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Well I’m nothing less than absolutely honored to be published in Bill Hurter’s latest offering to the Photography world – The Best of Photographic Lighting 2nd Edition. It’s humbling that my work was thought of being included with some of the best photographers’ images around the world. So thank you Bill, Amherst Media, and this amazing photography industry I’m so blessed to be in!!! Below is a little snippet to the contents of what this brand new book is all about. But you’ll have to check out the book to see my image, or you can go to photoforthepeople.com and find it he, he ☺:

“Go Behind the Scenes with industry leaders and discover the lighting techniques they use to create their incredible images…

A well-developed knowledge of how lighting works and how best to exploit it accounts, more than any other factor, for the consistent ability to produce fine photography. In this book, Rangefinder editor Bill Hurter shows you how the industry's most acclaimed professionals design lighting that makes the most of every scene or subject. Packed with practical tips and truly dazzling images, this book will both inform and inspire!”

We shot Tracy & Michael’s wedding in beautiful but frigid Winnipeg, Canada. Being raised in California, it was bazaar to me that people live in a place where if you go outside for an hour without the proper gear you could die! But hey, maybe I’m a wimp when it comes to weather! ☺ Tracy and Michael are a super sweet couple and it was such a fun opportunity to be in this very cool place! (no pun intended) ☺

Anna & I are so excited for Photo For The People! We now have 150 members in under 1 month!!! Thanks to all of you who have joined the community and who have helped others Inspire. Enjoy. Uplift. It's a privilege to see others connect from different cities, states, and even countries and help each other right before our very eyes! We look forward to the FPTP community to continually grow and for us to be able to give back to the industry that's given us so much. Just a note; Anna & I will be posting our Platform Presentation from WPPI on the forum so anybody that attended or wasn't able to make it to Vegas has the opportunity to ask questions and continue the discussion.

blessings,

Michael

Our beautiful clients inside and out, Reese & Phil…

Hey you guys Anna & I will be at the Fujifilm booth on Monday 1:30-2:00 & Tuesday 2:15-2:45 talking about hybrid photography workflow. Swing on by to say hi or glean some knowledge about how film might elevate your images, and allow you to cut your workflow in half.

Anna & I are stoked to be on the "celebrity," list for the BLU SOCIAL at the Parisian Palace. This place really is out of this world!!! We use blu’s beautiful, clean, and ultra-customizable website for our associate photographers. Below is a snippet & some images from bludomain’s blog about this spectacular place:

The location to BLU SOCIAL has been revealed. A 14,000 square foot palace! It's a virtual microcosm of Post-war France, featuring work of some of the world's greatest painters on many of the soaring ceilings and some walls. There are 7 hand carved cherry wood fireplaces and most of the bathroom fixtures are 22kt Gold plated. WOOHOO !!!!

Our awesome bride Lisa Hwag entered the shots we took of her wedding at the Bacara Beach Resort in The First Annual, The Knot Magazine: Real Wedding Awards where thousands of people go to view and vote. Our wedding was one of the top rated and viewed, and the funny thing is I didn’t even know about it! It scored over 3000 views and awesome comments! I found out from my friend Brion Hopkins who was over for our very first Photo For The People book club night. I love unexpected surprises!

So Anna & I were doing a photo shoot with this adorable family the Weymouths, and John the Dad, threw his little boy, Blake up into the air and his pants just flew off!!

Hey Everyone, I just wanted to share with you that Anna & I will be speaking at WPPI this year! We’re so excited about our topic; Standing OUT in the Photography Industry and are going to have tons of insights into our business and ideas and programs on how you can take your business to the next level. We’d be honored to see all of you there! We’re eager to give back to the photography industry, because God knows that we’ve been so very blessed from so many others. We’re grateful to Fujifilm for giving us a platform to strive to help and share with others. We’ll be speaking Monday morning the 17th at 8:30am – 10:30am in the Platinum Ballroom at the Paris Hotel.
The 411 for our presentation info… MICHAEL & ANNA COSTA In the sea of wedding photographers how can one hope to stand out in the crowd? It seems a daunting task, yet Michael and Anna Costa have managed to catapult their business into the high end in three short years and will be sharing their secrets of success in this information-packed seminar! Be ready to make small changes in your business that will result in big rewards by learning how to: • Get noticed through your amazing artwork • Shoot BOTH digital and film/create an edge • Hire associate photographers to increase revenue • Create branding that puts you at the top of the heap • Outsource the things that are weighing you down • Become a champion sales person • Don’t “run” your business “build” it! This presentation is perfect for photographers wanting to get their business onto the fast track and achieve a new level of success! Sponsored by Fujifilm.

Last night we hosted the Pictage user group (PUG) meeting at our place and our BFF Tim Halberg taught how to use Adobe Lightroom and everyone really learned a lot. Thanks to Kacie Jean from putting together the event!