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Another CAMERA READY class behind us. How amazing is that?! Not surprisingly, we had another fabulous, fun, inspiring day. A great group of students, a beautiful setting, and a ton of learning and picture taking. We loved teaching to a smaller group and have decided that we’re going to cap our classes at 14 (maybe 16 if people are really yammering to get in) because there was something so accesible, so laid back, so personal about having a more manageable size. We loved it!

We taught at a quaint New England schoolhouse as part of IS183 – a nonprofit art school in the Berkshires. A portion of our registrations were donated to this group to benefit the arts in our area. Which we think is rather rad.

We had Corrina of Blue Door Vintage to thank for our dreamy, colorful flowers. I love the vase choices… flowers are just so worth it. Especially in a photography class. Everyone pulled on these blooms for inspiration.

We had a camera name tags for each student (Kate’s pretty darn creative, eh?). And everyone received a Green Eyed Monster bag packed with one of Kate’s prints, Tattly camera tats, miniature ceramic houses from Jackie Sedlock Pottery, custom CAMERA READY notebooks (and playlists), and utility cord bracelets (from my most “pinned” tutorial). We love a good goodie bag.

Plus, everyone took home the product of their For The Makers project. We used these DIYs toward the end of class to teach students about documenting a process and telling a story with their images. Plus, we’re just really big DIY slash For The Makers fans. You can subscribe to receive boxes of their monthly projects here.

And of course everyone had their portrait taken by the talented Kate. We clearly have no fun at all during that portion of class. All the portraits are viewable here on our Facebook page.

We also had this gorgeous photography print from Minted and these sweet felted cameras from Wool Buddy that we handed out as prizes to a few lucky students.

The highlight of the class this time was absolutely, hands down, the food. Stephanie from Bee Hill Catering went above and beyond. I’d explained to her that this was for a photography class and I wanted not only delicious, interesting food, but beautifully presented, “camera ready” food. When she walked in with these platters and this menu, we all about fell over. The whole class snapped photos before digging in. And yes, it was truly as delicious as it looked. Such amazing flavors, and textures, and combinations. I’m salivating just writing about it. If you’re in the Berkshires, may we STRONGLY recommend Stephanie? We may.

And of course, Sara Miller Cakes delivered yummy, adorable carrot cupcakes. And Jackie Sedlock Pottery provided our plates and cups. All in all, food and drink presentation got two very enthusiastic thumbs’ up.

And there was learning and practicing. And practicing and learning. And lots of silliness and smiles mixed in.

And, last but certainly not least, there was a group photo. Kate compiled this fun stop motion video of the proceedings. Another wonderful experience under our belts.

Here’s what some of our students had to say about the class:

CAMERA READY is a very intense camera workshop that combines serious fun with serious, expert teaching.  This is the class for you if you want to get out of automatic and learn to manually drive your camera so that you can maximize its potential as a machine and your potential as a photographer!  THANK YOU!!! Kate and Ash :-)

This is a laid back, fun, hands on class! AND for a bonus, you get your portraits taken by the lovely Kate. I got to meet other people with the same love for photography :) You ladies rock!

I was so impressed with how much I learned during this fun and  informative class. I still need much practice, but now I am more aware of how to adjust the settings on my camera so I am able to get the proper shot in various environments.

CAMERA READY was an amazing experience.  I have gone from being an auto shooter to shooting in manual.  It was a whole lot of fun, too!

This class is for anyone who wants a crash course on what they can do with their DSLR. In one day, you can go from wondering how it all works to taking beautiful pictures. Really.

Do register for our future classes here if you want to learn to shoot in manual mode in a playful, creative setting. Hope to see you there!

Photos: Courtesy of Kate Drew Miller