One of the best things about the People Pictures class I taught at Virginia MOCA was the fact that it was so diverse! The activities we did (like assigning a season and color pallet to describe our photography) and the topics we covered (everything from unique self-portraits to freezing a moment in time), there was always something new to bend our photography brain muscle and help stretch the students outside their comfort zone!
I feel like one of the most important things we can do as photographers is getting our camera’s out and learning from each other. I really do love going out with other photographers, with us all photographing the same thing, and seeing how other people would photograph the same thing I am seeing. Seeing their spin on it.

I was so happy to be able to have Tiana, of Truly Ty, come and help me during one of our classes. The exercise for that afternoon was to see how another photographer works during a photo shoot, how they interact with the client, what their mood was like, etc. And once she had photographed all the students, we chatted about her style and how all around awesome she was!

One of the biggest things everyone commented on was how comfortable Tiana was behind the camera. She wasn’t stressed, or worried about her settings, or nervous… she was relaxed and enjoyed the experience.
I think that when you are new to photography (or new to learning your camera settings), it is all too easy to get wrapped up in the technical side of the photo shoot, and not really be present. This can leave the person you are photographing feeling disconnected, and can ultimately create pictures that are somewhat lacking.
I know it’s hard, but the next time you pull out your camera, relax! You got this!
Take a chill pill and enjoy the experience!
Talk to your subject, ask them about their day, make them laugh… your photos will have such a spark!

Tiana, thank you SO MUCH for taking time away from your work to come and spend time with us! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, sweet and caring person such as you in my life <3