Last weekend I attended Justine Russo’s ‘Engagement Shoot Walk-Through’ Workshop. I am always up for continued learning, and it is a great feeling to dust off the camera in the slow season to keep that creativity flowing. The workshop was a combination of business/personal brand coaching, tips for meaningful ‘engagement’ (see what I did there 🙂 ) with your couples during meetings and photo shoots, ending with a photo shoot and some good old net-working with other creatives.

Also attending were other photographers from the Fraser Valley who are various stages of their photography businesses… each and everyone of them very down to earth and very definitely talented. After the coaching session we headed to a nearby park to shoot a couples session. One of the harder things during photo sessions is truly getting couples to feel relaxed enough to have fun, be romantic and show true emotion. Justine gave us tips on that and how she gets her fantastic ring shots.

I attempted to bring as little gear as possible to force myself to use what I had, but I totally caved and brought four lenses. I did settle on my 85mm (I think it will be named as my desert island lens!) and since it was a workshop rather than my own shoot, I decided to push the limits of that lens. I shot wiiide open (f1.4) and I kind of think I love it! I am feeling very fired up and can’t wait for my engagement season to start up in just a few weeks! Thanks Justine!