New Year's Resolutions...In Photography Workshops.

Every year I get a little older and wiser...don't you? It's actually quite comforting to know the things you did and regret you can change and improve upon in the years to come. One of the major things I'm learning about myself is how much I love teaching photography. Well, not just teaching but, actually encouraging people to grow in the gift or passion. I've been teaching workshops for the last 2 years and want to do it more this year!

If you've wanted to come to past workshops but couldn't because of scheduling or finances start thinking and planning for the 2010!

Mom FOCUSED Photography Workshops - For mom's with a DSLR wanting to understand their camera and learn to take better pictures of every day life!

FOCUSED Photography Workshops - For amateur photographers wanting to learn about growing their passion into a business.

Advanced FOCUSED Photography Workshops - For anyone who has taken a FOCUSED Photography Workshop in the past and would like to take their photography and business to the next level!

There is a max of 10 registrants accepted for each workshop - I want to make sure I have plenty of one-on-one time with everyone.

I'll have the dates and registration available in the next couple of weeks but, I wanted to give you the heads up on what's coming!

www.noemiphotography.com

WINNER of the Free Registration to the Mom FOCUSED Photography Workshop...

I knew going into this picking one person would be hard but, since I want everyone to come I'm giving a gift to the other women who were nominated...

Meagan Haugeto

Molly Shields

Melissa Gruber

Tonya Welsch

Carrie Miller

Sign up for the workshop and come at the discounted rate of $220.00 instead of $250.00. You're friends and family believe in your gift as a photographer and would love to see you grow in it...so would I! I hope this sways you because the workshop is going to be amazing! There is nothing like getting together with a bunch of women who share a similar passion...we're going to have a blast!

THE WINNER IS...Kerry Bowman!!!!! I was overwhelmed by emails and comments left by friends and family nominating her...No joke, I think I got 25+ emails! I can't wait to have her in the workshop! Here's some of the reasons I received:

• As soon as I heard about the workshop for moms I thought of Kerry and knew that attending would be a dream come true for her!  However, I knew that she wouldn't  be able to afford taking advantage of the opportunity as her family lives on a limited income as Missionaries.
• In the 8 years that I've known Kerry she has always loved photography and capturing the joy of life in people and the wonder of the world around them.  For several years now she has remarked to me about her desire to pursue classes and training in photography but hasn't yet managed to do so as a dedicated and busy mom.
• Kerry's passion for photography has been with her since high school.  She has demonstrated a keen interest in the art of photography over the last 10 - 15 years.  She has dedicated time to various courses and self-study to explore what the world of photography has to offer.
• Kerry quickly becomes accomplished at nearly everything she puts her mind too and photography is no exception.  She has an eye for what will make the frame pop with meaning and I have often commented that her photographs have a professional quality to them.  Her calendars of photographs of little Abigail and the rest of the Bowman / Hunt family are much anticipated each Christmas!
• I'd like to nominate Kerry for the prize of your workshop, Noemi. I guess for me it comes down to a few simple things, the first of which is passion. Kerry’s had a passion for photography for many years now and finally has the opportunity to invest herself in that passion. I have a feeling that the person that you want attending your workshop is the person who is going to fully throw themselves into the creative process and make the most of what they learn. That’s Kerry. And here’s another thing about Kerry…She’s a natural teacher and she passes on to others what the Lord gives her. So, if it’s important to you to multiply your skills and gifting out to others, which I think is probably the point of your workshop, then Kerry’s one who will be a ripple effect, passing on the skills she learns to others.
• Kerry has a caring personality and a giving heart and I know that any time you invest in her will be multiplied in the number of people she in turn shares those skills with.

THANK YOU to everyone who wrote in and nominated there friends! You're email were filled with kindness and love...it was a blessing to me! I love what I do and I love sharing the gift of photography. I'm so looking forward to this fall's workshop! If you haven't signed up yet...now is the time!

www.noemiphotography.com

Mom FOCUSED Photography Workshop

I've loved reading  your nominations. It's so sweet when people take the time out of their busy day to write compliments about a friend. Seriously...I love this stuff. I've received a ton but, I want more! If you've been thinking about nominating a friend - do it now! I'm still taking nomination until the end of the month. AND I must say the more I have sent about one person the more I feel like they deserve to come. You know I'm an American Idol fan and love democracy so, even if you know a friend has been nominated send in your email to sway me further! I am going to chose one mom to come to the Mom FOCUSED Photography Workshop for FREE! I can't wait!

Mom FOCUSED Photography Workshop - CONTEST!

Alright, so, it's been way too long since I did a contest on this blog and I had a great idea last night...why not ask my blog readers to nominate and tell me about a Mom they know who has a passion for photography...Then pick one of those moms to come to the workshop for free! Times are tight but, I figure, people still need to learn about photography! I'm so excited about training moms...why not share my excitement with you? So here's how it's going to work:

1. You (my faithful blog readers) get to sit down and think about who you would like to nominate!

2. Ask them if they're available for the workshop dates and make sure they have a DSLR camera. Here's the dates and times:

Friday Sept 18 - 7pm-9:30pm

Friday Oct 9th - 7pm-9:30pm

Saturday Oct 17th - 9:30am-12pm

3. Go to my Contact page on my website and fill out the form for the person - I'll need their info in order to contact them if they win!

4. Fill out the bottom section of the inquiry form with your reasons of "Why your friend should be the one chosen to come for free to the Mom FOCUSED Photography Workshop"

5. You must get your nomination to me before July 31st at midnight!

The winner will be announced the following week! I'm going to need some time to pour over all the nominations...so that I may chose wisely.

Are you excited? If you are a mom and reading this...call a friend and have them nominate you! Anything goes.

www.noemiphotography.com

FOCUSED Photography Workshop - June 27th, 09

I love teaching about Photography! Five brave women came to Waterville, MN to have their brains filled with Photography...and we had a blast! Here's my girls:

We did two photo shoots during the day to practice what I was preaching...our first client was 6 week old Jack. He did great!

if he grows up to be a firefighter this will be even cooler of a picture!

Gotta love the American Flag!

Our next clients were a lovely family...Logan is 3 and a total ham...we loved capturing them!

I think this kiss caught them both by surprise! Precious.

Thank you to the girls, the Waterville Fire Department for letting us use your building, the families who graciously let me teach while taking pictures and Rachel who made the whole thing happen!

I'm going to post more pictures from the girls tomorrow...stay tuned!

www.noemiphotography.com

FOCUSED Photography Workshops

My primary purpose of setting up and teaching workshops is impart a passion for photography.

Then after that, to help people understand their equipment, the use of light, and posing.

Lastly, to give confidence to people who feel like they are never going to shoot the way they'd like to.

If this describes you then please come to one of my workshops!

I had listed a Mom FOCUSED Photography workshop for this fall and had tons of interest for it! Here's the dates for that: Friday Sept 18 - 7pm-9:30pm, Friday Oct 9th - 7pm-9:30pm, Saturday Oct 17th - 9:30am-12pm. We are still moving forward with the MOM Focused workshop and in addition...

We've set up a one day FOCUSED Photography Workshop. I was asked by a group  if they could have the 3 day course in a ONE DAY INTENSIVE. The difference between this one and other FOCUSED workshops is that I will be traveling to them and teach! So, we set it up for Saturday JUNE 27th, 2009 from 9am-5pm in the beautiful town of Waterville, MN. We are actually going to have it in the Waterville Fire Hall. How cool is that? It's not going to just be moms anymore...it's open to anyone. If you're interested and have that Saturday available. Click the link on the right and register for the ONE DAY Workshop.

Here's our schedule for the day:

9:00-9:30am Meet and Greet & Profile Pictures

9:30-10:45am Teaching (Digital basics, Understanding your camera, Automatic and Manual settings)

10:45-12:30pm Photo Shoots (2-3 depending on time)

12:30-2:00pm Lunch - Question and Answers

2:00-3:00pm Teaching (Focusing, Lighting, Posing and Noemi's Top 5 Shooting Techniques)

3:00-3:30pm Debrief, pick your 15 favorites and upload.

3:30-4:45pm Work on favorites, edit and discuss as a group

4:45-5:00pm Drawing for prizes, Evaluations and wrap-up

I love teaching on Photography and I can't wait to meet this next group of photographers. We're opening the classes to everyone at the group rate $220.00 up to 15 people. Please feel free to email me with any questions.

www.noemiphotography.com

FOCUSED Photography Workshops

I'm not sure what to do. I'm having tons of conversations with women about the Mom FOCUSED Photography Workshop...and I'm cool with that. BUT if you are interested in the three Part series of developing your understanding of photography and your business. These workshops are totally user-friendly and designed to move you forward where ever you are at! Please contact me. If I don't hear from you, I will go with the supply and demand route...if people prefer waiting until the fall and joining the Mom FOCUSED workshop I'm happy with that. I will host each workshop as long as I have 5 or more.

If you want to register but don't know which Workshop is best suited to you just call and talk to me. (952.201.2943)

www.noemiphotography.com

FOCUSED Photography Workshop...Part One, MAY 16th!

First, thank you to everyone that has written me emails asking questions and wanting to register! You will have the ability to register and pay for an individual workshop or all three in the next day or so! I got a great question from a reader that I wanted to answer for everyone:

Hello, I was interested in learning more about your photography workshops.  I noticed that Part 1 is coming up in May.   I have a pretty good understanding of my digital SLR camera, but would really like to take a photography workshop to start practicing and putting my knowledge to use.  Would the Part 1 workshop or Part 2 workshop be more helpful for me.

I also noticed you mention a Mom's Photography workshop and was wondering if I could get more information on this as well.

Thanks!

Okay so, the reason I'm making Part One required is because we will be going over photography and camera basics  AND also practice lighting, posing and working with real clients. The day is packed with teaching, three photo shoots, editing your images, question and answer times. THIS IS ESSENTIAL for anyone building a portfolio and interested in going further in photography as a hobby or a career! Plus, you'll have tons of fun learning alongside your peers.

Part Two is going to be built on Part One. I need to know everyone coming has the same foundation and is ready to go deeper. The same with Part Three...we're going to tackle the business side of things!

The Mom FOCUSED Photography workshop will be different because these are women who want to learn their camera and understand photography so that they can capture their kids doing all the gorgeous things they do daily! There will be range of skills and equipment but I'm going to teach basics and answer tons of questions over the two evening sessions and then, we'll have our final session on a Saturday and practice will real families. I will walk you through the process and you will come out the workshop with more confidence and creative ideas to do it yourself. There will be some overlap but there focus (no pun intended!) will be different.

So,

FOCUSED Photography workshop is for anyone (men and women) building a portfolio and interested in going further in photography as a hobby or a career!

and

Mom FOCUSED Photography Workshops are for women only. Mom's interested in understanding their cameras, lighting, and posing. Plus, getting all their questions answered.

I hope this is helpful. Any other questions? Please send them to info@noemiphotography.com

www.noemiphotography.com

FOCUSED Photography Workshops

I'm so excited for this year's FOCUSED Photography Workshops! Seriously, can not wait to inspire more photographers to go after their dream! Here's a glimpse of what a workshop is like!

SAVE THE DATE! Because their will be a limit of 10 per class.

Saturday, May 16th, 2009.

PART ONE - Learning your camera and building your portfolio.

(this is the same class I featured last November but, I know a bunch I people couldn't come...so we're doing it again)

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

PART TWO - Lighting, Posing, and Understanding Manual…Available for anyone from the first two PART ONE workshops!

October 24th, 2009

PART THREE - we’ll focus on Business strategy, Pricing, Website and more.

I’m really interested in having your feedback on what you’d like to learn about during the workshops. Please comment on this blog so other can see and add to your suggestions. Each workshop is $300 per person or $250 if you come with a friend!

DON'T WORRY I haven't forgotten about the Mom's! We're doing a three part series just for Mom's in the fall! I'm still booking weddings but, will have the dates soon!

www.noemiphotography.com

Mom Photographers

One of my favorite families to photograph is the Grubers and their twin girls! Probably cause they are some of the sweetest people on the earth. We've become friends since I first captured their girls at 6 weeks almost 2 years ago. We do our summer shoot every year and then last year Melissa has this idea to do an extra shoot in the fall for Christmas pictures. Have 6 families come for a 45 minute shoot at the orchard for 1/2 price. $225 plus tax. I'm waiting to see which Saturday won't be a wedding and I'll get it on the blog. The first 6 families will get the discounted price and a slot for the shoot!

Melissa sent me this email last week and I wanted to share her cool photo ideas with you:

Hi Noemi- Thank you so much for you kind words!  I love your blog and enjoy reading it all of the time.  I just started a blog...mostly for the girls, here is the web site: http://mkgrubergirls.blogspot.com/

Yes, I would love to be part be part of the photo shoot in the fall...and the Apple Orchard would be perfect place and the timing would be great.  I love your family pictures from last year at the Orchard...so that would be so much fun.  Thank you for thinking of doing this...I think it will be great!  Hopefully, it will be great for your business too :)

I can't wait to see your photos from Vegas...I read about you forgetting your camera and it made me laugh...I am the same way...worried about so many other things, the one thing I really want to remember I forget and it is typically the camera.  I am working on a 365 day project...taking a picture everyday...there is a link on the side of it on the blog.  I LOVE it!  Now, I just want to get a new camera, which is on my list of things this year...I am hoping by Christmas I can get one.  But, for now I just use my little Canon point and shoot.

I have been thinking about you and was going to email you this picture (see attached).  I just made a new frame from an old window and put all of the pictures from our last shoot with you.  I love how it turned out and wanted to share it with you, since the beautiful pictures are your work.

Also, let me know what dates are open in June for the girl's 2nd year pictures...I can't wait.  I am already looking for outfits! Thanks again for being open to this idea and I hope it is a good one for you and your business.

Talk Soon! Melissa

Conversations with Melissa and other mom's has really caused me to this about hosting a Mom Focused Photography Workshop! Basically over 3 week nights (once every other week - giving time for you to put some things into practice) I'll go through camera basics, photography tips, lighting techniques FOR MOM's...how to find cool spots in your own home and capture your kids through out the year! What do you think? Any interest? I'm thinking about doing it in the fall. I'd love your feedback though.

Thanks again Melissa for sharing your blog and your pictures!

www.noemiphotography.com

Models from FOCUSED PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP...

I can't thank you enough for your flexibility and willingness to do anything for a great shot! Even with tons of cameras pointed in your direction! I know you're all waiting to see more of the pictures that were taken from that day. Here's a few for the Bensons:

Feel like you're looking at JCrew models? I do.

www.noemiphotography.com

FOCUSED Photography Workshops

You heard me set the date for November 1st, then register 6 girls, then plan the day, then rave about it...and post their pictures now I want to show you what I got from the day and talk about next year's dates! I don't know if I said this before but, I loved teaching about photography. I wasn't expecting to LOVE it as much as I did! But now I have the bug and can't wait to do it again.

Here's what I'm going to do...I'm going to give you plenty of notice this time and we're going to have another one day workshop for:

PART ONE - Learning your camera and building your portfolio. That's going to be Saturday May 16th, 2009.

PART TWO - Lighting, Posing, and Understanding Manual on Saturday June 20th, 2009...Available for anyone from the first two PART ONE workshops!

PART THREE - October 24th, 2009 we'll focus on Business strategy, Pricing, Website and more.

I'm really interested in having your feedback on what you'd like to learn about during the workshops. Please comment on this blog so other can see and add to your suggestions.

I'm also open to doing more workshops if these dates don't work for a bunch of people interested. Each workshop is $300 per person or $250 if you come with a friend!

www.noemiphotography.com

Workshop Reviews...

In case you are thinking about coming to the next workshop...listen to what the girls are saying: Noemi -

I had to say once again I had a great time this Saturday!  The information you gave was so helpful and I don't think I said it well enough in my evaluation because after I left and talked to my husband about it, I said "Noemi says" about a zillion times and realized more was stored in my cobwebby brain than I realized!  I got a lot of tips out of your Lightroom review, the posing tips you gave were great (I can't wait for more - I have so much trouble posing people and making them look good), and of course like I mentioned, the discussion on aperture and shutter speed was gold.  I've never had it explained in a truly understandable way before and will be using it constantly now!  I wish we had gotten more time to get through your 5 shooting tips because I was looking forward to "Blurry no more", but the time did fly by fast.  It was great - I am actually interested in seeing how our profile pics came out; do we get to see those at some point too?  Thanks again for holding the workshop and I'll be in attendance for the next one!

Jen

____________________________________________________________________________________

Hey Noemi -

I just wanted to say thank you so much for putting on that workshop yesterday! It helped so incredibly much to be able to be confident in the fact that I can do this stuff!  I'm sure it will show in the work that I do, and I'm very excited for that.

p.s. I'm seriously considering WPPI this year.  Just to let ya know :)

Kendra

__________________________________________________________________________________

Noemi,

Thank you soooo much for putting together the workshop today! It was amazing and I learned so much. I think it was the perfect length, we managed to accomplish everything in the allotted amount of time. If you were going to go into more detail like you said about light etc then more time would be necessary.

What did you think about the topics, length of time spent on it and number of sessions? I personally learned the most from the discussion on aperture and ISO and the shoots were the most helpful. Watching you do it and learning from your techniques were extremely helpful.

Ashley

I'll post the dates of future workshops soon so you can put it on the calendar and plan to be a part of it!

www.noemiphotography.com

FOCUSED Photography Workshop - A great success!

It's been a whirlwind of a weekend but, having my first workshop was a dream come true for me! There were 7 in the end and it truly was the perfect number. We did profile pix to start, teaching on the basics, 3 shoots (family, couple, and bride and groom), picked our fav's, had dinner, and spent the rest of our time going our our images! It went so fast and I think all of slept really well that night cause it was exhausting but, so much fun! I had the girls fill out evaluations (I'm still waiting on a couple...hint, hint) and the feedback so far has been totally helpful. I decided I'm going to do this exact workshop (PART 1 of 3) again in the spring and then follow with Part 2 and offer it to both groups! Part two will have to be longer...and it will focus on "Lighting, Creativity and Posing! THEN, are you ready for this?...Part 3 will be about "Your identity in Business - Branding."

I loved leading these girls and inspiring them in photography! I learned a ton from them and I know I have to do more workshops! So, I will.

Here's some of their images from the day:

Didn't they do amazing?

I'm so proud of you girls! Can't wait to see everyone at our reunion next year...Part 2 baby!

www.noemiphotography.com

FOCUSED Photography Workshop Update

We are filling up! I was excited for the possibility of 5 and we already have 8...with 2 more possibles! I'm closing the workshop at 10 so we can keep the small group feel! I am soooo blessed...to be hosting this workshop! Seriously, I'm excited.

If you have any suggestions or questions please email or call!

P.S. Isn't the workshop logo great? If you're looking for someone to help you with logos, branding, website site organizing and design I have the perfect person, Rachel Greenhouse. She has helped me in so many ways. She was the one who first talked to me about blogging :), she's encouraged me every step of the way and she designed my NoemiPhotography logo too. If you're wanting someone to help you in the beginning stages...she's your woman! Tell her I sent you...it'll make her smile!

www.noemiphotography.com

FOCUSED Photography Workshop - Part 1

We have passed the minimum 5 registrations and so I am moving forward and planning the first FOCUSED Photography Workshop by NoemiPhotography! I can not tell you how excited I am. The women that have signed up are in for one sweet ride!

DATE: November 1st, 2008

TIME: 1-9pm

OUTLINE:

• meet & greet. enjoy chatting over cider, tea or coffee and yummy treats.
• “digital basics”. what is a jpeg and how to edit, print and save them!
• “your camera”. together we explore the functions and menu options of your camera.
• “blurry no more”.  master your focusing and get sharp, clear images from now on.
• "shoots". you are going to get hands on and learn from each other.
• “q&a”. ask your questions and get answers that help eliminate your most common problems.
• "sharing". take a look at the best from the day and share ideas for the future.
• Noemi’s top 5 shooting techniques.

If you're reading this and thinking I would totally love to be a part of that day...it's not too late. Email me and I'll send you a registration form! I can take a couple more people but I'm not going any higher then 10 so I can have tons of one on one time with every person who comes.

Seriously, I can barely contain myself. I'm glad it's only a couple weeks away!

www.noemiphotography.com

FOCUSED Photography Workshop

I wrote a couple of days ago about a Photography workshop I want to do on Saturday, November 1st...I've had 2 people say they are coming but need a few more budding photographers to book the day. If you're interested and haven't gotten in touch with me yet please write soon. I'll be making a decision in the next couple of days.

I've had tons of ideas for locations for shoots and can't wait to have it confirmed so I can plan more! It's going to be a great day of learning. We're going to talk about light, working with your camera, posing people, fixing pictures afterwards...and so much more! You're going to get to do a couple of shoots and be able to use the pictures for your portfolio! You will be a better photographer because you came!

Hope to hear from you soon!

www.noemiphotography.com

Photography Workshop

A few months ago I talked about setting up a workshop with a couple of photographers in the cities. I had a bunch of you respond saying you'd love to do it. And then I canceled because I was having a baby and it was too much! But, since then I've had a couple of you continue to ask about getting together in a teaching format to learn about your cameras and how to become better photographers. So, I'm going to put it out there one more time. No promos, nothing fancy just and afternoon of shooting and an evening of debriefing at my house. My goal is simple...to make it a great learning environment and give you simple photography keys that will effect every photo shoot you do from this point on.

This workshop will be the first of many FOCUSED workshops with NoemiPhotography. I love teaching and mentoring people who are passion about photography. So, that's the only requirement for those who sign up. You don't have to be a professional, amateur pro or even amateur photographer...just come if you love photography and want to grow in the craft! You will receive one on one attention and direction.

Because the cold weather is approaching it has to be soon. I have weddings the whole month of October so, it's going to be Saturday, November 1st, 2008. We'll start at 1pm...I get two groups of models at two different locations. We'll meet for an hour or so to set the stage, shoot,  debrief, then shoot, have dinner and debrief and teaching again. It'll be intense but, tons of fun!

If I have 5 or more people then I'll do it. It'll be $300.00 per person and if you refer someone you can both come for $250.00.

I know this is last minute and a little crazy but, I'm up for it if you're up for it! Email me right away if you're interested and I'll need to have registrations and payment by October 24th, 2008.

Whew. I'm excited to see what happens.

www.noemiphotography.com

Focused Photography Workshops

I need to update you on this. A couple of months ago I asked who would be interested in coming to a workshop where you'd learn basics to advanced photography techniques and be able to participate in real photo shoots...I had about 15 people write me and say they were interested. I got really excited and started planning. (I have the coolest logo designed and everything) I got together with a couple studios I really respect and it looked like we could pull it together in a short amount of time. But, unfortunately, after much discussion we've decided to postpone the workshop. With me just having a baby and the rest of us getting into wedding season, time was against us. So, we're not having the workshop in June but, you better believe that I will be planning a workshop in the near future. There's something about blessing other people with the knowledge of photography...I know I get to encourage you through my blog but, I can't wait for the day that we'll get to do it in person! Thank you to everyone interested...keep reading and I'll let you know way in advance when I start planning the next workshop.

www.noemiphotography.com

Update on the Workshop!

I am so excited about this!!! Seriously, it's a dream come true for me. Anyone who reads my blog regularly knows I love answering photography questions and helping people pursue their passion! So now, I'm going to get to do that in person for 2 days! YEAH! I met with 3 other Photography studios a couple of nights ago and we nailed down the BIG PICTURE of the workshop we'll be doing this summer!

HERE's the main info but of course, there will be tons more coming. Think of this as a "Save the Date" for those of you interested in coming!

It's going to be held JUNE 19-20th, 2008 (Thursday and Friday) AND I CAN'T WAIT! We're capping attendance at 30 people and it's first come first serve. We're working on getting up a website where you'll be able to pay the registration fee $750 through paypal. Start saving...you don't want to miss this!

CHECK OUT THE INCREDIBLE TALENT OF THE PHOTOGRAPHERS YOU'LL BE LEARNING FROM!

Erin Johnson http://www.erinjohnsonphoto.com/

Jason and Stacey Thon http://www.stajastudios.com/

Kristi Kienholz and Tasha Herrgott http://www.dolcestudios.com/

I can't wait to meet some of the people who read this blog! I promise these two days will inspire and challenge you but, don't think it's over your head cause their will be 6 professional photographers there to answer all your questions!

If you have questions please email me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! I hope you are as excited about this as I am...I know lives will be changed!

www.noemiphotography.com