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MENTORSHIP WITH JORDAN VOTH

Business, Education, LATEST, Life of Rubi Z, Photography

5/18/17

If you don’t know who Jordan Voth is, you should! He’s a portrait and wedding photographer based in Seattle, WA. He shoots some of the most epic, editorial and heart felt photos I’ve ever seen. Let me tell you how I actually got to have a one on one mentorship with this amazing artist.

Every year I take time to sit, pray, and analyze where I am in business. I simply ask for direction and think about what I need that year to grow my business. I am a firm believer that we are all on our own road and sometimes we are not ready or we are not where others are…and that’s ok. It is important to analyze correctly where we are and that way we can be more effective as to where we are going.

So in this specific year (2017) I knew that I wanted to begin to stand out. I wanted to find my voice and find my perspective in photography. I wanted to be an artist, I didn’t just want to be another photographer. I started to think about the things that I needed to do in order to shift in that direction and the first thing that came to my mind (myself being a hands on learner) was that I needed to be face to face with an artist that I admired. I needed to be mentored by them, even if it was just for a few hours.

Now let me go back in time a few years prior to this moment and this thought pattern. I don’t spend a lot of time on social media or other platforms admiring or learning from other photographers. It is not in my nature to research that much or to spend time figuring out how others do their craft. I spend a lot of time making my own mistakes and learning my own ways. This is a benefit and a downfall all in one! But there was an exception with one artist. I started to create an inspirational Pinterest board. A board that would inspire me to think outside my box. After a while I started to see a pattern in the images that I was being inspired by and one day I got curious and looked up the artist behind these images….only to find out that about 80% of these images were ironically from the same photographer….Jordan Voth! Now, funny story, when I found out about Jordan Voth, I thought I was looking at work from a female artist. I’d never seen his face, neither did I research enough to find out that he was actually a man. I just assumed that anyone capturing with this much emotion and depth had to be a woman…and Jordan is a common woman’s name as well so I didn’t give it a second thought. Later to find out that he was a male was quite shocking, but made me love his work even more! From this moment, my love for his work just grew. I continued to be inspired by it and motivated to capture people in an authentic and deep way.

So now when I was presented with the thought of taking the next step into artistry, Jordan Voth was the only person that came to my mind. I wondered if I could possibly meet him and just glean from him or hear about how he got to where he was. So, I decided to message him and ask if he did any mentorship programs. Much to my surprise he had a one on one mentorship available (at a cost of course) and I had to really consider the investment! Not only would I have to invest in the program but I would have to invest in the trip to SEATTLE! To me….it was a WIN WIN-with a cost (but it wouldn’t be an investment in business if it didn’t cost something)! I’d finally get to see Seattle, and I would meet Jordan Voth. With the backing and support of my husband I was on my way to Seattle.

Here’s a fun side note. In the midst of planning and prepping for our trip (I’m a big planner when it comes to trips or major events) I knew I wanted a unique and artistic experience. My husband and I are huge fans of Fixer Upper and shows like Tiny House. So we’d been a little obsessed with Tiny Houses lately and as I looked at AirBNB, I ran into “Tipsy the Tiny House” in Seattle. I was blindsided and could not even comprehend staying anywhere else after running into this cute little house nestled in Seattle. Of course my husband didn’t even budge, he was 100% onboard with our stay and the experience with that will have to be for another blog post!

Now let me give you some insight on how it was meeting Jordan and what we actually did during our mentorship. The one-on-one mentorship he offers is a one day event (about 6 hours when all said and done). I arrived to Seattle and met him in his very industrial minimalist loft office inside of Tides & Pines shop (which is the coolest shop ever!). I tried to contain myself and act professional, but truth is I was freaking out inside when I walked in and saw his work displayed on beautiful big framed prints. Jordan Voth is very down to earth. He immediately made me feel comfortable and at home. He was fully invested in knowing who I was and where I was at in business. He helped me navigate through a few thoughts, questions and such. We sat in his office and I learned so much about his process: the way he treats his clients, the products that he uses, the post production he takes his workflow through and so much more. In this part of the session, what I would take away most was some personal information about how he started and what got him to where he was, a high esteemed published photographer. It left me inspired that I too was on the right journey to success. It was great-there was so many tangible things and tools that I left his office with and I was ready to venture off to greater things!

Luckily for me this was not the end of the day! I then got to jump into the car of Jordan Voth and travel to a Seattle park where we shot a model couple. I watched him shoot and then he would throw me in there. Giving me tips and tricks on how he handles his settings and why he does it the way he does. I was able to watch the interactions he had with clients and how he would talk them through a shoot. To see the results he was getting from the back of his camera was pretty awesome! What I walked away most in this part of the session was his choice in settings and the way he actively moved with his clients to get motion and capture it (something I was already into doing). It was a great experience from start to finish.

The biggest win since then was the communication I get to have with him after mentorship. I don’t think this is part of the package deal or anything. Don’t get me wrong, I am not emailing him every day or anything close to that but every once in a while if I had a question or was trying to recap on information or just simply needed some insight, he was very responsive to it. Overall, this mentorship was really worth the time and investment for me. I was ready for it and it was all at the right time. Couldn’t be more thankful to Jordan Voth for this opportunity and I’m certain that this experience has expanded my growth this year. If you’re thinking of doing a mentorship of some sort or attending a seminar of a an artist you hold in high esteem….don’t think twice….it’s worth it!