Quick Hit Monday: Exciting Images From A Great Class!; Captured By The Light Tour Kicks Off Wednesday!

Good Morning Everybody,

I had every intention of getting this post up over the weekend.  But we landed in Tampa late on Friday and shot a wedding all day Saturday – I’ll share a few images with you this week.  Once Sunday rolled around LaDawn said no computers – I agreed. 

We had a wonderful day off and even took in the Clearwater Jazz Holiday on Sunday which wrapped four days of Jazz greats, and all for free!

To capture some photographs, one of the guards saw me with my camera and even invited to let me get up close and personal to these aspiring musicians. It was a great time. I still had to get ready for my Dave Cross workshop on Monday so we headed back to the hotel and just chilled – it felt reeeaal good ;~)

Exciting Images From A Great Class!

Before we begin another whirlwind week, I wanted to give you a quick wrap up of this past week's Master Class.  Wait till you see the images the class took - amazing!

Monday Kicks Off With How To Make Your Lighting Exciting and How To See Differently

I always begin the class on Monday with a PowerPoint packed with just about all the lighting and composition tips and techniques I can jam into that first day.  Since Tuesday is our first day of shooting -  I want the class to have maximum exposure to what I want them to experience over the next two days.

Deer In The Headlights Shooting Session Tuesday

I loved the remarks a few of the class members made on the first day of shooting at Mother of God Church. The remarks went something like this, "It looked so easy in your presentation but I feel like a deer in the headlights when I have to put what I thought I learned into action."

I like to think that the first day of on-location shooting as our "shake down cruise". It provides an incredible opportunity for everyone is getting to know everyone else, learning to work together, to see the light, see the compositional elements the locations provide and mostly to continue learning as a team and from each other.

By the end of the day, which always runs late, there are a range of emotions experienced by the class - exhaustion, frustration, excitement, anticipation, and even satisfaction - you get the idea.  But that is exactly what should happen during a class that challenges you to work outside your comfort zone.  Don't get me wrong, the class still really liked that first day of shooting.

The Wednesday Shooting Breakthrough

The second day of shooting, the third day of class, is completely different.  I love the fact that we brought in models that were dressed more as fashion models than brides and grooms.  I think the class was thrilled, too.  Why? Because it really adds a nice variety to the shooting and the images we get to produce. 

It is super exciting for me too.  I love the opportunity to create images that are so different from my normal wedding subjects.  You know, I get to feel the same level of enthusiasm that the class feels and that is a good thing because it gets those creative juices flowing even more.  I can guarantee that in all my future Master Classes, this will be standard operating procedure.

On that third day, you could really feel the enthusiasm of the class.  In a word, they were fired up - fired up to see their results because they knew from the frustrations of the day before that a few of the things I covered on Monday were beginning to sink in and they were getting the results they wanted!

Here is a sampling of the class's images, not mine, from that third day shooting session.  Super cool, don't you think!?

 

Time To Get Down To Business

Day four is mostly spent on Lightroom tips and tricks, workflow, and album design with LumaPix.  Once everyone sees how easy it is to design with LumaPix, they can't believe it.  And now that LumaPix works on a MAC, all the better.  It you want to see LumaPix in action on a MAC, watch the webcast I did with Michael Sheasby, the LumaPix CEO.  You can access it in the right column of my blog or find it right here.

In the afternoon, we bear down on the marketing and sales aspects to focus on running a successful business.  The cool thing is that everyone receives a 100 page handbook to follow along, ask questions, and offer their ideas.  It's a great session.  It’s then dinner at our home Thursday evening. We almost got rained out last Thursday but by the end of the day, the rain had stopped and we were all able to enjoy the beautiful fall weather on our deck.

Also on Thursday evening, Jennifer, my studio manager, gave the class a taste of of what we call "studio life" walking the class through the behind the scenes aspects of our studio operation.  LaDawn also had a number of class members mesmerized as she had them gathered around her computer demonstrating the advanced aspects of digital design. 

Spouses Classes Coming On Board

You know, many times attendees will bring their spouse with them to our Maser Class.  The spouses just hang out exploring the Cincy sites during the day, but always are invited to our evening get-togethers.  It was even suggested by one of our class members that maybe LaDawn should conduct a few "spouses only" sessions while the rest of the class is with me. We like the idea and will be looking into that possibility for our Spring Master Class, April 16-20, - stay tuned.

Friday: Pulling It All Together

On Friday, after a very long week, we spent the morning wrapping up the sales and marketing training.  I have to tell you, there is so much to cover, I take it right up to the last minute - about 11:45.  Then it's was graduation time for the class. 

Everyone gets a copy of the class photo, the images I shot for the week, and three hours of print critiques from the week's shooting to take home with them.  We try to give the best value educational available anywhere during my Master Class.  And from the comments we receive, I know everyone appreciates it.  Our next Master Class is scheduled for April 16-20, 2012 [link].  Maybe you can become a part of this exciting week.  Give Jennifer a call at 800.292.2994 for more info and to sign up. Or check out all the info right here.

It Was A great Week for Everyone

This past week we had a great group of people attending - that's how Jennifer, LaDawn, and I felt.  We continued to comment on what a friendly group of people we had the opportunity to meet and continue to get to know during the week. It was fun for us to hang with them too.

Anyway, we all said our goodbyes at noon and LaDawn and I were out the door by 12:10 heading to the airport catching a 1:30 flight for Tampa.  After a delay in Atlanta we finally arrived at the hotel about 8:00p.m. - yes, it was a long day and we were happy to grab a meal at our favorite restaurant, City Fish. 

And what a coincidence, we ran into our bride and groom for this weekend and also Brad, Scott Kelby's  assistant and the coordinator of the recent Scott Kelby Photo Walk.  We all had nice visit and then LaDawn and I headed for the hotel and crashed.  Boy, did it feel good to sleep ;~)

_________________________________________________________

Hey gang, that's it for me today.  We kick it back into high gear this morning with my day long workshop with Dave Cross.  Then it’s off to San Diego on Tuesday.  We kick off my 3 city Captured By The Light 2012 tour in San Diego on Wednesday evening and  Las Angeles/Orange County on Friday.

Have a great day today and I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow for a very special Technique Tuesday.

See ya’ then, David