~ random with a pattern ~: Me Ra Koh Photography Workshop in DC ~ Indoor Natural Light

Last year, a friend of mine told me about a photography workshop that changed her life. That kind of statement makes you stop and think for minute. After listening and seeing her face light up when she talked about the Me Ra Koh Confidence workshop she attended I thought I'd like attend.

I recently returned from my Me Ra Koh Confidence Workshop in Washington, D.C. with some new found confidence, much improved photography skills and a sense of awe at the power of photography.

My goal at the workshop was to improve my photography for family photos, my jewelry business and blog. Many of the participants attended to gain confidence to start a photography business. There was a lot of talent in that workshop and I am excited to follow Me Ra and my classmates' careers. Me Ra is a contributor to the new Nate Berkus Show on NBC. You can learn from her as well!

The first day, we had an opportunity to work with mom and baby models indoors and in poor light. Nothing like a challenge out of the box. Look at this cute baby and beautiful mom I had the opportunity to work with. He was so social and active. My skills were better matched to a sleepy newborn, but I would not have learned as much. He loved all the attention and women cooing at him when they took his photos.

Our assignment in Manual Mode was to use natural light from the windows. No flash. As a new photographer, I had to concentrate really hard and juggle the concepts of ISO, shutter speed and aperture. This little guy was so active that most of my photos were blurred until I found the correct balance of these three settings.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the shoot.