On Monday, I attended a class through Canfield Jenkins and it was such a wonderful experience. Their studio is owned and operated by Andrew Jenkins. Andrew photographs families, seniors and weddings. His assistant Jackie Palmer focuses mainly on children but also photographs seniors. Their work is exceptional and high class. Andrew was just named Photography of the Year. The atmosphere was very casual and comfortable. We touched on studio lighting, studio set up, photoshop, marketing, and work flow. They are very down to earth but successful people. A few things I learned from them:
- Less is sometimes more.
- Photoshoping an image to death isn't necessary. There are certain tricks that everyone can do and just because you can do it doesn't mean that you should.
- Strive to make children comfortable.
- You don't always have to buy the biggest and newest camera or Photoshop. That doesn't make you a professional.
- Fabric stores are invaluable for breathing new life into old backdrops.
- Work flow and communication are key to making your studio run more efficiently.
- Think outside the box for backgrounds and posing ideas.
I learned a lot of technical things that I can't go into detail about right now. I'll try to post some specifics on that ASAP.
