This Weekend: Attending Colorado Strobist Meetup

Shane, Kim and Branden shot at a Colorado Strobist Meetup

Tomorrow, I will be attending a Colorado Strobist meet-up. It's been a while since I've had the time to participate in one of these, and I've been looking forward to it. OpticPixelWarrior has arranged this great shoot in a new local salon called Voila. A dress designer will be letting us shoot her clothing line, while the salon plans to chip in with hair and makeup for the models in trade for photos. The studio in historic downtown Denver is housed in a cool brick building and has a great basement for interesting shots. Plus, the streets of the city should be great for shooting in as well if the weather cooperates.

Continuing my education in off-camera flash is a priority for me. While I have been learning more how to control my Alien Bees in my home studio, I still want to learn how to combine flash with ambient light on location shoots. Plus, I have the AB Vagabond battery pack but have never used it, and I've never taken my AB's outside of the comfort of my home studio.

These informal Strobist meet-ups are the perfect time for me to practice using my equipment without feeling pressure to have to satisfy anyone but myself and my own professional growth. My only hesitation is that this group is so large that it doesn't necessary lend itself to a good teaching environment. Having 35 or more photographers in the same space can be overwhelming and taxing. But my plan is to get there early and set up my equipment in a private station so I'm forced to use it!

Here is a link to my Flickr galleries showcasing photos taken during previous Colorado Strobist meetups.

This Weekend: Preparing for my First Engagement Photo Session

Last night I booked my first engagement photo session! My contact who helped me secure shooting the National Brotherhood of Skiers summit conference in January referred me to Kim, my new client, who is getting married next year out-of-state. Kim and her fiancee Michael want to have an engagement pictures as well coverage of their engagement party next month here in Denver, and they have asked me to shoot both events.

I'm not worried about the party, as I've had plenty of experience shooting these type of gatherings. I have asked Kim to give me a shot list and assign someone to point out important people to make sure I get photos of all the family members who will be traveling to the party, but probably won't make it to the actual wedding.

But I need to spend this weekend researching how to take engagement photos. In my initial consultation, Kim told me that she and Mike met while skiing in a Slippers-n-Sliders club event. So I definitely loved her idea of trying to recreate the first time they met by dressing them up in ski gear and hoisting their skis. I wish there was some snow on the ground! I also like the idea of shooting them where Mike proposed. And I definitely want to capture the romance and fun of their relationship.

Know any examples of engagement shots you love? Please send them my way so I can check them out. I've also visited several Flickr E-session groups to get some ideas on posing. And I will be hitting my photography books to see what I can find about lighting this situation as well, since we will be holding the session outside.