Creative Pet Portrait Workshop at the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops

I just returned from teaching "The Creative Pet Portrait"; a fantastic week-long pet portrait workshop hosted by the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops. I was so fortunate to teach along side of some amazing photographers and instructors including Joe McNally, Genevieve Russell, Eddie Soloway, Seth Resnick and Bob Sacha who were teaching a variety of courses including lighting on location, photographing people and visual story telling with audio. Participants joined my class from all over the country including New York, Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas, Indiana, and California! The week was fantastic and intense in such a amazing way because we were going and going every day for long hours. The week was packed with activities that focused on pet portraiture and gaining the skills necessary for photographing both pets and their humans. We were generously hosted by Santa Fe Tails, the Santa Fe Humane Society, Rick Iannucci at his western ranch, and even private homes throughout the Santa Fe area to help my class in their journey. We were also delighted to absorb the advice of animal trainer, Mary Leatherberry, were inspired by fine art photographer Gregg Albracht, and picked up a few Photoshop tips and tricks from Rick Allred. This class had amazing energy. They were up for anything and everything and didn't let frustrations get in the way of their learning experience. They signed up for the class to learn all about pet photography and were ready to have fun doing it. We addressed lighting, trouble shooting on location, style, communication with both animals and people, posing, props, composition, and so much more. I enjoyed each and every one of them and I was thrilled to see them expand their confidence throughout the week as they learned from the class and their fellow students. They seemed completely exhausted by week's end which is always a good sign that I did my job–to provide the participants with as many learning opportunities and experiences as possible.

I absolutely loved teaching this class and look forward to an entirely different experience next year!

Pet Portrait Workshop this July 10-16 2011 at the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops

I'm going to branch off from my last post about the importance of self-nurturing. What is it that you have a passion about? Cooking, building motor cycles, gardening, painting, collecting? Is your passion photography? Obviously my true love is creating images and this summer I have been asked to teach for the second time at the world renown Santa Fe Photographic Workshops where I will be sharing my passion and knowledge about creating pet portraits. I'll be teaching a fun packed course entitled "The Creative Pet Portrait" from July 10th to the 16th and there are still a few spaces available! If you've always wanted to learn more about creating portraits, pet portraits specifically, this is the perfect opportunity for self-nurturing. You cannot imagine how much self-nurturing occurs during these workshops. This course is designed to lead you through a process filled with many learning opportunities to connect with people and their pets in a way that truly lends itself to amazing imagery and helps you explore your passion.

Last year I was joined by 10 students who chose to invest in their self-nurturing for a one week photography workshop in Santa Fe. We focused on the interaction and approach for commissioned portraits of pets and their owners, tricks for getting the desired imagery and how to use these new skills in future endeavors. The daily assignments and activities were followed by group discussions and sharing. These discussions were incredibly inspiring and offered the ability to learn in a stress-free and supportive environment.  The students were supportive of one another and shared their struggles and triumphs and we collectively offered support and suggestions for improvement and trouble shooting. We were fortunate to have a variety of special guest speakers.  We discussed lighting, posing, styling on set, clients, interactions, photographing on location, creativity and so much more. By the end of the week everyone was exhausted. For me, this was a good thing to hear! It is my job as an instructor to provide students with as many opportunities as I possibly can during the course and to make it fun! How could we NOT have fun when working with animals?!!

I love teaching. I love to see the improvement of the students through the week of this course and witness the camaraderie that builds amongst the participants. I value the chance to communicate and share my experiences and love of photography with others. It is vastly rewarding to help students pursue their passion and goals.

The following is a link to the course description and details:

http://www.santafeworkshops.com/photography-workshops/workshop/743

I have put a tremendous amount of effort in the preparation for this course and I am so excited to have the opportunity to share my knowledge with a new group of participants from around the country! Whether your passion for photography is a new discovery or an old flame you're looking to reignite, I strongly encourage you to consider joining us!

Here are a couple of the students' reviews from the course:

"One of the Best Workshops I have ever taken."

"The hands-on shooting experiences combined with the discussions beforehand with Norah to prepare us and afterward with the class were invaluable. I can't think of a better way to learn..."

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions!