Cori’s Chattanooga Photography Workshop!

I love doing workshops! So I was really excited when Cori contacted me from Alabama wanting improve her photography skills. It’s always a humbling thing to hear someone wants to learn from me. But Cori was armed with her iPad and ready to take lots of notes.

It’s a pretty intense one day/all day workshop and we talked about her camera and how it does what it does. Understanding your camera inside and out and knowing why and how your camera does what it does helps you learn how to THINK like the camera and to start seeing what it sees…or can see.

From there we talked about composition… what works and what doesn’t.  And then on to areas that will help her images really stand out.  Then on to some business advice to help her really take off and avoid the mistakes that we made when we first started our business.  Pretty soon, we’d been talking all day and it was now time for a photoshoot!

Normally I give my students two choices when it comes to photoshoots… either just watch me as I talk through everything I’m thinking when I’m coming up with a shot or bring your camera and I can talk you through it as well.

I really pray for beautiful sunny weather because I really like to teach “light and shadows”.  The most common mistake I see photographers make is avoid the sun and run to the shadows where it’s safe. It takes more thinking to use direct sun but the colors and shadows are just so much more dramatic and beautiful!

Check out some of the shots we got below!

Understanding rim light!

Learning how to get your clients bitten by snakes! Oh, wait… I mean, finding fun and unusual places to photograph clients.  My theory is… look at an area and figure out what other photographers are doing… then avoid doing that.  Find a new angle or way to photograph something and then go for it!

Moving around and finding different angles on the same scene.

Thinking outside the box… and using natural reflectors…

Finding those pockets of light and utilizing them to create dramatic images…

Knowing your clients and giving them freedom to be themselves to have fun in front of your camera!

And of course… the last shot… the self portrait! Reaction… “Is that a bear over there?”

Thank you so much to Bo and Rebekah for donating your time to come out and model for us!  I had so much fun with you guys!  You two are wonderful!

Thank you Cori for hanging out with me for the day!  I had an absolute blast with you and can’t wait to see your photography skills continue to improve from the tools we learned that day!

Interested in having your own workshop? Check out our workshop info page and then contact us!