A couple of weeks ago I hosted a photography workshop…. the 2nd of 3 this year.  It was themed, The WATER SERIES and was held at a swampy lake area of Kensington Metro Park in Milford, MI.  A handful of local photographers traveled out to work with me and get some fantastic images!  Working in-the- field (environmental) is really the basis of my workshops- there is a great deal of time spent actually taking photos, improving communication and sharing artistic vision.   While we’re working  and observing, photography topics such as challenging light, posing, camera settings, and composition come up.  It really is a great way to learn. This time around we had lots and lots of fun creating art in less traditional settings. We were lucky to do so with such an amazing team of talent.  

My workshops typically begin with a child portrait session. We usually work with a child model  while the adult models are preparing for our larger shoot segment  later in the day.  As you can see,  I brought out some vintage wooden chairs and wardrobe  to put into the swampy waters.  Thanks, Mel, for hanging out with us that afternoon.  (She was a good sport part of the time, lol!!!!).   Have a look at what we were up to:

 I invited (5) female models to join us for this workshop: Amanda, Lynn, Amy, Kaiya and Maria.  Thanks to Mak Styles, Corinne and Jacquie for doing an amazing job with hair+mu!!!!  I also want to send out my appreciation to Anna and Amy for taking care of wardrobe.

You girls all rock! It was my pleasure to spend the day with you.

It was super difficult to select only a few images of each model to share here on my blog. I plan to update my website workshop galleries with the images from this session very soon…. and there is an entire album of photos from this workshop already on Facebook. If you’d like to see more, check it out!  

I usually spend a later portion of my workshop that highlights another talented local artist! A big thanks also goes out to Sumeyya of hennacraze for adorning a couple of the models with amazing henna designs. She is a true artist and it was delightful having her work as a part of the event.

Of course,  I want to take a moment and say THANK YOU to Emma S. for being an incredible assistant to me alllll day. You’re the best!   And for all of you who enjoy ‘behind the scenes’ shots out there, this next image is for you. It is an image of some of our group that day  taken by my friend, Tressie Davis (attending photographer)  I’m the first female from the left (with dark hair and my sundress tied in a knot). Why are we wearing leggings and shoes?  Uh… it isn’t exactly obvious in this photo but we were pretty much in a swamp!! LOL.  I am pretty sure there were fish and other stuff swimming around inbetween us all.  But it was worth it- we all survived.  Everyone was eager to capture the models and we basically forgot about where we were.  Images from other attending photographers can also be found and viewed on Facebook.  To locate the photos, simply look under my “tagged” photos…. as all of the photographers tag me in the workshop images they upload over there.

My next workshop will be held on October 9th (Sunday) and will be a  Bohemain/free-spirit fashion theme! I love love love the colors of nature in Autumn and cannot wait to work with a talented group of photographers again soon.  If you’d like to register for the event, please contact me at:  jenlynnalder@aol.com or on facebook.   This will for sure be my last event of the year.

And…….. this may seem silly but I HAVE been getting requests to do ‘water series’ sessions from local high school seniors and college students. If you would like a session like this I WILL do it.  Just ask !!! Artsy, creative, fun stuff is my specialty. The only thing I recommend is to make sure you book by August so that the outside temps are still relatively high.  Doing a water shoot in Sept or October can be REALLY chilly.  Stay tuned for an upcoming Sister portrait session and an Urban Kids Portrait Session sneak peek.