Her strong point - is herself and how she markets her brand. While she's a phenomenal photographer, she doesn't claim to be the best - but the girl can write (follow her blog if you don't!) and is all about staying "fabulous" and "Keepin it real." Her online presence and savvy networking skills have made her so gosh darn like-able and have literally catapulted her into unbelievable success.
She even throws a "Amen!s" in with her "Holla!s" I was inspired by her a few years ago and continue to be. It was a great experience to hear her speak and meet her in person... :) Here are a few pictures from my day beginning to end. Some taken with my new fisheye 15mm f/2.8. :) Loving that thing btw!
{Yes, I got up at 4a and was on the road by about 4:45}
{Um, the FREEZING Conference Room in which we sat.}
{Right before Jasmine started to speak, people standing in line to talk to her.. she's such a rockstar.}
{She's SO animated, funny and diva fashionista. Absolutely loved her!}
{Vendor area and also where we ate lunch.}
{Person in front of me - and right now I am sweating bullets and having a mild panic attack, turning around to the people behind me asking them if their heart is racing too!!! Um, that's JASMINE STAR in front of me people!!}
{Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!! I felt like Usher. Lol. So here's kinda how the conversation went: Jasmine shakes my hand and says, "Hi I'm Jasmine!"( Like I don't know who she is!!!! So humble.)
Me: "Hi I'm Joanne. I am so nervous right now, I'm sorry!"
j* grabs my cold hands and says: "Don't be nervous!!!"
Me: "Oh my gosh, my hands are freezing!" "You are such a rockstar! I love your work!"
j*: "Thank you!!"
Me: "My husband wants me to take a picture with you b/c he totally thinks you are hot!"
- Are you laughing at this point with what a hot mess I am? I mean listen to me?!!!!-
j*: laughs bashfully and says, "Sure!!" "Does my hair look ok?!!"
Me: "Are you kidding me? I don't even want to stand next to you!! So gorgeous!!"
CHEESE!
Me: "Thank you sooooooo much!! You are so freaking cool and I love how much of a diva you are!"
And.. I'm sure I went on some more about thank you and diva fashionista, but she just laughed and smiled and made me feel like we were just old fabulous friends. She just has that effect on people. She's sooo genuine! And as you can see from the dialogue, I was an absolute dumb butt with the things I had to say, but I was so nervous! One of the top TEN y'all! TOP TEN! IN THE WORLD! And she's so real!}
So I walked away thinking.. huh, this is what it's like to meet one of your biggest idols!!
Very.... fabulous.
{On the way home! Stuck in traffic for literally about an hour or more. Gotta love me some Chicago.}
