out of my comfort zone...

So about two weeks ago I attended and taught at Click Away here in Salt Lake City. I enjoyed myself more than I even imagined I would. One of my jobs there was to do a live shooting demo for a very small group of ladies. Kirsty Larmour's cute, funny, smart, and well traveled girls were my models (lucky me). I was thrilled to meet Kirsty as I have admired her and her work for a long time. I will say that this particular shoot was OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE in pretty much every way possible. I'll list the reasons why: 1. It was at 3:30 in the afternoon. YIKES. For a photographer who is very inspired by light, this is tough. I mean I shoot my own kids in full sun all the time but I NEVER schedule clients this time of day.

2. We were shooting in a urban setting. I generally shoot in more rural, wide open spaces. I do this because I don't live in the city and because I like kids to be able to roam and play a bit. On this shoot we were constantly dodging cars in parking lots. For me that makes it hard to relax.

3. I was trying to connect with these gorgeous girls and do what I normally do during a shoot but I had a group of fabulous photographers watching me. It was HARD to connect with my subjects while trying to explain what I was doing and seeing....and when I say hard I mean really, really hard.

In the end though I am happy with my results. I always tell myself that all light is not equal but you can take a cool picture in any kind of light...and I feel like I proved my own point to myself with these images...

© Summer Murdock Photography
© Summer Murdock Photography Salt Lake City Photographer | Shooting in mid-day

I also always tell myself that if something scares me, it's probably a sign I need to do it and I'll learn something from it.  This shoot was no exception. I pushed through all kinds of fears this particular weekend at Click Away...and laughed so hard I snorted but maybe I should leave that for another post.