Guinea Pigs

No, not the animal kind but the human kind. The great friends that agree to subject themselves to your amateur lens and let you use them as photography practice.

I had three photo shoots this weekend. That's right, official photo shoots. Woot! Three families who threw caution to the wind and trusted me with their fall memories to help me learn and build my portfolio.

I'm still editing the first group from Friday evening (and am REALLY bemoaning the slowness of my computer now) but wanted to give you a brief preview of that first session.

I've set up a separate blog just for previews of pics. I'm sure that blog will evolve into more at a later date - or not - but right now this is the new site: www.memories-by-michelle.blogspot.com. Bookmark it! Now! Go on! No pontificating! Thanks :o)

So, how do I feel after my first three sessions? Excited by the possibilities. Humbled by the complexities of the process. More passionate than ever about *this* being what I want to do with my time. And most of all, thankful to those families (and some others to come) who have helped me learn more in one weekend than I ever could have just taking pictures of my own family or taking a class.

Aside from the photography part itself, what I loved was being outside, with people and moving around. I can definitely tell that continued repetition of my running around, flinging myself on the floor, and squatting up-and-down will be a recipe for weight loss success. That is if I don't go to parties right after and eat lasagna, polish hot dogs, and cup cakes. Ahem.

As always, honest feedback on the pics is welcomed here. I can't emphasize enough that I am learning and these shoots are a part of that process. I hope folks like my pictures but I don't for a second intend to pass myself off as a professional photographer yet.

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In closing, one final shout-out to my family - my husband and parents - for jumping in and looking after Daisy so I could jet around taking other families' photos. Thank you! There is absolutely no way I could even think about pursuing my dreams without your help and support. I promise, some day this WILL pay some bills. Love ya!