I had a blast photographing our mini sessions last Friday! For anyone unfamiliar with our mini sessions, they are only about 1/4 of our regular sessions in time, lasting only about 15 minutes. With little time to warm up to the camera, we jump into the shoot feet first (literally!). Kids can run around, play and jump on the bed, all while I chase them around trying to capture all of those little expressions in between. High Energy! Mini sessions aren’t for the timid, that’s for sure! Of course last Friday turned out to be the DARKEST day in my studio all year. It was pouring rain outside and the light was terrible. Needless to say my camera settings were a challenge trying to photograph 12 children who were under 3 (hello slow shutter speeds and small fstop numbers)… but I do love a challenge! All of these little ones were absolutely fantastic. Sweet and fun and full of personality! Thanks for such a refreshing day!

Here is just a little glimpse of the fun I had with the G family last week.  They kept me laughing the entire session!  I don’t typically photograph families this large in my teeny studio, but our day turned out to be close to zero degrees with the windchill, so we were all happy to be indoors instead!!  There were so many different combinations that we photographed that I’m only sharing these two little previews so as to not leave anyone out…. or have a mammoth 2 page preview!  The love of this family was certainly a joy to capture.  Enjoy your preview.

Baby I and her family visited the studio last week and they were such a pleasure to capture on camera. “I” was as sweet as she was adorable. Her big brown eyes stole my heart. She was so inquisitive, she looked straight through the lens! She loved crawling and playing and I had fun keeping up. Enjoy your preview!

I love getting to meet clients before their babies are born! K and S will be back with their newborn in a just a few weeks and I loved capturing their excitement during this final stage of pregnancy. K had so many fabulous accessories, I had a field day styling her! You might say I have a slight obsession with white lately, and K gladly obliged me. This girl doesn’t take a bad photo! Enjoy your preview!

M and A visited the studio for their maternity session this week and I had a great time photographing them.  You could tell they were so thrilled to be expecting the arrival their little one in a couple of weeks!  Best wishes in the coming weeks.  I can’t wait to hear your good news!

Hi everyone!  Here by popular demand, we are so thrilled to announce our Online After The Shoot Workshop dates this spring!  This course is online and can be taken from the comfort of your home or office!  No travel arrangements necessary!  For those of you not familiar with our course, here is a little background.

Why offer a course in post-processing?

Many of you know that I was a high school fine art and photography teacher before beginning Heidi Hope Photography.  I’ve always had a passion for teaching, but something was missing, and my creative impulses couldn’t be ignored when I ventured into owning my own business.  In the past few years we have been bombarded by emails and calls from photographers around the world interested in coming to study at our studio.  With flickr and Facebook alone, we are connecting with thousands of photographers all over the world.   Thank you to everyone who has written us.  Even if I haven’t had the time to write you back, each and every email makes me smile and inspires me even more as a photographer!

As more and more emails poured in I began thinking…. Hello! The universe is trying to tell me something! It is clearly time to break out my “teacher voice” and get back to a little bit of mentoring in my life.  Last year we held our in-studio Photoshop workshops and while they were so fulfilling to me, the demand for the convenience of an online version has been overwhelming since.

Who should take this course?

Whether you are a photographer just starting out, own your own studio, or a stay-at-home mom who just loves taking photographs, this course could be for you!  First, this is a photoshop class.  You will see a little background into our studio and my sessions and lighting, but the “meat and potatoes” of this course is learning how to use photoshop to effectively edit and enhance your portraits.

I see so many photographers who take great photographs… who take AMAZING photographs…  and it ends there.  So many photographers have the potential to be even better.  Taking a good picture is only one piece of the puzzle.  This course will not teach you how to take a good picture.  Learning your camera and how to achieve optimal exposure are integral to taking a good photograph, but it doesn’t end there. This course is for people who are ready for taking the next step after the shoot.

Mentoring opportunities are a dime a dozen these days so what makes this opportunity different?

I am a certified teacher with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education.  I learned photography by teaching others, so it is a natural part of my artistic process to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a photograph or artwork and formulate a way to help each individual artist improve.  This course is really designed to take what you are already doing and make it better.  You will also learn how I do things at our studio, my workflow, my post-processing, my design processes, etc.

After the Shoot Online!

A course in Post Processing for Portrait Photographers

What is included?

After The Shoot Online is a 6 hour online webinar that includes videos, demonstrations, handouts and live interaction with me as I lead you through how we do what we do at Heidi Hope!

Course Outline:

Behind the Scenes at the Heidi Hope Studio

• Video tour of our studio space including clips from our sessions
• Our set up for shooting in natural light

Studio Workflow using Adobe Bridge

• How we download, store, and backup our images in various locations
• Sorting and labeling session images

Photoshop for portraiture

• Basic retouching including softening skin and sharpening eyes
• Achieving optimal exposure
• Achieving natural skin tones
• Rescuing problem areas
• Softening and blending backgrounds
• Clipping Masks and Adjustment Layers

Creative photoshop techniques

• Compositing multiple images
• Color popping outdoors
• Using actions to subtly enhance
• Applying textures

Creating and using templates for custom designs

Also Included in the course:

• Down-loadable handouts. One week before the session we will provide you with a link of down-loadable notes to follow along with during my demonstrations.
• Practice time! I feel that practicing the techniques I demonstrate and having time for questions is so important in helping you understand and apply the material we cover.  Built into this course is a 1 hour lunch/practice time as well as follow up question/answer segment at the end of the webinar.
• Live Question and Answer.  Questions can be submitted via instant messenger throughout our webinar!
• 4 of our most popular card layouts from The Kennedy Collection which I will review how to use and edit during the course
• Bonus!  A list of some of my favorites sites and vendors.

Registration

The Course Registration Fee is $500 and due at time of registration.  To register, please visit the link below.  Registration fee is non-refundable but may be transferred to a future date with at least 48 hours notice and a $50 rescheduling fee.

http://www.heidihope.com/pickpic/shop/addproduct.php?productselect=160&type=4

International registrants please call Shaun at 401.864.1919 or email info@heidihope.com and we will provide you with the information to make an international payment.

Spring 2011 Dates

Monday April 4th 10am-4pm Eastern Time

Monday May 9th 10am-4pm Eastern Time

please note that the courses start at 10am EASTERN TIME

What you need:

This course is for Photoshop users only as it is predominately photoshop tutorials.  You should have a computer with photoshop to apply the information learned. You can download a free trial of photoshop here! Course information does not apply to Photoshop Elements.  It is recommended that you own Photoshop version 7 or newer.  If you are new to Photoshop, I recommend taking a Photoshop basics course before our webinar as I demonstrate a vast amount of Photoshop techniques and you may find it hard to keep up if the basics aren’t familiar.  There are thousands of great photoshop tutorials available online.  Here is a great site for getting started with photoshop!

To attend the webinar you must have a computer with internet access.  You probably do if you’re reading this!

Restrictions

To protect our business practices, registrants must live and operate business outside of 100 miles from Warwick Rhode Island 02888.  If registration is submitted for an attendee within our milage limitations, we will gladly refund you.  Thank you for understanding.

Sneak Peak of our Studio Tour!

Now available, click the link below to see our studio shooting space and a brief demonstration of how we photography using natural light.

Behind the scenes of the Heidi Hope Photography Studio

Reviews

“This workshop is seriously awesome!!! I had the privilege to attend the first one she held in september and I learned sooo much! I immediately applied the knowledge to my work that same night on photos from previous sessions- and it was incredible how much it helped them! What she teaches will improve your work like a hundred fold! It’s so awesome to take the knowledge she gives you and run with it to your own style! Thanks Heidi, you rock!”  – Melissa

FAQ

Where is the course held?

I will be broadcasting live from my studio on the course dates.  You can login to the webinar from any computer with internet access.  No travel necessary!

I had to share at least one image of the gorgeous new Backdropseez we received from Bel Scriba, the company who makes our beautiful Baby Plan gift blankets!  This image was taken a few weeks back at our studio.  Doesn’t this little one look perfect on that pink?  I love how soft the Backdropseez was for her to sleep on!  You can find Bel Scriba’s newest product “Photo in a Bucket” on facebook :0)  Happy shopping!

These two little boys were so much fun to photograph. Mom and I actually went to highschool together, but with both our last names changed, I didn’t realize it until she walked in the door! It was fun catching up and meeting her two handsome boys. The session was mainly A’s 6 month portraits, but we got some adorable brother and family shots as well. I can’t wait to show you the rest!

Sweet baby “I” was like photographing a doll.  She had the most perfect little lips and delicate features.  In the photo where she is smiling, I actually want to reach into the picture and hug her.  She is that darling!  What a fun afternoon I had with her and mom.  “I” was the first baby to try out our new spring set as well.  We still have some finishing touches to put on it, but it is so refreshing to photograph some green!  I adore the image of baby “I” curled up on the quilt that was her mothers as well.  That yellow pot has always been a favorite!  Thanks for the fun afternoon mom.  Enjoy your preview!

I don’t know how it is possible, but one year old L gets more adorable every time I see him!  At our last session he really came out of his shell and was quite the ham in front of my camera.  His smile is contagious.  The one-year-old crowd really digs my blocks and L was no exception.  Those blocks are probably the best prop I’ve ever bought!  Couldn’t you just eat him up?!  It was so wonderful seeing you all again P family.  Enjoy your belated preview :0)