So this week is Week 2 of the Brooke Snow Advanced Pro photography course that I’m busy doing, and this week’s assignment was about posing.

Because my family shoot that I had booked for Sunday afternoon was cancelled, I asked my sister to meet me in the veld (same location as last week) for a quick shoot after work today.  I’m thrilled with the results.

For my preparation, I compiled a rough pose list as per the instructions… rough because I have a list of inspirational images anyway on Pinterest, so I just looked for a few more to supplement it.  That wasn’t new to me, I tend to prepare like that with all my shoots, especially when I’m shooting in an environment that I’m unfamiliar with.  No, I don’t look at images from that particular location, but I have a rough idea from my pose list what I’m going to be aiming for.

What also wasn’t new to me, was “working the pose”.  I could be better at it though, so this weekend I really worked on that… and it showed in the results of the boudoir shoot I did on Sunday (that you can’t see yet), and with today’s shoot.  It made such a difference.

One thing that I LOVED in this week’s tutorials were the posing guides, and Brookes “rules” for posing.  I know them instinctively, and I’ve read them… but the videos just hit home, and there were some small adjustments that I made this weekend as a result that’s made a huge difference.  I like the images more… and because of that, I really really struggled to only choose 3 for today’s assignment.

So, for today’s assignment results, I kept Elaine in the same spot.  She really didn’t move much at all, I just changed where she looked and what she did with her arms and legs.  One thing that did change during the shoot was the sun… I was ecstatic when the clouds moved while I was busy and I got the beautiful golden summer light (it was about 5:30pm)

The rest of my favourites from the session can be found in an album on Facebook

Retailer: So Divine! Women’s Clothing
Mornings at Professional Touch Day Spa, 2 Merchant Place, Cnr Fredman and Rivonia Rd, Sandton
Or email Mandy for an appointment or for a viewing ursodivine@gmail.com
Labels on sale: Slick, Tashkaya, Status Moda and Mustik

I first realised that Mandy (an ex-colleague) was selling clothes from home when she had a pop-up shop organised one day at work. She then contacted me when she had a pop-up shop in Bryanston with another retailer selling kids clothes… and of course I went again. I just LOVE the clothes she sells. I was delighted when she asked me to organise a fashion shoot showing her summer range from Tashkaya and Slick. I quickly sent a Whatsapp message to my sister, Elaine, and viola… a fashion shoot with her and her friends who had been dying to have a shoot together like we’d done a few years ago.
We all met very early this morning in Newtown to take some fun photos wearing the clothes against the contrast of the old buildings and graffiti.

Isn’t Candice’s blue dress from Tashkaya cool? I have one in purple… and LOVE wearing it with leggings.

Well, that was huge amounts of fun and it was my very first fashion shoot!!

Even though Elaine doesn’t live at my parent’s house anymore, she’s often at the house when I arrive to collect the boys… and sometimes like today… her friend Robyn comes for some tea.  It was freezing this afternoon… but they were still game to sit on the bench for me as long as they didn’t have to do anything but chat And that suited me down to the ground… all I wanted to do was try capture the special bond that these friends have.

I used to rush when I got to my parents in the evenings.  I used to just pick the kids up and get going to the shops and then home to make supper etc.

But, a few months ago that changed, and now it’s a slower process (I think it had to do with me having to take a photo when I got there while I was doing my 365 Project last year).  I normally stay for a cup of tea while the kids play for a little longer… and then I go.

This afternoon wasn’t any different, except my sister came home to collect a few more things for her new flat (she’s moved out of home)… so the 3 of us had a cup of tea and a chat on the patio… I don’t actually remember when last that happened with just the 3 of us.

My sister is moving out of home… she’s buying a house with her boyfriend, and everything got approved today… and she is so excited… and I’m excited for them

See the full set of 2010 photo-a-day photos on my Project 365 Flickr Set.