20 on Tuesday: Brenda Acuncius

Karma: The Buddhist belief that whatever you do comes back to you.

I’m not Buddhist but I do think there is something to the whole karma idea.  And if that’s true, then there are a whole lot of fellow photographers who have helped me along the way who have some blessings coming to them.

One of these photographers is Brenda Acuncius.  Her blog was one the first that I came across that “spoke” to me.  Her dreamy processing, her editorial-style images of children both made an impression on me in those “early days”.  When I learned that she and Kristy Lane (who you’ll meet next week) offered a workshop, I was all over it. I took the Bloom Workshop this past spring and learned so much, from the basics of shooting, to really honing my own style and creating something of my own that “spoke” to me.  Through the workshop, Brenda was always there to advise, gently nudge, and offer her sincere encouragement.

If you’re just starting out on your photography journey, or are in the middle of it and just need a challenge to get your photography out of a slump, I highly recommend taking the Bloom Workshop.  You will fall in love with photography all over again and with Brenda Acuncius.

Hi Brenda!

Where are you from?

I was originally born in Iowa but moved to Texas in 1984 and have been here ever since.

Where is home now?

Right now we live in Corinth just about 20 minutes outside of Dallas and Fort Worth.

Are you formally educated or self-taught in photography?

I’m a self-taught photographer but I’ve taken a few workshops when I started out and joined some forums that have helped me along the way.

How did you and Kristy end up collaborating together for your fabulous Bloom Workshop?

Oh gosh….we meant through Flickr and a bunch of us local photographers decided to get together and meet up.  We just clicked instantly and it just went from there.  We were out to lunch one day and we started to talk about requests that we get about doing a workshop.  Since we both had new little ones, traveling wasn’t an option so we decided to hold them online and be available to people like us that couldn’t travel to attend one.  It’s worked out wonderfully because we each have such separate styles that our students can benefit from both of us.

I am a proud former Bloomie and have reaped the rewards of all of the knowledge shared.  What has been the best part of teaching for you?

Seeing things just click for our students.  We can see just from the first photos they post for their assignment to the last one that it’s starting to come together for them and then just watching them bloom from there.  Also seeing the lasting friendships that the students make with each other is really special for me too.

Talk to me about personal projects.  Are they important and what have you done lately?

They are very important to me as I see them as a growing.  We are still continuing the workshops and we just started our new forum as well so between those two things and still doing sessions, it’s been really busy around here.  J

How do you stay motivated and your photography current?

I won’t lie, there are times that I would just love to be able to sit and relax during the days but I think that would wear pretty thin by the second day as I’ve always worked.  It’s hard for me to sit still and I always have ideas and thoughts swirling around in my head.  I just stay motivated by our students, my photography friends and connections along with my family.  I know what has been given to me is a blessing and I would NEVER take advantage of it.

If you could be invisible for one day with your camera…

If I could be invisible for one day with my camera it would be at a shoot with Anne Geddes.   Although I don’t do a whole lot of newborn sessions, I just would love to see how she works.  She truly is the basis in some form or another of all these sweet newborn photos we are seeing and I would just like to see how an idea of her comes to life.

Name a photographer you would like to take a portrait of?

Mike Beth Edwards….and MB if you’re reading this, November would be a good time!!  HINT-HINT!  She is absolutely so sweet, genuine and humble.

What’s your best advice for balancing work and family?

Well, as of lately I’ve broken my no computer after 5:00 p.m. rule but that usually helps me a ton.  I know that that is my time with my family so I just don’t get on it as it seems that’s the thing that sucks up  most of my time.  And even though it’s hard for us to do it all…you just have to remember to take time for yourself.

What’s in your camera bag?

A Canon 5d mark II, 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8 and a 30mm 1.4.

Talk to me about F8 Studio. Do you love having a studio space and do you still do on location sessions?

I LOVE being part of the f8 team.  It’s been great as we have other people to bounce ideas off of that aren’t necessarily portrait and kids photographers.  It’s a fun place to be!  And I do love having a studio space…it’s so nice to have a space where I can leave my set-up.  No more putting it up, taking it down and carting it all over the place.  Also we were getting requests to do in-person workshops but we just couldn’t do them because we didn’t have a space that we felt was good enough for people to get together and learn.  So now we do and we’ve held two in-person workshops there and it’s been really fun.  I still do on location sessions…in fact I do more of those than in studio.  The good thing about the studio is the location…we are surrounded by some really cool cobblestone sidewalks, great alleys, trees and urban architectural details so it’s really easy to do some in studio shots and then head outside and take some photos there.

If not a photographer what would you have been?

Well, I worked in the restaurant business before this so I’m sure I would be involved in some aspect of that.

If you could live anywhere on this awesome planet where would you build your dream home?

New Zealand!  It just seems so beautiful and peaceful there as well as things just seem to move at a slower pace too.  I just think with all the surroundings it would be super inspirational!

What talent would you most like to have?

Being able to fly….is that a talent or a super-hero ability?  LOL!!

What are the three words your spouse would use to describe you?

Hopefully he would say (if he knew what was good for him) kind, giving and probably a bit neurotic!  LOL!!

Something that is over rated…

Stretch mark vanishing cream!!

Your favorite movie of all time?

Oh Lordy…I have so many but I guess I let my geekiness out and say all the Harry Potter movies!!

If you could change one thing you did while starting your photography business, what would it be?

To not be afraid to say no more!  I’ve learned it but it took me awhile!  I think that we when we first start out we need to please our clients and we do but you need to set limits.  And if a client decides not to book with you than that is perfectly fine…after all that is why we have policies to cover ourselves and our work.

What would you want to be known for among your photographer peers?

To be a giving photographer!  I was blessed to have a few photographers take me under their wings when I started out so I want to be able to give that back in one way or another.  Plus just being able to help someone make you feel really good.  J

Brenda’s work can be found HERE.

The BLOOM Workshops can be found HERE.

And if you aren’t ready for the workshop, the BLOOM Forum is a close second.  It’s full of amazing photographers from all around the world who share ideas, experiences, advice, and friendship.  It’s become my “second virtual home”.

To join, click HERE.

Thanks, Brenda!  See ya on the Forum.  🙂