Category Archives: mentoring

Workshop Photos

March 16, 2010 Posted in Workshops and Conferences, mentoring

Rich and I were honored when Christina contacted us for a workshop. We love doing workshops with fabulous people, and that is exactly what unfolded a couple of weeks ago.

Rich and Christina had a great workshop together and we just love her! They reviewed camera and composition basics and Christina is on a consistent journey of improving her photography skills. We are so excited for her!

As a conclusion to the workshop, they had planned a mini session to further review the concepts they’d discussed. But sadly, the weather did not cooperate, so a postponed mini session happened this morning. We were hoping for some nice light and maybe even some warmth, but we got neither. It was a bit cold and completely overcast, so Rich talked about making the best of less-than-desirable weather situations!

Alana and I modeled for Rich and Christina while they talked about camera settings, what lenses to use for the desired results, composition, etc. Alana and I had the easy job, for sure, and now we have some awesome new photos to boot!

Here are the photos that Rich captured, and I will definitely post another blog if Christina would like me to share her photos as well!

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Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your journey as it relates to photography, Christina! Rich and I (and Alana) have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know you a bit and we hope for many more opportunity to spend time with you! So sorry the weather has not been cooperative for us!

Fun self portrait! I love it!

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Happy week, wonderful blog readers! Be sure to contact us if you are interested in a customized, one-on-one workshop! It’s one of the things that we are passionate about and we love the opportunity to get to know you better through the teaching and learning process!

Workshop Pics!

June 17, 2009 Posted in lifestyle, mentoring

Well, another workshop has passed and I could NOT be more proud of my student!  I’m so excited to show you her stuff!

It was Leslie’s second weekend with me and we dove into some more advanced photo techniques and then went out and put them to the test.  Our brave models who volunteered for the shoot were the wonderful Robert and Aston.  They’d wanted a photoshoot from me anyway, and since we needed models, this was the perfect opportunity! Aston is 31 weeks pregnant, and Robert is an aspiring photographer, so he said he really enjoyed listening as I talked my way through each shot… he felt like he was getting a free photo lesson.  So everyone wins!

I’ll show you some of my favorites and then show you Leslie’s images from the locations.

Here’s our attempt to make the ordinary look extraordinary.  Love the orange cone.

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Repetitious crates:

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Here I was talking about light and shadows and how to work with them…NOT be afraid of them.

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Really like how this one turned out!

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“Utilizing the background but not letting it interfere with the subject” lesson:

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Loving the flowers in the dilapidated parking lot:

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The “rim light” lesson:

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The “shooting while walking and the camera is by your knees” lesson:

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“Compressing the background” lesson:

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The “Knowing your subject and capturing their personalities” lesson:

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“Working with harsh light and shadows” and “showcasing the pretty girl and letting the guy fade in the background” lessons::)

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The “abstract” and “finding the lines” lessons:

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More rim light:

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The “photographing your subjects when they’re not expecting it in order to capture a genuine moment” lesson:

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The “using the environment around you to it’s fullest potential” lesson:

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Now here are some of Leslie’s images, edited courtesy of yours truly.  I’m going to say from the outset that I think she did an extraordinary job! I’m just so proud of her!

Check out the light and shadow – dramatic beautiful moment captured. Unbelievably beautiful!

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Here’s Leslies version of my photo from above.  I actually like hers better!  Great job Leslie!

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During the “rim light” lesson:

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Leslie really wanted me to include this photo of me laying on my back getting a photo.  I guess we’ll call this the “how to take photos with your fisheye lens that has  a 180 degree angle of view without photographing your own shadow in the setting sun” lesson.

Answer? Make your shadow as minimal as possible by laying as flat as possible!

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It was a great lesson to be learned but I wasn’t particularly happy with the photo, so I didn’t include it above. But if you’re curious what my fisheye sees from that perspective, here it is.  Look… no shadow from me!

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This next photo is probably one of my favorites. It’s absolutely amazing!  Way to go Leslie!

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Fun shot from the worlds thinnest slide.

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Here’s another shot from Leslie that I love.  I think the power lines actually add to the photo. Again, beautiful job Leslie!

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Again, incredible.

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One last photo with the beautiful Aston!

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Again, I can not express how impressed I am with my wonderful student Leslie!  She has come along SOOO far in these short couple of months. She is grasping advanced photography techniques with ease.  I’m just so proud that I’ve been able to be a part of her journey!

If you, dear blog reader, are interested in taking photos like Leslie, please e-mail me for information about how to get your own one-on-one photography workshop with me.

First ever… RSP Workshop!

April 18, 2009 Posted in mentoring

Last week, I had my very first one-on-one photography workshop. Wonderful Leslie came down from Knoxville to hang out for two days for some intense learning.  We had a blast.  I learned beforehand what areas she really wanted to work on and I customized a workshop designed specifically to her!  Here is her response to her experience:

“To my new and dear friend Rich, thank you so much for spending an entire weekend mentoring me! I knew I wanted to learn from you after you photographed my sister’s wedding. However, I had no idea just how truly fantastic you and your lovely wife, Heather, would turn out to be. Your easy and fun personality definitely comes through in your teaching. That energy you have helped to fuel my passion and excitement. You made concepts I’ve struggled with for months just click with your simple and easy to understand explanations. It’s so refreshing to learn from someone who is not only amazingly talented at what they do, but also sincerely passionate about it. You are truly an inspiration! I came away with more out of a weekend with you than I’ve gotten out of other courses and private instruction over the past two years. I look forward to our next mentoring weekend in May!”

-Leslie

We started off on Saturday as a “teacher-student” relationship and ended Sunday as close friends. Heather and I REALLY enjoyed hanging out and getting to know Leslie.  I can’t wait till our next session!

Day one, we talked most of the day about photography and ALL the things it takes to create a beautiful photo.  I had a slideshow and diagrams to explain the harder to understand parts.  At the end of the day, we were so ready to put all of those things we learned into practice!  One of the biggest things I wanted to show was how to work with beautiful light and not run away from it like I see so many others do.  So we headed to the park to take advantage of the sun before it went down. 

Here’s a few of Leslie’s pics!  I’m so proud of her!

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Here are a few of mine and Heather’s photos.  Unfortunately, Alana wasn’t too cooperative and patient as I was explaining to Leslie what was going through my crazy little head.  But Leslie loved soaking all the information in.  There’s a LOT to think about!

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The next day we covered sorting and editing images in Lightroom.  After lunch, we went to Coolidge Park for another photoshoot to work on some posing. Heather was our model for the day. It went by so smoothly since Alana wasn’t there demanding out attention.:) But we were cut short because it started raining!  Boooo!

It was great allowing Leslie to take her time and analyze what she was seeing and how to improve on it.  I really enjoyed getting her feedback and asking her questions and then implementing what we had going on in our heads.

As you can see from these pictures that Heather did an amazing job!  And I’m so proud of the pics that Leslie got as well!  I just wish we had more time out there.  Next time, right Leslie?  :)

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Leslie captured me showing what I wanted Heather to do for the next shot. A lot of times I act it out instead of trying to talk it out.  I always end up looking silly. But I’ll do anything for a good shot! haha

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Love this photo of Heather!  Great job Leslie!

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Here are a few of my photos as well.

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I have a BEAUTIFUL wife, don’t I!?

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The whole group! 

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If you’re interested in having your own one-on-one photography workshop/mentoring session, just e-mail me from the contact page above and we can get some details to you!

© 2010 Rich Smith Photography

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