The Portrait Masters Conference 2019
Every profession has continuing education opportunities for its members. In my other life as a CPA I would dread the boring classes I’d have to attend to renew my license.
Fortunately in my current life as a portrait photographer, I look forward to learning, I LOVE learning. And at The Portrait Masters Conference (TPM) in Phoenix AZ there was so much to learn!
For one thing, I learned that I am ready to photograph more women in the boudoir style, which is a style that emphasizes the body of a woman in a more intimate setting. One that allows her to take off some clothes, as if she were alone in a room. Shortly after returning from the conference in September, I did a boudoir shoot for a client using some of the techniques I had just learned, and it was an extraordinary experience for us both. She loved her images, and bought them all. A win for both of us! I hope to share some of the photos but until then they are for her private enjoyment, and are affirmations of her hotness. Imagine a world where women can take each other higher, just by seeing each other and being seen. This is how I see my role as a photographer of women.
There were 30 shooting bays at TPM where we each had three minutes to shoot a model. It was a bit crazy how fast we had to work, but I got to shoot beautiful people on stunning backdrops, so how hard could it be to get amazing shots! I did notice that I consistently directed the models to look sensual, which again informs where my work is heading. Interesting!
One of the best things about the conference was hanging out with other portrait photographers. And the parties…well, get 500 hundred image makers together and we can have a good time! Thank you to Sue Bryce, who is our greatest inspiration and teacher.