Blog Facelift : Update your RSS feed

Posted by Liana at 1:54 PM

Liana's Bananas has undergone a face-lift - which is why this is now showing up under a different domain!

Please update your RSS reader with the following link: http://lianasbananas.com/feed/

All future posts can be found at: www.lianasbananas.com

Crazy Bananas Booth at StudioWed Yesterday

Posted by Liana at 10:19 AM

Thanks for everyone who came out to the BIG event yesterday at StudioWed!

We had a blast and good laugh doing our Crazy Bananas Photo Booth, and you can ***CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE PICTURES***

We must be officially "bananas" today too, because we're offering digital downloads and prints at about 1/3 the usual price!

Thanks to the ladies of KIS3 Event Planning for being our test subjects. They did henna for participants throughout the event - super fun!


Of course Mikey and I had to try it out too...


This is my "I need a haircut REAL bad" look!






This little girl had some sweet moves, and did I mention attitude!?








Check out her henna!











If you'd like for us to bring the Crazy Bananas Booth to your next wedding or event, give us a holler! Any bookings for the rest of 2009 get a sweet discount!

BIG Event this Sunday - StudioWed Grand Opening & Inspired Bride

Posted by Liana at 12:19 PM

The Atlantan Brides and StudioWed Atlanta cordially invite you to

THE INSPIRED BRIDE

an interactive bridal event at StudioWed

Sunday, August 23rd, 4:00pm-7:00pm

Register to attend at http://studiowed.eventbrite.com/



We will be there - look for our stuff in the back of the studio, and look for ME outside!! We'll be running the crazy-bananas photo area! Come have a run through to see all the fabulous tables our vendors designed together, have a tasting of cake and catering, and some tasty cold beverages... then come by and get crazy with pictures!

Hope to see you Sunday! Don't forget to register - we're booked up and JUST released a few more openings!

Great Article: To Hire a Pro Photographer for your Wedding, or have a friend do it?

Posted by Liana at 12:32 AM

One of the writers for Seattle Bride Magazine, Cody Ellerd, writes an article about her experience photographing a wedding among the pro wedding photographers. She's had some experience taking pics from the magazine, but not a full time wedding photographer.

***CHECK OUT THE FULL ARTICLE HERE****

I love that there are pictures taken from the same scene (from her and the pros) at the bottom.

An excerpt:
I now disagree more than ever with the digital-age adage that “now everyone is a photographer.” Tens of thousands of dollars in education, equipment and experience separate me from the pros. Professional photographers, like any other artists or business owners, need to spend money to make money. When you hire them, you’re helping them pay for their investments.

“Photography is a very equipment-intensive business, and the equipment is expensive,” says Scott Squire of NonFiction Weddings, a Seattle-based photography team with 10 years of experience. To each wedding, he and his partner bring six or seven top-drawer lenses, a handful of strobes, three camera bodies, one backup and innumerable accessories. (In contrast, if my equipment had failed, my backup would have been my camera phone.)

Staying on top of new technology in the digital age is its own challenge, one that takes a professional commitment and expense. “The rate of change [in digital media] can be stupefying,” laughs longtime Seattle-based wedding photographer Sharlane Chase. She keeps up with the flow of information at annual weeklong workshops and seminars, and it shows in her final product.

Happening This Week

Posted by Liana at 4:18 PM

Ahhhh... when do I ever stop being behind in blogging!?? LOL. June was supposed to be my month for catching up on big projects like the new website and figuring out when the next Boot Camps will be... but alas LOTS of last-minute things always come up. It's SOO good to be booked up, I'm just in desperate need of help!!

This week:

- Dana has come to my rescue and is diving in head-first getting trained and helping me with the day-to-day operations.

- two amazing weddings and a few fun engagement sessions to blog.

- dad is in town so we may have a belated Father's Day cookout on the back deck

- I'm super excited to meet and photograph the baby twin girls of a wedding client from over two years ago!

- another meeting with my savvy accountant/bookkeeper to get the new system set up finished

- doing a private consultation/class for a super talented portrait photographer who's flying into Atlanta later this week

- hosting a dinner party here for my Spain Mission Trip group

Since posts are more fun with pictures, here's some from around the house lately...

Two little bundles of love, cuddling together on the back deck.


A quick 5D Mark II lesson and lens-testing session with my friend Leigh. She's smart and is trying out different lenses before purchasing.


Grace got Mikey a perfect gift... an electric fly swatter for when she lets bugs get in the house from the back deck and can't reach high enough to get them herself. Don't worry - no batteries in it yet - she's just sniffing and rubbing up against it.


Mikey's Birthday Breakfast on the back deck last Friday. We had waffles and bacon. Fake-bacon for me, really crispy bacon for Mike!

Join us next THURSDAY for a Summer Social at StudioWed Atlanta!!

Posted by Liana at 11:05 AM

I can't believe I haven't posted about StudioWed before!

Earlier this year an awesome new studio launched in West Midtown Atlanta. In fact, it's a concept my mom swore up and down we needed when planning my own wedding this past year. A handful of top-notch vendors in each category, all under one roof. You can have breakfast with a baker and sample cakes, meet with photographers and planners at lunch time, and sample dinner menus in the evening with a caterer. Planning your wedding would be so much easier if you're not running all over town!!

I was honored to be asked by Michelle of Lemiga Events to become part of StudioWed Atlanta. It's been a whirlwind preparing for the grand opening as the storefront opened the same day we had our wedding shower in March... and we were gone for all of April for our own wedding and honeymoon. Now we're in the middle of busy wedding-season and have just a few more things to order before the BIG official launch in August.

In the meantime, the vendors at StudioWed have been having a blast getting to know each other and others in the industry. Almost every month is a different event. This month they're going over the top as usual with a Summer Social that's bound to be good fun!

You are invited to attend and may RSVP at: http://studiowedsummer.eventbrite.com/

Thursday June 25th, 2009
starts at 6PM
StudioWed Atlanta
1000 Marietta Street Suite 124
Atlanta, GA 30318
www.StudioWed.net

Hope to see you there!!



Join us as we celebrate the release of the Weddings Unveiled Summer 2009
issue at StudioWed Atlanta where you’ll find tons of ideas and inspiration
for your wedding. You’ll meet all the StudioWed vendors while cooling off
with unique beer and wine options from Hops City Craft Beer & Wine. Enjoy
appetizers from ultra-chic Soiree Atlanta Catering & Events and desserts from
Sweet Sensations, Sugarplum Visions, and Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates.
You’ll be pampered with hand and back massages from Luxe Beauty Co.
while listening to live music from Laura Coyle. All attending brides will
receive swag bags that include a copy of the new Weddings Unveiled
Summer 2009 issue and other lovely goodies. Brides will also be entered to
win a selection of fantastic prizes and giveaways.

The Forumula for Success

Posted by Liana at 9:57 AM

"Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that's where you will find success."

- Thomas J. Watson

Union Hotel

Posted by Liana at 12:21 PM

Last night I flew into San Francisco and met up with Laura Meyer who flew in from Chicago for the Photo Biz Boot Camp we're having out here in Cali this week. The drive over to Benicia was not bad and when we arrived at the Union Hotel (there are only two hotels in this town it is so small!) our secret codes were taped to the door with our names on it!

My room is PINK, and Laura got the blue room. Check it out!





Besides the "eu de mothball" scent coming from the closet, this place isn't so bad. It's more like a Bed and Breakfast - we got served a hot breakfast of eggs and toast already this morning!

Hickory, NC

Posted by Liana at 12:05 PM

I'm up here in Hickory, NC this week and we're wrapping up an awesome Photo Biz Boot Camp with some fun pics of each other. A few shots from this morning...

Our hostess, Dana Andreasson, is just a few months away from delivering their first little one... here are the gals shooting belly pics of her, and also a styling shot of Ginger Moseley.


Here's a more formal shot of Sara Szotak - she's a natural.


Of course we had to take a classic belly-shot for Dana!


Thanks gals for an awesome week!!

Happy Candy and New Years Non-Reflections

Posted by Liana at 10:03 PM

This picture makes me happy!



Old fashioned and foreign candy always puts a smile on my face...not sure why. And this week I'm trying to "give it up" for a while :(

Anyways, my new years goals/reflections I've purposefully put off thinking about until next week. While most photographers have this time of year to kick back and get a little R/R, marketing, catching-up time in... this happens to be one of the busiest times for me!

This month I'll be teaching THREE Boot Camps so I've got lots of travel ahead, and LOTS of planning and working-on-the-business time. Before that comes though, I have to squeeze in all that R/R, marketing, and catching-up time in a tiny, itty-bitty time frame. My mom is in town this week helping with some wedding stuff we're working on too as the countdown is officially under 90 days!

Okay, back to business...

Canon 5D Mark II : Initial "fooling around" tests

Posted by Liana at 12:46 AM

NO time for a detailed review, but here is a video or two of Mikey and I messing around with the fun video function. It's a WHOLE new world because it doesn't allow you to auto-focus while shooting video, so you have to balance holding the camera, changing settings, and focusing manually.

These are ALL handheld, straight from the camera (resized for web using iMovie), and have NO post-production edits. Pretty loud too.

The first video you can actually see me trying, in vain, to focus manually. Hahaha.


Mikey got in the Irish mood and did a little jig for me at the end. He says he might "hurt me" for posting this! (He IS actually part-Irish, as am I!)


A little guy splashing around in Downtown Disney.

Black Friday Sale on DVDs!

Posted by Liana at 11:35 AM

Hi Liana,
You are a huge part of my growth as a fiscally responsible person. I gave myself your DVDs for Christmas last year, devoured them during down time, and am now enjoying a 60% growth in my business. Thanks for the inspiration.

***CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS***

Just Watch

Posted by Liana at 1:29 AM

Three-minute stop-motion love story by Carlos Lascano. A couple of pencil-outlined birds escape from a little girl´s drawing, leading us through the life she dreams of.

A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

Introducting: Ugly Carrot Cakes!!

Posted by Liana at 12:08 PM

This is the business that is a LIFETIME in the making. It's about a secret family recipe that my mother and I have been tweaking over the years into absolute perfection. These are FINALLY available to others, as today marks our official "beta-launch." While we get this business up and running at full speed, we're opening our e-store doors for limited shipments for the next few months!!! Hurry and get yours on order for Thanksgiving!!



Once upon a time, a little girl helped her mom come up with the perfect carrot cake recipe. They baked their secret family recipe for every birthday and special occasion, and sometimes because the cravings were just THAT BAD. When the little girl grew to the bright young age of 14, she started baking them to be sold in a restaurant in a small town in northern Ohio. Now the girl is all grown up and she and her mom still bake these splendid cakes. For the first time in history these delicious but oh-so-ugly homemade globs of heaven-on-earth are available to the lucky folks across America who click their order-buttons first.

They are UGLY. They are homemade. The cream cheese frosting is full of REAL butter and REAL cream-cheese. Ingredients are natural and YES we hand-peel and wash each precious carrot that goes into your cake! Super-rich and super-moist is the name. Adding nuts, raisins, coconut, and other toppings to cover up the PURE goodness is NOT our game!

We believe that taste trumps appearance, and it's what's inside that counts! Therefore, each and every 7-inch cake is made with loving care, sliced in half so you have two layers, protected, and frozen for flavor-preservation. The cream-cheese icing comes separate and YOU get to "give it a makeover" or blob it on and keep it REAL ugly! Squeeze on the icing and serve up right away, or keep the cake and icing in your freezer for up to two months and save it for later!

Cakes are available mail-order only and you must ship overnight or second-day air to guarantee freshness, unless you live close to Atlanta and ground shipping will get it to you in two days or less via UPS! Therefore, we currently only ship cakes on Mondays and Tuesdays each week. Need it on a certain date? It's better for you to order it early and keep it frozen until you're ready for it! Sorry, we currently do not ship outside the USA lower 48.

Have a friend who is a carrot-cake feign, want to give the gift that is less ordinary, wow a group at a holiday party, or surprise a loved one with a birthday cake that trumps them all? Ugly Carrot Cakes to the rescue -- remember it's what's inside that counts!

www.UglyCakes.net

ATTN: Personal Assistant Needed!

Posted by Liana at 12:02 AM

Yes, I'm overdue for my Betty (Ugly Betty), Pepper Potts (Ironman), Louise (Sex in the City Movie), and dare I say a little bit of Andrea (Devil Wears Prada).



What this means:
- Personal Assistant position available
- Starting IMMEDIATELY or ASAP
- Greater Atlanta Area (Smyrna, GA for most of it)
- Seasonal/part-time basis to start
- With proven performance, may be asked to stay on for 2009 and beyond
- I would not ask this person to do anything I wouldn't do myself. I simply do not have time to do it all myself!


My future personal assistant should be able to:
- Assist with about anything necessary (nothing illegal, immoral, too-cleaning-oriented... I have cleaners that do an amazing job on the toilets/floors already!)
- Run errands
- Anticipate needs and learn on the run
- Quick learner
- Not have to be instructed on things every step of the way
- Assist with projects both business and personal in nature
- Computer-savvy is a PLUS PLUS PLUS!!
- Marketing, PR, and Digital Media skills a SUPER PLUS! This part could lead to you taking on a larger role in one of our companies!
- Previous personal assistant experience not necessary, but other relevant experience desired
- Must provide their own transportation and have a vehicle that they can use for the job, expenses will be reimbursed
- Scheduling, organization, and phone skills a MUST!
- You get to pick the official job title and help shape what it is!! I want this work to be rewarding so we can both say at the end of this day "all in a good day's work!"

I will in turn promise to do my best to be more like Carrie B than Miranda P... and anyone who understands what I'm talking about is already ten steps closer to being a good fit for this position ;)

THANK YOU for forwarding this on to anyone who would be great for this position. Please direct resumes and any other more-creative job application materials to liana at lianalehman.com :) We will be taking phone and in-person interviews this week.

Launching TWO new businesses this week!

Posted by Liana at 10:42 PM

Yes, I said it: not ONE but TWO businesses will be launched this week!

- One has to do with photography, one is COMPLETELY unrelated.
- Both have been in the works for YEARS.
- I have made income from both before (as early as when I was 14 years old) but now they will be OFFICIAL!
- One will be mainly operated by me, with employees
- The other I will be handing off to someone else to run
- One will be a limited/beta-launch, with limited supply for the next few months
- The other business has been running behind-the-scenes for a while now
- Both are "boutique" businesses meaning they are more highly-specialized and we have a limited supply

Last but not least,
- BOTH make AMAZING gifts to give for the holidays!!

No, I'm not clinically insane launching two at the same time... it's just that demand is quite literally knocking down the door and we cannot wait any longer to take these businesses public. Stay tuned!!

Group Chocolate in PA

Posted by Liana at 11:29 AM

We're in the middle of photo-fun on day #3 of Boot Camp and we grabbed a few shots of the group on Jeremy's white backdrop.

Check it out! Of course we had to include the largest bar of chocolate I've ever seen! Yum.

Coming soon...

Posted by Liana at 9:18 AM

An exciting announcement coming next Wednesday...





... stay tuned!

Headed to Philly!

Posted by Liana at 10:16 AM

On my way out the door shortly to fly to Philly, then on to Lancaster, PA for our Photo Business Boot Camp that I'll be teaching there this week :)



Fun stuff!

Blogging Marathon, ready, set GO!

Posted by Liana at 11:24 AM

I've been so busy these past few weeks, while I've been blogging every day, there's just TOO much to blog, so now it's catch-up time! Get ready for a blogging-marathon!