I’m digging into the May archives for this one, but the trip was too spectacular not to share.  I had an in-person workshop with Stephanie from Lemmonmade Photography, and we convened with several amazing and talented women for a retreat in Nag’s Head, North Carolina.  Our beach house was totally cool, and we had a bunch of yummy food, wine, laughs (lots of them!), and our cameras and laptops of course!  What better way to learn and to grow than at a glorious beach house just steps away from a beach we had largely to ourselves???  Being early May, it was a little chilly, but our adorable models braved the cold and wind and gave us all a load of awesome pictures to take home with us.

The first night couple of nights we got there, we couldn’t help but go out and shoot a little bit (scouting, right?), and the stormy sky and wind made for some real fun. My beautiful assistant’s daughter was one of our models, so naturally I dragged my assistant out to be in some images with her daughter. <3

The next morning, prior to the start of the workshop, I woke to this:

Yes, please.

We started the workshop with an evening shoot titled “Message in a Bottle”

The next day, we had a blast having a “50’s beach party” with our three spunky, up-for-anything subjects, and they put up with the cold with their anticipation of a dip in the jacuzzi after the shoot. 🙂

The last day was optional.  The girls who stayed came along with me and we went to the amazing sand dunes for some fun in the full sun.

And, lastly, we took turns taking head shots of each other on the beach.  You never realize how awkward your subjects can feel in front of the camera until you’re the subject!

And because the models have the most fun when they think they’re all done with pictures…