Creating this image was not entirely planned beforehand, in that I decided to do it while shooting something else entirely. The “how” was planned and the “why” and the exact composition, but that was all conceived only moments before shooting it. Usually I let my ideas sit for at least a week before execution.

I was actually shooting an ad campaign when I decided to do a personal photo with the same setup. The client had requested an old warehouse-type space, and I thanked my lucky stars for the floor in this picture, which was from White House Custom Color. I had seen it at an expo and was blown away by how realistic it looked. I am now addicted and I feel the need to cover my entire home in different WHCC floors. Ridiculous? Perhaps. But hey, a girl can dream.

So I set up the floor in my living room. From an underwater shoot I had done I had a whole bunch of black fabric, so I put some chairs on top of my couch, and, in true “professional” fashion, I fixed the black fabric to the chair tops with hair ties. I know, my methods are way futuristic.

The finishing touch was to put a light above the subject. I love overhead light if I do light scenes artificially, so I used a Sweetlight on a stand and hung it above. I had been using tin foil (from my kitchen, about 20 feet away), for makeshift barn doors to block light, but decided against it in the final shot.

I photographed my legs and my dress and my upper body and my hair in different pictures, and then had a blast putting them together later on. All in all, the picture felt very natural to produce and it was fun to shoot like that, where everything just clicked.

I’ll be sharing the details of how this image was put together at my workshop in New Jersey, and I’ll be talking about that ad campaign as part of my business workshop in Phoenix in June.

This 2-day, 16 hour workshop goes through the ins and outs of finding your personal style, voice and story while applying creative techniques for shooting and editing. From inspiration exercises to five hours of shooting in a beautiful (and potentially haunted) location, to a full editing session and business lecture, we’ll go over how to be inspired to shoot creative scenes, edit those scenes, and potentially sell them as well.

Cost: $975 per person. Breakfast and lunch is included for the first day and lunch for the second day.

This class will…

– Provide exercises for inspiration and style building
– Show many different creative shooting techniques
– Focus on storytelling as a way to identify style and sell your work
– Provide a full editing tutorial
– Give an in-depth look at image compositing
– Give a  business foundation for selling art work

Please check the website to download an information packet with full schedule or to sign up!

1-Day Business Workshop in Phoenix, AZ on June 28, 2014

This 8 hour workshop takes the mystery out of business. From the art of selling photography to marketing, branding, social media, pricing, and style building, we will go over how to take your business up a notch by becoming more self-aware and constructively critical of your brand.

When I started photography seriously at the beginning of 2009 I thought I had picked up a fun hobby. One year later, no one was more surprised than I was to find I was quitting my job to pursue photography full time. One year after that, as I predicted, I had the beginnings of a business but no cash flow whatsoever. Things had to change, and I started to take a serious look at who I was as a photographer and how that translated into business. My business has been growing each year, and now that I feel secure that my business can support my lifestyle, I want to pass on what I’ve learned to you.

Cost: $475 per person. Breakfast and lunch is included in price. Prepared notes will be given to each attendee to take home regarding best business practices.

This class will…

– Present exercises for finding your style and branding that style
– Analyze marketing strategies
– Conduct an overhaul on social media to see what really works
– Take the mystery out of pricing
– Offer 1-1 meetings for building your business
– Clearly outline goals and deadlines for the success of your business
– Discuss best business strategies for saving time and increasing productivity

Please check the website to download an information packet with full schedule or to sign up!