I’m starting this post with some fruit. #1, because I’m jealous Melissa has a grapefruit, a pomegranate, AND Palm trees in her backyard. But mostly because #2. I’m missing a little bit of Arizona’s 75 degree weather today.

Alright, let’s get in to it. Day 1 of the workshop started with some basics of photography-shooting techniques, back button focus, & compositional elements. We had quite a few attendees that have been in business for 3+ years, so we worked through this part quickly. We moved on to lighting, interacting with clients, posing, & picking shooting locations. Melissa includes her tips for the wedding day, ideal wedding day timeline, and getting to know you questionnaire in the MJ2day workbook. All of which I found SUPER helpful. I learned that you can never have too much communication. I think educating clients beforehand on what to expect from their sessions is key and is something I plan to do more of in 2014.

Next we covered a little bit about post-processing and then off-camera flash. Off-camera flash is not something I have much experience with (on the wedding day), so I found this section to be interesting and something I plan to experiment with in the future. I’m not 100% in love with the look of off-camera flash photos, but I think it’s still something worth looking in to at some point.

We wrapped up the day with a mock engagement shoot. Melissa took us around her neighborhood with a couple who so generously volunteered to model for us. Being the subject for 14 photographers is not an easy task! I don’t know if I’d be up for it!

Throughout the shoot, Melissa would stop & explain to us what she was doing.

oops!! Got distracted by palm trees! 😀

We weren’t so much there to shoot, as to listen, but I still got a few good shots!

I love watching other photographers work and it was really cool to see Melissa in action and then see the final product afterward. Check out her blog post with the finished photos!

After the mock shoot, we wrapped up the day with a group dinner at North. SO Yummy!! Brooke and I were beat after Day 1 and our minds were already whirling!

Day 2 is next, so stay tuned for Part 3 of my MJ2Day Recap!