Summary: I'm in Ireland, I've been super busy, this is just a dump of the project I'm working on, and I promise to update more regularly when I get regular internet. 

Something I have never been interested in, even though that is what most people associate photographic careers with, is studio portraiture. You don't get to be outside, you have to work with people, it's very difficult to get exactly what you want, and it makes me feel like I'm giving in to consumerism and the corporate man. 

That being said, I know that using lighting is a valuable skill, and it's important for me to be able to work in a studio environment and understand what I'm doing. Sometimes, one must support their photographic habit with, gasp, a job. 

Currently, I'm in a lighting class taught by the bubbly and talented Jessica Kaminski, known well in MKE for her work with the Milwaukee Ballet Company. While the work is not my forte', Jessica is a great teacher and makes things fun. If not for this class, I don't think I ever would have realized how much cooperation, teamwork, and time goes into pulling off a studio shoot. You have to coordinate with your team or assistants to find a time to use a studio, unless you are lucky enough to have your own. You have to find talent, or agree the team members will shoot each other. And then, there is set-up: backdrops, props, lights, what color is the talent wearing, what color should you use, what kind of lighting is appropriate for the subject matter, what are you trying to evoke with your work? Even after all that, there is a lot of communication an dependence between people. The photographer must know how to direct her helpers as well as the model to get the effect she wants at proper exposures and with good techniques. It's difficult, it's time consuming, and it takes a lot of practice to get familiar, and even more so to become skilled. 

Even though studio work isn't what I picture myself (ahaha, bad photo joke) doing in the future, I'm definitely learning a lot and getting some good experience.