) "Create your own game and win it!"
  
• "You create your own game. Don't let other create your game."
  
• (On not having the best camera) "I can do more on my M-mode than you can do on your P-mode."
  
• (On branding) "You can rent a camera, you can borrow your sisters computer, but you cannot rent or borrow your brand."
  
• "When you wake up for the rest of your life and could choose every day what to do, what would it be?"
  
• "A rising tide raises all ships."
  
• "Take care of the vendors."
  
• "You're either connecting or repelling."
  
• (On saying yes to all client requests) "Yes, yes, yes. At the end of the day, you are paying to shoot their wedding."
  
• (On writing so much personal stuff online) "I gave enough reasons for them to feel like my friends."
  
• "Personalize. Personalize. Personalize."
  
• "Brides are booking out of emotion."
  
• (On setting up the shoot) "Take 5 seconds out of your time to move things. Remove. Always."
  
• "I don't talk fast, you listen slow."
  
• "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."
  
• (On making the bride feel comfortable) "It is OK to be absolutely breath-taking and feel beautiful."
  
• (On making the bride feel comfortable) "Make it fun, fresh, fierce."
  
• (On being different) "A brick wall is a brick wall is a brick wall...Uncle Bob can shoot a brick wall"
  
• (On being different) "What can we do to make a static environment comes to life?"
  
• (On being different) "Know your style, get your clients posing to the image you want, and use those images on blog to pitch your style!"
  
• (On posing) "You can't help a client get comfortable if you haven't experienced being uncomfortable."
  
• (On posing) "It's not their fault that you put them in that dumb pose."
  
• "I attract girls that think happy wife implies happy live."
  
• (On posing) "Make him look cool. Make her beautiful. Everyone is happy."
  
• "A lot of times guys are marrying out of their league. girls are hotter."
  
• "Allow your client to be beautiful."
  
• (On posing) "Swish it. Turn it. Love it."
  
• (On make the clients feel comfortable) "When you talk behind your camera, you keep the client engaged."
  
• (On posing) "You have to give them an action to move into that."
  
• "Bring it, deliver, commit."
  
• (On posing) "10 in 10x10"
  
• "You have no other option but to make it work."
  
• "Put yourself through and let it go."
  
• (On running out of ideas) "And sometimes you just need to take a step back and take a look at the situation."
  
• (On running out of ideas) "Whenever you are stuck, revert to the twirls."
  
• (On client's request) "Shoot it and get it done. Move on."
  
• (On shooting client's dog) "Love the dog, hug the dog, let the dog trust you."
  
• (On out-sourcing the post processing) "I out-source my life because I want my life."
  
• "If you don't have a second shooter, get one."
  
• (On first look) "You have to show them what they don't know they want."
  
• (On having your own style) "What are the three words that describe you?"
  
• (On having your own style) "Are those three words describe you? Or are those describe what you want to be? If latter, you need to take a step back."
  
• "If it's special to them, I want to shoot it."
  
• "We make images of emotional moments people forget. [The images] will help them to rememeber."
  
• (On being emotional in the wedding) "I want to be part of it but I cannot be submersed in it."
  
• (On showing the same day slideshow) "My pictures get better the more you drink."
  
• (On location shooting) "Nobody in the world will know there's a lawnmower 2 ft away!"
  
• (On same day slideshow) "I want to teach people to be Jasmine Star Evangelist."
  
• (On same day slideshow) "I want my photos to be the first photos the client see."
  
• (On same day slideshow) "If you want something to grow, you want to start the conversation early on."
  
• (On not delivering your pictures fast) "Yours probably is better but it's not new."
  
• (On same day slideshow) "Same day advertising is what the Bride and Groom would appreciate."
  
• "We know what we can do in the time given."
  
• "Anything that makes the wedding unique, that's what I will be photographing."
  
• "Anything beyond 2 people, I don't shoot with 1.2."
  
• (Mother of the Bride worries about bags under her eyes) "My camera is special. No bag. This is an anti-bag camera."
  
• "Probably not the optimal situation. I'll just take what's given me."
  
• (On working with the wedding coordinator) "I am ready whenever you are ready. That's what all the wedding coordinators want to hear."
  
• (On working with the wedding coordinator) "Whatever makes her job easier, that's what I will do."
  
• (On 2nd shooter taking care of the clients) "The better experience they have, the better my photos will look to them later."
  
• (On keeping the flash on camera the whole time) "It's called being prepared, homey."
  
• (On being in a difficult lighting situation) "Why not? Why not just sauce it up?"
  
• "The tongs cheapen the pictures"
  
• "I always think the bride and groom make up the rules."
  
• (Every time the bride wants something) "Whatever you want Laura."
  
• "Clearly a breather does not exist on a wedding day."
  
• (On the amount of time to shoot details) "Yes, I educate my clients."
  
• "As long as she is happy, I am happy."
  
• "There is no formality. Just tell me 'Give me a shot.'"
  
• "Whatever make you feel good."
  
• (On shooting details) "I will make adjustment as I see fit."
  
• "Just take a little time to stylize the table, it will pay off dividend later."
  
• "With my team like this, how can I fail."
  
• "You are a beautiful 'cryer'"
  
• "Absolutely, I will do that right now."
  
• "When there is nice people like that, I want to do an extra good job."
  
• "My camera loves you."
  
• "My brides are always the shot callers."
  
• (On picking the photos) "It's my job as an artist to choose the strongest."
  
• "I want to make sure my bride feels good."
  
• "I want to make sure they know I am looking after their best interest."
  
• "I don't use any in camera settings."
  
• "If you learn how to find good light and shoot confidently, that's all you need."
  
• "I will find the focal point closet to the bride's eye and then point up or down or left or right."
  
• (On why shooting so many pictures) "I want to make sure I have at least some photos that are tack sharp focus [because I shoot wide open]."
  
• (No lens cover) "I am not worried about dust on the lens. I am shooting wide open, so dust is not an issue."
  
• "I've never use the camera strip...I know how to handle my gears professionally...I know my settings."
  
• "I've never drop a lens. I've never drop a camera."
  
• (On table shoots) "They will never get purchased....I'll only do it by request."
  
• (For canned photos) "JD uses 50 and 85."
  
• (On fish eye lens) "People look funny. People will un-tag themselves if you post the picture on FB. If you want a wide lens, get a 16-35."
  
• "Life is like an elaborate high school."
  
• "I will always try to shoot with natural light."
  
• (On putting the softbox on the wrong location) "If I know where the softbox is, I will naturally not shoot at that direction."
  
• (On shooting something beside weddings) "I like shooting people. There is no greater satisfaction on bringing out something good from people. Sheep just doesn't do it for me"
  
• "If you are shooting every weekend, your price is too low."
  
• "I lose a wedding to someone I respect, I am OK with that."
  
• (On shoot family photos) "I never did it for free. I want people to value my time."
  
• "I want to be a boutique photographer. I want to be marketed for one thing. I want people to refer me for one thing."
  
• "Doing that one thing extraordinary well."
  
• (JD talked about his photography) "My eyes are not like Jasmine's but I trained under her. I saw so many of his pictures. I was her second shooter since her first wedding."
  
• "First photographer is the tile. 2nd shooter is the grout. Even the tile is what people see, the grout is what hold everything together."
  
• (On picking the selection) "I don't want to overwhelm the client. I am choosing what I feel are the strongest."
  
• "This is an highly emotional setting. I don't want him to think I am second guessing."
  
• "I don't change my ISO setting so much, especially shooting indoor."
  
• (On having a ladder in the background of a picture) "It was what it was."
  
• (On shooting at 1.2) "I focus on her eyes. If he is looking to the side, it's ok that his eyes are slightly out of focus.
  
• "I will shoot the entire wedding at f1.2, ISO 3200, 1/40. I will never say that to a client."
  
• "I know I can make people laugh."
  
• (On having different mood in the poses) "All this is by changing the position of her hand."
  
• (On Kevin Kubota) "I don't know what he is selling but I will buy whatever he sells me."
  
• (On Photoshop) "It should just the salt for a meal. It should not be the meal."
  
• (On B&W) "I do my edit in color. I give the option to my client on print color or b&w."
  
• (On getting the laugh on picture)"Keeping the camera on the face while talking. Of course, you look stupid but my job is not to look cool. My job is to make them look cool."
  
• "The florist loves her client but loves her work more."
  
• "I know what looks good. I don't think you have an ugly side. I think you have a fear."
  
• (On picking pictures) "You don't look beautiful but you look pretty. There is a different."
  
• "Who put her hand on the hip? If you give her a reason to hold her dress, it looks more authentic."
  
• "If there is a hot spot, that's life. I will deal with it."
  
• "I will never run any action at 100%. I am not trying to recreate a Kubota picture. I am trying to create a Jasmine picture."
  
• (On Photoshop Actions) "Enough to flavor and taste."
  
• "There is a right way to use the S-curve but I don't care."
  
• "There are people who are very good at Photoshop would think this girl is a hot mess."
  
• "Always always get a single shot of the bride. Editors love that. Guys are cute but girls are hot."
  
• "It is what it is. It is an alley. Give me pretty light."
  
• (On Photoshop) "I don't know much but I know enough to get me by."
  
• "Dodge and burn. Lift the skin. Slight changes make them pop from the screen."
  
• (On dodge and burn) "I like to control what my light is doing."
  
• "All we did is just manipulated good light. I am not a good photoshoper."
  
• "100% auto white balance."
  
• "Album spread. Album spread. Always thing about the end result."
  
• "I got a full length. I got a half length. I got detail. I got horizontal. I got vertical. Give them options."
  
• "Shoot for them and shoot for yourself."
  
• "The album should tell the whole story."
  
• "Magazine editors prefer vertical photos."
  
• "Make sure get a safe shot. Shoot the safe shot of the rings when rhe rings in the box."
  
• "Shoot others for myself, for editorial, for magazine."
  
• "These are just safe shots that I know my bride needs."
  
• "These are not spectacular photos but these will mean so much to Laura [the bride]."
  
• "Random detail shots for transitions in the slide show."
  
• "I don't want to keep pictures when the girls look silly."
  
• "Clear the scene, put her in the perfect light, and let's wait for what happen."
  
• "I missed the zipping but I am not going to ask them to pretend."
  
• "Nothing spectacular about it but it tells a story."
  
• "I have shots for her. Now these shots are for me."
  
• "I never tell the girls to do something cute."
  
• (On posing the girls) "Have them lean together."
  
• "Shoot for the client but also shoot for yourself."
  
• "Given what it available. It is what it is. Fly. Fly. Fly."
  
• "Value your time. Shoot it right from the can."
  
• "Always get the name cards."
  
• "I memorized my settings."
  
• "I have my flash on my camera but I just could not bring myself to turn it on."
  
• "When it is too flunky to fix. Black and White."
  
• "People hire me for 20% of their photos. [80% on the experience]"
  
• (On having a 2nd shooter) "I like to shoot it just like I am the only shooter just to cover my butt."
  
• "I don't want detail photos to be editorial. I want detail photos to be congratulatory."
  
• (On shooting at f/1.2) "[Q] What if I don't have a 1.2? [A] Shoot at 1.4. [Q] I don't have a 1.4. [A] Buy a 1.4."
  
• "I shot this at 1.2. This person is not focus. That person is not focus. But this picture tells a story."
  
• "What if I don't have a safe shot? Boring flash. I am going back to my boring flash."
  
• "I am shooting wide to tell the story. He is shooting tight to get the reaction."
  
• "Just tell the story. The guys are no non-sense."
  
• "People don't mind to be told what to do if they know they will get better pictures."
  
• "I need the second shooter to find the other story."
  
• "He has a different angle and it tells a different story."
  
• "Always take reactionary shots of the parents."
  
• "These are not the best photos but the clients are going to love them because these people means something to them."
  

Things that Jasmine and JD say a lot:

• "No, no, no, no problem. No worry."
  
• "I am sorry."
  
• "Thank you."
  
• "Thank you so much. Perfect."
  
• "This is great. This is totally fine."
  
• "That's beautiful!"
  
• "Great!"
  
• "Alright!"
  
• "Oh yeah!"
  
• "You look good."
  
• "Awesome."
  
• "Gorgeous."
  
• "You look great."
  
• (say to themselves) "Whatever. It is what it is."
  

What students and vendors say about Jasmine & JD:

• "Jasmine is Jasmine and she is the brand. It is not just the logo and letterhead."
  
• "She was in a mode. I just stayed out of her way."
  
• "She was unbelievable."
  
• "It's amazing to see how they worked and how they moved."
  
• "One of her huge talent is she makes it work given what's available to her."
  
• "They are very personal to the guests."
  
• "Constantly making the bride feel comfortable."
  
• "Keeping things in control."
  
• "She is not going to make the bride wait. She is going to make it work."
  

And the note from the last day is here.