Roaring with Megan Allen of Studio 22 Photography

Y’all. Last week was one of the most awesome of my life. Four planes (eeek), a new state, a hotel with a corgi theme (!), a dozen strangers that are now friends, and dipping my toes into my now inevitable switch from Nikon to Sony. All of this thanks to the incredibly kind & generous Megan Allen of Studio 22 Photography. She’s a photographer I’ve admired for a while now, and when she announced a workshop, I knew it was exactly what I needed.

I think it’s important for me to be continuously learning and improving my craft, so that I can continue to serve our clients as best as I can. And so, every year, I invest in some sort of educational content. The ROAR workshop was that investment this year, and holy cow, was it a great decision. We talked about workflows and communication, we did portfolio critiques, we learned new editing techniques, we hunted for light, and we shot. We shot a lot. We also climbed a cliff. Literally. 

I could probably write dozens of pages about how incredible our too-short time was, but I need to get back into my regular routine since fall wedding season is here and I’ve got something every weekend until almost Thanksgiving. 

For now, I’ll settle for sharing:

Some of my favorite images I made at ROAR:

The first spot we shot was just in the hotel (Mills Park Hotel) for some “getting ready” followed by window light portraits. Okay so, who wants a shower shot while getting ready on the wedding day? I got you. Also, huge shout out to our incredible models for the week, most of whom have been Megan’s clients. 

Then on to an old warehouse district that housed artists’ studios (also seen in the silhouette above), and then we got some incredibly beautiful skies at a quarry. Y’all, Ohio is pretty AF.

Remember what I said about a cliff? This badass climbed it IN A WEDDING DRESS.

And that was our fearless leader, Sony Alpha Female Megan Allen, putting in the work as a voice-activated light stand.

Once the sunset colors disappeared, we met back up at Megan’s house (did I mention generous and kind?) where her husband made it rain with the hose and we popped some bottles (see the first image for that fun).

Everything else is from our second day of shooting, playing with some gels and more silhouettes, and general awesomeness. That lady in front of the red wall was my roommate for the week, Stephanie, and she’s so great. Go check her out too: Tiny House Photo

That’s all I got for you today, but trust me, I took so much away from this workshop, and I can’t wait to apply that to all the weddings and sessions coming this fall, starting with Katy & Monica on Sunday. 

But wait, two more bonus shots: 1) awesome photographer/rental car driver/pep talker/friend Rebecca’s steady hands plus Katy Perry’s Roar coming on magically, and 2) A blurry shot as we drove by a Skyline Chili and that goes out to Eric Laycock. Sadly (or maybe luckily?), my friend, we did not eat there.