Here we go friends! Part 2 from the CONFIDENCE Photography Workshop in Washington DC!

On the first day of our workshop, we bring in beautiful babies and mamas for a live-hands on Baby Photo Shoot. The purpose of the photo shoot is not only to get great baby photos but even more so, to practice specific framing techniques with specific camera settings and to stretch our wings when shooting indoors with imperfect lighting. We start with me doing a mini portrait shoot, walking through my thought process from “where is the best lighting to take these photos?” to “what kind of composition am I looking for?” I will take a few shots, talk about my settings, explain why I’m shooting the way I am, and then show the ladies what I’ve captured.

This part of the workshop is always one of my favorites. I get my baby fix every time. And I’m sure I’m not the only one.

This little one was so precious. I had mom get right up next to the window because the best source of light was coming from that specific window. We set baby Jane on a random ottoman that was found in the room. You can barely see me leaning over the couch to talk with mom.

The green curtain behind mom is what caught my eye. Often I see a “shimmer” of an idea. I don’t necessarily know what I want as the final result, but I see something that catches my eye and find myself playing with it. The shimmer for this set up was the green curtain. How could we use that fantastic color with this precious baby? This is what the final result ended up being.

This sweet thing traded places (again, next to the window for the best source of natural light), and look at how sweet she is! I love those eyes and her white bow. And mama…she is glowing. With the low f-stop, you would never guess we were in a hotel meeting room. That is what I LOVE about the low f-stops (buttery, blurry backgrounds!).

This little guy had the best eyes too! And the single dimple made all the ladies swoon! Again, same window with the same great light.

This guy was drooling up a storm. Mama kept wiping it away, but at one point we let it go. I LOVE the little drool, spit bubble!

And this sweet thing is a miracle baby. He was a preemie-preemie. His mama told us he weighed a little over 1lb. when he was born. Isn’t that amazing. He’s doing so good now. And he especially loves his mama’s kisses.

After I’m done modeling my style and approach, we break the women into groups to work with the babies on their own.

As soon as the ladies send me their top favorites, I’ll be sure to post them here so you can see what magic came out of the first day! Brian and I had a chance to look over their shoulders and see what they were capturing. Wow, these women did an amazing job! I can’t wait for you to see for yourself!

Tomorrow we are going to start the Running on Empty Contest for the Minneapolis Workshop that is coming up in two weeks! If you know a mom Running on Empty, consider nominating her tomorrow for the special spot we’ve saved with her name on it. More details to come tomorrow!

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We have only THREE spots left in the MINNEAPOLIS CONFIDENCE Workshop! The Minneapolis seats are the only spots left for a 2009 CONFIDENCE Workshop. To grab one, CLICK HERE !

Join us in SEATTLE for the upcoming CONFIDENCE Workshop! This is the first workshop of 2010! For details, CLICK HERE!

Want to learn more about Framing, Composition, Blurry Backgrounds and Lighting? Check out our Award Winning DVDs, Refuse to Say Cheese and Beyond the Green Box (They are BACK IN STOCK!! Yeah!!), or discover our popular 101 Kits for starting or expanding a business in photography, click on the titles of your choice!