Flourish Workshop Vol. 2

One entire day of the workshop was dedicated to shooting and lighting. I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of shooting models during workshops. I don't really need the models for portfolio material, and unless there's some brilliant new method of lighting or shooting that I didn't know about, I don't get a whole lot out of watching other people shoot either. However, even with all of that baggage, I still found the shooting and lighting part of the Flourish Workshop to be better than many others I had previously experienced! I really loved the studio lighting information, since it's something that I don't have as much experience with, and I absorbed every little bit of info I could get! Of course, working in Angela's huge studio with soooo many different lighting possibilities was incredibly spoiling and fun to experiment with! Of course, it also made me lust after having similar possibilities for myself one day. ;-)

We started the day off with Kimberly shooting natural light for two different couples, first up was our casually dressed Angela & Luke...






I can't pass up a funny out-take moment!


Then our evening wear couple, Lizzie and Sam...


I looooved her dress!












I have to be honest and say that I spent most of my time shooting the other photographers during the natural light sessions, but I'll save those pictures for another post. ;-)

Once we got back into the studio, Angela shared a variety of different lighting possibilities for her bridal sessions, and she had some gorgeous girls on hand with beautiful dresses and makeup to match! I really love how she created each lighting, scene, and pose based on the overall style of the bride- it definitely gave me something extra to think about toward enhancing and customizing each session.



Our romantic/classic bride was Erica, wearing a Romona Keveza gown..




I love Angela's silhouette in this image..


Our modern/trendy bride was Sarah, wearing an Amsale gown..






By the way, since I'm not a huge fan of photoshop, you should know that 95% of these images are just great light, beautiful makeup, and gorgeous girls!



This veil was phenomenal! I loved the variety of textures! I seriously never thought I could fall in love with tulle until I saw this veil!


My absolute favorite bridal was our avant-garde bride, Leah with her feathers and forties look in her Paloma Blanca dress!


I'm crazy about the feathers!




... and this is how she got in that position in the first place- with Kitty's fabulous posing...


Angela whipped up some pretty interesting looks too...


... but I can't resist a great smile...


Another great behind-the-scenes silhouette, this time of Gary, Angela's hubby and workshop lighting guru. ;-)


I think someday I may put together a book of all the pictures I take of people without their eyes...


If you aren't on eye-candy overload at this point, hold on to your seat, because it only gets steamier from here!!

WARNING: before you scroll down, perhaps now is NOT the best time for your boss to walk by and see you looking at my blog!


Kitty finished off our whirl-wind day of shooting with her approach to boudoir photography, which she calls "Lights Out". Kitty's approach is different from mine in that she creates more of a fantasy session with various costumes and props- removing her subjects from their everyday lives. Where I'm much more of a purest and a minimalist, focusing on form, shape, and lines that occur naturally and simply. I think it's great that there are so many different boudoir approaches to choose from, and it was fun stepping out of my box and shooting a different style for a little bit. The girls were awesome, and so gracious to let us publicly share images of them in more intimate attire.



I love the shadows in this next one! They were created by someone standing next to me on a ladder, and I decided to include them in my frame to add an element of form and a secondary element of interest...








Even when I'm shooting a completely different style, I still seem to naturally prefer black & whites for boudoir work!




But i did try to keep as many color as possible, especially when the color element was a strong part of the image....












One of my faves..


I was going for cool shadows...


.. and I ended up with shadow puppets... ha!!




By the way guys, the ring is fake.. this girl is hot and single... and she's hilarious!!




We called these the spicy sausage panties...




It would be a shame if I didn't give special thanks to the dream team that made these gorgeous girls look even more amazing!

Dresses were courtesy of Bluegrass Bride


Makeup Artist, Ana Crane-Simpson



Hair designs by Rodney Farmer, Salon Figaro, Lexington KY (sorry, no pic of him hard at work! He was awesome!)

Thanks again to all of the models who worked their butts off and did an amazing job!