Yesterday was a wonderful day!

I met with Autumn for a few hours of camera & photo talk.

Autumn is well on her way towards success in photography,
and it was so great to talk with her for hours and answer her questions
about cameras, business, lenses, light, and more!

Her story is a LOT like mine.
If you were to go back in time about 6 years,
you'd find me at the beach with a camera and lenses a lot like hers.
Just trade the digi for film, since my first SLR camera was a 35mm Canon Rebel.
She's been discovering her skill for capturing expressions, moments, and personality,
and she's working really hard at incresing her technical knowledge so she can
feel more confident with her equipment and move beyond shooting in AUTO modes.

A lot of us have been there -- am I right???

While I was talking with her, I kept remembering myself at that point in this photography journey.

I was REALLY self-conscious, and I would spend HOURS looking at photographers' websites
crying about how my photos sucked in comparison.

I was excited about learning more and improving, and I felt like I had the potential
to do really great things with my skills and my camera,
but then I'd sabotage myself by getting stuck in a funk of self-doubt.

I think self-doubt is a good thing in moderation.
The arrogant and over-confident opposite would be even more detrimental to a photographer's growth!
I'm not sure if this is a female issue, but it sure seems like women are
much more likely to fall into that self-doubt funk.

If any of this sounds familiar to you, please know you're not alone!!
My advice: give yourself a LITTLE bit of self-doubt and "I SUCK" time,
but STOP YOURSELF and go practice more with your camera so you can improve!
Also, remember that every photographer suffers from "I-SUCK-ITIS,"
probably more recently and frequently than you'd think!!!

OK, I'm done preaching for today ... time to hop off this rickety soap box!

Thank you, so much, Autumn for coming to La Jolla yesterday.
It was WONDERFUL meeting you and spending the morning together.

Also, thank you to Judy & Greta's mommies for bringing their princesses
to the beach yesterday so Autumn and I could practice!

I've been taking pictures of these families since before these princesses were even born,
and it was great to see them again!

Happy Friday!!

~Carey

Are you a mom or dad with a little one at home?
Do you have some free time tomorrow (Thursday, March 19th) in the morning?

If you're spontaneous and like spending time at the beach,
you can come hang out at the beach and have a free little photo session!

Tomorrow morning, I'm meeting with a very nice lady for some one-on-one mentoring
(her awesome hubby suprised her with it for Valentines Day -- what a sweetie!).
She chose "real world shooting" as her #1 priority for the session,
so we're going to be spending a lot of time shooting at the beach.

Our plans for a little "practice subject" fell through,
and even though it would be OK practicing on each other,
it would be great to have a little model.

If you'd like to come hang out at the beach tomorrow morning (La Jolla, around 10am),
shoot me an email (barefootmemories@gmail.com), and I'll get directions to you!

I'll make sure you get your pictures on CD!

Our little model needs to be able to stand, and that's the only requirement!

Have a great day!

~Carey

I've never done this before, but there's a first time for everything!

Mother's Day is the day when moms can do whatever they want, right?!?
So it's the perfect time to get what you've always wanted!

I'll be having my own "Mother's Day" the following weekend,
that way I can meet some families in Balboa Park
on the afternoon of Mother's Day, May 10th for MINI PLATINUM SESSIONS!

I have TWO openings, so if you'd like one of them,

CLICK HERE.

These mini sessions will be on the AFTERNOON of Sunday, May 10 in Balboa Park, near the Prado.

Mini Platinum sessions are 25 minutes long for up to 4 people.

For more info on Mini Platinum sessions, you can go HERE.

These will go quickly, so click quickly!

Have a great afternoon!

~Carey

Getting the mail isn't as high on my "exciting things" list as it was when I was little.

Nowadays it's mostly bills and junk.

EXCEPT FOR TODAY.

TODAY was SOCCER MAIL!

First, Mat's "Totally Frank" (Frank Lampard's autobiography) arrived.
If this won't get him to like reading, I don't know what will!

THEN, under all of the junk (oh, and Costco coupons, gotta look through those!),
there was something very exciting:
our first issue from our free subscription to SOCCER AMERICA MAGAZINE.

I subscribed to Soccer America a few months ago, and this was the first issue to arrive.

As I was flipping through it,
I came to the centerfold,

AND THERE'S MAT AND HIS WHOLE TEAM!!!!!

Mat and all of his friends made the centerfold of SOCCER AMERICA MAGAZINE!

I told him he's got to work on his autograph a little more before I let him sign it.

Thanks for enjoying my fun mom moment with me!!

~Carey

An AMAZING offer just arrived in my inbox!

Gina Alexander is offering 35% off any purchase of $150 or more through March 16th.

That's BEFORE the Mother's Day ordering deadline, so you'll be sure to get your handbag
in time for Mother's Day gift-giving!

As if 35% off isn't huge enough, YOU CAN COMBINE THAT with my 10% off code
and get 45% OFF! HOLY MOLY!

I did a little test order just because I thought it was too good to be true,
and check out my shopping cart total after I entered the discount codes:

That's HUGE savings!

Go to GinaAlexander.com to shop around!

Enter code 3109 for the 35% off,
then enter 5870286 in the "Consultant ID" box for another 10% off!

I just ordered four Mother's Day bags for the moms of those cousins in the park
I posted a few days ago, and I know they're going to be THE HIT of Mother's Day!

(There will be tears flowing, I KNOW IT!)

Have a great day!

~Carey