If you have never heard of nor met Zach & Jody Gray, they are a couple that will bless your life and I highly encourage you to encounter them in some way. If you are a photographer, they have fantastic, informative, helpful blog posts and newsletters. If you are a mom, Jody has a separate family blog as she chronicles their adventures as parents. As a couple, they are a force to be reckoned with, not just in the photography industry, but for the Lord as well. Finding them through creativeLive has been one of the happiest coincidences of my photography career.

I've followed their progress as photographers, parents and leaders in the industry for the past couple years and when they advertised that they were opening their business to offering 90-minute Skype mentor sessions, I wanted to pounce on it. But first, for several days, I thought about it: What questions do I ask? What part of my business do I want to open up to them? What would it be like to open my business practices to scrutiny? Will they think I'm worth their time? What if they don't find my photos of high quality?

Insecurity had its hay day for a few moments. And then I clicked "purchase" on their mentor page. And it was totally worth it.

Their studio manager sent me a questionnaire so they could get to know my business a little bit and see where I felt were my "problem spots" were, so maybe they could give some guidance. Their studio manager set up a date with me that worked with both our schedules and it was set.

*insert deep breath here*

For a solid 90 minutes, Zach & Jody spoke encouragement into my business and gave some practical action steps to take to improve, to grow, to offer a better experience to YOU. (More of which I'll share next week!) As a teacher myself, these two are fantastic teachers and we got along splendidly.

The night before our chat, Gerard and I figured out how to record on-screen action on my laptop so that I could record our session and make reference to it in the future. So far, I've watched a few minutes of it again to make sure I didn't come across as a giggly idiot in the presence of photo-celebs. ;) As it was like drinking out of a fire hose, I'm glad I recorded it because I couldn't write and listen at the same time fast enough.

For any creative looking to have a second opinion, brainstorm, get a fresh look on how they're doing and if they're headed in the right direction, I can highly, with the utmost of confidence, endorse the Gray duo. Because of their advice and guidance, the future of Carrie Krupke Photography, LLC is a little less grey. And I'm excited for the opportunities that will be coming YOUR way in 2015!

Cheers,

Carrie

A Little Less Gray