As this year comes to a close, I wanted to share the accomplishment of one of my bigger 2010 goals. This year I went through the process of becoming a Certified Professional Photographer (CPP).

In other industries mechanics, accountants, attorneys, plumbers, electricians, etc. are required to be certified in their field. Obtaining certification affirms that the individual has passed a comprehensive exam as well as met other requirements, and possesses knowledge, extensive experience, and is appropriately skilled in that particular field. But what about the photography industry? These days it seems that anyone who gets a new dSLR camera prints up some business cards and markets themselves as a professional photographer. Whether or not they actually know the basic elements of exposure, composition, or color – in truth anyone can call themselves a professional photographer. When I looked at the saturation of photographers the marketplace, I felt that I needed to do something to differentiate myself from the pack. So although anyone can call themselves a photographer, very few can call themselves Certified Professional Photographers.

Chicago is a huge city, and clients have a choice of literally hundreds of photographers here. But did you know that there are only seven certified photographers within 20 miles of downtown Chicago?

And now I am one of them. 

My journey to becoming a CPP was shared today on the ClickinMoms blog. Click here to check it out.

As I set new goals for myself both personally and professionally for 2011, I want to wish everyone a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It ended up being a bit rainy that day, so we didn’t get to do as much open outdoor shooting as I had hoped.  I think the biggest thing I leaned at this workshop is to think outside of the box.  The bulk of the images you see here were shot in a parking garage.  This is not a location I would normally consider shooting it, but I am stunned at the amazing results.  This location might not be the best idea for photographing small kids, but for high school seniors I think it’s absolutely perfect.

All of the images you see here were shot with either one or two speedlights (SB800′s in this case) on stands or somehow otherwise supported or balanced off the camera.

Thanks to Bob Harrington, my fellow photographers who participated in the workshop, and of course our fantastic models.  I enjoyed spending the day with all of you, and now I have a brand new set of creative tools to add to my lineup.

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I had so much fun photographing Mark earlier this week.  When his mom first called me, she told me about a couple of more traditional poses she’d like to emulate that would be similar to portraits she had ordered of Mark’s older brother.  She said that once we got those shots out of the way, Mark was open to do whatever I wanted.  I asked his mom about his personality, his interests and hobbies, etc.  I explained that if he played baseball, for example, we could do something totally wacky like having him throw a flaming baseball.  It turns out that Mark is indeed a pitcher for his high school baseball team and during the session his mother was joking about how Mark can “throw fire.”  Hence the flaming baseball shot was born!

After we did some studio shots, we went over to Notre Dame High School.  That was really fun because I went to an all-girls high school (no longer open), and Notre Dame is an all-boys school that was one of the brother schools to my school.  My own brother and my husband went to Notre Dame as did several of my friends, so it was neat to be back there for this shoot.

Mark, it was a pleasure meeting you!   I appreciate your easy-going attitude and willingness to go along with some of my silly ideas.  I hope you like your sneak peek.  Your full proof gallery will be ready soon!