Wouldn’t it be great if you could make your clients look thinner just by altering their pose?

Wouldn’t it be great if you could shave off 10-15 lbs by doing this little adjustment here or there?

Wouldn’t it be great if you did not have to perform cyber-liposuction in Photoshop?  (Sadly, there have been many causalities slimming clients this way).

Well, you CAN make your clients look thinner without ever going ‘under the mouse.’  lol.  Bad puns are funny!

Introducing, PLUS SIZE POSING: 7 TIPS FOR GREAT POSES.

We took our best plus size posing tips for women and put them into a companion guide for use alongside the BASIC BRIDAL POSES: 8 STEPS TO POSING A BRIDE.  This companion ebook is just that - it is an instant, downloadable, printable, reference resource for photographers who want to learn posing tips for plus size (size 14+) brides and women.

This little ebook is jam packed with tips.  We broke it down into 7 easy steps for plus size bridal posing.   It was supposed to be small, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t skip anything, so it ended up being 30-pages with illustrations and a notes section at the end of the ebook.

In this photography resource guide you will learn:

• The best poses for plus size brides
• Tips & Tricks to visually thin your clients
• How to make them look good
• The best angles for certain figures
• Using their curves to enhance their figure
• Poses to avoid with certain figures
• Create your own poses using these 7 principles
• And never get stuck figuring out a pose again
• Why a plus size pose works
• How to repeat it in the future
• The deadly angles before your shoot
• Plus more!

This companion guide can be used in conjunction with BASIC BRIDAL POSES.  That means that this resource is best utilized WITH the other bridal posing guide.  And again, it tells you the principles of how and why a pose works so that you can create your own poses later.  And in case you aren’t feeling the creative vibe, there are illustrations to help you get started.

One thing that totally irked me when I first started shooting was stumbling across a pose that worked great, and realizing that I only used it once during the session.  It wasn’t until later that I realized why the pose worked so well and made the client look so good.  Taking these 7 principles and applying them to your portrait poses or wedding day photography makes posing really easy.  You won’t be kicking yourself for not seeing a great pose sooner.

Get the guide.  Read it over and over - at least 4 times.  Then go out and practice.  Practice the 7 tips.  After the 3rd time you’ve used the tips, many people have committed them to memory and their work has improved by leaps and bounds.  I got to see the difference in one of my latest workshops.

I have a great student who has attended several of our workshops.  She has shot models and been working on poses for a while now.  She has showed steady progression after each workshop.  No thrilling story - yet.

This student bought the BASIC BRIDAL POSES ebook and studied it before the last workshop.  She had it at the class with her.  When I saw her images after the workshop, I was floored.  Her posing skills improved 2x-3x faster than expected!  When I asked her what caused that - she said it was the ebook.  Being able to read about it AND do it makes a huge difference to many people.  And it was totally obvious in her work.  Awesome photographer!  I love that story!

You can download the e-book right after you pay.  No waiting.  Instant gratification!

An e-book is also called an electronic book.  You can download it to your computer and print it out.  You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader as the e-book is a pdf.  This program is installed in most computers.  We do recommend printing your e-book so you can keep it around as a reference tool.

This guide is reduced for those who are attending workshops this summer.  Reg. price will resume after the summer workshops are completed.

Reg. Price $49.99

Now available only as part of Belle’s Complete Posing Set.  Click Here for more info!

$99 TWILIGHT WEDDING

PHOTOGRAPHY SHOOT OUT

AUGUST 1st, 2009

Dunvegan Keep, Austin Texas

Attention photographers!  Belle’s Photography in conjunction with MPIX and Kubota Imagine Tools announces the coolest wedding photography shoot out in Texas ever!  Oh, heck, it’s the coolest no matter where you live!

On August 1, 2009 we have rented a real Austin wedding venue - Dunvegan Keep!  This is my favorite place (dare I say it) in the whole country to shoot at.  We have shot in Time Square, to Florida cities, to the backwoods of Mississippi, and all over Texas and this is my favorite location to shoot.

Why?  Because it is so cram packed full of great shooting areas.  The location is dripping with details: antiques, columns, copper, fine woods, paintings, sculptures, gardens, stained glass, water features, ponds, pools, OMG!  It just keeps going!  The coolest part of all - the place is themed.  It is like a medieval place.  It’s so romantic, full of color, and just dripping with possibilites.

If you have been wanting to practice some new ideas, play with off camera lighting, or just get used to shooting wedding gowns in general - this is SO the event for you!  After speaking with the owner after our last workshop, he mentioned how stunning the place looks after night fall.  He has Egyptian lanterns hanging in trees, candles and candelabras all over, and it makes for a breathtaking scene.

So guess, what?  This event is going to be at night!  You bet ya!  Well start shooting at twilight and keep shooting until after dark.  I am sooooo excited about this event!  I can’t even begin to use enough !!!! to tell you how cool this is going to be!

So the skinny - what do you get for your $99? You get access to the grounds for the entire length of the workshop.  Come for the whole time, or part.  We will have multiple female models (ratio will be 6:1).  Our ratios are usually better than that, but I have to throw a number out there.  Keep in mind that there always seems to be some models with less people around.  Photogs seem to shoot in swarms.  hee hee.  You also get a couple of guys in tuxes for some couples shots.  Designer wedding gowns are provided for all the models by Belle’s.  These aren’t Salvation Army Wedding gowns.  They are current styles!  Retail on the gowns we typically bring out are between $500 - $2000.  Your entry fee also covers cleaning of the gowns after the event.  We’ll have hair and make up done so it looks great.  And we will have one gown that is able to go for a swim during the shoot.  Kubota Imaging Tools has offered several $100 in fab door prizes.  And our buddies at MPIX are awesome, as always, offering the coolest door prizes ever!

How will the photography shoot out be set up? This location has lots of great little nooks, speerate buildings, and areas.  We are going to set 1 model in each nook/ location on site.  6-8 people can shoot 1 model at the same time without falling on each other.  There will be Belle’s staff onsite to make sure everyone utilizes all the models and doesn’t over crowd any one area.

Why do we do this? Easy - you’ll get better stuff.  And like I said, people tend to move in groups.  In this case it’s to your advantage to move away from the group.  Find a model with 1 photog and you guys can have a ball.  Help each other with reflectors or lights.  It’s awesome!  If you really want to shoot someone and there are already 8 photogs there, just hang back and wait til one leaves, then swoop in.  I would suggest rotating through the areas starting to the left and the back, since most people turn right and start at the front.

The ebook BRIDAL BASICS - 8 STEPS TO POSING A BRIDE is still on sale for those attending this event.  You save $40.  Pretty, good, right?  Anyway, I noticed those who had the ebook at the last workshop made drastic improvements in a very short time in their posing.  It also affected their composition because posing and composition are somewhat intertwined.  If you have $29.99 - get it, read it.  You’ll be glad you did.  Instant gratification is nice!

This is a shoot out, not a workshop.  That means there is no official instruction; it’s 100% shooting.  And I want to make it totally clear that newBs and hobby photographers are welcome!  Of course, we love chatting with the seasoned pros too.  The photos of the place were taken during the day.  Shooting at night is going to be awesome, challenging, and fun!  I hope we’ll see lots of old faces and get to meet some new ones!

OK, if I forgot anything else that you need to know for this gig, email me.

Date: August 1, 2009

Location: Dunvegan Keep, 12504 Black Mesa Cove, Austin, TX 78739

Time: 7pm-10:30pm (yep - it’s at night)

Event Type: Shoot Out

Belle’s Staff: Mike & Holly

Investment: $149 per person!

Discounted Price: Only $99 - early bird registration (Reg price resumes July 26)

Registration: CLICK HERE to register now!

We had a great time with everyone who came out to the Austin Photography Workshop yesterday!  We had a ton of models.  The ratio was around 2:1 (2 photogs per model), which was great!  I saw a few of you sneak off to borrow a model and take some shots.  I hope you’ll share on Texas Photo Forum or MPIX’s forum.  That location offers a LOT of diversity all cram packed into a one space.  Very cool.  Thanks to Craig Turner for having us!  His grounds are always breathtakingly beautiful!

Here are a few snap shots I took of the class during the day.  Since we had a bunch of newB’s I just want to clarify - a snap shot is a shot that was not thoughtfully composed, posed, lit, or executed.  Its what it is - a snap shot of a moment in time.  I can post a couple of the portraits I took of the models in a little bit.  Those look quite different…as you can imagine.  ;o)

Some more shots from the photo workshop…

A couple more…

And I want to say thanks to our models.  You guys were troopers!  (It was a really warm day to be out in the sun in formal clothing so long).

And Caroline, you were a good sport offering to trash a dress by jumping in the pool!

Make sure you pick up the 8 Steps To Posing A Bride ebook!

It has been discounted about $40 for those who took the class.  (Reg. price will resume shortly).  It has detailed explanations of the posing stuff we talked about at the workshop.  You can print it out and keep it as a reference tool.  The feedback we have gotten on the bridal posing guide/ ebook has been excellent.  Its simple, straight forward, and illustrated.  It makes posing EASY.

We talked a little bit about the difference b/t a good pose and a good composition.  There is a composition tutorial on our Belle’s Photography Blog over here.

Here is a portrait of Jacob…

Remember how we talked about posing guys vs girls?  Angluar strong poses comminicate power, status, and hell, he just looks good, right?  The ligthing is dramatic, broad lighting, with a serious pose and all those combonations make for a really intense portrait.

More to come…

Here is the info that went out in the email. It is duplicate, so dont flip out if you didnt get the email. Everyone was added to the email newsletter list who signed up for the workshop. The email was sent to the email account you have set up with paypal. It said the stuff below and reminded you that the 8 steps to posing a bride ebook would be a good read b4 the workshop.

INFO: If you haven’t been to this location before, please note. It is a private residence. It does NOT look like a castle from the front. Totally surprising if you haven’t been there before. The house is in a cul-de-sac and looks like a normal house. You can check it out on google maps and see the street view. There isnt much to see from the front.

PARKING - There is NOT on site parking. There will be a shuttle going back and forth b/t the location and the elem. school that is down the road. Just pass the house and drive down Lost Oasis until you can see the school (see link below). We have permission to park in their parking lot.

Please arrive @ 12:45pm. A shuttle will bring everyone over. Do NOT be more than 5 minutes late! You’ll miss the last shuttle and have to walk.

If anyone has a handicapped permit and needs to park onsite, please let me know.

Here is a link so you can see where the school is. Even I found it and I cant find anything.  Its the only large building there.

If you are attending and have any questions, please email ASAP. Please check your directions prior to leaving. I’m not from Austin, so I’m not much help if you get totally lost.

Should I bring…? Bring what ever you have! Camera bodies, lenses (especially wide angle ones), flashes, reflectors, tri/ mono pods, and anything you think you may use. We will be shooting inside and outside. We are on whether we have rain or shine.

There are several different models lined up! It’s looking like it is going to be a great day!