From the moment I met Helen and Doug, the thing I loved about them was their clarity of purpose. They seem to know exactly what they wanted or at least knew how to find out very quickly. They are both activators and achievers in real sense of those words.

The day began with Helen was getting ready at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa.

Karey Michelle and Micah Gilmore were fantastic second shooters. Of course, both are Fast Track Founders, which is no surprise!

She seemed to really her Engagement album which she received that day. Special thanks to Amy at Albumesque and everyone at KISS for making that happen on such short notice.

Doug was clearly excited too as he was getting ready. Before we knew it, the ceremony was on…

The weather was perfect, but it was the relationships that really made the day.

Helen’s 90 year old Mom (also named Helen!) was so proud of her daughter!

After the ceremony, Doug and Helen had a chance to go to the beach for a fun session.

A quick stop along the way..

As we were on our way across the bridge, Helen looked down and screamed, “Look Doug, a Flex!” Turned out she and Doug were about to buy one. Funny thing was, she was pointing at my new car so we had to get a foreshadowing picture.

Doug grew up surfing the break right in front of the hotel so the whole day felt surreal to him.

As the sun was setting, the couple seemed to be lost in the dream of life together. It was an absolute privilege to document such an amazing day.

Congratulations my friends.
-Dane

PS… Special thanks to Eric and Melissa’s family for connecting me to Helen and Doug. Referrals are the greatest compliment I could ever receive.

I got a great question on the forum this week that I wanted to share…

“Any words of wisdom on the juggling of photography with outside life, children, pets, spouses, clients and the work I can’t/don’t want to outsouce and how to best fit it all in?”
- Ami D

Here’s what I say… Don’t juggle… Don’t try to balance (do you actually know any balanced people?)… Just stop.

Live in tension and let things fall once in a while.

In fact, just for fun: I double dogg dare you to commit to intentionally letting one non-critical thing drop this week. If you can’t, I say there’s a problem.

Stuck to know what to let go? Ask a (true) friend to point something out that objectively won’t kill you if it doesn’t get done. If it really hurts, pick that one. You’ll cuss your friend out tomorrow but in a week you’ll be buying them dinner.

For what it’s worth, I did this last week which is why I was so absent on the forums. I’m so grateful I didn’t get judged for that by the way. Fact is, I actually felt loved! My man Jack noticed my absence and reached out. It was such a gift!

My advice: When you need to walk away from the virtual world, do it guilt free. We’ll be here when you get back! That’s the beauty of living in tension… you can flex and we’ll flex with you.

Speaking of Forums, there are some amazing new communities out there that I hope you guys are taking advantage of! From Photography Mentor to B School… these Facebook for photographer sites are just amazing and some of my closest friends in the industry are behind them! They have bells and whistles that blow doors off of any forum on the Internet. They are just remarkable.

“But wait!” you might say, “aren’t these new ventures bad news for the Fast Track Community?” I appreciate the concern but rest assured it’s nothing but good!

From Photography Mentor to The B School to Triiibes to Facebook, we have Fast Track Groups/Clubs all over the social networking world and membership is rising!

But here’s the thing: The Fast Track Forums are nothing like them.

And, here’s the bigger thing: The reason we created The Fast Track Forums was not to be the latest flavor of the month for photographers. It actually exists to be an intimate community of like-minded photographers who are interested in close relationships and keeping our little world free of the Grumpies. That’s it. Pretty modest I know.

But, given the potential challenges that juggling all these cool spaces requires, those who call Fast Track home have found that intimate virtual space is pretty tough to find these days. As Seth Godin likes to say, “Small is the New Big“… this is certainly so for Fast Track.

So, if you are needing to let some balls drop and are craving a little up close and personal time with your some safe friends who will be “for you” as long as you’re grump-free, come join in the fun! If not, we’ll see you at the parties!

- Dane

Ever wish you could sit down with a cup of coffee and get some tangible help on how to make your photo life work better for you? Ever feel like you’re beating your head against a wall and just need a little help to get perspective?

Recently, I’ve been stoked to notice a lot of people taking the initiative to reach out for help like this. But, until now I haven’t really had a good way to really carve out intentional time! I’m excited to announce that I think we have that worked out now.

I’ve decided to start offering 20 minute consults on a limited bases. All topics are fair game!

You can get answers on everything including…

• signature vs. freelance branding
• shooting techniques
• lighting
• pricing
• marketing
• decision making
• business strategy
• workflow
• equipment & vendor selection
• & much more!

You will also be asked to take your pDNA before the consultation so I can get a chance to review your results and give you the most out of your time together. If you haven’t taken the pDNA yet, no problem. A FREE test is included. That’s not all either - see the bonus below!

All the details on how it works can be found here!

*Bonus: Everyone who books a Consult will also receive a FREE Fast Track Photographer Audiobook as well as a FREE pDNA for yourself or to share! I’ll even throw in a FREE eBook so you can follow along as I read to you!

After purchase of the consult, I’ll be emailing you a code to redeem everything listed!

Again, because of my other commitments I will only be offering a handful of slots so if you’re at all interested, I’d really encourage you to confirm your spot today!

I hope this helps!
-Dane

I love shooting… and sometimes it’s even fun to get shot shooting.

I always laugh at how goofy I can look and every time I do I appreciate better what it’s like for all our clients. Why not invite a friend to shoot you shooting to see what it feels like? Or better yet, why not be a model for a day and take it all in. You’ll be surprised what you learn about how to set your clients up to win.

Anyway, here’s what I was up to when David Hessemer caught me live, connecting with Erin and Austin…

Asking my clients to go hide in the woods…

Risking life and limb to get the picture…

Cleaning the sand out of my shoes…

Keep it light.
-Dane