I have always been a huge believer in the power of knowledge.

I personally feel a constant need to improve and grow as a person.

At the beginning of every year there is a huge photography conference and photography conference and photographers from all over the world gather to learn, network, and shoot.

I found myself having the sudden urge to go about a week before WPPI started. As you can imagine, last minute flights to Vegas weren’t exactly cheap 🙂

Instead, I decided to do a one on one mentoring session with somebody who excels where I fall short.

Petra Herrmann is an incredible boudoir photographer who has mastered the art of running a profitable business and creating an amazing boudoir experience for her clients.

She was named Boudoir Photographer of the Year by the Association of International Boudoir Photographers and she even has an album collection that she has created with one of my favorite print labs!

I knew she would be the perfect mentor to help me tighten up a few areas.

As a small business owner, you need a community of entrepreneurs to bounce ideas off of, learn from, and encourage. Having somebody who has experienced it all can help you avoid mistakes that they have made and see a different way of doing things.

During our mentoring, Petra challenged me to shoot differently and with limits that I have never placed on myself. She showed me my bad habits and broke me of them. She helped me create an even better menu of offerings to our clients that I think they will absolutely love. And most of all, she encouraged me to let loose my inner bad ass and rock my business.

I am SO happy that I chose an individual mentoring experience, versus going to the conference. You really cannot beat having somebody go through the ins and outs of your business and evaluate them.

During our mentoring we had a session with Miss W.

She is a mother of two (say what?!) and a fellow small business owner.

Shooting in a space completely different than my own and with somebody I had only spoken with that morning presented some unique challenges. Not to mention having Petra watching over me! No pressure!

But Miss W did a killer job posing for us and I really love these images! Seriously, that metal wall is inane! I love it!

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