Friday, February 29, 2008

Rockstar Workshop... Day Four!

After such an amazing workshop day on Wednesday, it seemed as if there was no way that Thursday could compare. I mean... brilliant insights, beautiful models, amazing light, and frigid temperatures... what could be better than that?

Well, I'm not sure if Thursday was "better", but it was definitely equally amazing. We arrived at the studio on Thursday morning, and settled into our morning Starbucks as Corey began imparting processing and workflow wisdom upon us. He has created a backup system that is truly remarkable, and every time he demos it for a group, I kick myself for not having fully implemented it yet myself. He is the Digital Asset Management (DAM) master. In addition to explaining his workflow from initial card download through final backup process, he also gave a thorough Lightroom demonstration. The morning was packed with invaluable information.

After Corey finished his morning teachings, we moved on to an image critique. It was so exciting to see the level of photography provided by our students. I was inspired by many of the images, and couldn't wait to see their contest entries! We broke for lunch, and then regrouped at the studio for the contest.

We'll post a slideshow of the students' images soon!

I am so excited about the caliber of imagery that this group produced. There were so many beautiful images. We all took a collective vote, and there was a clear winner...



Rich Smith took the grand prize of a free White Glove wedding album with this image:



Awesome!

After the classroom part of the day was complete, we headed over to Homewood to do a little indoor shooting. I'm sure our models were relieved to get a break from the insanely frigid temperatures.

I love these images that Corey captured of Shyla. The light is absolutely spectacular!





A few of the ever hot Eric and Shyla:







I love these of Jill. The lines of her body are amazing.





We headed back to the studio to regroup... and there were a few moments of ridiculousness in the parking lot. Shyla and Eric decided to model as (as Corey called them) Princess Shyla and Darth Laurits. I was laughing so hard watching this shoot that I didn't even try to shoot myself. Thankfully, Corey performed beautifully as expected. I love these images. Fun times!











After our brief break for silliness, we headed over to The Fiddlin' Pig for an amazing dinner sponsored by Photographer's Edit. This is one of my favorite restaurants in Asheville... they have fun food and awesome entertainment! Rich (our grand prize winner above) took on the task of documenting the night for us. Thanks so much for these images, Rich! And thanks, also, to Nathan at Photographer's Edit for buying our dinner!



The cloggers managed to drag a few of the attendees out onto the dance floor.





A few shots of the group.

Jill S, me, Jill and Corey, Shyla, Eric, and Scott.


Meggie and Lynn.



Bree and Nicole.



Scott, Rich, and Sarah.



Me and the Mcnabbs! Love them!



As the band was packing up, I suddenly hear the lead guitarist singing alone... and all the gals in our group suddenly chime in to sing with him. It was an awesome sound. I just love this place!



After dinner was over, a bunch of us headed over to the Brew and View for a showing of Sweeney Todd. It turned into a crazy fun day and very late night. Seriously good times.

Final day... coming soon!

-amber







Thursday, February 28, 2008

Rockstar Workshop... Day Three!

Wednesday was an amazing day. We spent the first part of the morning listening to Corey impart more wisdom. After he finished up, we had the opportunity to have the wonderful Tara Jordan in the studio to talk with us a bit about wedding photography from a planners perspective. I love that Corey always has Tara present... her insights are amazing!

Then, after lunch, we headed out to the Biltmore Estate (thanks so much to the Biltmore for letting us come and hang out!) with our amazing models and did a little shooting! So fun!


Thanks to Shy and Eric, John and Lindsey, Jill, and Breanne for being such amazing sports and for being beautiful, even in the midst of the insane cold!

Thanks also to Emily from Boutique Couture for allowing us to use her dresses. We were also priviledged to borrow a fourth dress from Gwenn at Wedding Inspirations in Asheville. Our beautiful bouquets were provided by the amazing Liz with The Purple Iris. We appreciate all of you so much!

Our beautiful brides...



John and Lindsey













Shyla and Eric









Eric alone... this boy is so pretty!



Breanne! Fun story behind Bree becoming a model for us. We had an extra dress, and Corey just happened to ask her if she wanted to model... Our shoot started at 2:00, and Corey randomly asked Bree about modeling at lunch! We had less than an hour to drive home, try the dress on, find some shoes, and get ready for the shoot. Doesn't she look completely stunning?













Jill (Corey didn't have the opportunity to photograph Jill, due to the hectic schedule.. but we did grab this one of her. She was amazing!)



The amazing florals









Some of the behind the scenes action













Corey and I headed back, after the shoot. Thanks so much to :e: for this shot.



I grabbed this shot to prove to you guys just how cold it really was...



In order to warm up, we popped into Starbucks for a quick drink. Of course, as always, there were antics and shenanigans.



It was an amazing day. I have really grown to love this group, and am so excited about continuing to get to know them.

-amber