I can not tell you how excited I am about these new albums! They were just released by one of my vendors and there is just so much to love about them! So to celebrate I made myself this little sample from my Boudoir session last week! How totally cool! I am so stoked to be able to offer this! The greatest thing is that I had this book just 3 days after I ordered it for my clients! How great is that! PLUS it’s totally gorgeous and an alternative to waiting 6-8 weeks let alone the need to order a giant album in order to have a smaller, gift type! But the speed and quality are amazing! If you are a photographer and want to know where I got it, try White House Custom Color!

What I love are all the choices that I can give my clients for the photo wrapped book! I made this book with a metallic pillow cover! SO GORGEOUS! The pages are also FINE ART PAPER! YES!!! Finally a vendor who can turn around a great album like this in just a couple days! WOW!!!! It lays flat! But seriously WOW! Another reason to celebrate is I will be offering this to my clients at a great price, I love these 8 x 8 books! They come in 10-20 and 30 spreads! This sample is just 10 spreads which translates to 20 pages…….coming in 2010 WHCC will be offering more sizes and I am sooooo excited for this! Check out the book in detail and come in my studio for a session to get one of your own!

So for the verdict, you can tell I love it! It feels GREAT in your hands. It is such a high quality I am amazed that it was such a fast turn around time. They are great to keep or to make for gifts! The fine art paper is spectacular. Just need to warn my clients that it is not as forgiving when little Johnny decides to look at your book after eating chocolate! But hey, it’s so worth it! I love the metallic cover, it totally made my Photo look mysterious and gorgeous! I love that it lays flat, I love the weight of the book, feels real heavy. Just great, my clients will love it! Photographers, order a sample copy you will NOT be disappointed!

SO many things come in a box this color!!! I was excited to get mine today…..nothing like it…really…nothing like it! But I had to! With my next wedding season getting pretty busy I have to make sure that I stay organized !!! In fact this summer was pretty busy and I promised my family that a huge huge HUGE promise was to only book 2 weddings a month. I know, who would turn down work in this economy right? well….I would seeing how many Saturdays I missed going to the beach with my boys. All I can say though is that I LOVE my couples…..they made it totally worth it for me….it’s like a gift to photograph someone’s wedding….like being a guest at your friend’s wedding taking pictures…..AWESOME! But I am limiting my time for weddings next year….my sweet boys are only young once and I truly want to be with them as much as possible.

I love photographing weddings but this Orange County Wedding Photographer and FULL TIME MOMMY needs to have some family weekends you know? If you are single and a photographer with no kids….man you can be like Kenny Kim, be everywhere and that’s amazing….!!!!!!

With that said…….some months are already gone….and I am super excited about the couples that I have……so really…watch out! This blog is going to be burning with some hot hot HOT couples next year and I know this will be my favorite season yet! I love this…..I love this so much! XXOO…and really how awesome is the new PATENT LEATHER TIFFANY BLUE DAY PLANNER WITH MY LOGO!!!! LOVING THIS!!!! AHhhhhh……love it! I’m the girl who collects Tiffany catalogues, keeps all those white ribbons and blue boxes……umm…walks around the South Coast Plaza Tiffany store starring at engagement rings…..LIKE THE REALLY BIG ONES (I even ask to try them on sometimes..so fun….and the people have to wipe my drool off the counter…you know…one of those girls…so yeah I’m loving the day planner…oh and it’s super useful if you wanna know where all the Tiffany’s are in the world… it lists all their addresses. It also has a Tiffany and Company timeline in case you wanted to know the company history….you know….really useful stuff….yeah yeah….get your diamonds there….just love the Tiffany signature setting…oh…off on a tangent I know….but you know….you know…..

I mean seriously……you know she’s gonna say yes as soon as she sees the box…no need to say anything profound…the box does that for you….and yeah do say something though…….and make it good but WHEW!!! Oh and my goal is to photograph an engagment….I would love to do that as an aside….done engagement sessions…….the engagement would be HOT!

A few months ago I met Christina, some of you have met her already, but if you haven’t you will. She is a bride of mine for next year as well as my intern for the next few months….how fun is that! I love her and I love that she also referred me to her soon to be Brother in Law for their wedding. That is how I got to meet Lynne & Joe. This couple as you can see are totally in love. Lynne always happy and smiling, and Joe always agreeing but with a smile on his face, this was the case everytime we went to meet at coffee…..(okay I just realized I need to get myself in gear and off to a networking event….write more in a couple hours! XXOO)

Okay now I’m back…..LOL! Okay so Back to Lynne and Joe, First met her BEFORE I had my studio and yeah so when you start you meet most of your clients at Starbucks, well, at least I did, I mean I’ll straight out admit the addiction to a good cup of coffee…anyhow, we met there, in Huntington Beach, at Starbuck’s, and it was all I needed to know that this couple was going to have an amazing wedding and that these two were going to be wonderful clients. AND Lynne and I also share the same taste in casual attire (juicy couture!).

They had their wedding at the Torrance Marriott. My first time shooting at a Marriott and so funny, when I was little and grew up in Anaheim, near the Marriott I thought all people got married there. But not only have I never been a guest at a Marriott wedding, never shot a wedding at one either until this past Saturday.

Ann, Lynne’s sister, totally transformed this place into an amazing wedding oasis! It was AWESOME! The details were just amazing and the menus, well those were made out of Chocolate! The donut maker, the sliders and fries at the end….wow, just wow and a very happily married couple mixed in all that!

I also had the great pleasure of shooting with my wonderful friend Jack Ratana. I am not so sure I could have found a better shooter to have assisted me on this day! The great drive there, talking shop and just having a great conversation to really being a super fun shooter! What an amazing guy! What an amazing photographer! I was so luck and Lynne and Joe as well to have him for this day!

ARE YOU READY! I am so excited to begin registration for my Going Pro’s Workshop in October! The dates for the workshop will be October 17th and 18th! Yes 2 full days! I am so excited to meet all the new attendees! I had such a blast with everyone at my last workshop! They all had incredible images and I am so excited to share some of them with you! I have emailed all the people on the waiting list as you are the first to receive priority registration! You so know that you wanna come and be a part of this! We truly had a great time! Please read some of the testimonials and check out what we got to photograph! See you in October! Registration will open tomorrow morning and you can visit the workshop site for more information or to register, you can also register here starting Friday September 4th at 9:00 am PST! Bentley Workshops!

Date: October 17th & 18th
Time: 9:00 am Start Times Both Dates
Location: 9272 Jeronimo Suite 105, Irvine CA 92610 Christine Bentley Photography Studio
Cost: $425
Register Here:

What’s Included: Everything you need to know to start your portrait business. A great workshop for photographers who want to thrive in this business and need that little extra direction. You will have models, families and a guaranteed great time! We will learn some photoshop and how to shoot in natural light to create stunning and amazing portraits! For more details please visit the website @ www.bentleyworkshops.com

Here are some of out AMAZING SPONSORS!!

Please enjoy some images from various photographers at the last workshop in August! XXOO “Thank you so much for the fabulous workshop! I felt so inspired by you, your passion & dedication. Thank you for giving me that push to believe in myself and my talent!” Cassie Bannister “Thank you for the amazing experience! I learned a great deal at your workshop. As I said that day, I like to shoot youth sports- but I think you’ve sparked my interest in portraits. Thank you for giving of yourself so freely and being so open and honest (&funny!). Thanks so much for everything!” Shelly Schaffer “Thank you so much for the workshop! It was awesome! You were awesome!!! Really, the workshop was a steal. I had so much fun and cannot wait to edit my images. Thank you for putting it all together and offering this wonderful opportunity. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!” Astrid Baloun “Thanks for the other day. I learned a lot. Mostly about all that it takes to run a portrait business these days. Wow! Blogging all the time, Face Book, telling people where ever I go they look great and I do portrait photography, etc. Lots of marketing involved to be really out there and successful. That is true with any business isn’t it. You were amazing, did an fantastic job. I am sure everyone was happy with your workshop. I will write more later and you said you were going to email us something so we could analyze your workshop. I am 110% positive you will get all positive revues. You provided way more information than I expected. “ Greg Peterson “Even though I am already a pro photographer, I really enjoyed Christine’s “Going Pro” workshop. The workshop had a great mix between shooting and lecture time. And the models were so amazing!! Christine was so patient and so giving-sharing techniques on everything from how to shoot infants to tips in Photoshop. It was great fun! I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it!” ~Julie Blair

I don’t think by any means that I am the best. For sure I will always have a ton to learn but I can say that I have also learned a lot and have gained lifelong amazing friends in the industry who have supported all my endeavors.

This note may sound narcissistic but I truly feel it can be valuable for myself and others in the industry as well as others who are reaching out for help to get started or to learn more.

I recently was approached by an old high school friend who wanted to get advice, for another person, on starting the business of photography, and asked if I could consult with this person. If you are a photographer and are running any type of business whether you just started or run a successful entity you have to know that this is truly not only a very very involved question but one that can probably only be answered in a very lengthy conversation and exchange. I don’t claim to be a rockstar, but what I do know is the implications that are involved in being able to help anyone and everyone who wants help. In this short time that I have been running my portrait business I have made great strides but I paid my dues, went to many many a workshop, invested in others and now am in a position to share and teach. However, that happens to be many people and I can not possibly help them all. The days simply do NOT have enough time. I’ll be honest that I used to NOT get this, and wondered why people wanted to charge for phone conversations (Mike Colon), or for power 20 minute coffee breaks (Dane Sanders) or for spending the day with (Scarlet Lillian, would love to do this) or for charging someone to actually second shoot with you (Jose Villa, an opportunity of a lifetime). But I do now get it. What saddens me though is I don’t want to hurt people’s feelings, I don’t want to belittle anyone in my response, but in this case I actually had someone “de-friend” me on Facebook because of my answer which was truthful and honest.

Here was my response:

Thank you so much for thinking of me. It is truly flattering that you would want me to give advice to a friend on becoming a photographer. I have been so fortunate in this industry to be at the place where I am at today. Although it has been a journey and a struggle at times….it has truly paid off and for that I am super fortunate.

In the world of the technology that we have today and the access to equipment that everyone has, there are many many people who want to become a professional photographer. With that many people seek out those who expose themselves the most, those that offer workshops and or have an extensive and impressive portfolio. I am truly humbled when people call, write, or email me about the business and ask for help or advice. I truly truly wish that I can help everyone and wish there was a way that I could, especially without sounding as though I feel “too important” to help others.

My photography in box is full every morning with questions, comments and questions, and questions and questions. In the afternoon is becomes filled with similar requests, you would be shocked as I am to find so many people wanting to know about the business and I am flattered that they are asking me. ( Seriously I am flattered and blown away by this) I simply do not have enough time in the day to reach everyone. In fact the few times that I felt that I need to give back, I spend most of my evening, a good 3-4 hour phone conversation trying to teach people what I have learned in this industry over the past 3 years (And there is still more to say). During the day I am very busy with clients shooting, editing or handling the back end that I can’t make these calls or return emails. In the evening I simply need that time to my family, I can’t dedicate more time to others as it would leave me very very overwhelmed and truly no time for myself or my family.

I have an email that I have saved on a template trying to explain this to people. And at the risk of people not liking me or thinking I am stuck on myself, I have to try and explain that although I would love to help, I just don’t have the time. To try and help others and to offer my knowledge I do offer workshops as my answer to try and teach others what I have learned and at the same time be able to justify it by charging a rate so that I as well can benefit as unfortunately helping others does come at the cost of less time spent on my own lively hood.

I can refer your friend to my workshops, I also suggest she try and contact other photographers in her area to attend their workshops and seminars. The great thing about learning from the greatest photographers is that you can attend a workshop, the reality is it does come with reasonable fees.

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I also must add to those who are reading this, it is not intended to sound harsh in anyway. I can not blame people for asking although I wish there was a away for those who don’t, to understand the “WHY” of how we must function. I as well as many others can dedicate all our time to doing charity workshops and consultations only leaving our business to suffer, and we have bills to pay as well people. Therefore we must compensate our time away from the business with charging fees. After all MOST of our knowledge was too purchased at high prices and sacrifices to get to where we are…at least I know that my investment in my education as a photographer wasn’t cheap. I love to teach people what I know, and so do many others, we just can’t do it all for free.

In the end, those who are interested in making a go at this business, and truly working amazingly hard and those who really REALLY want this will find the workshop fees of those who can teach them a very small sacrifice for the very LARGE investment and return of owning and operating a successful photography business.

I hope many find this useful in explaining why…WHY although we love to share and teach, WHY we must charge a fee. In all we are giving of all that made us and built us to this point, and for a very small price tag as long as you truly want to make this business happen for you….it is lifelong lessons, ones that are truly worth the price.

Workshops I Recommend Given By Personal Friends and From Personal Experience:

Christine Bentley
Portrait Workshop
http://www.bentleyworkshops.com

Mike Colon
Wedding Workshop
http://www.mikecolon.com

Bob & Dawn Davis Workshop
Portrait/Wedding Workshop
http://www.bobanddawndavis.com

Portfolio Plus Workshop (Ray Santana, Kenny Kim, Christopher Becker)
Wedding Workshop
http://www.portfolioplusworkshop.com

Dane Sanders
Wedding/Business Building Workshop
http://www.fasttrackphotographer.com

One on One With Roberto Valenzuela
Portrait/Wedding/Fine Art Photography Workshop
http://www.robertovalenzuelaphotography.com

Kevin Jairaj & Alycia Alvarez (Rings to Rattles)
Portraits/Wedding Workshop
http://www.ringstorattles.com