Despite the recent tornado that hit the studio a couple of weeks ago, and the second round that hit downtown Atlanta on Friday night, the weather on Saturday as we began our intense hands on shooting was “AWESOME”. Mike and I couldn’t have asked for better circumstances to demonstrate different elements in lighting and accommodating all conditions. We experienced Overcast Skies, Window Light, Wind, Rain, Off Camera Lighting, Hail, Puddles, Sweet Light of Dusk, Night Light and Head Lights all in one Great day. In one word it was Perfect.
We began our day at Villa Christina in Dunwoody, a venue that we shoot at often and that was kind enough to allow us to use their facility on a Saturday. It was just the right setting for shooting a beautiful bride in unique, and creative ways. Candace was gorgeous and was very comfortable giving us “attitude”.
After a brief rain shower and lunch, we headed back to Roswell and a few urban settings with our diverse senior model. Danielle brought several changes of clothes and was able to pull off many different appearances. She was so at ease in front of the camera and gave us all a great experience with modern day senior portraits. She was even brave enough to stay out with us in an old mill during a quick HAIL storm. It was quite an experience.
We all enjoyed each others company at Mellow Mushroom (my favorite) while waiting on the yummy evening light to come. The skies cleared and the sun reappeared and by the time dinner was over, we were all ready for LeeAnne and Jody in Historic Roswell. Okay, so she is one of my dearest and best friends and I had to bring her to the shoot kicking and screaming, but once they were in front of the cameras, you could tell that they were at ease and had a great time.
This weekend would not have been possible without a ton of effort from Mike. I want to say a special thank you to him for his dedication to this workshop despite everything else that he has going on. Your talent and willingness to share means so much. Also, our models were so generous with their time and grace as we went at them like the paparazzi. Lastly, I want to say a huge “Thank You” to Cat Warren for volunteering her time this weekend to document the workshop for Mike and I. It freed us up to spend time with the other photographers and we couldn’t have done it without her.
To all of our new friends and colleagues…Rick Harris, Josh Garrett, Michael Newman, Dorsett Clark, Elaine Smith, Stephanie Nunn, Susan Manie, Jeff Franks..thank you for your inspiration this weekend. Our group bonded instantly and meeting and sharing those two days with you is something that I will never forget. Your talent and hunger to learn was so very apparent. We work in an awesome industry with so many wonderful people and I do believe that the combination that we had this weekend was exactly what we needed it to be (believe it or not all 5 guys shot Nikon and all 5 girls shot Canon…who could have planned it that way…it was the running joke of the weekend). We laughed, we experienced a wonderful weekend of learning and YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!!
The slide show is a combination of every one’s talent and it only scratches the surface of what we experienced this weekend. I am sure that there is more to come for us all…
