As I am still editing away so many shots of wonderful moments of photo sessions in Las Vegas during WPPI, I must take a break and tell you about a Christian Retreat I will be speaking this upcoming June. This retreat is called Point of Creation and it is an avenue where creative christian women can come together to explore their creative side, learn how to tap it into the business side with an overall goal to make you a better woman, a happier woman. I am so inspired by the founder of Point of Creation Yadira Laguerre, you might remember her from a previous post where I had done a lifestyle session with her. She is so vibrant and her smile lights up the city, I feel so honored and blessed to be asked to speak on the topic of branding and marketing and can not wait for this big ole girlie girl reunion. Registration is now open so I encourage you to grab your tickets fast.

Here is my Fuse Interviews Yadira Laguerre on Point of Creation Retreat-

The retreat is scheduled for the weekend of June 4-6 in Lake Pleasant, NY.  The cost is $299 which includes lodging, buffet style meals, interactive business workshops and all of the camp’s amenities (pool, beachfront, gym, sports complex, etc).  We even have an optional Challenge Course planned which is an obstacle course for team building and confronting your fears (think climbing a high pole and jumping).  I’m really looking forward to that!  Women who are interested can view the full weekend itinerary and register right online by visiting www.poc-retreat.yadiralaguerre.com Registrations paid in full before March 15th will receive a professional image/styling consultation and professional headshot by me to go with it (I moonlight as a photographer and graphic artist).  Tarsha Gibbons is our Image Consultant and she is amazing.

6) How is this retreat different than other retreats?

There are spiritual retreats and there are business conventions; this merges the two and throws in some girly fun.  Women of all ages stretch themselves too thin, doing things for everyone else while ignoring what is in their own hearts to accomplish.  This retreat will force you to stop and listen to what is in your own spirit, to hear the voice of God in a fresh way and be instructed by women just like you.  All our speakers will be rooming together with our guests.  It is not an “us” and “them” kind of weekend where there is an invisible wall between those that teach and those that take the notes.  We’re all in this boat together.  Let’s learn from each other.

Yadira thanks so much for such a great interview.

Here are some pixs of Yadira I had taken and stay tuned for for of my Las Vegas Photo adventures.

and here are some mobile uploads of the view from my room in Vegas, just some teasers-

Signature Hotel in Las Vegas, NV owned by MGM.

Las Vegas Fashion Shoot at Studio 54 hosted by Kiss Wedding Books

Engagement Shoot in Las Vegas, NV

As a NJ based Wedding and Lifestyle Photographer, I have to say I am so excited.Within 24 hours  I will be on a plane headed to Las Vegas, NV for one of the biggest if not the biggest Photography Convention in the world, WPPI ( Wedding & Portrait Professionals International) which will take place at the MGM grand in Las Vegas Strip. you probably have seen all the crazy tweets and might even be a bit annoyed but let me tell you good times, great pictures and lots of changes to come.  I feel very blessed that I am able to go and have friends and family supporting me and major helping with the kids. As a mom, it is not easy going away, it seems the kids act up right before, house is a little crazy and the to do list is never ending but again just feel blessed I am able to go at all. Some amazing things are about to happen in the next 5 days professionally and personally and I must thank God for all of that, for being able to share my ideas, my work, my feelings on this blog with you and to continue to create art with my camera As I write here in the dark and the kids are asleep, I feel tired, excited, proud, happy, blessed,worried about the kids and hubster already and I feel peaceful too.

For those of you at WPPI you will also see me wearing a pictagerazzi shirt. I was one of the photographers selected by Pictage to capture some pictures of the event so photographers there can order free prints from the talks and trade show. It is an honor to be connected to Pictage and looking forward to meeting many cool photogs and leaders. And also I super excited about participating in the Fast Track TV which will be aired on www.askdane.com so if you are not attending WPPI tune in and see full schedule here*** I am nervous but luckily I will not be alone, I will be with fellow mom photographer Katrina Wheeler and we will have a talk on being a mom, launching a photography business and how social media has helped. Please join us Tuesday at 2 p.m EST/ 11. am PST and send your questions ahead of time on twitter @fastrackphoto

And if you want to connect while at WPPI, dm me on twitter and here are a few places I will be at for sure. THESE TIMES ARE PST TIMES.

Sunday-

9 am- brunch - Rainforest Cafe, feel free to join me

12:30- Pictagerazzi meeting

1:30- Bui Brothers Workshop

8-9 - Pictage Welcome Reception

Airhorns and Lasers after that- woo hoo

Monday- busy day

8 a.m

then some classes and trade floor

2:00-4:00 pm workshop with Stephen Knuth

4:00-5:30 pm Fast Track Shoot out

WPPI pool party – 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
The 30th anniversary WPPI pool party at the MGM pool? no swimming for me, hair is not water proof and need it to last while I am there, lol

Tuesday-

11:00- New Media Lounge- tune in on www.askdane.com to watch me, hopefully I will not chatter away,

3:30 pm- Dane Sanders Platform talk

6:00 p.m- Fast Track After party

Then B-school Party perhaps

Wed-

8 am breakfast  with Show it Unite

perhaps 1 class and back home

I have not packed just yet. I am a planner, I love to plan plan plan but have a bad habit of leaving some things for last minute, just like my shopping and packing list and then when I go shopping, of course I can not find anything that fits and the mall is about to close. Happy Friday, so are you an early color cordinate your socks packer or are you a last minute see what fits in suit case and pray you dont forget your tooth brush but you always do anyhow packer? I would like to say I am in between and pushing for the first then the second one, after all I do not want a tooth brush collection. I also work well under pressure for these kind of things, well sort of, at least that is what I tell myself, I would love to hear your packing and traveling tips. Of course we need some pixs up in this blog so here are some sneaks of my new business card which I got paid for my trip, designed by the lovely www.charlenevaz.com

As you can see I most  likely will be not updating my blog but please follow me on twitter and facebook for the updates on my great trip. Wishing everyone safe travels and I can not wait to connect. Also booths I will be sure to check out are: Tofurious, Shoot Sac, New Media Lounge, Pictage, Finao Albums, Shoot Q,Shoot Dot Edit, Kevin Kubota, Drop It Modern, and some others

As a NJ bases Lifestyle and Wedding Photographer, I do try and watch the Jersey scene of photography as well as some possible models to shoot and fun ideas. I have been wanting to do a portrait shoot with my brother in law, after all, dark, handsome, brazilian and really tall. I jokingly say I will try and make him a model and become rich, he smiles with his timid smile and folds his arms liking the idea of getting pictures done but not too sure on the modeling part since we told him he would need to wear skinny jeans. He was very shy but I got him to do a portrait session this weekend around my South River, NJ neighborhood. He is single ladies but not looking for any commitment at the moment lol.  Here are some of my favorites of the outside portraits.

I did mention in Fuse News that I had been interviewed by a local paper and was super excited about it. I met up with journalist Madhu Rajaraman from Sayreville Progress at my local starbucks for some coffee and q&a, I talked loads, just went on and on and in my mind was like I wonder what the final piece will be like since I can not shut my trap. Well  I received a hard copy 2 weeks ago and I could have not been any happier about my feature, first of all I was on the front page of the paper then my story continued to a second page talking about how I started and my interest in business and branding aspect of photography. The picture makes it hard to read so I will highlight what were my favorite parts of the piece.

For starters she begins the piece saying “Feuza Reis is not your typical wedding photographer. If you want cliche snapshots with stiff poses and false smiles,look elsewhere”  This is so true, I am so more about capturing who you really are as a person, how you like to interact as a couple, a child just being a child and not saying cheese. Another favorite line which has loads to do with the vision I have for my photography business is when I am quoted ” I try to re-create the exact emotions that a person feels in a specific moment. With my images, I want to create a bridge between the past,present and future”. When a person picks up my images from years to come, I want them to look at them and go back in time, feel the emotion in the present and reflect on their future. I want to be that bridge for people. Today will never come back again, this is our life, this is our story, each day can be seen as a page, and the seasons or important events as chapters so if we only life once, we want to live it to the fullest and we want to cherish the true emotions of special days, I am that bridge. Another quote that I loved Madhu included was ” Even though I shoot weddings , I like to be more modern,edgy,urban and photojournalistic than most wedding photographers. Love what she said about me in regards to business, Madhu states that whereas many talented artists might shy away from the business side of photography, Feuza embraces it. Then final quote from me ” I just jumped in, it’s all about understanding yourself and the vision you have for your company.

Why a bridge, I was born on an urban island in Brazil, Vitoria, E.S. It is officially an island but it is the capitol so very urbanized and it is so close to the mainland that one almost does not see it is an island also due to the many close bridges. I am Brazilian and I grew up in the states and for many years had identity loss almost, when I was in the USA, I felt so different and so Brazilian but when I would spend summers there I would be almost gringa. I actually specialized in ethnicity and race relations in college and finally was able to accept the fusion of these two cultures in my life and who I really was and when I went to work on the vision I had for my photography business, I had to look at who I was and saw how the fusion of my beach childhood and city life influences my work.

Thanks again to Sayreville Progress for this wonderful piece on me and thank you Bridal Crate Magazine for adding this in your vendor alert first page this week. Thank you to everyone who has blessed Feuza Reis Photography.

The last 2 days the sun has been shinning it’s lovely rays and the snow is starting to melt and I have missed writing on my old blogio. On Friday I had a chance to finally meet baby Jeremiah, Pastor Ryan’s son. He was quite a charmer with his red hair, blues eyes and chubby cheeks.  This is a beautiful story of God’s wonder which I hope to share. Here are some sneaks. I have a few blog posts coming up so stay tuned.

Back when I started in 2008, I was not blogging yet but grew my business out of an online media called Orkut popular among Brazilians and the first photographer that gave me the time of Day was a girl from MA called her business Photo Passion. We became online friends and then I had a question or two, she introduced me to betterphoto and flicker and also NYIP which btw I never finished my homework. She was my first photographer friend and she took me under her wing sharing info, business and overall advice. We became online buddies and arranged for us to meet when my husband was doing a Videography course in NH. I drove 1.5 hours to spend 1.5 hours with her, we were chatter boxes excited about all things photo. I am very grateful that she was not afraid and did not see me as competition which is so common amongst brazilians, she saw me as a friend, some one who she could exchange information and not just give it away. She is a strong woman who believes in her passion, is a great mother to her 3 rockin boys and a great wife.  Meet my friend, Eliane Filho.

1) What is your photography Story?

Well I got my 1st Canon camera on my 15th birthday a gift from my mother ever since then I started taking pictures of things and people. I upgraded my film camera to a digital Canon Rebel and decided to start studding for photography in 2007 I took pictures of everything I saw in front of me one day I took a picture of this little girl on her bike and decided to add it to a contest, ended up winning with that photo in second place so I decided to take photography more seriously and start the basics. That’s really how it all started I figured if That picture was good to get me to second place maybe it is meant to be. So I started as a professional in 2007

2) What is in your bag?

A canon 40D

Sigma 18-200mm 3.5-6.3

Canon 50mm 1.5

Canon 75-300 4-5.6

Tamaron 70-200 2.8

Canon speedlite 580EXII

2 Canon Li-ion battery pack and charger

Gary Fong’s Lightsphere II

Tiffen Filter Circular Polarizer 62mm

Tiffen Filter Haze-1 62mm

10Lexar Compact Flash

Lots of bateries

3) What kind of photography do you do?

All types of event

Wedding

portrait

parties etc

4) Knowing what you knew now, what would you have done differently in beginning?

Alot of things, Start slow, have some goals, plan things ahead of time.

Find a honest person that would help me get started. Look for tips and learn before i put my head in things.

5) where are you now in your business?

Well I Decided to start new

with new goals and perspective

6) What is your biggest dream? Your goals?

My Biggest dream would be to have my own studio

My Goals would be to book some more weddings this year

and to attend at least 5 work shops get my site customized

7) If you had to give advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?

Find a person you trust with your life to help you out it’s very hard to beggin something, but you will get threw it. Dream ahead and Never leave them behind. No matter what people tell you. If you can’t show them now how good you are you will someday God Bless Xoxoxo

It is snowing outside so Spring is not in the physical air yet but it is in my mind. We are getting about 10-15 minutes extra of sunlight and that is just a little hint that Spring is near, yes it is and I am so excited. After all I was born under the equator line, in Brazil, on an island actually so I got summer veins running through my body and snow and cold is not really my thing. What I am most excited about is all the cool happenings in my life lately which feels  like Spring is in the air, I will be attending my First WPPI and just won registration tickets thanks to photographer Kevin Jairaz from KJ Images who posted this on twitter and Azura Albums for offering this. If you are on the fence about attending, just do a Twitter search for WPPI and many photographers are doing give aways for the registration which saves you some nice money. There are so many cool things happening at WPPI that I am planning and highlighting events, dates etc. If you are going, I would love to meet you so give me a heads up.  I am so excited for this and for all the cool things happening in my life and I know soon the sun will shine and my dreams won’t be mere illusions but will be concrete filled goals. Sometimes you just gotta jump, being all in as Dane Sanders says which is hard and so scary but the first few months of this year I am working more and more on my vision, brand and strategies to make this a successful business. So what are you tips for reaching your goals? and dreams? I would love to here more. Here is some pictures of Rebecca that I did last end of Summer which reminds me a bit of the vibrant, fun dreams I have.

Love is Patient, Love is kind is a known Bible verse and these two adjectives are very much at the core of what love is and of how God wants us to love. My husband has been so patient and kind with me and I kick myself in the butt ever doubting if he cares about me, about my dreams, about my feelings, we women do that, don’t we? We ask do you love me? We worry when he think he has looked at us funny? We doubt. Lately my business has required a lot of me, not that  I have been booking lots, but that I have been working on strategies and CEO things which take up time, money and resources and my husband although skeptical at times about this passion of mine, has been all in for me, has been patient and kind. I must admit I have been anything but patient and kind,  I have been grouchy, grumpy and overall selfish, just self indulged in moi but life is too short and dreams are not worth it if you can not share them with the ones you love. I pray to God that He pour more of His love unto me that I can love others, love those who hurt me, love those who wish me to fail, love those who have not been kind nor patient. That I may love my love Maxwel more and more each day and that I may be patient and kind and generous and respectful and loving. This is our 7th Valentine’s Day together and we have never done anything really fancy since he is Brazilian and this date is not celebrated in Brazil but more and more, we have been opening our ears and eyes and caring for each other. Today he proved that even more so, worried about my phone issues, worried about what I will wear at WPPI, worried about my hotel situation which is still not 100%, just caring and worried about me. He always puts me and the kids first and I can not wait til he gets some needed rest and acknowledgement. Valentine’s is not so much about big bears, chocolates or gift but it is about showing appreciation and about being patient and kind. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone, oh and leave a comment cause I feel alone over here sometimes.

Here are a few pictures of me and the love of my life Max, we got these done in Christmas 2008 by talented Bianca Valentim.

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