For years now, I have been taking advantage of CreativeLIVE‘s photography workshops taught by leaders in the photo industry. Unbelievably, CreativeLIVE broadcasts these workshops FREE to the world live, via the internet. Classes are free to watch online as they air, and after the class ends, they can be purchased to watch at any time.  For each taping, 6 photographers are selected to attend the class in person in Seattle and learn directly from the instructor during filming. When I heard that the master of posing was coming back to teach another CreativeLIVE course, I knew I had to submit a video and see if I might get to attend the 3 day workshop in person. I competed against others around the world and was selected as one of 6 lucky photographers to attend a CreativeLIVE Posing and Lighting Masterclass with none other than Bambi Cantrell, one of the worlds leading portrait photographers. The next thing I knew, I was flying to Seattle!

The whole thing has been quite a whirlwind, and I mean that only in the best sense. Seeing Bambi work in person was nothing short of jaw dropping. You could tell this from the gasps that my classmates and I would let out while watching Bambi make tiny tweaks which could take a pose from ordinary to extraordinary in a fraction of a second.

For me, the best part of the workshop was when Bambi focused on overcoming problem situations in posing.  She covered how to beautifully (and quickly!) pose very large groups, how to overcome height differences in couples, how to beautifully photograph the curvy figure, how to get correct exposure for very different skin tones in the same shot, along with how to beautifully shoot mature faces and those with physical limitations.

Did you notice that wedding guest in the gray and white striped shirt left of center? That’s me

I loved watching Bambi work with a family.  Families are a large part of my photography business and it was great seeing the master work. She can connect so easily and bring even the shyest family member right out of their shell.

It would be impossible for me to explain all I gained from participating in this workshop.  Being there in person was an amazing experience and so much better than I had even expected. Being able to ask whatever questions I had and seeing the posing and lighting from multiple angles was fantastic.  Bambi is such an extraordinary teacher and I was completely blown away by her energy. During breaks in taping she hardly ever sat down or took a bite to eat, she was talking with the producers about the next segment, testing lighting, or creating fashion… I’ll get to that in a minute!

On the last day of taping, we were able to get our cameras and do some shooting of our own.

Bambi wanted to remove some barriers and prove that a high fashion type shoot does not necessarily have to mean shelling out a lot of money. Look what she was able to create with a little newspaper, duct tape and tulle.

Her next creation. This is just tulle and a cheap black dress. Would you have guessed that when you see this?

Next up, a nude colored slip and tulle…

Who is that beautiful model, you ask? Well it is none other than my classmate, Tessa!

Speaking of classmates, I could not have picked a better group of classmates to share this experience with. We had so much fun in and out of the studio.

All of the CreativeLIVE crew from the producers and on-air personalities, to the sound and camera guys and chat hosts, everyone was just so fun to work with. They do such a great job and obviously have fun doing it.

If you are interested in watching this FABULOUS workshop, please consider purchasing it from CreativeLIVE. I can guarantee, you will not regret it.

Stay tuned in the coming week for another post where I’ll share some of the fun I had photographing around Seattle with some of my classmates and other new photo friends.

As it turned out, she was more interested in the wriggling worms than the fish that may or may not be lurking in the water below.

The dogs waited patiently while they fished. I took pictures. Big surprise.

Fall has always been my favorite time of year.

(taken on the day we adopted her)

… has turned into this:

(taken last week)

Why do they have to go and grow up so quickly?  At least she IS still little enough that the love of her life is her giraffe, Jakey.

I love that last one. To me, it looks like she’s saying “Hey, Yo! Can someone get me out of this cheesecloth?”

Need I say more?

A guy and his Mom. Does it get any sweeter than this?