A week of introductions~

We are beyond giddy about the upcoming Savvy workshop! The swag bags have arrived (they are fabulous...trust me) and the houses have been booked. The attendees seem like great gals and I have seen their work~ they are all amazing photographers! We have a group of five girls coming together that are photographers from around the country meeting up for a girls getaway and a great workshop...such a great idea! We also have business partners attending and one great gal whose packaging was featured on the Savvy blog and became the all time favorite and most read blog post on the Savvy blog. We have more friends traveling together...and girls coming alone...but they all have the same reason for coming. They are ready to learn, rejuvenate their business, relax and have some great girl time!

This week we will introduce you to the speakers...and announce the newest addition to the speaker panel!

Guess who we are starting with...me...yep...the person behind the Savvy.

I won't interview myself but I will give you a brief "about me" post and what you can expect to learn from me at the workshop.

(Marsha Mifsud and family)

As most of you know, I was a photographer for 11 years before starting the Savvy blog. I specialized in black and white art images. For years my signature look was hand-tinted beach images printed on fiber paper. They were my thing and I loved doing it! I started photography before having children and was self taught. I practiced on my poor dog, my nieces and nephews, friends kids, etc. until I had mastered my art. I loved photographing children and babies (I photographed many families but can't say it was favorite...we all know how hard family portraits can be) but it was a great part time business for me while raising my babies. Soon after starting my business, I had my two boys within 18 months of each other. We lived in Chesapeake, VA and I did most of my shoots at the beach. I had a great clientele and loved my job. After 6 years there, we moved to Coronado, CA...paradise! We lived one block from the beach and I loved shooting my beach sessions so close to home. I worked hard building up a new clientele there and it took time. But I was different than the other photographers there. I was still a black and white film photographer. When someone ask for color, I would cringe. It was usually the grandparents who wanted color pictures of their grandchildren.  Clients would ask me if I was digital and I proudly told them I used film and always would...and then things changed. 
We were pleasantly surprised by the impending arrival of our third child. It was a girl! And I bought a digital camera...yep, I couldn't resist. But my images were not the same as through film..I had to work like crazy to get them to look good. Film was so easy (expensive but easy)...but times had changed and I had to keep up with them. I photographed families at the beach...in color...and began to love it. 

And then the Navy decided we needed to move again...to DC. I was not happy. It wasn't the beach and I had no motivation to start over my business there. I was tired of building it up again and having to walk away from it in two years. That's when I started the Savvy blog...and little did I know it would become what it is today.

We didn't stay in DC long...just a year...and then off to Japan and now we are back in the states and happy as can be! We think we have finally settled here in Atlanta and it feels so good to call it home!
I'm not sure if I'll go back to photographing clients... I feel I've moved in a different direction with the blog and for now, that's my focus. 

I have learned so much these past three years about the importance of social networking and marketing your business and I feel I have so much to share with photographers on how to make the most of blogging so it will benefit your business.

I look forward to teaching the attendees how to have a successful "social networking" side to their business. I also will teach how to find your voice in the blogging world. With so many blogs out there, I think it's important to make your blog the place where clients go to "meet" you. I think blogs are way more powerful in showing a personality of a person. Websites have become stale and blogs have become the fresh way to showcase your work and you!

I look forward to meeting all the attendees and I especially look forward to spoiling everyone with fabulous "swag" and all the special touches we have planned! The location is fabulous and the houses are dreamy locations for the photo shoots we have planned! 
We do have limited spots available if you haven't purchased yet! Click here for more info... The Savvy Workshop and click here to purchase your seat...the Savvy Store. 

Hope to meet you soon!
Marsha Mifsud (aka~ The Savvy Photographer)

(my family)

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We are thrilled to welcome to the speaker panel, the wonderfully sweet and talented photographer, Stephanie Fisher! 

Stephanie is a photographer in Birmingham, AL and specializes in newborns and babies. We will watch her photograph newborns and learn her lighting and posing. She will also discuss the safety concerns while photographing newborns and babies. 

Stay tuned this week to meet Stephanie on the blog!