I am Caroline, owner of Caroline Martin Photography.  I am based in Carlsbad, CA, and have been capturing San Diego families for nearly 15 years.  I have a background in photojournalism, so lifestyle photography really speaks to me.  When I signed up for the Pinkle Toes Workshop in January 2013, I had no doubt I would learn a lot from seeing Michele interact with her clients during a session.  What I didn’t expect was that I would learn so many fabulous tips about the way she runs her business!  After having had a business of my own for so long, I was pretty comfortable with the way I had been running it.  The Pinkle Toes Workshop gave me so much valuable information for every aspect of this business, and I walked away with tons of great ideas that I am still in the process of implementing. Not only that, but I found an amazing group of photographers to lean on in this journey, and am so grateful for the lifelong friendships that started with my Pinkle Toes Workshop experience.  I can’t wait to host the Carlsbad workshop in 2014 and meet another wonderful bunch!

1. What makes your photography business unique to you?
   • Ansel Adams once said something that I think is so true…”We don’t make a photograph just with a camera, we bring to the act of photography all the books we have read, the movies we have seen, the music we have heard, the people we have loved.”  It is these things that make my biz unique to me.  The life I have lived up until this point is responsible for my style, my vision, my art, and my way of running a photography business. 
2. Best thing about being a photographer?
   • I love the feeling I get when I look at a photograph and it transports me back to that moment…the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings all come rushing back, and I get to relive the memory, if only for a moment.  I love that being a photographer allows me to share that with others, and to give them their precious moments back.
3. Toughest thing?
   • The toughest thing about being a photographer is finding the balance between my art, which I love, and my family, which I love more. When you work from home and make your own schedule, it’s an ongoing struggle to separate work life from home life.
4. If you could photograph anyone/anything in the world (dead or alive) who would it be and why?
   • I would love to have been able to photograph my relationship with my aunt when I was a child.  She passed away when I was 3 or 4, but the memories I have of her and the bond we shared are undeniable. There are very few photos of her, and, to my knowledge, none of the two of us.  I wish I could capture that in one of those ‘perfect’ images where you can feel the love.
5. Why does San Diego / Cardiff-by-the-sea, CA ROCK for serving as a host town for a workshop?
   • San Diego is such an amazing place for so many reasons. The weather, obviously, is a huge one!  Cardiff-by-the-Sea, in particular, is such a cute little beach town.  It has a laid back vibe, and so many cool, unique spots.  I can’t wait to share it with everyone at the workshop!
6. If you could describe your business in 3 words prior to the Pinkle Toes workshop, what would they be?
   • unstructured, uninspired, stagnant
7. And what about after?
   • organized, focused, refreshed
8. Best part of your Pinkle Toes Workshop experience?
   • There were SO many amazing things I took away from my experience at the Pinkle Toes Workshop!  It’s really hard to pick the ‘best’.  Things I didn’t necessarily expect were coming away with a wonderful new network of photographers who are a source of constant inspiration, and a friendship with Michele that has led to my participation in another workshop!  I couldn’t be happier!
9. Most challenging part?
   • The most challenging part of the workshop experience was coming home with so many incredible ideas for my business and really focusing on implementing them one at a time.  I was so excited about everything that I really had to reign myself in and not make too many changes right away. I like to try to keep the evolution of my business a steady flow, and it was SO tempting to change everything all at once!  While change is good, I believe too much change can lead to unnecessary chaos.
10. Advice to anyone who attends the workshop you’re hosting?
    • Take note of the ideas that interest you most and take your time figuring out just how they will work best for you.  I made a few organizational changes right off the bat, and have gradually been integrating the creative changes that work for me.  Too much at once is hard to get a handle on.  I am a big proponent for keeping your life balanced as you go, rather than tipping the scales with too much change, and then backpedaling to try to regain your balance.

Here’s a sampling of Caroline’s amazing lifestyle work:

Be sure to check out her WEBSITE, FACEBOOK page, and follow her awesome personal 365 on INSTAGRAM! Oh, and you can check out Caroline in action at the Pinkle Toes workshop she attended early last year HERE. You can learn more about the 2014 Pinkle Toes Newborn and Family Lifestyle Photography Workshops HERE.

Super excited about the two workshop dates in California this summer…Cardiff-by-the-sea July 25-27 and then Mendocino (I’ll introduce Melody to you guys in a few days!) on August 1-3. We will be in Olympia, Washington August 7-9 and then 11-13 as well! Very busy summer of workshopping!!! Can’t wait to see you again, Caroline, my dear!

Well, much to my surprise, the Ridgewood, NJ workshop sold out within days of opening for registration. (Don’t worry…we still have other dates in Texas, California, and Washington with some openings left. Along with tentative fall dates set for Perth and New Castle Australia!).

I would still like to keep with my plan, however, of featuring each of the hostesses for the upcoming workshops on my blog, so let’s go ahead and start with my dear friend Lena with Live Love Laugh Photography in Ridgewood, NJ (Follow her on Facebook):

I am Lena Antaramian, an award-winning Bergen County, New Jersey children and family photographer and owner of Live Love Laugh Photos. I am a mom to very different but equally amazing twin girls and a wife to a smart and funny man. I love dogs, books and sunny spring days. I love all types of food, dessert in particular; cooking it is a different story though. I love bags and believe you can never have too many. I am a world traveler and after visiting many countries, living in a few and meeting people from all over the place I truly believe that the world is a wonderful place and people at their core are good. I get teary-eyed when I witness emotional connections and moments – a hug between a mother and a daughter that shows more love that can ever be described with words, pure joy that is a belly laugh of a toddler, happiness on kids and parents’ faces when they are being silly together. And I feel very privileged to capture and help preserve them for my clients.

1. What makes your photography business unique to you?  Do I sound like I have a huge head if I say that ‘I’ make my business unique?  There are other photographers who have a similar processing style and technical skills but there is only one ME.  My clients get my unique artistic vision when it comes to their images and setting them up in their homes.  They have great time at their sessions because I make them fun for everyone.  They get gifts and personal gestures along the way that make them feel appreciated and cared for.  They get unbeatable customer service from me every step of the way.  And all of that contributes to the amazing experience they have whenever they book a session with Live Love Photos.
2. Best thing about being a photographer? This sounds cliché, but I truly believe that the best part of being a photographer is being able to preserve memories for our clients.  It is pretty amazing that we, as photographers, have the power to freeze time!
3. Toughest thing?  I see shots I want to capture pretty much everywhere I go and sometimes it is hard for me to stop taking pictures and just be in the moment because I always want to preserve the moment by capturing it.
4. If you could photograph anyone/anything in the world (dead or alive) who would it be and why?  All of my grandparents. Three of my grandparents passed away before I became a photographer and I never really photographed them.  I wish I could capture the wisdom and love in their eyes.  I do have one Grandfather (the older you get, the more amazing it feels to be someone’s granddaughter) and I did make it a point to photograph him.  I am thrilled that I have portraits of him that I love.
5. Why does Ridgewood, NJ ROCK for serving as a host town for a workshop? Well, for one thing, my town has the best Nutella crepes West of Paris!  [Michele: I can attest to that!] It has a lot of charm and personality: cute boutiques, amazing restaurants (NYC quality food at New Jersey prices), plenty of urban and park like settings for photo shoots.  And it is only 25 miles away from NYC!
6. If you could describe your business in 3 words prior to the Pinkle Toes workshop, what would they be? Style not clearly defined, middle-of-the-road in terms of success
7. And what about after?  Consistent (in terms of style and processing), successful, high-end.
8. Best part of your Pinkle Toes Workshop experience? I’ve learned A TON from Michele and 3 years later I still use what I’ve learned but if I had to pick just one part (and it is not easy!) it will be gaining more confidence. I attended the Pinkle Toes Workshop 3 years ago – at that time I’d had my business for two years and felt relatively confident in my work, business practices and pricing.  But after attending the workshop, and having one-on-one with Michele really helped raise my confidence level.
9. Most challenging part?  Lack of sleep:)  We were learning morning till night and while I would not change that for anything, I had to sacrifice  on sleep:)
10. Advice to anyone who attends the workshop you’re hosting?  Be ready to learn from an amazing photographer and business woman, eat yummy food, spend time with awesome people and have a great time all around!

And here is just a sample of Lena’s FABULOUS photography:

Our second workshop in Toronto this summer got off to a perfect start. We had a short little break after the first one  (literally, less than 24 hrs 😉 and we even had a chance to see Niagara Falls! One pic from that is HERE, but yeah, eventually, I’ll get around to going through the rest of the pics from that awesome evening ;-).

Anyway, after a FAB dinner out the first night–where I might add, I had my first ever Caesar–the next morning, we had a lovely, lovely in-home newborn photo session with this beautiful family. Oh, that baby girl was delish!!! And I loved how into the session her big sister was!

Then, we ventured out into a beautiful little park, found completely by mistake, for our family photo session, subjects = the wonderful Kerri Davis (who also happens to be a Pinkle Toes Workshop grad ;-)–oh man, I went to look for her workshop post and I realized I have not blogged her workshop yet!!! OH MY WORD! Must fix that as soon as I can).

So, I was told by a certain someone that there were no rattlesnakes or the likes of fire ants up in Toronto and I may have let my guard down a little too much. OH MY WORD! We were attacked by the most vicious biting ants I’ve ever dealt with in my life!!!! I’ll take fire ants over these little devils any day! They would NOT leave us alone and each place we would get bitten would go almost totally numb. WHAT? Yeah. At least I know how to spot a fire ant mound to avoid it 😉 No matter…we still had a rockin’ session!!!

And then, it was time to play with some maternity photos:

And who can resist some super fun behind-the-scenes shots?

Meet the awesome gals of Toronto B, brought to you by our hostess with the mostess Hilary Camilleri with One for the Wall Photography (check out her amazing work!!):

• HRM Photography – http://www.hrmphotography.com – London, Ontario
• Purple Tree Photography – http://www.purpletreephotography.com – Northville, MI
• Juste Ciel! Photographie- http://www.justeciel.ca– Montreal, Quebec
• Simply Said Photography-http://www.simplysaidphotography.com ~ Tillsonburg, Ontario
• Megan Johns Photography – http://www.meganjohnsphotography.com – Jacksonville, FL

Some of their blog posts and more fun pics here:

• Purple Tree Photography 
• Megan Johns Photography

I know there are many photogs out there anxiously awaiting word on the 2014 workshops. Trust me…I am right there with you. Lots of factors coming into play making scheduling a little bit tricker than I had anticipated. But soon…very, very soon, I promise. Hang in there.

A not-so-subtle hint for you to make sure you follow me @pinkletoesoriginal on Instagram because there is a HUGE surprise (or two?) that will be announced ONLY on here. Oh, and you *might* want to just go ahead and share this with your friends (repost on Instagram or Facebook), because having extra sets of eyes *might* be reaaaaally helpful to you and/or your pals. #pinkletoesmystery2013

I’m going to be completely honest here and tell you that I didn’t know much about St. Louis before going to conduct the Pinkle Toes lifestyle family photography workshop there this past July. Well, I knew there was an arch and I knew the Cardinals played there and that’s pretty much all. But let me assure you that St. Louis–in spite of the miserable humidity and heat this summer–showed me a fantastic time with an equally fantastic group of people! Upon arriving, I was lucky enough to get to bum around the city with my good friend Heidi  (a talented photographer in the St. Louis area and a past Pinkle Toes workshop attendee; you’ll get to see more of Heidi below, actually!). She even took me to a Cards game (where we also hung out with some other photog pals Stacy and Janie).

The workshop itself (hosted by newborn and family photographer Anne Meintrup of Edwardsville, IL) was jam packed and we literally were at 100% from sun up to well past sun down each day! I’m so proud of the girls for sticking with me and hanging in there for our intensive schedule. Our first photo session demonstration was an in-home lifestyle newborn session with the snuggliest baby boy in the world!!!! It was such a great honor to get to work with this family (of FOUR boys) IN their home because it’s the home mom grew up in!

Later on that day, we headed out to the City Museum of St. Louis for Heidi’s urban family photo session demonstration. Unfortunately, the museum was closed, but it is on my bucket list to go back there…when it’s open…WITH my kiddos because there is NO place like this on earth. Wow! Wow! Wow! What I wouldn’t give to have the chance to take my kiddos up here (there’s even a ferris wheel on top of the roof, too)!!! Lucky for us, however, it offered plenty of super cool spots outside in which we could work (how do you like the perfectly timed taxi photo bomb?):

 And yeah, Heidi is kinda gorgeous, inside and out. Oh, one of my favs is HERE!

And finally, after we were all good and sweaty ;-), we headed over to Forest Park to capture a beautiful expecting couple set against the backdrop of a PERFECT sunset:

Quite a spectacular end to a spectacular day!

For what it’s worth, I did make it to the arch. Twice, actually. Even went so far as to buy the tickets to go up, but I was too chicken. It’s not heights that scare me, but the thought of being crammed into that egg did me in ;-).

At any rate, thank you St. Louis for an amazing few days. Thank you, Anne, for all you did to make this workshop happen. Thank you, Heidi, for giving me such a wonderful St. Louis experience. And thank you to all of the workshop attendees for being such a fun and interactive and can-do group:

• Brooke Boyer Photography – www.brookeboyerphotography.com – St. Louis Metro Area
• Caroline Strong Photography- www.carolinestrongphotography.com – St. Louis, MO
• Jessica Ebeler Photography – www.jessicaebeler.com – St. Louis MO
• Susie Vreeland Photography – http://blog.susievreeland.com – St. Louis, MO

(Will be posting the full list of attendees soon!)

Speaking of things coming up soon: I’m *almost* ready to announce the workshop calendar for 2014. I can tell you this…it’s going to be hectic and it’s going to involve travel to some new and far away places ;-). Intrigued? Make sure you’re on the list to find out everything as soon as it’s announced!

Yes, the blog has been unusually quiet for a while and for good reason…I haven’t been around much to even blog, LOL! Last month kicked off the start of Pinkle Toes lifestyle photography workshops on the road and it has been a whirlwind since. Charlotte, North Carolina (hosted by my dear friend and past workshop attendee, Annette of Annette Goodman Photography), set the bar high. Very, very high, my friends! Could not have organized a more fantastic, talented, eager to learn, ready to share, down for anything group of women if we planned it so and I was actually very sad to say goodbye at the end of our short time together. There were only three snags to this workshop:

1. The heat. I’m from Texas…I can handle hot. But I crumbled under the weight of the crushing humidity in Charlotte on shoot day. Oh. My. Word. (Ashley 😉 I was weak, I tell ya.
2. Freak thunderstorms. Working under such a tight schedule leaves no room for sessions to get rained out, but fortunately our maternity model was a total trooper and made it happen for us.
3. The trip home. Um. Atlanta’s airport was kindofamess and I ended up not being able to get home to my bed and my family until much later than I had hoped.

But I can live with that. Especially considering we got to work with such a wonderful newborn family (above) and capture Annette’s family like this (below)…

…and share in the joyful anticipation of their daughter (below):

Oh, and let me introduce you to my Charlotte girls:

• Studio 9 Photography – www.studio9photographybycg.com – Sumter, SC
• Jody Mack Photography – www.jodymackphotography.com – Charleston, SC
• Photography by Melissa McMasters – www.melissamcmasters.com – Memphis, TN
• Stefanie Harrington Photography – www.stefanieharrington.com – Washington, DC
• Annette Goodman Photography – www.annettegoodman.com – Charlotte, NC
• Heather McGinnis Photography – www.heathermcginnisphotography.com – Greensboro, NC
• Katie Bork Photography – www.KatieBorkPhotographyBlog.com – Wilmington, NC
• Emily Lapish Photography – www.emilylapish.com – NC, SC, and TN
• Joyful Images Photography – www.joyfulimagesphotography.com– Columbia, SC
• www.bumpmeetbaby.com – Charleston, SC
• Umla Photo – www.umlaphoto.com – Toronto, ON, Canada

And us cutting up HERE. And loads of fun behind-the-scenes pics HERE and via #pinkletoesworkshopclt hashtag on Instagram. Thank you, girls, for an absolutely AMAZING workshop and for showing me the BEST of Charlotte! A great deal of learning took place and many happy memories were made!

Just got back from the St. Louis workshop (also amazing!), so I’ll be blogging about that as soon as I can.

Meanwhile, I DO have one opening for the August 16-17th workshop in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Please let me know if you are interested in snagging that spot. I will extend all of the discount deadlines to you as well.

And, I know many of you have e-mailed me about news regarding workshops in Northern and Southern California and guess what? It looks like that just may happen summer of 2014. So, if you’ve already sent a message, no need to send again. If you haven’t, please get on the list for the full details when those are released (soon!).

Was this really back in January? It truly doesn’t even seem like it was that long ago. What a FANTASTIC workshop group we had here and if it looks like we were having a blast in these pictures, it’s true…we did! Our in home newborn session demonstration was a dream and can you even believe the smile on that precious baby girl? (see it bigger). And, of course, there’s one pic not shown here. If you want to see that one, you’ll have to go HERE.

We had an equally amazing photo session with our family in downtown Austin later that evening:

Quick story: a workshop attendee asked me to demonstrate some poses with people lying down, so we had mom + daughter lay down on the ground for us. I asked them to get a little closer and they ended up with the worst forehead bump:

OMG! I felt soooooooo bad, but at least we all had a good laugh (cry?) over it.

And, some more fun random pics from the workshop:

Goodness me! What a talented and fun and smart and witty group of ladies! Each time I would open up a folder of pics sent my them, my jaw would just hit the floor. Man they rocked it! Check out their sites here:

• Kami Friday Photography – NH and Northern New Englandwww.kamifridayphotography.com
• The Life in Your Years Photography – NYC, Westchester County and Southern Connecticut http://www.thelifeinyouryearsphotography.com
• Little Branch Photo – Houston, TX – www.littlebranchphoto.com
• Paula Scherr Photography – Edmonton, Alberta Canadawww.paulascherrphoto.com
• Caroline Martin Photography – San Diego, CAwww.CarolineMartinPhotography.com
• Photo Jolie – Dallas, Texas www.photojolie.com/
• Laurie Herrera Photography – Dallas, Texas www.laurieherreraphoto.com

The ONLY workshop I have coming up with openings is in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in August. That is it. I know many folks have requested to be on wait lists for St. Louis and Charlotte, but that list is really long :-(. Oh, did I mention that we are planning a MAJOR Pinkle Toes Photography Workshop reunion in New York City in Spring of 2014? Very excited about that…loads of fun activities are in the works as well as a charity project. (Check out my post from Chicago’s reunion last summer…that should give you an idea of the whirlwind to expect ;-). 

Finally on the blog!!! Yay!!!! This workshop was the perfect way to kick of 2013! On day one, we all got to finally meet and chit chat and had fun playing with sunflare and headshots. After a laaaaaaaate night 😉 it was early to rise for an amazing in-home lifestyle newborn session demonstration:

Later that afternoon, we headed into downtown Austin to experiment photographing a family in an urban setting:

It was so crazy…it was sunny, sunny, sunny all day long and then wooosh! All of a sudden, in true Austin fashion, the wind picked up and the sun disappeared and we were out in the elements like Nat Geo photogs ;-). By the by, you should know that I don’t believe I’ve ever worked with siblings who were as connected and fun-loving as those two cuties were. They made me look really good that day. A little too good 😉

I present to you the Pinkle Toes Graduating Class of January 2013! Sharp looking group, huh? When you get some time, I highly recommend you check these ladies out:

• Sabrina K Photography Pearland and Houston, TX: http://sabrinakphotography.com/blog
• Captured by Chrissy in McKinney, TX: http://capturedbychrissy.com/blog
• Beth Fenwick in San Francisco Bay Area, Redwood City, CA: http://bethfenwick.com
• Claire Hill Photography in  Houston and The Woodlands, TX:  http://www.clairehillphotography.com/blog
• Leslie Clawson Photography in Frisco TX: http://www.leslieclawsonphotography.com
• CK Design & Photography in MA http://ckdesignphoto.blog.com/
• Dear Ellison Photography in San Antonio, TX and surrounding areas: https://www.facebook.com/dearellisonphotography

Sadly, I don’t have any more workshops coming up in Austin (no room in my schedule ;-(). If we missed you, you can always chat with me about the Toronto, Canada workshop this August (very much looking forward to that one…my very first visit to Canada!) or if that’s too far for you, maybe we can talk about online mentoring.

*Someone* had a birth day today ;-). I’ll give you a hint…you can’t really see him in these pics ;-). I found that to be incredibly convenient because this someone + his family happen to be the models for the in-home newborn photo session demonstration at the first January workshop! There are two–yes, only TWO–openings left for the Austin lifestyle photography workshops in 2013. I do not have any more Austin workshops on the calendar at this time, so please don’t miss out if this is something you’ve been thinking about attending. You’ll need to complete the contact form on that page to get the dates, pricing, and other details.

Meanwhile, I’ll just wait around here until I can get my hands on him for his newborn session part A in the next week or two ;-).

This little dude and I have been hanging out for a few years now, but this session was probably one of my favs. Basically, we just let him explore and do the things he wanted to do and we followed along. He loves his parents. He loves is little go car. And he loves apples! {Still my FAV from this session}

Oh man…just realized I never shared the images from his session at the Pinkle Toes photography workshop earlier this year! Silly me!

And some super fun behind-the-scenes pics from that day:

[images by myself, Claire, and Michelle]

What fun it was to look back at these images! Fantastic group of ladies and so much talent, it was unreal! Oh, and it rained like you wouldn’t believe. So much so, this happened. Miss you girls. Miss your humor, too 😉. In case you wanted to visit it, here are pics from our newborn session from this workshop. Oh, by the by: one of these ladies from this workshop is actually hosting the Charlotte, NC workshop!!! Awesome!!!!

While we’re on the subject of workshops, just wanted to remind you (or let you know if you didn’t already know) that today, November 1st, is the last day to qualify for the $100 discount for reserving your spot in a 2013 Pinkle Toes (only) workshop. If you need the full details (dates, pricing, etc.) fill out the contact form on this page.