A little about what inspired the images below from Tina herself:

Lifestyle is fast becoming my favourite style of photography… everything about it is real and that makes it special.    It’s great to get dressed up and look pretty for a photoshoot but all those little things in-between, like going to the hairdresser, going shopping with mom, fixing the car with dad, they are all equally, if not more, important.  I don’t have any photos of me as a child doing all of those in-between things and I would love a little glimpse into my day-to-day childhood.  I decided to capture these moments for my own children which is why I decided to photograph his trip to our local hairdresser… I love that my little boy will have these pics tucked away in his little memory box to pull out when he’s a dad and share them with his own children, to actually draw them into that little hairdressing salon, as though they were really there, seeing every little detail, a little (or big) step back in time to when daddy was 6yrs old.

To see more please check out Tina’s Website and ‘like’ her on Facebook!

SALE ALERT!!!!
The ENTIRE STORE is on SALE for their back to school event.  Don’t forget about the TAX FREE week August 3-5th!!!!!

Below are eight wardrobe options from their Fall line.  If you like any of these outfits, but don’t live in the Destin area, that’s no problem.  You can place orders over the phone and they will ship directly to you.  Please give Latrice a call at (850) 269-0690!!!!

Above Looks (left to right):
(1) Boys graphic tee with straight fit destroyed denim and new cord blazer.  (2) Boys graphic and long sleeve pocket tee with new puffer vest.
(3) Boys Aye Aye graphic with lightweight puffer vest and straight fit dark denim.  (4) Slub pirate hoodie with camo elastic belt.

Above Looks (left to right):
(1) Boys legacy blazer with bedford pant and pirate tie.  (2) Boys cord blazer with tartan tie on tartan shirt.
(3) Boys oxford with plaid tie and straight fit cord pant.  (4) Boys v-neck sweater and chino with suede lace up boot.

Today’s topic of discussion is mentorships.  We recently came in contact with Jackie from Photography by Jackie Jean.  Over the years, she has honed her Photoshop editing skills and has decided to share her techniques with other photographers.  There is a lot of research, development, testing, preparation, not to mention stress that goes into offering educational services.  We wanted to interview Jackie to learn more about what she did to get to this point.

Hi, my name is Jackie Jean. I am a lover of all things photography and music related and when coffee is thrown into the mix, I am in a bit of heaven!

I grew up a total tom boy being the only girl in my family so it only figures that I now have four boys of my own whom I adore along with my awesome husband. We all love camping, traveling, and just hanging out.

I began my photography journey when I was in high school. I would spend countless hours in the darkroom and I never went anywhere without my camera. It was a few years after getting married and having my first two boys that my husband pushed me to start my business. I am so grateful he did too! I am now in my 8th year of business and can’t imagine doing anything else!

1.  What inspired you to start offering mentorships?
Oh gosh, I think back when Myspace was cool and I had a couple photographers ask if I would do workshops or teach. At the time, I just didn’t feel ready but that stayed in the back of mind until really this past year. I spent a few months working on a post processing guide that I could use along with my mentorships and then began opening up spots to mentor a couple months ago.

2.  What steps did you take to get to a point that you felt you were ready to teach others?
While I LOVE to encourage others in their passion, I didn’t feel I was ready to teach until I mastered consistency with the quality of my work as well as really feeling solid and having a firm grasp in the business aspects of it too. I also offered my time and began to invest in people to see if that is something I could do in the future.

3.  Who in the photography industry do you admire the most and why?
There are a TON of photographers that I admire so it would be hard to name all of them. I will say that Erin Drallos with Footprints Photography really made an impression on me when I started out 8 years ago. Her work with kids is so natural as well as she began the non-profit ACPCG which gives back to families with children who range from having cancer to babies born premature. She also has the business side of things down and being an “artist”, that is an area that was a weakness of mine when I started out.

4.  Where do you see yourself/business in 5 years?
I see myself running my photography business successfully from the ground up as we just relocated a few weeks ago across the country. (This will be my third time to start over in a new state!) I also hope to be mentoring more online as well as incorporating video tutorials of my shoots. I am currently working on an e-book and hopefully in the future will write a photographic documentary. I like projects so I am always thinking ahead of the next thing to do!

5.  If you could change a business mistake you made in the past, what would it be and why?
Not having boundaries in the beginning and not really valuing my time and worth. It was the moment where I became confident in who I was and really believed in the work I produced, that I started to get the business I wanted. That goes for both aspects of what I do now, my photography and mentorships.

6.  What advice would you give to a photographer looking to start his/her own mentorships?
Make sure that you are solid and consistent in what you are wanting to teach. Not only do you have to know your stuff but you have to be able to communicate and direct well. Knowing what you are doing and conveying for another person to understand is a whole other level. It requires knowledge, good communication, and organization.

7.  What advice would you give a photographer who is looking to find a mentor?
Make sure to ask questions and do research. How long have they been in business? How consistent is their work? Do they have good reviews?

8.  Do you have any criteria that is a must when you attend a workshop or invest in a mentor?
Really know what you are wanting to learn prior and make sure that mentorship and/or workshop covers it. There are a lot out there that offer different things. I think having a program that specializes in one thing is probably better than a million different things. Also, like mentioned above, good reviews, consistent work, etc.

More about Jackie’s One-on-One Photoshop Mentoring:

I offer 4-week & 6-week courses (two days a week/1hr per day) via Skype where we go over how I process my images in Photoshop CS and up. While I do cover light business and critiques, the main focus is post processing & workflow. This covers basic “clean editing”, bold & dramatic colors, a variety of vintage looks, and stellar black and whites. I also include Reveal, which is a post processing guide that includes an overview of Color, Vintage, & BW as well as over 30 step by step tutorials.  My goal is to have each person I mentor really grow in their knowledge of post processing as well as develop their own unique style.

Bonus Time . . . Jackie has offered The Fort readers a very special discount!

Below are 4 wardrobe options from their Fall line.  If you like any of these outfits, please give Latrice a call at (850) 269-0690, they do ship!!!!

Hi there, Allison (from All for the Boys) again.  Today I thought I’d share my favorite, easy, messy recipe for the gooiest goop with The Fort readers! This “goop” has been referred to as Oobleck or a non-newtonian substance. Whatever you want to call it it’s good easy (messy) fun! The best part is cleanup is pretty easy too!

All you need to get started is 1 cup of water and 1.5 to 2 cups of cornstarch. Pour the water into a bowl.

Add cornstarch and mix together!

The fun starts immediately – is it a solid or a liquid? You can punch it and feel resistance, but if you pick it up it will slide out like a liquid.

You can add food coloring if you’d like but we like to keep things natural (and a little cleaner) around here.
Cleanup is a breeze since there are only the 2 ingredients! If it sits long enough it just turns back into a cornstarch powder, or just wipe it down.

If you haven’t made this fun goop yet you must! Even if you don’t have kids try it soon!

Want to see more?  Then be sure to like Allison on Facebook and follow her on Twitter too!

First have your kids try and get the string to stick to the ice.  When they can’t have them try sprinkling some salt on top.  (It can be fun to have several bowls of other items too – sugar, flour, cornstarch etc for more experimentation)

Let it sit for a few seconds while you talk about what you think might happen.

After a bit have them try and pick the ice up using just the string.

It sticks! My boys think this is pretty cool.  Another fun kitchen activity is this little trick using pepper and dish soap.

Please be sure to like Allison on Facebook and follow her on Twitter too!

Cut your paper to a 7″ x 1″ strip (or 14″ x 2″ which we also did here)

Measure a 2″ mark about half way into the strip, you’ll make 1 on either side of the strip on opposite ends, so you have a mark on one side on the top and another side on the bottom.

Cut your marks halfway into the strip

Now you’ll slide the cuts you just made into each other to fit together

You’re ready to launch! You can throw the helicopter into the air, drop it from a high place (the stairs are perfect) and try moving the “propeller” around a bit to see what happens.

The helicopter will spin as it falls!
We found a larger piece of paper so made one 2x as big (14″ x 2″) and found that it fell slower than the smaller one did but the boys liked how they could watch it fall a little longer!

Now go make your own or save this little tutorial for a rainy (or boring) day!

Did you like this? You can see more at All for the Boys, Facebook, and Twitter!

About a week ago, we came across an AMAZING website that is totally dedicated to boys, in fact her own boys give their input on most of the posts.  All for the Boys features anything and everything that you could imagine.  It’s one of those websites where you can get lost for hours, while browsing the content.

We thought that Allison Waken of All for the Boys was the PERFECT fit to be our guest blogger.  Are you ready for this?  Each week she features Fort Friday, she scours the web to find the most creative forts out there!  Seriously, could this be a more perfect match??!!  Each month, Allison will be posting something that you can do with boys, whether it be a fun craft, a game, etc.  There are no limits to the amazingness that she’ll come up with.

Please be sure to come back tomorrow to check out a great activity that you can do with your kiddos!

Allison Waken of All for the Boys

Allison Waken is a wife and mother of 2 boys who live in Phoenix, AZ. She created the blog All for the Boys to inspire other mothers, fathers, family, and caregivers of boys. A place where they could get inspiration to create and play with their children. A space with activities, crafts, printables, parties, and products with boys in mind!

Please be sure to like Allison on Facebook and follow her on Twitter too!