Skool Magazine — Issue 15 By Cristal Vancarson I have a confession. I love Skool communities! Every time I discover a new one, something interesting is happening. Someone teaches a new skill, hosts a LIVE event, shares an experience, or creates something I never even thought about. And before I know it, I've joined another community! Sound familiar? As I approach my first anniversary on Skool, I've discovered that one of my biggest challenges isn't finding communities worth joining. It's finding enough time to participate in all of them! So Many Communities, So Little Time Every community offers something valuable. There are classrooms filled with lessons, LIVE events, challenges, networking opportunities, and wonderful people to meet. But here's where things get interesting. You join a community because something catches your attention. Then you discover another community that teaches something completely different. Before long, your calendar is filling up with LIVE events, your notifications are multiplying, and you're wondering how you're going to keep up with everyone! And that's before you've even worked on your own business! In my case, I'm running my Photography by Cristal community, photographing clients remotely around the world, and sharing my memoir journey LIVE, raw, and unedited. I've also created Memoir School, a place for writers to share their experiences, preserve their memories, and bring their stories to life. And somewhere between all of that, I'm still discovering wonderful Skool communities I want to be part of! Membership vs. Participation Here's something I've been thinking about. Does joining a community mean we're actually participating in it? We can belong to dozens of communities, but realistically, how many can we actively engage with? And does being less active mean we're getting less value? I don't think so. Sometimes we're learning quietly. Sometimes we're busy building our own businesses. And sometimes we simply don't have enough hours in the day.

YOU'RE INVITED TO JOIN ME LIVE! I'm excited to be joining Donna Thornton in Skoolology for a special Thanksgiving Giveaway! Come see what it's really like to have a professional LIVE Remote Headshot Session from the comfort of home! I'll be demonstrating how I personally capture professional headshots remotely using just a smartphone. 🎁 PLUS! A chance to WIN a FREE Remote Headshot Session valued at $97! 📅 Thursday, November 19th ⏰ 9 AM Pacific Time ❤️ Everyone is welcome! Just click the link below to join us LIVE! 🎥 https://streamyard.com/watch/bDvz7JwrfwAS I'd be so excited to see some familiar faces from my Photography by Cristal community there! ❤️ See you LIVE! 🎬📸

Everybody, meet Michele B. 💖 Michele is the creator of Sewing Thru It, a wonderful community dedicated to helping women feel confident in clothes that fit their real bodies! Michelle is located in Las Vegas, Nevada, and I’m here in California. Yet we were able to come together virtually and create these beautiful photographs without ever being in the same room! That’s the magic of remote photography! 📸✨ I absolutely love being able to connect with incredible people, capture their personalities, and help bring their visions to life, no matter where they are in the world. Michelle, congratulations! It was such a pleasure working with you and bringing your beautiful energy to the camera! ❤️ And guess what, everybody? We’re just getting started! More winners from our very first 7-Day Challenge will be featured soon, and we’ve got another exciting winner, Sharon, coming up tomorrow! 🎉 @Sharon Horne-Ellstrom 🎬 Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make our very first challenge so special! We don’t just capture images. We create possibilities. 🎬📸 CLICK CLICK BOOM! Photography by Cristal 💖

🎂💕 And What a Year It’s Been! 📸✨ Today is my birthday, and I’ve been reflecting on this past year and just how much my life has changed. If you had told me a year ago that I would be running my own online photography community, meeting incredible people from all over the world, and photographing people without ever having to leave my home, I don’t know if I would have believed you! I’ve been a photographer for over 20 years, but I never imagined that technology would allow me to take something I’ve loved my entire life and share it with people across the globe. And yet, here we are! ❤️ What started as a love for capturing beautiful images has turned into something so much bigger. I’ve had the privilege of helping people see themselves in a whole new light. I’ve watched confidence grow right before my eyes. I’ve seen people light up when they see their photographs, sometimes in ways they never expected. And somewhere along the way, something else happened. I found my people. This community has brought so many wonderful human beings into my life. People from different countries, different backgrounds, different walks of life, all coming together to learn, create, encourage, and support one another. Some of you started as members, some became clients, and so many of you have become friends. And that means more to me than you could ever know. At 58 years young, I’m not slowing down. If anything, I feel like I’m just getting started! I’m learning, growing, creating, publishing, dreaming bigger, and discovering new possibilities every single day. And the most beautiful part? I get to wake up every morning and do something I absolutely love. That’s a gift I don’t take for granted. So today, on my birthday, I want to say THANK YOU. Thank you for being here. Thank you for trusting me with your photographs. Thank you for sharing your stories, your smiles, your encouragement, and your friendship. You’ve made this past year one I’ll never forget. Here’s to another year of beautiful faces, incredible connections, new adventures, and dreams we haven’t even imagined yet.

Welcome to Day 6 of 7 Days to Camera-Ready! 📸 Today is all about setting up your phone so we can create magic together. 1. Phone a little above eye level. Set your phone just a little above your eyes, and center yourself in the frame. 2. I need to see both shoulders. For headshots, I need to see your head and both shoulders fully in the picture. For full-length photos, I need to see your whole body. 3. Move, don't move the phone. How far you stand depends on the shot. For full-length photos, leave your phone right where it is, already set so I can see your whole body, and step back. For headshots, just step a little closer. And don't forget, I'm right there with you on a live call. I can see you, and you can see me, so I'll guide you every step of the way. 💛 4. Go hands-free. You'll need a stand or tripod so your hands are free. If you don't have one, don't worry, there are ways to make it work! Some of my clients have propped their phone on a stack of tissue boxes during our call. 📦📱 5. Any background you want. If you love your background, we'll keep it in the shot. If not, no problem. I can give you any color backdrop you like! This is exactly what I do in every remote session. I direct you live on FaceTime and capture every shot myself. 💛 🎟️ Every comment you leave during the challenge earns you one raffle ticket. The more you comment, the more tickets you get! On Day 8 we go live and draw the winner of a FREE remote headshot session. 👉 What's your setup: a stand, a tripod, or a stack of tissue boxes? 😄 See you tomorrow for Day 7! Cristal 💛