A couple of weeks ago my dreams came true! I was so lucky to attend The Northern Portrait and Newborn Expo at The Norbreck Castle Hotel in Blackpool. This was a photography convention which included a huge hall with various vendors stalls. They had a wide variety of gorgeous props, clothing, accessories, backdrops etc to suite every style. There were also various Pro labs showcasing their printed products for us photographers to offer to our clients. There was also a live stage with various talks on throughout the two days.
Here are some of the gorgeous new items I purchased whilst I was there. From various vendors including:
http://www.babyprops.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/petitehatss/ https://www.etsy.com/uk/people/minnieandmorgan https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LulabellasKnits?ref=l2-shopheader-name
As well as the goings on in the main hall there was various training and workshops from some of the top photographers in the industry.
Ana Brandt has to be my all time favourite photographer for her newborn and maternity work. I remember the first time I typed 'newborn photography' into YouTube and one of her many videos came up, I instantly felt a connection and I knew this was what I wanted to specialise in and I wanted to create beautiful images for parents to cherish.
When I heard Ana was coming to the UK and teaching at the Expo I cant begin to explain how excited I was. I never believed I would get the chance to train with her, especially after only 2 years of me being in business. So as soon as the spaces were on sale for her newborn workshop I purchased my spot without a second thought.
Our newborn model was 9 day old Oria, such a sweet little one who was a dream :)
We learnt both natural light and studio lighting, which was great to have some variety and learn some new skills.
Ana also ran a maternity workshop on the second day, and I still can't believe this, but there was a competition ran by the organisers of the expo to win a Free place on the workshop, and I won it! I honestly never win anything (other than talc and teddies on tombolas!) So not only had I met Ana and trained in the art of newborn photography, I was now up for day two of maternity!
Our model was the lovely Anna and she was amazing! So patient with us all posing her over and over again, she never complained once and as you can see she looks absolutely stunning!
She also brought her daughter along too who was so cute and a credit to her Mummy and (very patient!) Daddy!
She held out through the entire day and her little giggle and cheeky smiles were just adorable!
This time we used two types of studio lighting including backlighting. I am looking forward to practicing this new lighting technique in my studio and offering it to clients in the near future :)
I also met a great group of fellow photographers, we had such a laugh on both days and so much fun! Here is Ana checking my image is up to standard! (no pressure then! haha!)
Watching Ana work, meeting her and just being in her presence was so inspiring. Ana has been a newborn photographer for over 17 years, she knows her stuff! Listening to her talk about her story was so special and so motivational.
So I would like to say a huge thank you to Ana Brandt for coming all the way from California to share her knowledge, skills and story with us :)
I would also like to thank Kelly Sinclair and everyone else involved in making this a reality! Well done! :)
I am not quite sure how I will top this experience now, but I know that I now feel more confident, excited, passionate and more determined than ever to push myself and my little business forward so I can follow my dreams! Doing a job I love, fitting it around my amazing family, providing gorgeous images for my wonderful clients, building positive relationships within my business, making friends and making people smile :)
Thank you for reading! I would love to hear your comments below, and also please feel free to share :)
Nikita xx
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