I was totally honored and thrilled when Spanki asked me to come be a guest speaker at her Austin workshop in May. I've "known" Spanki online for about a year and we don't live that far apart, but we've never had a chance to meet. What a fantastic afternoon!!!! My only regrets were that #1 it was TOO hot and #2 it was TOO short. I was sad I couldn't stay longer and hang with the girls...we were having so much fun shooting in downtown Austin.
Spanki...it was awesome to finally meet you and you are just as beautiful and warm and energetic in person as you are online. I truly hope we can work together again in the future, my dear!
Just a tad. It's kind of fun to see the feature in this issue of CHIC Magazine, but even cooler to be among so many other incredible photographers and tons of photog eye-candy! Although, reading through my own Day in the Life, I may have given myself a headache ;-)
First of all, I want to know who planned the weather out for this workshop? LOL. My word, it couldn't have been a more dreary, rainy couple of days, but fortunately for me, there was a wonderful group of women in attendance AND we had a SUPER cute baby boy to work with.
Some behind the scenes pics (I always love these!):
And then I really lurve this snap from Bekah...
...mostly 'cuz I think the backlight makes me look skinny ;-)
By the way, we are *still* looking for a family in Austin that can do this for us on March 30th. We've received several applications, but we need options. You never know, you might get a free session from me! If you live in Austin and are expecting a baby within the next few weeks, PLEASE fill out this form.
I'll be back soon with images from the in-home session and I also can't wait to show you some pics that the attendees took (can't wait to brag on them and how well they did during some yucky, yucky weather ;-).
I started shooting in 2006. That seems like eons ago when I compare my style back then to how I shoot today. I've learned SO much since that time, mostly through trial and error. But boy, it sure would have been nice if I had had a little more personal help along the way.
I decided to dig up what used to be one of my most favorite images of my middle bear cub. I loved his look...I loved how grown up he looked...lost in thought, but ohhhhh, if I had a do-over with this shot, I would have done so many things differently. The version on the left shows my editing style back in the old days ;-); the one on the right shows you how I would have edited the image a little differently (wish I still had the RAW file, actually, so I could edit effectively in Lightroom). I do think I chose a great moment to capture and a great focal length, but if I had the time to do so, I should have strolled him to a place where the background wasn't quite so blown and more even to help him stand out a little better. Also, in the new version, I cropped out the bottom part of the stroller where the sticker was showing ;-).
This is the kind of critique participants in the Chic Critique Celebrity Critique can expect from me. I have another 4-week session coming up next month and we have a few openings left if you want to give it a try. It has been such a privilege to be on the outside, seeing images from a different perspective, and by giving just a few quick pointers, helping to turn images that seemed like coal into diamonds.
By the way, even with his overly-processed, neon blue eyes, I still love this image and always will.
