This area of the blog will feature tips and advice for photographers, with links to additional advice elsewhere. There’s so much good information out there, so we’ll be collating information and links to the very best!

tobeadored is husband and wife team Mark and Maria Woods. Married for over 17 years, our various skills complement each other well – and we’re confident we can help others with advice, reviews and guidance on a range of subjects.
Maria has been a freelance commercial artist, illustrator, photographer and visual guru for 20+ years. Maria has over 2,000 licensed designs out there, and has just learned that a recent design range has made it into the top 3 of the prestigious Henries Award in the UK. We’ll find out in October, when the winner (from 14,000 entries) is announced at the awards in London!
– but that’s a story for another blog!
(You can see Maria’s work on her art site – www.mariawoods.com)

Mark has been an electronics engineer and designer for the same time, with experience in audio and visual editing, as well as all things computer and web!

The For Photographers section will also be open for others to post and blog – so we can generate a good central reference on techniques from working professionals in the wedding, photography, and other commercial photography fields – such as editorial fashion.
Send us a mail with your ideas and tips on photography, workflow or post-production.

Rather than keeping our methods secret, we’re going to share! – and believe that by helping others, good things will flow both ways!

To kick off this section (and with a blatant plug!!!)…

Lynda.com
We’re affiliates of www.lynda.com – and want to mention this resource as we genuinely feel it’s the best place to learn so much about so much software, including the latest on Adode’s CS5. It’s also a very affordable way to learn at $25 a month.

All professionals, in all fields, know that you should constantly sharpen your skills and always be learning. As a blatant plug, please use the click-thru badge on the sidebar to sign-up – and there’s even a Free 24 hour pass to lynda.com.. We’ll get a few cents for your patronage – but you’ll find a seemingly never ending fountain of knowledge. Be warned – it’s addictive!

Back in February we attended a three-day workshop with Bambi Cantrell at her studio in Benicia. The third day had a major contribution from Jim Garner.

Our motivations for attending the workshop were twofold: soak like sponges from these wonderful educators, and specifically learn first hand how Bambi poses her couples and groups. (She is a master after all!) We hear so often now how posing is a dirty word, but a professional photographer should be able to create the best images from any given situation – whether reportage, gently directed, or full-out posed.

Bambi supplied models for two days, and gave us great insight into her use of light and posing, then assigned us to shoot with the models. The following mornings we would take our ‘out of camera’ images in for critique. I love being critiqued – it’s the best education. Nicest comments from the critiques were “you should do this professionally!” and “I wish I had taken that!”. Seriously, the critiques were great and extremely constructive.
As a side note, we were also advised to go see the print competition judging at WPPI for the same reason, and fresh back from WPPI, I can highly recommend the viewing for improving your photographic eye. This skit should convince you..!

The additional time with Jim Garner was valuable and entertaining. Again, there were gems of advice, and we spent the whole time scribbling notes on technique and album design – Maria’s strength already – but understanding how an award-winning pro shoots with vision, plans and designs is wonderful education. The work and slideshows he showed were moving and inspiring.
I have to say that the workshop exceeded our expectations and I would highly recommend professional photographers attend a workshop with Bambi and Jim – it’s fun and immensely educational.. We came away with pages and pages of scribbling and many ideas for new shoots. Thank you both!

Here’s the same pic, straight out of camera, with no photoshop finishing:

Love making grungy images!