This week I’m taking a little break from writing about my all-time favorite topic: flowers (don’t worry, it will be brief) to talk about another one of my passions: photography!
If you’re a regular reader, I’m sure you’ve noticed how often I post photos where the background is soft and blurry and your eye is drawn to the sharpness of the bouquet or the single bloom that is the focus of the shot. I just love being able to create dreamy, romantic images with a shallow depth of field. The fact that Chris and I can now manage to capture those types of image was made possible only after taking the Eyes Open Creative Photography E-Course.
Prior to taking the class, we both fumbled with our camera and were never able to get the types of shots we were going for. We both really wanted to share our story in a beautiful, visual way, but figuring out how to do that felt impossible. Even after upgrading to a newer DSLR camera, we continued to be disappointed with most of the photos and were intimidated to shoot in anything but “running man” mode. Then one day while visit Erin Little’s blog I found that she had created an e-course for people struggling with the exact same thing. I registered within minutes!
Erin is the creative force behind a love supreme photography and bbb, one of my favorite lifestyle blogs. Her photographs capture everyday life in such beautiful, creative and compelling ways. It was that “essence” that I hoped to one day be able to capture in my own photos.
After taking her six-week creative photography e-course, I feel like I finally “got” it. It didn’t matter how many times I read my camera manual, I simply didn’t understand aperture or ISO or any of the other scary photography terms used. Through the e-course, Erin was able to explain the terminology and share great visual examples (I learn best by seeing) that made the light go on for me. I finally understood what those terms meant and how to use that knowledge to capture great photos of our flowers, our farm, our family and anything else in front of my lens. During the time I was taking the course, Chris jumped in and started playing with the concepts too. I’m not exaggerating when I say that it was a total game changer for us both creatively and business wise.
The Eye’s Open e-course is packed with photography essentials, plus great handouts and practice activities that really make the learning process fun. Erin’s approachable style and flexible format make it easy to understand and enables you to go at your own pace. She keeps the class size manageable so she is able to answer all your questions, plus provide personalized feedback on your practice shots. It is a fantastic way to learn photography basics, plus explore creative photography for whatever field you’re in.
If you’re…
a gardener wanting to capture the beauty of your blooms
a designer or crafter seeking to capture your creations before you send them out the door
a parent wanting to chronicle fleeting moments with your kids
a blogger or a creative-type needing high quality images for your website
someone who just wants to take better pictures
Well, this e-course was designed just for you.
Since I’m a huge fan of Erin’s work and can’t recommend her e-course enough I thought we’d do a little giveaway this week so that one lucky blog reader can win a free registration to the next six-week e-course, starting September 30!
To enter, simply post a comment below with your favorite photography subject before Sunday the 21st at 5p.m. PST. Be sure you leave your email address when prompted so we can contact you if you win. The winner will be announced on Monday September 22nd. Best of luck!

Erin is also offering a $20 discount code to Floret fans for The Eyes Open e-course. Simply include the coupon code: eyesopenfloret at the checkout to receive your discount. The upcoming course includes a special new section on photographing flowers and floral designs!
I invited Erin to chat a little bit more about her photography, the e-course and her work capturing magical moments in her life and the lives of happy couples in Maine and beyond.
Erin B: First off, thank you again for creating this course and for helping me finally understand my camera! I still refer back to my manual to this day.
Erin L: I’m so glad! And thank you for having me hear and helping spread the word. I am always so thrilled to collaborate with you!
Erin B: Can you share a little bit about your business and background and how the course got started?
Erin L: Well, photography goes way back for me. I started putting together photo shoots when I was around 6 or 7. But it wasn’t until I started a lifestyle blog 8 years ago that photography started turning into a way to support my family. Over the years I have continued to share my photos through my blog, while I developed a photo business alongside. I started shooting weddings because of the convenience of scheduling around childcare, but in the last few years have switched more to editorial and commercial work. Because of my blog, I have received countless emails over the years asking questions about photography and camera logistics and such. I found myself typing out the same responses over and over again, and one day I thought that I should put all my knowledge into one place so I could share it with everyone.
I am self taught, which I think enables me to write a course that isn’t intimidating for a beginner. I do not learn well when I have a lot of technical terms written in a dry way thrown at me. I prefer a personable approach, with what you need to know written in a way that’s easy to grasp. That’s what I aimed to do when writing this course. I wrote it like I was explaining everything to a friend sitting next to me.
Erin B: For the benefit of those not familiar with e-courses, can you explain how it works?
Erin L: E-courses are essentially like long-distant learning. I think the formats of them differ depending on how they’re set up and such, but mine is pretty low key. There are 6 main lessons spread over 6 weeks. I would say it takes, on average, 20-30 minutes to read through each of them. There are some videos to accompany the lessons which are optional. Alongside each lesson is a photo challenge, which is basically some suggestions on what to practice from the current lesson. Shooting everyday is important to allow the new information to really sink in, even if for only 10-15 minutes a day. Lastly, there are some awesome guest posters each day who write a little about their photography experience and answer some questions about how they do what they do!
Throughout the course, there is an optional interactive piece which is a private Flickr group.The participants can share their photos and ask questions to receive feedback from myself and others.
Erin B: What are some of the topics you’ll be covering in the next e-course? And what new features are you including specifically for flower fanatics like me?
Erin L: We go over everything from photography basics (exposure, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc.) to portraits, shooting in a creative way, and even how to add more creativity to your life! There is a very basic intro to editing using a free program online available to everyone, just to get people started. I am planning on adding an additional course on editing over the winter. For flower fanatics, I wrote an additional mini lesson on photographing flowers! That’s part of week 4, and it’s aimed to help you become your own photographer for your floral business!
Erin B: Sounds great! I am so tempted to take the course again! Erin, thank you again so much for demystifying the DSLR camera for me and for helping Chris and I to take our photography to a whole new level. And thank you for supporting other farmer-florists and designers with your flower-focused course additions.
Ok flower friends, who’s ready to finally dive in and learn how to use that fancy digital camera that’s been sitting in the back of the closet since last Christmas? I promise you won’t regret taking the leap!
To learn more about Erin visit:
eyes open e-course: http://eyesopenecourse.com/
a love supreme photography: http://www.alovesupremephoto.com/
bbb blog: http://www.bbbliving.com/
Creative Photography E-Course Giveaway (plus a bonus discount code!) - Floret Flowers on
[…] the gift ideas featured in the Gift Guide was the Eyes Open Creative Photography E-Course. As I’ve shared previously, completing the e-course is what enabled Chris and me to both hone our photography skills and […]