One of the major advantages of being at an international convention, surrounded by a multitude of talented photographers from all over the world, is that you have this terrific opportunity to line up a shoot, update the headshots, and get some real experience on the other side of the lens. Which, as any good shooter knows, goes a long way towards bettering you as an overall photographer. I had a terrific opportunity to do just that when I met up with Sue Bryce, an Australian-based shooter (originally from New Zealand) who I'd met socially. I saw some of her work and loved the way she worked with light. She has a strong eye for shooting and a strong eye for editing - it means something when a subject has been touched up but you can still see pores, scars, laugh lines - well, you know, the real person. I got to see a few of her images out of camera while we were shooting, and I have to say that I'm a big fan of doing such fantastic things with hair, makeup, lighting & style of shooting that editing is a lovely, soft enhancement. She works efficiently, too - I think we did all prep and shooting in under 45 minutes. Sue tells me that she has to work her clients to their car - they just keep wanting to stay there with her and feel beautiful. Yeah, I can understand. I promised I'd show the rest of the shoot when I posted my new avatar on facebook and twitter, and several (quite) determined friends have followed up accordingly to ask where the heck the photos were already ;) The truth is that I was a shy to show a couple of these, not because I don't think they are seriously quality photography (I know they're seriously quality photography) but mostly because I'm used to seeing myself racing after children and couples most of the time - and when I'm coaxing women to show more facets of their personality, I'm safely behind the lens: the easy part. In the end, though, I realized that I couldn't quite ask my clients to open up and show me more side of themselves if I'm too chicken to do so. Plus, now I have a great response when I show women lovely photographs of themselves, and they say ... I don't know, I love it, but ... would you want a photograph of just you? Thanks, Sue, for making the shoot so easy for me, at least, and so much fun. I'm excited to take back some of what I learned from you to my own clients - and I'm already getting prepared for our next shoot when I get back to Australia in early 2011!

WPPI 2010 was a truly phenomenal experience - with estimates ranging from 12,000 to 16,000 photographers trekking out to Las Vegas (anybody know what the final number was??), it was quite a show, and I was grateful to be any part of it. Speaking to over a thousand looked-so-beautiful-to-me photographers at my platform speech was a serious honor. Was blown away by the great energy in that (wow, large) room :) Before WPPI officially kicked off, though, I partnered with Audrey Woulard to conduct a shooting clinic at the MGM Grand. We were lucky enough to keep company with some lovely child models who were great fun to chase / stalk around the hotel. I'm always so impressed with how quickly photographers return from workshops and send out messages, leave facebook posts or write wonderful blog posts about their experiences, complete with the great images they got of the models. A big thanks to Jennifer Otchy Photography, Aneca Photography, Color Me Jill Photography, Ashley Tyler Photography. and Nikki P. Photography for their lovely feedback about it ... I could go on, but this is getting a bit link-nutty ;) I'll be announcing details very shortly for a new one-day workshop in my studio in North Carolina on Monday, August 16th. If you're interested, feel free to contact the studio to get on an interest list :) Some fun images from the workshop ... (and another big thank you to Buckeye Color Lab for being the major sponsor!)

Showcasing how slight adjustments within seconds can change the look & feel of an image...

adorable good-sport photographers :)

shot against a wide open window...

another peak at photographers ;)

an exercise in working with extremely bad lighting - how to get creative with minor additional lighting, especially when working with the cutest little smiles...

Such thanks to all the kids & parents who brought their great energy to the workshop ... and, um, sorry again about that boudoir shoot that started up right next to the kids while they were waiting for us to start shooting - quite unexpected, I assure you ;)

A huge thanks to Crash Taylor for a very fun interview. Crash is an exceptionally talented England-based photographer who has interviewed some exceptionally intriguing people ... and then, recently, lowered his standards a bit (sweet soul) and interviewed me...

You can check out the rest of the interview here. A special thanks to Australian-based Sue Bryce for the new headshot - she also photographed a few other lovely images while we were in Las Vegas, which I'll post next :)

I am at the 2010 WPPI Convention (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) in Las Vegas right now, getting a chance to meet up with about 12,000 photographers from around the world. I just (about 30 minutes ago!) wrapped up the Audrey & Tamara Workshop, taught alongside Audrey Woulard. We had a chance to meet a great group of photographers who came in from all kinds of different cities. Not just the U.S. but Canada, Spain and ... hmm, forgetting one ... A really big thanks to Buckeye Color Lab for sponsoring our workshop and setting us up with the great location in the MGM Grand. I so appreciate everyone who made such an effort to attend the workshop and traipsed all around the hotel, inside & out, while we tracked our little models. I actually shot this beautiful little girl during one of the shooting clinics today. How sweet is she??

I've had some questions about where I'll be this week. Saturday & Sunday, March 6th & 7th, I'll be judging the WPPI 16x20 International Print Competition as a portrait panel judge. There are thousands of 16x20 matted prints sent in from all over the world (photographers from over 25 countries have entered!), so judging is a very specific and tedious job - but also pretty amazing, too. If you are one of the photographers in Las Vegas this weekend, try to come by and watch some of the judging. It's a phenomenal learning experience. On Monday, March 8th, I'll be speaking at The Photographer's Toolkit Booth (booth 1247) at 2pm. I'll be speaking alongside some other great photographers, including my wonderful & talented friends John Mireles, Dave Quin, Greb Gibson, and Marcus Bell. On Tuesday, March 9th at 8am is my Platform Presentation, in room 319-320. My topic is Controlled Spontaneity: Inside Contemporary Children's Photography. I'll be delivering a bunch of new content and showing some behind-the-scenes footage of some of my shoots. Buckeye Color Lab will be offering a promotion of some deep discounts at the class and look for Simply Canvas to be doing another huge giveaway during my program. At Imaging USA, I was able to give away about $10,000 worth of goodies during my presentation, including a $5,000 studio makeover from Simply Canvas. This time around, the giveaways will be even bigger. Specifically, $15,000 worth of product. Kinda amazed, to be honest, but you'll have to be present to win ;) On Wednesday, March 10th at 10am, I'll be doing an interview with my impressive friend Dane Sanders for his AskDane program at the New Media Booth (#1477) on the Expo Floor. I'm really looking forward to that :) On Wednesday, March 10th at 11am, I'll be speaking at the Kubota Image Tools Booth (#1719), showcasing the new release of the Tamara Lackey Style Book, the first of the Kubota Artist Series. Cannot wait to see the final product! And, along the way, there are quite a number of appointments, meetings, award banquets and evening receptions/parties ... basically, a very packed week. And a pretty exhilarating one, too. Hope to see you here :)