I stumbled upon this piece in the Huff Post.  It has some great ideas about how to green up your wedding.  Happy GREEN planning!

I wanted to share with you two images I took of the behind the scenes of the Shoot with Beckstead.  Thirty photographers, five models, and window light.  It wasn’t an easy shoot to say the least.  This first image was the very first scene David set up.  I didn’t care for any of the shots I took of it which is why you won’t see any.   The second image shows you David in action.  He’s such a physical photographer, jumping and walking and lying down while shooting. Note his crossed ankles, like he’s hanging out, relaxing.  That shot he set up really did only work best from that angle.  That’s why he’s the instructor and we are all students.

Worried that the start of wedding season was fast approaching and that I might be stuck in a creative rut, I signed up for a workshop with the uber-talented David Beckstead.  He’s well-known throughout the industry as a dynamic and unique photographer.  His Shoot with Beckstead workshops are usually three day events, but his one day stop in Maine was sponsored by the Maine Professional Photographers Association (MPPA).  Not only did I get a seat at the workshop, but I also received membership to the MPPA.  Sweet deal.

It was cold and rainy the day of the shoot.  Definitely not ideal conditions for a model shoot.  We gathered early Friday morning at Russel Caron‘s place in Falmouth, unsure of what to expect from David and from each other.  The room was filled to capacity — thirty photographers and I only knew two — but thankfully the coffee was caffeinated and hot.  David launched a slideshow with a driving techno sound track.  We all watched, toes tapping and eyes wide, amazed by the striking compositions and posing.  The lesson of the day was about going beyond our “safe zone.”  That’s the place where we know how to get the shot that everyone will like, that the bride and groom will frame.  The goal was to create powerful images by paying attention to composition and not just emotion.  To say the anticipation for the hands-on part was growing would be an understatement.

Because of the wet weather, we found ourselves shooting at Fort Andross in Brunswick, ME.  We lunched at Frontier Cafe and then got to work.  David would set up a shot, explain his reason for it, click off a few frames and we would all crowd around his camera to see what he saw.  To see the world through David Beckstead’s eyes…  wow.  Because of the weather and large group, it was a bit of a grueling shoot that went on until almost  7 PM when we all started dropping like flies.  Credit to the models for never losing steam and for holding their poses for what must have seemed like an eternity while the thirty of us tried to get the shot.  I believe David would have continued to find ways to shoot in that space for hours had we all been up for it.  The guy never stops.

Thanks go out to David for coming up to Maine and sharing his talent, skill, and endless enthusiasm with us.  Big shout out to Russ Caron for hosting us all at his awesome studio.  I had a lot of fun meeting everyone and stretching my limits with you all!

Below are some of my images from the day.  Check out this slideshow to see more.