Highlights of 2019 - Education.
2019 has been a year of growth and development here at Kelly Hynes Curties Photography. I am a firm believer in continuous learning. In-person mentorship learning experiences are a great way for photographers to hone their skills and elevate their abilities - while learning from the most experienced, world renowned photographers.
Following some incredible educational experiences in 2018 which led me to travel to London, England, for an Ana Brandt & Aoife Millea workshop, and then to Porto, Portugal, for a workshop with my idol Amy McDaniel of Dewdrops Photography, I decided to do a two day one on one, hands on session with Amy at her studio in Auburn, Alabama. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and she did NOT disappoint.
Little did I know that the weekend I booked was Super Bowl Sunday, and I was set to fly into, you guessed it, Atlanta, Georiga. It was madness arriving and departing, but my experience with Amy was everything I hoped for. Amy tailored our time together to my learning wants and needs, and we photographed 4 babies over 2 days.
Amy’s studio is a beautiful and welcoming space:
Amy took me through her posing flow, including newborn safety (the most important thing!) all the beautiful curled up newborn poses she is famous for, as well as prop poses and parent posing. I had already had the opportunity to watch Amy work in Portugal in 2018, but this session was one on one, hands on, just Amy and I! I’m starting to sound more stalker than just big fan, but once you see these next photos, you’re going to understand why.
On the first day, once we went through the posing flow in the morning with the first baby, we sat together and Amy took me through her editing flow, which I have to say, brought out the Photoshop nerd in me. I learned SO MUCH.
During the afternoon of the first day, we continued with another baby and some parent poses. That night Amy showed me some Southern hospitality and took me for authentic BBQ (it was amazing). On the morning of the second day, I was in the hot seat, Amy let me pose the baby while she provided constructive feedback as I went. I was able to talk through all of my thoughts and questions (“should the baby’s head be tilted a little more?”, or “how should the hands be tucked”), and Amy pulled no punches! I got all the honesty on my posing that I wanted and needed (kindly, of course!).
When I went to Alabama, I had three things I wanted to improve: 1. Curly, beautifully posed baby images on fabric backdrops (particularly the side laying and wrapped ‘huck finn’ poses), 2. Prop posing, especially in buckets and in beds, and 3. Get hands on parent posing experience.
Amy blew my expectations out of the water. At the end of the two days of mentoring, I was left with SO much information, and beautiful images, that I took! I cannot thank Amy enough for the experience. She was incredibly generous with her knowledge and mentorship. She held nothing back, and exceeded all my expectations.
Amy elevated how I approached all newborn photography for 2019 and onwards into the future, and I can’t thank her enough.
January 1, 2020