out in la: socal photog shoot out in claremont

On Sunday I spent the day taking pictures at Socal PhotogShootout and had a blast. The theme of the day was “The Great Gatsby”.

To learn about a possible PhotogShooutout in your area visit their site at www.photogshootout.com.

I had a great time and got to hang out with my work/blogging/photography buddy Annette. This event was a big deal for me, because it’s the first time I felt empowered. This was the first time in a LONG time that I really did something for me. Sure I missed the kids and even felt a little guilty leaving them at home but it was so VERY necessary.

I came back refreshed with a stronger sense of self. I finally did something that I wanted to do that I have never done before. That’s what this New Year is going to be about for me. See I’ve been preaching the quotes, “Do something every day that you are afraid of” and “Life begins outside your comfort zone”, but I have never done either.

I’m 30 something years old and I’ve never left my “comfort zone,” and you know what I discovered, that’s a little boring. Don’t get me wrong I’ve accomplished some pretty amazing things this year, but I’ve also held back on things that I really wanted to do.

This weekend is just the beginning of a more exciting life that will stretch beyond my comfort zone and muzzle all fears. Well except for jumping out of an airplane or anything else that requires free-falling.

So with my camera in hand and my rented lens from borrowlenses.com I spent the weekend at the LA photog shootout hanging with professional and amateur photographers. I was a little nervous and discovered that my biggest challenge in photography will be talking with the clients, and providing them with direction. It’s easy with kids, sort of, because they don’t listen anyway. But adults will look for your direction and opinion.

What else I learned during the shoot…
I learned to carry a bag that makes it easier to switch lenses. I was bouncing from my 50mm to my rented Tamron all day, it would have been nice to have them strapped to me for easy access.

I learned that it’s okay to break the rules and to go with your gut feeling.

I learned that I need to carry a hefty supply of SD cards because I am a bit trigger happy – a habit that will be less daunting as I gain more experience (I hope!).

I learned that you should use and get the equipment you can afford and ignore the fact that everyone else has an L lens – that damn red line gives it away! Work what your mama gave you right?

I learned that lighting is key and that I’m obsessed with blur. If I could I would buy all my lenses at 1.4 or smaller – but if you read above you know why that’s not happening anytime soon.

Oh I also learned that when you shoot in RAW and change your camera settings to B&W the pictures are still in color when you open them in Photoshop.

Okay so here are some pictures I took and edited with Adobe Photoshop.

The shoot on the trains tracks was probably my favorite location of the day. The shot I took above actually had a train station sign right behind the two models, I removed in Photoshop.

Another one of my favorite pictures of the day. The setting was perfect for our classic car photo session. It was overcast and the sun was going down. Perfect lighting!

This couple was so easy to photograph, but that’s probably because they were actually a REAL couple.

The lighting was a little tricky indoors but this is one of the better pictures.

Thank you Socal PhotogShootout and Matthew Saville, Wai Reyes, Garret Davis, Michelle Cunningham and Hanssie Trainer for leading the event. Thank you to the models Tristen Munroe, Kevin Glaab, Lisa Cohen, Alissa Ohashi, Chelsea Ravitch and Teran Sheffer. And of course thank you to the vendors, Heather @ www.bowsnberries.com, Kacee @ www.kaceegeoffroy.com, Colette @ Fancy That! Cupcakes – they were delicious and thank you to all the other vendors as well.