Finding New Inspiration

Today was an awesome day!! I attended Scott and Adina Hayne's All day  "No Rules" workshop, put on by the Professional Photographers Guild of Houston.  Every year, I try to attend one or two seminars of photographers that I admire their work and hope to capture one kernel of knowledge that I can take to give me that little spark to help me evolve my shooting style or new business idea or just find a little inspiration to continue in this photography endeavor.  The seminars that have rocked my world and shooting style the most in the past couple of years has been Jeff and Julia Wood's week long class in Olive Branch, MS.  [Yeah it really is in the middle of nowhere.] Kelly Moore's workshop in Austin, held by Pounds Lab, rocked my world and gave me the creative freedom to shoot the fun wild on location session and it was the first step in developing the style that I now have. These two classes have been thus far the most influential in shaping my photography style.
Today's workshop is probably going to be another milestone in my continual evolution as an artist.  I learned so much from both Scott and Adina about marketing and using flash in my outdoor images using these little gadgets called RadioPoppers.  They use a lot of flash in their outdoor shots. For those not versed in photography speak, it just allows them to create images that can capture both the subject and the beautiful deep color/textures of the sky.  It really opened my eyes to what the possibilities are and it's gotten me really excited about trying some new techniques at my upcoming weddings and outdoor shoots!!
Another thing that kind of sparked such a connection with them is their story. Scott and Adina have been doing this for only about 3 years and have made tremendous strides in such a short time.  Scott had worked in corporate america all his life and had a interest in landscape photography but not really shooting people. Adina was working with her family's business all her life and was looking for a change.  One day in 2007 they made a huge life decision to start a photography, mostly brought on by a choice to quit the old job, Adina, and Scott losing a job. Without much knowledge and money, they built a business in three years that most people would dream of building after 10 YEARS!!
My story is not too different from Scott's in that I started shooting about 6 years ago when a friend gave me a old SLR camera.  I dabbled in taking pictures for the next 3 years before I really took it beyond a mere 'really expensive hobby' to trying to earn money doing it.  Notice I didn't say, try to "earn a living with photography.
I've always been an engineer and many people know that I aspire to make photography my sole career but I am not there quite yet, but the journey's been quite a ride so far. I'm so excited about this year and all that it will bring.

I want to thank both of them for spending a whole day teaching us and inspiring me.

Here is a picture of them doing some live shooting of a high school senior, Heather, in the hotel bottom floor. Shot was taken with my trusty Iphone .  I love that thing!!
Have a great night!!