Kristen Booth: Tiffany McNutt: My very first intern!

Well...ever since I started getting heavily into photography and learning the technical side of it, I knew it would be something I would want to eventually teach others. Already almost 2 years into college to become a teacher, I kept thinking about how cool it would be to teach PHOTOGRAPHY rather than a boring subject I had no passion for. With budget cuts and teaching positions getting harder and harder to grab in most school districts around me, I didn't know how likely it would be to score a position like that...so I kept my education path pretty broad not really knowing what it was I would end up teaching...
After my internship with Sarah Barlow I knew without a doubt that taking on interns and hosting workshops is something I really wanted to do in the future....as in LATER...years from now..when I'm super skilled. NOT NOW. That's why I found myself shocked a few months later as I sat waiting for the arrival of a girl I had never met who was driving 2 hours to come learn from...yours truly.
I started talking to Tiffany earlier this year through Myspace. Being young, photographers both based out of Southern California was more than enough common ground to get us talking. When we first started speaking of her possibly coming to learn with me, I was super excited but also terribly nervous. I mean I know enough to run my business successfully, but that's just what works for ME, is it the only way, or even the right way? Probably not... I figured I would just give it my best shot and teach her the way I do things, completely understanding that she might tell me she learned NOTHING and that it was the WORST weekend of her life!!!!!!
Luckily, that's not how it happened. Me and Tiff hit it off right from the start and things went smooth from there. Tiffany is originally from Kansas, but now lives with her husband and son in 29 Palms where she runs Olive Juice Photography(the story behind the name is SO cute, you should totally ask her about it!). We spent the whole weekend, covering all aspects of her business and tackling her insecurities and I am proud to say that it all went well! While she was here, she tagged along on a family session, model session, and engagement session and the images she captured were phenomenal! I was beaming like a proud mother when she gushed about how much confidence she had gained and that she couldn't believe that she shot the pictures she was staring at on her screen.
From client interaction to post production, we covered it all. BUT, she wasn't expecting the curve ball I threw to her as our weekend was ending, which involved her stepping out in front of the camera! She looked at me like I told her to go jump off a bridge as I explained that to truly understand your client, you need to be in their shoes at least once, and SHE would be the next subject in front of my lens :) Despite her hesitation, she totally ROCKED the session...complete with my hair styling and last minute outfits pulled out of my closet. Besides the experience, she also got some new bio photos for her website!
It was quite a crazy weekend, especially when we stayed up till 2 am...on nights when we had a session at 7 am....jeeze. But it was nothing short of amazing! The best part is, she will be back in just a few weeks to second shoot a wedding with me!! Doing this, totally woke up my passion to teach others and gave me a much needed kick in the butt to improve some things in my own business that I was teaching everyone else but not necessarily practicing.
Here are some of the photos from Tiffany's bio photo session. Be sure to check out her BLOG to see how amazing she is doing!