In May I was invited by the art teacher of a local high school to do a repeating photography workshop.
I taught and demonstrated to 6+ classes with the help of my wonderful friend and stylist turned model, Shea.
It was one of the hottest days thus far this year complete with full sun and not a whisper of cloud cover.
I loved it!
Getting to teach something that means so much to me, that has changed my life and the lives of those I've photographed, was a dream come true.
I focused on the basics of what I really love about photography, what I feel makes me a unique photographer- Connection, connection, connection.
"Talk to Shea. Tell her what you'd like her to do. Focus on making her feel comfortable and confident," I said, over and over again.
"Oh! I like this! This looks really good!" a bright eyed and surprised student would say as they looked at the image they just created.
"That's awesome!" I said. "Now tell Shea. She needs to hear that, she needs to know. You've got to connect with her."
Much like all the good things in life, being a portrait photographer isn't about me.
It's not about me getting validation and having others make me feel good enough . . .
It's about me knowing I'm good enough to make someone else feel valuable and worthy.
I have found it's like that with all my important callings in this life- sister, wife, mother, friend, neighbor.
Connecting with people, letting them know I value them simply because they showed up, not expecting them to make me feel good, not putting a price on the time I spend with them, but just being thankful they are there and letting them know it.
I believe that matters . . . because that mindset has changed me.
And that's what I wanted to teach.
Because Shea was such a HUGE part of the day, being posed repeatedly for over 6 hours yet still full of encouragement and smiles, here are the few yet beautiful images we created during our demonstrations.
Love,
Melinda
Photography Studio in Athens PA. Serving Athens, Sayre Pennsylvania, Towanda Pennsylvania, Elmira New York, Corning New York, and Twin Tiers area.
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