Saturday's Workshop...

Went so well! Despite the amazing weather.

We had 5 attendees and they ranged from a very busy corporate shooter to a photo lover just starting out with her first camera. Both had a great time and took amazing shots.

We started as usual in the studio with basic one and two light setups, then got kind of wild with some direct flash and a very cool over/under (sort of clamshell) light that drew a lot of excitement. Lunch was at a great little mexican food restaurant in Tempe with great conversation. As we entered the restaurant we were in the rain and upon leaving the sun was bright and shining.

That didn't last long. Luckily the location we chose had several wonderful porches and coverings so we actually did some shots with the portable strobes through 2 squalls. The sun would peek out for a moment, and we would scramble to get a few shots in. Then it would go away and we would be again presented with rain and wind. No lost strobes or equipment (but Dan did lose an umbrella to a gust of wind - even with the heavy weighted bags on the stand.)

Our models, Briana, Megan and David were great. And David put up with me calling him Steve half the time. I apologize David... really have no idea how that happened.

We headed back to the studio where we tried a few esoteric things with GridSpots and a Ringflash that Jan brought with him all the way from Seattle. It was a long, hard day, but the excitement was palpable and no one really wanted it to end. We had to get Jan back to the airport though, and said our goodbyes.

I enjoy doing these workshops more than I can even explain. I get to see accomplished shooters like Dan learn a thing or two that he hadn't thought of, and beginning shooters like Stella get to do something early in her career to get her started on the right road.

I am hoping to do more than 12 next year. I am planning a big one in Palm Springs and maybe one or two in Europe (Spain?....) If you are interested in one of the fastest paced, most instructive and fun workshops around, check my lighting-essentials workshop out. I think you will like it there.