I still remember the day I asked myself “how do they make the background of the photo so blurry? That looks kinda cool!” Oh yes, that was almost 4 years ago. I didn’t know anything about cameras other than the good ‘ol point and shoot. I didn’t understand anything about aperture, ISO, shutter speed, let along P-Mode doesn’t really stand for Professional. Because of my background in architecture, I was always intrigued by people who are creative. Photographers being one of them. I remember being fascinated by some of the wedding images I saw on the internet, and I started to hate the fact our own wedding photographer absolutely SUCKED. I bought my first Canon Rebel T1 almost 4 years ago. Yep, with a kit lens, and a MULTI PURPOSE 70-400M zoom lens from Target. I thought I was cool. A week after I bought my first SLR camera, I found myself shooting my wife’s cousin’s wedding up in Stockton, California. It was my first wedding, no pressure to deliver any images. I was just there shooting for fun, while celebrating a family wedding. The ‘official’ wedding photographer was a friend of the groom’s. Well, it turned out, the friend never delivered the images. And a few photos I did take got printed out and became the only record for the day. After the wedding, I started diving more and more into the world of wedding photography. Started blog-stalking my favorite wedding photographers here in Southern California. 6 months later I upgraded my Rebel Ti to a Canon 50D, then I upgrade to my first full frame, Canon 5D Mark II shortly after that.

So here I am, 30 months after I booked my first real (paid) wedding, I am giving up my career as an architect (I can just see my parents rolling their eyes now..) and LIVE my dream as being a full time wedding photographer. Doing what I absolutely love. My wife, and my children have been my biggest supporters through out my transition from a part time photographer. I know there were time where we had doubts, from everywhere, even myself. I doubted myself if I am able to make the transition. But I know in my heart this is what I wanted to do. I want to make one thing clear, I didn’t do this all by myself. I have been fortunate enough to have met some of the most supportive colleagues one can ever ask for. They offered me support, guidance, mentoring, and some good ‘ol butt kicking when I needed it. It is because all of them that I’ve been able to live out my dream of being a full time photographer. So, 30 months & almost 80 weddings later. I am proud to say I am a wedding photographer. Part of the reason why I had been able to do this in 30 months is that I seek out other photographers who are more established than me. I follow their blogs, I study their business, and most importantly, I took their workshops. I loved learning from more established wedding photographers who have all ‘been through it’. It really offered great insight and helped me avoid some of the most common pitfalls for new photographers.

I have also been fortunately enough to co-host workshops for the last two years. I must say I had an awesome experience each time. I met a whole bunch new photographers who are just in the beginning stages of their careers, and it’s always nice to be reminded the passion we all once had. Each of the last two workshop offered different perspective on wedding photography. In 2011, I co-hosted a workshop titled “Turn Your Passion into a Profession.” We talked about vendor relationships, how to get 2nd shooting jobs, etc.. In 2012, I co-hosted another workshop called “Lighting & Directions” where we concentrated on teaching the attendees on how to shoot in all types of shooting conditions, and the way I interact my clients to get the most natural reactions. So, now, in 2013, I wanted to put together a workshop that combined BOTH sides of wedding photography. The business side, and the artistic side.

After many brainstorming sessions, 2013 KICKSTART workshop was born. It will be my most in depth workshop to date.I literally will share the entire content of my wedding brain with all the attendees. It will be two days of intensive business & photography training. The idea is to give all the attendees enough tools so they can all KICKSTART their own business for 2013! Here’s the schedule for the workshop;

DAY 1

– The system that allowed me to go from booking my first paying wedding to a full time wedding photographer in 30 months.
– Creating an unique brand that will bring your ideal clients to you!
– My pricing strategy and how to get the clients to book you at the price you want.
– Pre and post wedding workflow.
– Stylized bridal shoot with a REAL couple! I’ll demonstrate how I interact with my clients to get the most natural expressions. No more awkward posing!

DAY 2

– Social Media Integration How I leverage facebook/twitter/instagram to my advantage while paying $0 for advertising!
– Mock wedding consultation. What to say to seal the deal!
– Networking doesn’t work, relationships do!
– How exactly do you start as a wedding photographer?
– Individual portraits by Jeremy Chou
– Portfolio Review & individual time with Jeremy Chou

Please make sure to visit www.jeremychouworkshops.com for more information and register for the workshop! Early bird registration special ends on 3/1/2013 so make sure you register before that! Hope to see you all there!