4-29, Sandy Puc Workshop

Have you ever felt like you were in the presence of greatness?  I have-- all day yesterday.  Sandy Puc is amazing.  She's even more incredible to watch and learn from in person.  If you do not know who she is, you can access her website here:  http://www.sandypuc.com.  Somehow I came across the tail-end of her nationwide tour, ending here in Denver (the hometown for us both).  Somehow, the stars and moon aligned (with the graciousness of good friends and a wonderful husband) and I was able to attend.  My day was so amazing, that the 10 hours passed in the blink of an eye and at night I could not fall asleep with all the photography buzz in my head.  Amazing.  My day was simply amazing.  It felt so good to be in the company of fellow photographers on our various paths at varying levels of skill and experience.  As I whispered to my newfound photographer friend seated next to me, "This is like DISNEYLAND!!"  Yes, indeed, a photographer's paradise.  The hands-on workshop covered things like camera function,  white balancing, lighting, posing and working with your subjects.  The evening seminar was business-oriented discussing sales and products.  Thank you to those of you who rearranged their day so I could experience this phenomenal event.  The biggest thanks goes to Sandy Puc for her selfless sharing of her many years of experience in this industry.  Here are some glimpses of my day:

A newborn session with this beautiful baby girl!  Sleep, little baby, go to sleep, Sandy's touch will bring you a dream!

Here baby girl is with her mama........

This little sweet pea is 6 months younger than our Emalie.  (I almost sprinted back home to give my baby a hug after this session, but I endured on!)  Boy, was she cute!

Sandy's assistant is a very good sport.  She was put in the spotlight (literally!) many times throughout the day, and she handled it all in stride.  This 4-part series was a lesson in lighting.  In each successive image, one more light is added.  Can you tell which lights and where they are coming from?  What a wonderful, hands-on learning experience with some impressive equipment. (I hear B&H calling my name just begging for me to come buy something....somethingS......)

So, in a very small nutshell, that was my day.  I didn't edit a single one of these images (except a minor crop on 2 or 3).  Not too shabby for shooting alongside and around 15 other photographers!  I'm eagerly awaiting Sandy's next group/class/seminar.  You wouldn't be able to hold me back!  

4-16, Maternity Session

Photographing a pregnant woman is a delicate balance of capturing the beauty of this wonderful state while emphasizing details that may make her self-conscious.   Add this delicate balance to a first time maternity session, and I'll have to admit I was nervous.  But the beauty of being a newcomer to this type of shoot?  Free reign to experiment!   Thank you, Jessica, for asking me to capture this moment for you.  I hope these images make you feel beautiful inside and out.  The special love you have for this child you are carrying is transparent and wonderful to witness.    May these next few weeks pass easily and that moment you welcome this little one into the world be amazing.  Thank you for 'baring your belly' so I could create these beautiful images!

4-13, Natural Light Portrait

I have a beautiful friend who is an online professor at a northeastern university.  She was gracious enough to allow me into her office for my next photo project assignment:  an indoor, natural light image.  The best light to work with indoors is a north-facing window.  The second best options are a western facing window in the morning or an eastern facing window in the afternoon.  I'd say I was pretty fortunate that Joanna's office window faces west and we had scheduled a morning session!  The light in the room was a little darker than I had anticipated, but with the assistance of two reflectors I was able to bounce the light coming through the window back onto Joanna's face.  It yielded a very soft warm light that filled in the shadows-- especially in the poses where she faced the computer and had her back to the window.  Natural light photography has never been my thing.  I know many photographers who focus on natural light and shy away from artificial lights.  I don't fit into this category, so being restricted by the parameters of the assignment forced me to shoot in a new way (have speed light, will travel!).  Thank you, Joanna, for the time you granted me this morning to work on this portion of my project.  If only all Monday mornings could be so pleasant!   

4-11, Night Portraits

There are four units in my New York Institute of Photography Intensive Portraiture course.  I'm at the tail-end of Unit 3 having already completed the unit's quizzes and final test.  Now, I'm working on the lengthy photo projects that accompany this unit.  One required photo submission is for a night portrait.  I'm thinking the neighbors were probably wondering what we were doing on our back porch last night if they saw the continuous flashes of my softbox.  How does a child who has had a day of play (here, there and everywhere) repay his parent for all the chauffeuring required to make it all happen?  You got it:  help mom with her homework!  And to my benefit, I think he was too tired to fight me on it.  LOL.....  I had it all set up for his return:  my camera with attached 24-70mm lens, a Nikon SB900 Speedlight with an Impact 24"x24" Quikbox (softbox) to the right of the camera, and a reflector to the right of my son opposite the softbox.  For those of you into the further technicalities, my ISO was at 800 with an aperture of f/5.0 and shutter speed of 1/100 sec.  Good to go, right?  Wrong!  Do you know what a camera needs to be able to autofocus?  You got it, light. What did I not have out there in the dark?  Light!  So, using my husband's flashlight app on his phone, he was able to give me enough light to autofocus my camera.  Once he turned the flashlight off, I then pressed the shutter release button to take the picture (I use the back-button focus on my camera, so the focus is not linked to the shutter release button).  Funny thing here, I guess my SB900 speed light  does have a modeling light.  Who knew?!  I will need to research this function on my speed light more and give it a try for the next time I happen to be taking pictures in the dark.  I always find it rewarding when I learn something new about my equipment!  Anyway, here is the resulting image from last night's mini-night session.  From the shirt on his back to the look in his eyes, I think this image may be the most authentic one I've ever taken of him.  I'm grateful for this assignment, for without it I wouldn't have this photo.

3-31, Tween Girls

I forgot what it was like to be a young girl-- full of laughter, giggles and smiles.  Oh, the energy!!  People always remark how much energy toddlers have and "if only I could bottle that....".  Well, I think we've highly overlooked the energy level of preteen girls!  These two girls are neighbors and daughters of my good friends.  I was so happy that they willingly offered a few hours of their afternoon to be my models so I could work with my new lights.  After about twenty minutes in the studio, the seriousness subsided and the silliness prevailed.  It reminded me of those days way back when when our teachers would give my best friend and me 'that look' as we'd sit in our desks giggling until we had tears rolling down our cheeks.  Oh, the memories!  These two girls are very close:  they are friends, neighbors and classmates.  It has been fun to watch their friendship blossom, and it was a  cherished opportunity for me to photograph them together.  I know I wish I had more photos of my childhood bestie and me.  I'm eager to give them each their session keepsake.  I hope it will bring them both happiness for years to come as they look back on this special time in their lives.  Thank you, girls, for sharing your time, your friendship and giving me the chance to dust the cobwebs off my own memories from when I was your age.  And yes, oh yes, you'll both definitely be babysitting for us in the future!  LOL.......