The Beauty of the Human Soul (creative couples photography, Greenville SC)

I can't get over how amazing each one of our clients are. You see the vision, you ask us to serve. You open your hearts and minds to the process and in turn allow us the opportunity to capture the beauty between two souls. It moves my heart and makes me feels blessed at the gift each of you bring to me. Thank you, Thank you a thousand times! You believe we are the ones giving you something, but in truth, you are giving us a glimpse into one of the most beautiful things in all of creation—the human soul filled with love.

learning to live in awareness and wonder,
-TJ

Bishop Day-After Creative Session (Creative Portrait Photography, Greenville SC)

What is our day-after creative session?
It doesn't matter what your budget is for your wedding, the day-after session will make you feel like you belong on the front of an editorial every time! This session was developed from our passion to create unique stories for each of our clients. The wedding day has become such a controlled production of expectations, we wanted to blow open the creative box, to show what kind of images we could capture if our bride and grooms didn't have the stress of the wedding day in front of them. And by shooting this session AFTER the wedding, we accomplished some pretty amzing things!

The magic of the day-after session (What we have found)
There's something special that takes place in this session that is found lacking during the wedding; the essence of relaxation! Weddings are good and fine, but we find there is so much hurry, mixed with overly high expectations, that more stress is created than excitement, which leads to people not being themselves. And when people aren't themselves, you can't capture "the real them"—the essence behind those gorgeous eyes and that handsome frame.

The cure for the shy, scared and timid
Many of our couples have at least one person that, how should I put this? Is less in love with the camera than the other. This can lead to a sense of dread in the bottom of the stomach of the one who isn't overly excited about pictures. Our day-after session has surprised many in both it's pleasantness and in the ability to bring out the true essence of each individual. Our philosophy isn't just to take creative pictures, it's to connect with each client in way that will provide them a vacation from life, a bubble of enjoyment, and no matter how subtle, the emotional thread that pulls each person towards the other in a relationship.

Is the day-after session really "the day-after?"
The day-after session is named such because it happens after the wedding. We find all of our sessions are created to be creative and so by naming this simply the "creative session" seemed to imply that the rest of our session were not as creative, which is not the case. The day-after session simply means this session comes some time after the wedding day. This could be weeks, months or even years, celebrating an anniversary of love and time traveled between the couple.

All Images Shot At Lindsey Plantation (you can find out more about lindsey plantation here)

"Idea" is powerful...

I believe an idea can be more powerful than your wealth, place in society or talents. An idea is the fuel in which you generate passion, massage out your creativity and live the extraordinary life you've always wanted.

There can be no goal without first having an idea.

To me, Getzcreative is more than just taking pretty pictures. My desire is to inspire others, showing them what I see in them and next to them. It's taking what's already been created and putting a light on it, reminding others of the gifts they already have. I hope it inspires others to live an extraordinary life or in the least, makes them smile at the life they have.

much love,

—TJ

Wedding Artistry vs Wedding Photography

When planning the pictures for your wedding, it's important to know what you want. Of course, I'd love to shoot your wedding, but the reality is I'm a perfect fit for only some of you. Our style and philosophy is immersed with creative thought and concepts. However, to incorporate this style effectively on your wedding day, there are certain things that have to be given precedence over other things. That's one reason we ask each potential client to meet with us before booking their session.

As your photographer, I look at myself as your tour guide through the picture phase of your day. Your day will have a mind of it's own regardless of planning, and it's important to have someone who can navigate the beautiful chaos of the wedding day with ease and confidence. And yes, we have created a way of doing things that help us do this quite well.

The camera is the window into the soul of the photographer. Without soul, the camera is just a big paperweight. The price of good photography is less about the number of images we take or albums you get, and more about the vision we can give your day.

Our vision mixed with your spirt will create the magic. But the magic only comes to those who will give their spirit to our dream; our vision. It may sound obvious, but we find there is a definite type of person that connects with our vision. That's why at the beginning of this post I said, "it's important to know what you want." The more clear you are of what you want, the easier the path will be in finding the way to that end.

learning to live a more creative life,
-TJ

My Creative Mentors: (those who have helped shape my life)

(Creative Wedding Photography, Greenville, SC)

I have set out with purpose to become a better person, businessman, photographer and friend. I have a burning desire to be a better lover of life, look for inspiration in more places, and to become a positive light in the world in general. 

When I first started thinking of blogging, one of my best friends told me to write about whatever I'm most passionate about; what turns me on… In essence, he was saying if I honor myself and be authentic, then it will come through as that, and people will at least respect it whether they agree with it or not.

There are natural forces that seem to hold us back from living extraordinary lives. These usually come in some form of fear, discouragement, or circumstantial obstacle that try and inhibit exploration and growth. But we can overcome all of this…

Within the last five years, I have met people who have become my mentors, who have encouraged me along my path toward a better life and photographic journey.

The more I learn from them, the more I see a common thread throughout their messages. And sometimes I'm not sure which one of them said what, as I see them as a collective whole saying the same thing: "Live, Create, Inspire!"

I wanted to publicly thanks them today for their encouragement, love, personal time, and wisdom that they have passed and continue to pass onto me. They influence much of my writing and thinking that you see me post on my blog and Facebook. My desire is that if you're a kindred spirit seeking similar things, you might find some resources here that can help you even better than I could help you; going to the source as they say. :)

Jerry Ghionis
Jerry's workshop is highly regarded in my mind as a great place to "see" light and how you can use your camera to capture more amazing images. Jerry's "Ordinary to Extraordinary" Picpockets dispelled one of my greatest myths, that he got all the cool clients with the great locations. What Jerry taught me, is you can create an extraordinary moment from any location, you just have to practice "seeing the possibilities". You can find his pickpocket series here http://www.picpockets.info/artist/jerry-ghionis/  But better yet, I encourage to go and see this man's workshop live! It is worth the investment and time. He can help move you to your next level in photography.

Jerry has several other resources to help you on your journey, and one of my favorite is his I.C.E. Society online classroom. You can check out a free chapter on his site, and for a dollar a day, add a valuable resource to your teaching without every leaving your house.   http://icesociety.com/

 

The What If Conference—Hosted by Jenn & Steve Bebb
Another mind shift began when I attended the first ever What If conference in Cabo, Mexico. This was not a conference to show you the latest shooting techniques, how-to editing classes and get-rich quick seminar. This was a conference about mindset. As the old saying goes, "rather than giving me a fish, to feed me once, they instead taught me how to fish, feeding me for a lifetime."

This is a business conference for artist-preneurs; not just photographers. The teachings I've gleaned from the speakers there, have provided a shift that can impact me every day of my life. If you're looking how to become a better businessman, this is a concentrated workshop full of mind-shifting gems.  You can find more info about their latest workshop and read their blog here: http://whatifconference.com/

Each What If conference has different speakers, even though the desire and mission of the What If network remains the same. The speakers that impacted me on my journey so far are as follows:

Jenn & Steve Bebb
Dan 'O Day
Justin Lyons
Jessie & Whitney from Our Labour of Love
Jesh De Rox
Chris & Sarah from We are the Rhodes

Each one of these deserve recognition for their influence in my life, my writings and how I am pursing life and business more fully.

Jesh De Rox
There is a saying "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear". For me, Jesh was one of these teachers. He calls himself a tour guide, and I believe that's what all of my mentors would call themselves. They can show you around, bring awareness to areas that will help build you up, but it's up to you, to do the work and make the progress.

Jesh is excellent at showing you around and cultivating an environment that encourages greater awareness. I believe his Life-As-An-Art-Form workshop can help anyone, but like anything, you need to be ready and willing to receive what he has to offer. So much in life is about attitude, and mindset. These two staples of life affect how much perseverance, dedication, and creativity you will have in your life's journey. Life is about so much more than work, but there's no denying work will take up a large part of our life. If this is the case, then living inside of this, with the right mindset, can make all the difference. When you're ready, I highly recommend any of Jesh's workshop, starting with his Life-As-An-Art-Form. You can find more information about what he has to offer here: http://enlighten.jeshderox.com/

This is just the beginning of my journey, but already it has been filled with beautiful personalities, rich on life, making extraordinary moments. I want to continue to perpetuate their message to those my life comes into contact with. Not everything I say will be my own. Much of what I say is a blend of influences. And I'm thankful for each one. I hope as you get to know them as I did, your life will be richer for it as well.

Learning to live more fully,
-TJ