Emily Seiler of Emily's Umbrellas

SHE'S GOT YOU COVERED!

Wow, what a fabulous "PPA Super 1-Day" workshop my friend Michael and I just taught at my Loudoun County portrait studio in Ashburn, Virginia!  

It was great fun.  After a busy, full day of teaching and hands-on instruction, we ended the day excited and exhausted -- a very satisfying exhaustion.  

Our "Hands-On Introduction to Studio Portraiture" was sold out, and the studio was filled with seven friendly photographers eager to share and learn.  Michael and I used the morning to introduce the studio equipment, talk about camera settings, and demonstrate the effects of various light modifiers and lighting set-ups.  In the afternoon, the students worked in teams to try out various lighting set-ups and to learn some of the fundamentals of lighting and posing individuals, couples, and groups.  

At the end of the hands-on sessions, Michael and I took turns photographing our wonderful model Emily Seiler, owner of Emily's Umbrellas, in Winchester, Virginia.  Emily and I are both juried members of Hunt Country Celebrations, a premiere group of wedding professionals serving the greater Hunt Country region of Virginia.  I had asked Emily to join our Super 1-Day workshop as a model because of her vivacious personality.  She told me that she'd love to do it, but that she didn't think of herself as photogenic.  

Unless you are the perfect model, most of us are uncomfortable in front of the camera and perceive flaws in our looks that we wish we didn't have.  Regarding past photographs taken of herself, Emily shared that she liked many of the candids but none of those in which she tried posing for the camera.  

This is rather common.  It's the reason that I wanted a "real person" (i.e., non-model) for the workshop.  

The above portrait is one of my favorites of Emily from my mini-session that day.  I love its playfulness.  I love how it captures Emily's confidence and outgoing personality.  It's a beautiful portrait of a beautiful person.

My thanks to all the photographers who made the workshop so much fun.  And a special thanks to Emily -- I love what we did together.  

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To schedule your own unique portrait session, please call me at 703-729-3780.  I'd love to capture how you look and how you relate to the world.

My Northern Virginia family and business portrait studio is conveniently located in Ashburn, Virginia, just west of Dulles International Airport, east of Leesburg, and north of the Brambleton shopping center.  Call today!