St. Louis Photographer » A Journal by Holly McCaig

This summer, I found two workshops that I felt my heart tugging towards. Should I? That’s a lot of money! But, I hadn’t really spent any money on education outside of the Ed Pierce PhotoVision DVDs (which pretty much rock if you ask me). I bit the bullet. The first was Melissa Jill’s 2-Day Workshop a few weeks ago in Phoenix, Arizona. This one, OneLight, hosted by Zach Arias in Atlanta, Georgia. I picked the very last one for a reason…I knew October would be busy so November had to be the best, right? What I didn’t realize was that I would be moving my studio to a near 1700 square foot location, trying to finish up Fall sessions in this God-awful rain we’ve been having, and trying to find time for me with everything in between.

As with the first workshop, a few days before I repeated to myself, “this is crazy…I shouldn’t be leaving town because I have so much going on.” But, as with the last workshop, I sat there with my jaw dropped during one of my “A-Ha!” moments in the amazing Used Film Studios in Decatur, Georgia. Yah, that moment when you go, that was what all that money, time, travel, and nightmare of driving in Atlanta in the rain was all for.

Zach and his team are open and honest. And, not in a cocky kinda way that makes you feel intimidated and worried that you are in way too far over your head and shouldn’t even think you can achieve what he does. No, raw honesty. If I can take anything away that I can share with my readers, Zach gets nervous, just like us. Zach wants to save a buck, just like us. Zach has to start somewhere….Just. Like. Us.

I’ve always believed that education was important. Even when you think you’re on top of your game, you shouldn’t stop learning. If you’re looking for a hands-on workshop…not one that means you have to sit there in a chair and watch someone else do the work, this is the workshop for you. I have to admit, you really should know how to manually expose your pictures. Not Aperture Priority, not program, not auto. MANUAL! Get out of that mindframe. Make yourself learn. If you can do that you can have so much more control over your images. This workshop drives that home. You have to be able to know and understand those basic things in order to succeed in adding new equipment to your arsenal…lights.

You’ll leave this workshop with a sense of confidence in lighting. Sure, it won’t be 100% perfect when you get home. Taken from Zach – you must make yourself learn to use the equipment you have and you must dedicate yourself to just that. Or, it will never work for you.

Living in St. Louis, especially this time of year with unpredictable lighting, something like this is a must have. I believe I left this workshop with a new head on my shoulders (no, I didn’t steal any from the studio bathroom while there…heh – attendees might get that). I have a sense of confidence and am excited to put them to use. Hope you don’t get bored with my experiments on this blog. Zach just twittered today that they will be announcing new workshop dates for next year within the next week. So, keep checking and invest in your business. You can’t afford not to.

More images from the workshop – with very little editing expect some skin softening on the female.

P.S. – these were all shot with my Canon 5D Mark II and 50mm f/1.4 in case you were wondering!

I’m sitting in my hotel room in Atlanta. Last night, I stayed with Brady’s family so we could be sure to capture his adoring personality this morning. After my crazy drive trying to find the Atlanta IKEA, I thought I would never get to smile and laugh until I saw his cute, toothy grin this morning. Such a blessing to spend the first night in someone’s home as opposed to a hotel room, after all that circling around the vicinity of IKEA. AYE AYE AYE!

So, this morning, Danielle had to leave for NYC for the day, while dad had a few meetings and other things to take care of. So, me and Brady’s grandma worked our magic to get great, one-year photos. Yes, and even a cake smash. Now, mind you, it’s been raining cats and dogs ALL day long here today. So, we had little natural light. And, my reason for being in Atlanta is for a lighting workshop that starts tomorrow. That didn’t help me in time! I still think I’m loving these picks as my favorites though.

Happy birthday little guy!

Grandpa showed up at the end, and I love this little moment. Can’t wait to see you again at Christmas, little man!

Last year, I learned about One Light. A workshop series by a very talented photographer from Atlanta, Georgia (ATL in DA HOUSE – yah, so maybe it was more like Statesboro). Zack Arias photographs some of the top muscians in the south and has a silly humor about him that you almost fall in love with immediately.

In November, I broke down and finally bought his One Light DVD. I knew that I could not attend a workshop any time soon because of the cost. This was BRILLIANT! I wish more workshop presenters would create and sell the DVD of their workshop for less money so those of us that can’t make it to all the amazing ones, still get a chance to participate.

One Light: “We want to make creative and compelling portraits wherever we are at any time of the day or night.”

Love that! In the DVD, Zack takes time to show you many setups using just one light whether it’s your external flash or something much more fancy. And, how to use it in various times of the day and get looks as if you might be in the exact opposite time of the day. Creative, and very eye-catching work.

I showed my intern the DVD and how brilliant it was. I wanted more people to know about it. I recommended it to photographer friends. Now, I have the opportunity to attend a live workshop in Atlanta this November. Yes, I’m driving there by myself and giving it my all. It’s something I think every photographer would benefit from. I’m just sad they are all sold out and I can’t pimp it for you to participate in one for this year. Just stay tuned for when they announce 2011 dates!

So, go buy the DVD and at least do that much for yourself. You can never have enough education in your photography career! Here’s the trailer!

I’m attending the November 11th workshop and would love to meet up with some of my Georgia pals while I’m there. Shoot me an email and we’ll talk. Maybe we can schedule a session for your family or you!