Sometimes it really is Who you know...in this case, it pays off to know the school's librarian, Holly. She officially became the administrator for

a year ago and we miss her dearly at the Middle School because she's an awesome gal to work with, but she's equally as awesome in her new post. Plus, when looking for someone to teach any topic in the "Learn at Your Library" class, she'll call you, butter you up with "You seem to be awesome at ______, would you mind teaching it for an hour on the second Saturday of the month?"

We did our first class on photography in June getting to know your camera, whether it was a point n' shoot or a DSLR. We talked about assignments to try just to get shooting more, composition, lighting, shooting in manual verses P, A or S modes-a lot of ground in just an hour! So, it seemed only fitting that we follow it up with an actual shoot to put what we'd learned into action. And a friend of mine who attended the first course just happened to have an adorable 6 month old boy willing to be our Model for the morning.

Internet, meet Judah:

We started inside the classroom and used natural window lighting as our first challenge shooting in manual mode. Judah definitely hammed it up for us and was totally content munching on the wood blocks...His dad, Pete, was totally content spotting him since Judah was sitting on a table or a box...

We then moved outdoors to change our ISO and shutter speeds. Even though the students present had zoom lenses on, I challenged them to not use it, but keep their bodies moving instead so that their F-stop wouldn't change.

As you can see above, we brought Sarah into some photos so that Pete could work with their camera and learn a few tips on how to make his bride look lovely and only capture images that flatter her.

Here are a few from my vantage point; the "S" block was significant because of Judah's last name initial. :)

"SK" is significant because they used to be Sarah's initials prior to marriage. :)

All in all, I'd say we had a great time and I'm so appreciative of the opportunity to teach on a topic that I enjoy. :)