There's Only One Problem...

I don't have enough time in this life to learn and do and travel. If money grew on trees and college was free, I'd be a lifelong undergraduate student who traveled the world on my breaks. Seriously. Every two years or so, I'd be able to switch to a new major. Learn a new trade. Read new books. Practice. And explore.

Sadly, I have come to learn that college is not free {hello six-figure school loan debt that my kids will be lucky not to inherit} and I've resigned myself to the fact that the money tree is as real as the fountain of youth. And time is ever elusive, which is why every moment really does count. So this past weekend, my hubby gave me a wonderful Mother's Day gift--a spot in Ken Bruggeman's photography workshop. Because I don't have time to learn Photoshop. I don't have time to become a pro. Even if I knew my way around Photoshop, I don't have time to edit. I'm a crazy busy mama who has way too many kettles cooking! So if I'm going to take a picture, it better be good. And Ken's workshop was created for exactly that purpose. 

His workshop is for people like me. People who would like to learn how to use their fancy cameras but don't have time to read a manual. People who want to capture the important moments in their lives without harsh shadows and deer-in-the-headlight eyeballs. And it was so worth it! It was timed perfectly over naptime {probably the only reason my hubs gave me the green light!!} and we spent the first two hours in Ken's studio going over the technical stuff. Ken is an amazing photographer, and he's also an amazing teacher. He's not at all like my high school chemistry teacher who was sooo super smart but couldn't explain even the simplest of concepts. Ken broke it down and put it all together in a way that I understood. And that I'm not going to forget!! Bingo! 

After our lesson, we went to an amazing location and had the opportunity to shoot a ridiculously beautiful young-in-love couple. I mean, seriously gorgeous! We just so happened to catch the two most  beautiful hours of the day too. You'd never know it had been raining all day. 

Before Ken's workshop, I had been practicing using the manual mode on my camera. But I really didn't really know the technical aspects so I would just randomly change the settings until I got something resembling a good picture. I had, however, never experimented with manual focusing and always just let my camera do the job. Ken encouraged us to use manual focus, which I did. However, I sometimes forgot that the camera wasn't going to focus for me and ended up with some blurry shots. Like this one, which is one of my favorites even though it is a bit blurry:

Because I had a hard time picking my favorites, here are a few bunch more from the shoot:

{And a few of Ken who was a stand-in model for a bit...}

I wish my backgrounds were a bit more blurred, but until I get a different lens, I'll be working with the limitations of my camera/lens kit. If you have any interest whatsoever in learning to take better photos of your kids, dogs, nature, whatever, I would highly recommend Ken's workshop! He usually offers one per month and keeps the class size small and intimate. It's an amazing learning experience and a time to make new friends. And ending the class at a local bar chatting about our experiences over a local brew was just the icing on the cake for me. 

{Disclaimer: I was not paid for my opinions. All opinions are my own. Over the years and through the shoots, we have come to be good friends with Ken and I just love the way he tells stories through his photos. To see more of Ken's amazing work, check out Violet's Birth Story, Burke's Birth Story, Burke's newborn photo shoot, Violet's newborn photo shoot,  our family photos, and our maternity photos which were taken right before Burke was born.}