Beyond Just Images.........To create not just images but ART

Your name?
Kelly: Kelly Bennett
Mandi: Amanda Haynes, but friends call me Mands

How long have you been in business?
Kelly: 2 1/2 years
Mandi: Officially 16 months...and sometimes wish I was still doing it just for fun!..but not often

What is the best advice (Pay It Forward Style) you could give a photographer starting out in the business?
Kelly: Stay true to shooting what you love..... dont change your style for other people. Shoot what you love and the work will come.
Mandi: Pick ONE thing you LOVE to shoot, shoot from your heart, look to your own gut for inspiration and then magazines, books, etc for how to "tweak" that. Sometimes you need to fake it before you make it...but it shouldn't be with your images, it should more be with your confidence. Really decide if you want to do this for a living, cos it isn't just about taking great images, it is about having great people skills, marketing, promotion, running a business and presentation. Set your boundaries before you start, so you aren't pushed when the phone rings, move the boundary line if and when you feel ready, not your clients.



What is something you have learned in the past that you carry with you to the present?
Kelly:somethings are too good to be true... there is no magic action, template, form, seminar etc etc that will make you wake up one day and be great...it is a constant learning process....um
Mandi: People are precious.....sometimes we think we have forever with them, and then we discover that we don't. When I go to capture images, I always keep in mind that I don't know the road this person may travel, and my images could one day be worth more than gold, so I always try and capture the feel of who they are in that moment and do the very best I can for them. Sounds morbid almost! but those of you who have lost loved one's know exactly what I mean!

One thing you just CANT live without?
Kelly: It would have to be computer, i am lost without it. It plays music.... lets me talk to Mands.... get on Beyond... work.......

Mandi: Computer.......it links me to my best friend (Kell!), my family (In-Laws and Beyond Members), learning, fun and Photoshop is on there too! (We've assumed that everyone knows we can't live or do without our Hubby's and kids!...of which we have many....kids I mean, not husbands!)

Your favorite quote?
Kelly: Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do. H Jackson Brown Jr.

Mandi: You need only claim the events of your life to make yourself yours. When you truly possess all you have been and done, which may take some time, you are fierce with reality. Florida Scott-Maxwell.

Wildest Craziest Thing you have done?
Kelly: Married my husband the first night I met him (yes we are still married)

Mandi: Fell in love with my husband at first glance, got engaged without a single date, and married three months of hectic planning later. If any of my girls do that, I'll kill them! but 14 years later, I don't regret a minute of it!


Who is your hero?
Kelly: my Meme..... (grandma) she is the center of our family and has kept us all together thru some tough stuff. She was widowed over 15 years ago and became a strong center for us all.

Mandi: Gosh, so many! Photography-wise Audrey Woulard....while her images are out of this world, it is her determination and truth to herself, that I admire most. In everyday life, my husband, who gets up everyday and does the grindstone, so I can live the dream....now that is a SUPER hero!


Tell us a little bit about your forum http://www.beyondjustimages.com/ ?
Kelly: The forum itself was born out of Ava Rosemeyer's tragic passing...... a committee was set up to get the message out there so that this would never happen to another family but there was so much information passing back and forth, we decided to gather all that info into one place……Beyond was born. Everyone on the Committee loved photography and so naturally the talk turned to that, then others began to come in and chat too….within a week, we had 20 members who were all chatting everyday, sharing and critiquing each others work. We were overwhelmed!What started off as our vision and belief that people who loved photography would want somewhere to “hang out” that was fun and pleasant…has become a reality.

Mandi: Beyond was Kelly's vision, and I was fortunate to be asked along for the road. What began as Kell's "what if we"....has grown to be more than either of us ever dreamed. It has been an amazing ride and we have really stuck to the essence of the original vision, which I think is why it has worked...but mostly we have been blessed to have incredible photographer's give of their time and talent to help others .....true PIF style!...which is sometimes a rare quality to find. We've been lucky to find it in Jen Bebb, Jessica Claire, Tony Bridge, Audrey Woulard, Dane Sanders ...and a whole line-up booked until 2009....they give to give back but also cos I think they just plain old love photography as much as we do! Mostly though the forum is really all about the members ...who come from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Japan, UK, France, South Africa, Canada, USA, Germany...and I'm sure I"ve missed a few! It is them that have made it their own and continue to make it work. The Forum really is theirs, we just facilitate it and smooth any bumps.



And drumroll please....................whoever post in comments frist wins a free membership!!! (There is an approval process for this forum, thats the only rule)



And their not done, for the next 48 hours, you can get a membership for $48.00 (normally 65.00), this goes for anyone, again subject too the approval process.

http://www.beyondjustimages.com/