The esteemed actress of 80 years Helen Hayes once said, ” The expert in anything was once a beginner.” As a new photographer in a world where “everyone’s a photographer”, those words invite courage and creativity to an otherwise lonely journey. 6 years ago I was a newbie to the photography world, and even though I still have moments when I feel like I know nothing, I’ve come far enough to know not to let those moments win. Part of me wishes I had someone back then to show me the ropes and hand me the tools to succeed in the industry, but I had to make do with finding the ropes myself and picking up the tools that worked along the way. This is why I decided to start sharing the knowledge I’ve picked up over the years with new photographers…. to give what I have today in hopes they will have less moments of failure and discouragement as they begin their photographic journey.
Back in August of 2013, I held my first ever photography workshop on Nuremberg, Germany and it was so wonderful seeing the lightbulbs light up as each and every attendee experienced moments of understanding and clarity. It turned out to be so much fun that I decided a stateside workshop was in order! January’s Orange County Workshop turned out more than I could have ever hoped for…. and the sponsors and attendees blew my mind! Here’s a recap of the day….
Each attendee received swag and giveaways from sponsors like Saturday Morning Pancakes, the Papermint Press, Samy’s camera, PicTapGo, and Kiss Wedding books…. to name just a few.
We started around 9am, which means some attendees had an early start to their day to make it on time. Good thing Jeff Clinard with Bear Coast Coffee was there to make custom coffee drinks for everyone! Attendees enjoyed artisan roasted beans made into carefully poured lattes, mochas, cappuccinos, pour overs, and Americano’s to keep their brains going throughout the morning. This was definitely one of my FAVORITE parts of the day…. I don’t think I’ll ever do another workshop without Jeff there.
The first half of the day, we dove deep into basic – advanced principles of photography, light, and camera settings…. it was a lot of information to absorb, but everyone held on strong!
I promise I’m not mad in this picture. I think maybe I need to smile more…. oops. 
After the nitty gritty was over, we broke for some tasty goodness. Greenleaf catered healthy deliciousness for lunch and goodies from Sweet and Saucy rounded out a top notch lunch break. 
Another really cool deal we had going on all morning was Matt from Samy’s Camera rentals department showcasing lenses and camera bodies. Attendees got to try on lenses and shoot with them for the workshop, and they also got to try out new bodies! It was a drool fest over at his table…. let me tell YOU!
We even had a non-alcoholic version of my latest obsession…. cherry ginger beer moscow mules! Yuuuum!
After lunch we spent some time learning how to photograph still life using natural light. The gals from Love.Anne.Joy set up a gorgeous tables cape complete with colorful floral pieces by Pixies Petals. I thought this was a really fun way to begin putting to use the manual settings we learned in the first half of the day.
And we ended the day photographing our ridiculously good looking model couple Mark and Tori! We practiced shooting in all sorts of difficult lighting situations and helped one another find the correct settings in our cameras to achieve the look we wanted.
You guys, I had so much fun with you all! I’m proud of how you pushed past uncomfortability and achieved more than you ever thought you could… in a day’s work. I’ll look forward to following your work in the coming months as you continue to use manual methods in your shooting. Cheers!
Big thanks go to all the ridiculously generous sponsors who gave so much to make sure the attendees had an experience they won’t forget! To Kiss Wedding Books, Kanvess Prints, PicTapGo, Saturday Morning Pancakes, The Papermint Press, Artifact Uprising, Samy’s Camera, Pixie’s Petals, Bear Coast Coffee, Designer Specialty Linens, Greenleaf Gourmet Chop shop, and Sweet and Saucy Shop. Also, I couldn’t have pulled this workshop off without the support and design from Pam and Viv of Love.Anne.Joy, as well as the lovely space provided by Irvine Presbyterian Church! You all made this workshop possible and I feel so blessed to have partnered with you to bless these photographers’ socks off. Well done!
