Katelyn James – Coaching Session | Richmond VA

“I don’t think I can do this…” I said as I got a bit teary while Suzanne of Faces by SAM Makeup Artistry worked some of my hair around her curling iron. “You can!” she insisted. For those that read about my Jasmine Star workshop, you know I was pretty sick the whole day. And usually when I have a rough day, I have a rough morning the next day. Sure enough, my stomach was in knots, and I was anxious about not being able to see Katelyn for my coaching session, so that anxiousness just made it worse. I took my limit on stomach medications to see if I could get it to calm down, and told myself that it WOULD be okay. I WOULD do this, and it WOULD be good. When Suzanne finished up, she turned me around to see the beautiful work she’d done on me. STUNNED. I knew I had to do this – not just for me, but to also showcase how amazing Suzanne is with her craft. I grabbed my coke and headed out, blasting some calming music, sipping my little drink the whole way there.

So what is this coaching session I speak of? And who is this Katelyn James girl? Well, if you have to ask… I remember it was over a year ago when I just couldn’t take it anymore. Her work just took my breath away. Her white balance was always spot on, her lighting was incredible, and her work is by far some of the most consistent work I’ve ever seen. I honestly feel like you could take one photo from every wedding and throw it in an album and it will look like they all belong together. That’s saying something. I remember having to email her to tell her, because notes like that make everyone feel great, especially when it has true meaning behind it. I also may or may not have asked her to be my wedding photographer already before I had even started dating anyone. But that’s beside the point. Just as one of my ultimate goals in this photography world was to not only meet Jasmine Star face-to-face, but also experience her exclusive workshop, another one of my ultimate goals was to get to meet Katelyn face-to-face and have a coaching session. Coaching sessions are one-on-one, and you can seriously just ask almost anything as well as get personal critiques on your work and website. I knew I needed it from a professional standpoint, and I knew it’d be beneficial to do so.

When I arrived at out meeting spot the day of my session, which – YES – I did make it to thankfully, I was instantly greeted by those familiar faces and smiles, and any worry I had melted away! Tina with Tina Elizabeth Photography had just finished up her coaching session, and was also there, so it was awesome to meet such a beautiful photographer – both inside and out. After just having some chill time at the restaurant just talking and getting to know each other, Katelyn took us out for some headshots and to show us more about natural light and natural reflectors.
When we finished up there, I headed back with her to her GORGEOUS house (seriously, I felt like I walked into a show house because her design and arrangements are truly incredible), and was greeted by that cute little puppy I’ve heard so much of ( #BokehTheBichPoo – you HAVE to search this on Instagram ). Katelyn had been informed of my crazy stomach, so we opted to lounge out in her living room while Bokeh curled up near us and just acted adorable as always. We went over my struggles, my wins, my website and what needed to be changed * hint – see the new logo? *, she went through my blogs and critiqued them, taught me a few things that I had been struggling to learn with editing, and just seriously worked with me on everything. Some people say coaching sessions aren’t worth it, and to them I say they clearly haven’t had a good experience with who they had one with… because my experience was pretty life changing. The information and tools I was given during our time together will drastically HELP my business in so many ways. That information is pretty priceless to me. If you are a photographer looking for a friendly face to help you through your business, someone who has years of experience and obviously knows what she’s doing, and someone that will sit down with you and go over anything, I highly highly suggest looking into Katelyn’s coaching sessions. You won’t regret it, and plus you will walk away with new headshots that are pretty bangin’ 😉

Photos by Katelyn James Photography
Hair and Makeup by Faces by SAM Makeup Artistry