yea, i had to. try and work her name into the header. har, har. so, two years ago i made the switch to a digital slr. i mean, i had a few good old point and shoots, but had only shot on film slr cameras before. i searched the web, hungry for any knowledge i could find to help use what i knew in the film world to help myself become a good digital photographer. then i found rachel devine \ sesame ellis. i can't remember exactly how i stumbled upon her, but i think i might have read her entire blog in one sitting. ok, maybe i'm exaggerating...slightly. she seemed funny, approachable, full to the brim with knowledge and she was willing to share. exif info and shooting tips. and, we have a friend in common, somehow, even though she lives in australia. weird.
after two years of following her and really working hard to improve my techniques both technically and creatively, she announced she was holding a workshop in DC. i knew i had a few mattresses i could sleep on in DC so i jumped at the chance. i can't believe how lucky i was.
the timing was sort of perfect. i've been doing a lot of soul searching. finding myself. being myself. being ok with being myself. letting myself be creative and trust my eye. take the photos i love to take, not the ones i think are expected or i should be taking. it's a constant struggle, as silly as it may seem. i feel so...alive and confident and excited coming out of this workshop. i know in this kind of career it will always be a struggle to keep myself creative, but i also love that photography is never ending. there are always things you can do to improve, to stretch, to go out of your comfort zone, to create something new and exciting.
this workshop not only gave me the creative injection i needed, but also great workflow and business tips and tricks. weeks and weeks lead up to this day, and in a moment, it was gone. i've been lucky to make a few great friends in the process and i'm so excited to see how this all helps me continue to evolve as an artist. and guess what else i learned? man, would i *love* to get into working with kids commercially for print.
*warning, this post is very picture heavy.
rachel set us up in a bunch of different lighting/posing situations. it was great to not only see how she would approach the lighting/subject but also just to fine tune technical settings.
some quick outfit changes and we were headed outside.
and lots of back-lighting practice!
we wrapped up the day with some tree climbing, i mean lifestyle shooting.
i flew home and had a newborn session later in the afternoon. i thought i was crazy, and while i am totally and completely run down from this whirlwind, i was so excited to put all the things i had just learned into practice. i am so grateful for this age of internet, while creepy at times, it really has brought so many wonderful people into my life. oh, and yes, there were other models there. i got home and looked at my card and it appears i spent a lot of time with Gemma.
also, you might notice the blog looks a little different, along with the site www.furiephotography.com please bear with me while it's a little funky for the next few days. ain't it pretty? and clean? and easy? swoon. if you haven't checked out That PHP girl for your website needs, you SHOULD!
ok. a few more blog posts are in the works. and it's a school holiday. i'm off!
xo isabel