Here’s something quite a bit different then my usual fare.  As a back story, I frequent a blog from a very talented Atlanta photographer named Zack Arias.  He gives tons of useful tips and tricks and videos and info that often give me pause to think.  He’s also nailed a particular skill of ‘strobe’ photography that I think is so gorgeous. Now this is perhaps not to his level, but as an illustration for ‘the shot’ I’m speaking of, the shot that always strikes me is a little something like this:

I will not bore you with the technicalities of why creating that shot is difficult and impressive and really cool!  But I’d never managed of it.  Well two years ago I found out that he was doing a lighting demo/workshop in SLC, and I was bummed because I knew I would have a 5 week old baby and I could never get away for the full 24 hours I’d basically need to attend.  This last fall I found out he was coming through again and I was in, signed up immediately!

It was a full day (16 hours) of lecture and demo, and watching him shoot and hearing his stories, tips and tricks for everyday shooting.  Not to mention seeing how he manages some of his strobe techniques that terrify me, was so fun!  I had a great time!  Following are some of my shots from the day….

(This is a little behind the scenes action… That’s Mr. Arias shooting there.)

(And one more of Zack with his light meter.  Great guy!)

And now the rest of my favs of my shots of the day…

I’m a little behind, so by now this shoot was a minute or two ago.  Before graduation.  So now Rose isn’t just a high school senior, she’s a high school graduate!  Congrats Rose!  Rose told me she thought she’d feel older when she was a graduating senior.  I told her, don’t worry you’ll always feel like that, I thought I’d feel older when I became a mom!  The cycle will repeat.  Good luck at college!

Shalise is a friend of mine who is one of those people who hadn’t had her picture taken in a very long time, and on her mother’s wall hangs a picture from high school that she’d just rather forget.  In order to get that picture down, we figured we should do this.