I Heart Faces Photography Conference
A couple weekends ago two of my friends and I left Cinco Ranch headed for Dallas. Earlier this year, we signed up for a photography conference that featured my friends favorite blogger Kelle Hampton. She recruited myself and another photography hobbyist to attend, and the weekend had finally come.
I have to say one of the things I was looking forward to most about the weekend was two good nights of sleep without being woken up by a hungry baby! I left the conference feeling rejuvenated after one (unfortunately not two) good nights sleep, and a whole new appreciation and motivation for capturing my families memories.
The conference was at the South Fork Ranch where the legendary show Dallas was set. Although I was never a fan of the show (new or old), it was exciting to be in such a famous place.
Kelle Hampton was amazing - I have visited her blog, and know a little bit about her, but unfortunately can not always find the time to read her blog on a regular basis. Let me tell you after meeting her and hearing her story in person, this has now changed. I immediately went out and bought her book, and encourage you all to do the same (click
). This is not a book that can be read on your kindle or other digital device, as you will miss out on all her beautiful photographs. As I said, she also writes a blog, "Enjoying the Small Things" that you can check out
. My friends and I are actually featured on her blog post about the conference. Much to the excitement of my friend Jamie, and the absolute horror of me once I saw the picture that was posted... Oh well, I'm still famous even if it's a terrible picture! ;)
The conference featured two workshops to choose from in the morning, and then two seminars that you signed up for in advance that afternoon. I chose "Understanding the Light", and "Getting to Know your Camera" that morning, and then "Finding the Light" and "Natural Smiles - Photographing Children" that afternoon. Although the morning workshops were helpful, the "Getting to Know your Camera" was probably the least informative as I have been trying to teach myself how to shoot in Manual mode using books and information from the internet. However, going over something in a real-life setting is always helpful.
That afternoon after lunch, we were able to walk around South Fork and take some pictures.
Everything was so wonderfully '80's! I will always remember my parent's had the same wine/champagne flutes. I was in love with them-they were so ridiculously fancy!
Our first workshop was all about finding the right kind of light for your photographs. Unfortunately, it was a really overcast day, which is actually perfect for finding the right lighting situation. However, that also made it really easy for us, so we didn't get to practice in a hard situation. We were given a lot of information for how to do that when we do encounter it though.
My friend Katherine was sweet enough to model for me so I could find the light in her eyes.
Then they brought in a family of models for us to practice with. These kids were true pros - it was so fun taking pictures of people that would sit still and take direction!
This little boy was the biggest "cheese" of all, and so much fun!
Seriously, could he get any cuter?!?!
The whole family was awesome, and I am sure with all those people taking pictures of them they got some great shots for Christmas photos!
After that we were lucky enough to attend a workshop focusing on working with children and natural light with Jennifer Tonetti-Spellman. She was amazing and gave some really good tips and tricks that I will definitely use on my own children.
The conference was capped off by a funny, touching and awe inspiring speech by photographer Sue Bryce. This woman charges $3,000 for one session, but when you see what she does to the women in her photographs, you will see why she is worth it. Click
, and get ready to be amazed. Maybe this will be our next Girls Night Out! ;).
The conference was a much needed "breather" from my extremely busy, but wonderful life. I am so thankful to my husband for keeping two of the loves of my life for a weekend all alone. And, I am even more thankful that when I got home, he told me that he didn't know how I did
it
, and that he could not do
it
everyday. Just knowing that he appreciates and respects what I do means so much to me.
In case you were wondering, he did a great job - he got Isla to ballet on Saturday, only managing to put her leotard on wrong once, and even got her hair in a decent bun. That night he took Isla and Holden for playtime at a friends house, and got them all loaded up to go to the gym the next morning. Sweetie, I am positive that you
could
do what I do, and that you would do a fantastic job at the same time.
Now, to get to practicing... time to take some more pictures!