Last Saturday fourteen photographers got together in Charlottesville for the first ever Virginia installment of the SCP half day photography workshop that I hosted for beginner professionals!  (If you missed the fun images from that workshop you can check them out here!) The following day I hosted the very first ever SCP workshop for beginner hobbyists! It was basically an incredibly fun and laid back introductory course to photography that covered everything from understanding aperture, shutter speed and ISO to basic composition techniques.  The best part of the workshop was seeing the attendees get to put into practice what they had just learned during our mock children’s session! In between teaching I was able to snap a few pics of our ADORABLE models who were incredibly sweet, patient and well behaved during their shoot…did I already mention adorable? I may have pulled out a few fool proof kid portrait tricks like the gigantic lollipop to make sure that things went smoothly (…sorry moms)!  I am already in the planning stages to host this same workshop here in Tampa on Nov  4th and am looking for little “models” for that shoot as well.  Just e-mail me for specific details at info@shaycochrane.com if you know of any moms interested in volunteering there little princesses and super heros for the role! Thank you so much to our fabulously cooperative moms and their precious little models for your help during the VA workshops!

For more information on the upcoming Tampa, FL photography workshops check out the workshop website!  If you dislike boring cookie cutter back-to-school portraits as much as I do and want information on fabulously fun children’s portraits in the Tampa, FL area just shoot me an e-mail at info@shaycochrane.com!

So, what I wasn’t quite prepared for was that when I left Tampa at 7:00am on Friday morning it was about 80 degrees out and when I touched down in Roanoke, VA two hours later it was definitely 45 degrees! Brrr! Not that I didn’t love an excuse to buy another sweater while I was there! I really love any chance that I get to go back to the Shenandoah Valley.  It is just gorgeous and the landscape is so different from here in FL.  Sigh.  Before it felt like home I had to, of course, grab lunch at Sheetz along my 2 hr drive to C-ville in my sporty little Kia Rio rental car. haha. Graham was so jealous! (About Sheetz…not about the Kia. haha).  At one point I definitely got flicked off by a college student (we won’t name which school) b/c I couldn’t accelerate fast enough going over the mountains. bahaha.  My first time ever being flicked off while driving by the way! (Well….at least that I know of. haha) Anyway, the weekend of photography workshops in Charlottesville, VA were awesome! Both classes sold out and and we max-ed out our room once again. It was just so much fun, as always, to get to meet other photographers excited to learn more about the industry and improve their skills.  It wasn’t fabulous that for the big Saturday workshop I was running off of about 4.5 hours of sleep for two nights in a row but hopefully I had at least a few discernible sentences come out of my mouth. (Yikes!)  I have to give a massively enormous thank you to Ashlee Proffitt Design for all of the fun paper goodies that she made for my workshop attendees and Kristin Moore of Kristin Moore Photo (a sweet friend and talented Charlottesville photog) who helped me to pull the whole workshop together while I was states away.  Ali (another great VA photog) and Chad Williamson were our fabulous “models” for the mock engagement shoot and I wish that I could bring them to every workshop I teach!  They were so sweet and fun and adorable and easy to work with…and did I mention good looking? One more thank you goes out to Jen of Elan Charlottesville for her great work on Ali’s hair and makeup!

I am excited like a kid on Christmas morning to see the video that John Robinson shot of the Saturday Professional’s workshop but until then, you will have to just settle with a few of the shots that I was able to steal during the shoot portion of the pro’s workshop.  Enjoy!

Mark your calendars!  The next set of SCP photography workshops will be held in Tampa, FL on Nov 4th and 5th!  Tickets are on sale now!  :)

I introduced you to my sweet little nephew Noah a few weeks ago but wanted to share a few images from our little 2 month photo shoot in the front yard.  The sweltering Kentucky summer heat made for a very content and sleepy little guy who was oh so patient as Auntie Shay got a few shots.  He fought us on the naked tummy time but I am not kidding when I say that he perked right up once he saw the camera in his face.  As if to say, “Ohhhhh, well why didn’t you tell me you wanted to take my picture!” haha.  I hate the thought of how much he has growth and changed even in the weeks since our little shoot – those first few months they seem to change daily.  I just want to kiss his little cheeks…yep, I am going to be THAT aunt with with the squeezing and the kissing of the cheeks and the embarrassing songs sung in public.  We love you little Noah and we can’t wait to see all the new tricks you have learned when we see you again in a few months!