We only take 30 active members for each workshop so as of 7/25, we only have 8 spots available for the September 2010 workshop and only 9 spots available for silent members! If you are thinking of taking it, don’t wait to sign up!! These spots will fill up quickly! Email us at bloomworkshops@gmail.com with any questions you might have. 
Thanks all!
Bren and Kristy
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So Kristy and I thought it would be fun to shine the spotlight on some of our previous workshop students….who have been coined “FORMER BLOOMIES!” We hope to bring you a new featured member every month to to show them off and all their awesomeness!! LOL!! So without further ado, Jules Trandem with Jules Trandem Photography is kicking off the series and Kristy and I can’t be more excited!
Tell us a little something about yourself? Where are you from, kids, hobbies, etc?
I have enjoyed living in San Diego for the last 16 years with many visits to Santa Barbara to see family. I am a single mom to the most amazing little 5 year old boy in the world! In addition to being a mom and a photographer, I’m also a first grade teacher.
How long have you been in business?
This fall will wrap up my first year to be officially in business. In the past, I had the opportunity to do holiday portraits for a few friends, but it wasn’t until last fall that my business took off and started to grow. I’m still in the early stages of building up my client list. In order to keep balance in my life and keep my son my priority, I only schedule 2-3 clients a month. This fall I will practice saying NO when I need to, in order to not let the holiday craze take over my life.
What equipment do you use? What’s your favorite lens?
I shoot with a 5D Mark II … love it! I only use two lenses and it would be hard (and not very fair) to pick a favorite between my 50mm 1.2 and the 85mm 1.2. They are both very good to me.
So what made you fall in love with photography?
Just like so many other photographers, I’ve had a love for photography for a long time, but it wasn’t until the birth of my son that it became my passion. I couldn’t get enough of my camera and wanted to learn everything I could about photography. I would spend hours and hours pouring through beautiful images on flickr and photography blogs. I loved the emotion and light that I discovered. I couldn’t wait to shoot and capture that for myself!
Do you like portrait photography or lifestyle photography? Or do you do a dabble in a little of both?
I think my style of photography dabbles in a bit of both portrait and lifestyle. I love the emotion of a beautiful portrait and I love the storytelling that comes with lifestyle photography. When I look back on my son’s portraits, it’s almost always the lifestyle images that I’m drawn to. They can quickly take me right back to that time in his life.
Who or what inspires you?
I’m inspired by so much… my son, the gorgeous light at sunset, the colors and textures in a field, and my wonderful photography friends. You and Kristy were the start of it all for me. Then through you, I’ve met so many amazing and inspiring photographers that I now consider good friends.
Post Processing! You have such beautiful processing on your photos…you’re colors are so vivid yet you maintain such perfect skintones. Do you have certain actions that you continually use or any tips for achieving this?
Thanks so much! Coming from you (a complete master of pp) that’s such a compliment. I think it all goes back to the very first lesson in your Bloom Workshop last year … exposure is everything! I try really hard to get my exposure right straight out of the camera. I do shoot RAW so I can make any adjustments necessary in Lightroom. My favorite actions that I couldn’t live without are Lilyblue, Florabella, and TRA. I use them on every session. My style is still emerging but I don’t take too much time processing photos in photoshop.
What is your favorite subject to shoot? Newborns, toddlers, kids, seniors or families?
Of course I love them all. I’ve only had one official newborn session and fell in love with it. One of my favorite clients is pregnant and I can’t wait to do her newborn session in November. I love to see families together and capture their love. I love the honesty and expressions I can capture from the toddlers and kids. Seniors are great because you don’t work up a sweat during their session. They actually listen and follow directions.
You have a lot of your sessions on the beach. Do you have any tips for shooting at the beach and dealing with the sun?
I schedule my beach sessions for early morning or just before sunset. I love the gorgeous light at the beach. I meter off my client’s skin and adjust as needed until it’s just right. I don’t mind if my background is blown as long as my subject has good exposure.
When did you take the BLOOM WORKSHOP and what was your “AHA MOMENT” when you took it?
I took the Bloom Workshop last spring. I took the money I was saving for our Disneyland passes and spent it on your fabulous workshops. Best money I ever spent.
‘Aha moment’? Are you kidding?! Each and every lesson was an ‘aha moment’ for me … don’t act like you don’t remember. You and Kristy taught me about exposure, composition, lines, (and so much more) and my favorite of all … storytelling. The storytelling has been what drives me during each session. I love the creativity that comes with storytelling. It’s something that is new and different for each session. I’m looking forward to building on that with my Jinky workshop in September.
If you weren’t a photographer, what would you be doing today?
When I’m not behind a camera, I’m in front of a classroom full of first graders. I’ve been teaching for 18 years and I love being surrounded by sweet, curious, joyful 6 year olds.
And now some fun not so serious questions!
Favorite color: green
Favorite food: it would have to be a favorite drink … a cup of coffee from my new Keurig coffee maker. It is the greatest in the world. Rush out right now and get one from Costco!
Favorite song: right now it would be Touch by Natasha Bedingfield (it just started from my playlist… I swear… just as I was typing this). My son and I drop what we’re doing and just dance when it comes on.
Favorite place to shop (BTW, I think I could answer this one for your son LOL!!): yes… from one addict to another. I love to style my son in Crewcuts and Mini Boden. For me, my life before Brooks and photography was filled with JCrew for me, but now I’m more of a Target and flip flop kind of girl. I’d rather spend $100 on new actions and templates than on clothes. How sad is that?
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be: at the beach. I want a simple little house right on the beach. I don’t think that’s asking too much. Wouldn’t that be a great incentive to get you and Kristy out here?
What is your all-time favorite quote or saying: for photography, it would be ‘shoot what you love’. For life, it would be ‘to fully live and appreciate each day’.
If you could have dinner with any two people, who would they be and why: If I have to start small, it would need to be 3… you, Kristy, and Maureen Wilson. Then, after dinner we would have to have a party and invite all of our wonderful Bloom friends. One day, this will come true when we have our Bloom Retreat (right here in San Diego)! A girl can dream!
I’m packing my bags Jules! Thanks for the awesome interview and for being the first to start the series!! Again, make sure you check out more of her beautiful work over at her blog!
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It’s time for a before and after!
Shot with my 50mm at 1/125, 2.5 and ISO 1000 with natural light.
I had her facing a window straight on (my back to the window) about 4 feet away. I just placed my foamboard (wrapped in Thunder Gray seamless paper) up against the back of a chair for a quick backdrop.
I first cropped it to a 5×7 and rotated it bit to the right so she wasn’t leaning as much. I then edited with Florabella’s Ambrosia Action from her new Luxe Collection and tweaked each layer to my liking. I then went and did a selective color adjustment layer, choose neutral in the drop down menu and moved the black slider over to about +8 to darken the background. Then I just painted back her face with a soft brush at 95% to remove what the selective layer did to her. I added a texture from my texture pack, changed the layer mode to soft light and reduced the opacity to about 60%. I did a vector mask on the texture layer and painted the texture off her skin. And for the last step, I ran a vignette to blend everything together!
I LOVE me some befores and afters! Hope you enjoyed it!
Bren
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We had a great response to the Early Bird Special for the September 2010 online workshop! Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and the special is over. =( We still have spots available if you want to join in on the fun! To sign up, just click on the corresponding button below!
ENTIRE BLOOM WORKSHOP:
BEGINNINGS PORTION OF THE BLOOM WORKSHOP:
SILENT MEMBER FOR THE ENTIRE BLOOM WORKSHOP:
SILENT MEMBER FOR THE BEGINNINGS PORTION OF THE BLOOM WORKSHOP:
FORMER BLOOMIE OPTION:
To find more information about the workshop, please see the post below and also the online workshop information link at the top of the page.
Thanks so much!
Brend and Kristy
Oh it wouldn’t be a post without a photo right? Hopefully this will put a smile on your face!
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Yes, it’s that time again, registration for the last online workshop of the year! Make sure you scroll down a little further in the for the Early Bird Deals!
Regular Pricing:
* The ENTIRE workshop is $650.00 (the full nine week workshop with one week break in between)
* The BEGINNINGS portion of the workshop is $400.00 (the beginning four weeks of the workshop with the break week to collect and save any information from the board)
* To be a Silent Member for the ENTIRE workshop, the cost is $500.00
* To be a Silent Member for the BEGINNINGS portion of the workshop, the cost is $300.00
* The Former Bloomie Member option is $50.00 (this is for the full nine week workshop and you would have needed to take a workshop previously to sign up for this option)
For more information on being a SILENT MEMBER, please read THIS POST.
OK…are you still with us? We hope sooo! =)
We are doing our usual EARLY BIRD SPECIAL so check out the discounts you will receive below. The early bird specials will end Thursday, July 15th:
Early Bird Pricing:
ENTIRE workshop: regular price: $650.00 early bird special price: $600.00
BEGINNINGS portion of the workshop: regular price: $400.00 early bird special price: $375.00
SILENT MEMBER for ENTIRE workshop: regular price: $500.00 early bird special price: $475.00
SILENT MEMBER for BEGINNINGS portion of the workshop: regular price: $300.00 early bird special price: $285.00
FORMER BLOOMIE MEMBER: $50.00 (sorry, no early bird special pricing is available)
* To reserve your spot for the workshop all you need to do is make a down payment of $175.00. Then a final invoice will be sent out to you about a month before the workshop will start that will show your early bird discount.
Please use the correct buttons below to sign up. Make sure you read each option carefully so you are signed up for the workshop you want. And please read the BLOOM WORKSHOP INFORMATION PAGE for the workshop outline and details.
* If you would like to pay more towards the workshop, just send us an email at bloomworkshops@gmail.com and we can send out an invoice to you.
Thanks everyone! And as always, please email us at bloomworkshops@gmail.com with any questions you might have!
Bren and Kristy
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Hey everyone! We are underway with the June Bloom online workshop! For those of you that signed up but didn’t get a chance to get signed in on the forum yet, please emails us at bloomworkshops@gmail.com so we can get you on the board. =)
And don’t forget the 2nd Face 2 Face in person mentoring/workshop this Sunday, June 13th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.! We have 2 spots left if you want to join us!
Thanks everyone!
Bren and Kristy
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The link to the June Workshop has been sent! If you didn’t receive an email from us, first check your spam box. If you still don’t have it, email us at bloomworkshops@gmail.com and we’ll get you set up! We’ve already had a couple of emails bounce back to us so make sure you contact us!
Thanks all!
Kristy and Bren
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We are happy to announce that we have the date set for our second Face 2 Face! It will be on Sunday, June 13th. We received great feedback from our first group of students (thank you ladies!!) and the thing they all seemed to really love was the fact that we kept the group small. So we’re going to do the same thing this time around. We want these Face 2 Face sessions to include lots of learning and the opportunity for one-on-one time with us! If you want to see some images from the first Face 2 Face, check out the f8 Kids blog!
If you want one of these spots, email us at bloomworkshops@gmail.com and we’ll send you an invoice!
Details:
WHEN: Sunday, June 13th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (with a lunch break but we will still talk “shop”)
WHERE: At the f8kids studio in Addison Circle
PRICE: $500.00 per person or if you are a former Bloom student $400.00 per person
Learn from us first hand! Find out how to work in light that is available to you indoors as well as outside, see our little tricks and tips on how we interact with models of all ages, get creative and so much more!
*We are only taking 5-6 students at this time so we can give them our full attention as well as each have one on one shooting with the models.
Thanks all!
Kristy and Brenda
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We just wanted to update all of you signed up for the upcoming June workshop! It is going to start on Monday, June 7th! Around 11:00 a.m. (CST) on that day, you’ll be receiving an email from us with a link to the forum so you can get started!! So make sure you clear your schedule for that day, have a pot of coffee brewed and have snacks in arms reach so you won’t have to leave the computer!! =) And maybe consider a babysitter for the kids so you’ll have limited interruptions! LOL!!
For all of you that wanted to get in on the workshop but it was full, two spots just became available for SILENT MEMBERS! Check out this post for info on being a silent member. And if you want to go ahead and sign up, just use the buttons below!
Thanks everyone and we look forward to “meeting” you on the forum!!
Bren and Kristy
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If you guys can get a second, head on over to the f8kids blog and vote for your favorite model for our Face 2 Face with BLOOM mentoring day this Sunday, May 23rd! All of the entries are soooo cute so we warn you, you may have a hard time choosing!!
And if you still want to be part of the mentoring…you still can. We had a last minute cancellation. Just email us at Bloomworkshops@gmail.com. The spot will be filled on a first come, first serve basis so don’t wait!!
Thanks everyone!
Bren and Kristy!
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