Mom and Baby Mentoring Session

I have a new passion--mentoring! These are photos from an in-person mentoring session last fall with my very good friend and her sweet daughter. In our session, we both shot and then reviewed our work before moving on to another set of shots. It was a fun way to work, and I could give immediate feedback on how to shoot that particular scene better. Then, we tried again to get better shots. In the process, we covered photo-taking tips such as . . .

Getting close and filling the frame . . .

Using the flash when your background is brighter than your foreground . . .

Shooting from different angles to avoid mergers and busy backgrounds . . .

Framing using available elements in the setting . . .

Working with different levels of exposure . . .

Using uh, props . . .

and taking photos from unexpected perspectives . . .

It was an awesome session! I love how I captured mom taking a photo of baby . . . and the resulting photo from her camera! (Fun color work on her part, don't you think?) And then the feet are just precious. I love feet pics!



For more of this mom's work, visit her blog, Schaer Talents.

Mentoring

Check out my Workshops & Mentoring Page for the most current info.

Teaching and Photography

Lately I've been combining my love of photography with my love of teaching. It's a thrill to take something I'm passionate about and share it with others in plain language that they can understand. (And photography is filled with odd vocabulary--aperture, white balance, ISO, shutter speed, exposure . . . )

Anyway, this summer, I taught a photo class to the young women at my church. Then a friend of mine told me she wished I'd offer to teach the "young at heart." In fact, she's not the only one who has expressed an interest in learning more about photography. So last night, despite the fact that I'm crazy-busy with editing and shooting lately, I held my first Photo Club meeting for other moms interested in learning how to improve their photography. We shared food, had a friendly critique of our best photos, laughed at my examples of silly mergers (sometimes I take a photo with a merger just because it's funny!), and talked shop about photos. I ate way too many Doritos and Almond Roca. Oh yes, and whoever brought the chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies, they were delicious . . . all of them. (Cookies are my Achilles' Heel!)

It's so cool to teach other people what took me years to learn on my own. And besides hosting Photo Club, I'm starting to do in-person and online mentoring with other budding photographers for a budget-friendly price. It's awesome! (And way better than laundry or dishes, which explains the state of my home right now.) So, if you are interested in working with me or learning with me, drop a me line on my contact page. I know some of you are getting new cameras for Christmas (woohoo!) and are going to need someone to teach you. That someone could be me!

Isn't this kid precious? His mom is one of my Photo Club members, and I took a series of photos of her boys in her backyard! It was so cool to find a little spot to do portraits as a surprise for her birthday.