As many of you know, we are currently transitioning everything into this new platform. Between the Facebook situation and years of moving across different systems, it was time to create a more stable home for everyone. Right now we are actively organizing and moving content into the new structure, so please be patient while we continue adding material to the classrooms. This takes time, especially with the amount of courses and resources that exist across the school. Right now, access to the Skool community is free and open to everyone. However, if you have never purchased a membership or course from me before, you will only have access to the general community discussion area. If you would like to view the available memberships, you can do that here:https://www.anabrandteducation.com/abmember Here’s a quick overview of the membership levels inside the community: Standard MembershipThis is the original membership many of you joined years ago. Your core resources and community access will be here. Platinum MembershipPlatinum members receive additional classrooms, trainings, and expanded access beyond the standard level. All AccessAll Access members receive entry to everything — including the full school, current programs, and future additions. As we organize the platform, content will continue to be added into classrooms based on membership level, so you may see new sections appearing as we build things out. Important reminder:The General Discussion area is open to everyone, regardless of membership level. Think of it as the community space — similar to how the Facebook group functioned. You can use that space to:• Share images• Ask questions• Connect with other photographers• Start discussions Level-specific content, trainings, and downloads will live inside the classrooms assigned to each membership level. Thank you for being here and for your patience while we continue building the new home for the community.

This week was… interesting. Overnight my Facebook account was hacked and my photographers group of 33,000 members was paused. Just like that. For years people have asked me why I always say email is queen and why I tell people to email me instead of relying on DMs or Facebook. This week was exactly why. Platforms come and go.Accounts can be taken.Algorithms change. But the work… the work stays. I built my business 27 years ago on referrals, relationships, and email lists, long before Facebook even existed and that’s still the foundation today. During this little unexpected adventure I sent multiple emails letting everyone know what happened and where to find me. I also put a free link on Instagram so photographers would still have a place to connect while Meta works on restoring the account. I opened a free Skool community and a few people joined right away, which made me smile. But it also made me ask something honestly… Did anyone actually miss the Facebook group? I sent emails.I posted updates.I shared a free link. I heard people were afraid to open my emails or click on a link to a skool. -why I have no idea that has absolutely nothing to with my FB account being hacked. How does fear always seem to lead?? know some people are hesitant to click links or even open emails right now. And I get it, the internet can feel messy sometimes. But here’s the truth: My Facebook was hacked.My life was not. My business is still running.My school is still open.My mentoring is still happening.My clients are still being photographed. One platform had an issue. That’s all. The community was never Facebook anyway. The community is the people. This week I also extended discounts while everything was chaotic — mentoring, the store, education, even academy seats — and some people took advantage of those opportunities while others unsubscribed. Both are okay. That’s part of running a business and part of life online. But tonight those offers all close and everything resets.

So I had to do an assignment for another class I am part of which prompted these images:

Welcome welcome. I love this fun new area and am so glad you jumped in! Say hello share your AI headshot if you have generated any. Ana Brandt