I presented the first of two lectures on flash photography, at the Event Space at B&H on this past Wednesday, on August 11 … and, wow!
As I mentioned in my announcement post here – this is all very exciting to me. Some of the biggest names in the photography world have presented talks and seminars at B&H. So for me, this was quite A Big Deal to present a lecture there.
Just as exciting was to see that the place was jam-packed. The venue has 65 seats, but in the end I think there were about 75 people inside, with some sitting on the floor in front of me, and some lining the door .. and some 20+ people outside seeing if there were some way of still finding a spot …
Aleona caught in mid-air during the recent flash photography workshop. As part of an explanation of High-Speed Flash Sync, she patiently vaulted into the air numerous times for everyone who attended the 2nd day of the workshop. As before, the 2nd day is the on-location fun practical segment of the workshop which takes place in Manhattan.
The first day of the workshop still takes place in Jersey City at a hotel where we have a grand view of Manhattan …
Aleona was one of our striking models at the recent 2-day flash photography workshop held in Jersey City and Manhattan. The setting here was in the DUMBO area of Brooklyn, with Manhattan in the background. The challenge was to overcome the hard sunlight with a small speedlight … and still make it look good.
The flash photography workshops have undergone certain changes over time – the material and sequence of material are always honed over time. The biggest recent change is that the workshop has expanded with an optional 2nd day where we play around further with on-location lighting. The first day is still the intensive workshop – the combination of seminar and practical sessions where we cover everything thoroughly. The first day takes place in a hotel in Jersey City with a magnificent view of Manhattan. (It is right next to the Path station, so it is easily accessible for anyone coming from Manhattan or Brooklyn.)
The second day is where we have fun, and walk around with two models, and try different backgrounds and lighting scenarios. So that’s the workshop now … 2 days, with the first day an intensive 10 hour workshop, with two models. The next day is the application of that, and we roam around the Meat-Packing District in Manhattan with two different models.
Thank you to everyone who attended and made it a success. And a big thank you to our four models; my friend Richard and my assistant-with-an-attitude, Jessica, who helped on the day. For anyone who might be interested, the next workshop series is coming up in July.
In composing an image, it isn’t just a matter of placing your subject somewhere in the frame. This is true for whether you go by the rigid restrictions of the Rule of Thirds, or whether you like a more central composition .. or a composition with a lot of negative space .. or whether composition is more in the way you instinctively react to the scene and subject in front of you.
Equally as important as where you place your subject, is what you include and what you exclude in the frame. With photographic composition you have to look at the edges of your frame.
I really prefer getting it right in camera – composing for that 3:2 ratio. But it isn’t always possible. Sometimes a different crop works better .. say a square crop. With this image of our model, Catherine, standing inside this massive sundial, it made visual sense to use the shape of the sundial to dictate what the final composition should be.
combining video light and daylight for photography
An image from the most recent workshop, held in Jersey City – our model, Catherine, lit by a combination of daylight coming in through the window, and a video light held aloft. The careful use of the different color balance of daylight vs video light, gives this image its arresting palette. I did make sure that her face was mostly lit by video light, for a uniform color there. The camera was set to Tungsten WB – the preset appropriate for a video light.
The background is the Manhattan Skyline. It is blown out because it is much brighter than what the video light is capable of. But it does help in giving this photo a certain ethereal quality.
It’s been a hectic week here in Las Vegas, as everyone who attended WPPI 2010 will agree. So many old friends and new friends … the seminars and trade-show … and of course the parties! But the peak for me was obviously the masterclass I presented on Sunday to a group of 35. What a thrill and an honour to be selected to present a masterclass at WPPI!
The topic – Flash On The Run – was an amalgamation of material from my book on flash photography, some of the writings here, and a lot of new photos from recent weddings. The seminar was about how all the techniques fit together on a wedding day to give you the best results from your flash while still shooting fast. And specifically, how to achieve portrait-quality lighting from your on-camera flash.
If I have to go by the number of questions asked and how much longer the seminar ran, it feels like quite a success – and hopefully everyone gained something that will affect their own photography and approach to flash. To everyone who attended, thank you for being there. And do keep in touch with any questions you may have about the material. I’d love to hear from you.
An icy cold day in the Meatpacking District in Manhattan … and a brave model that insisted on going bare feet. That’s just a glimpse of the latest NYC Photog Shootout gathering that took place on Saturday. This shootout is part of the ongoing series of events arranged by Rob Nicholson. There were many familiar faces in today’s group amongst the new. Good opportunity to say hi to old friends, and make a few new ones.
As with the previous NYC shootout in June 2009 , I gave some instruction on some of the basics of manual off-camera flash to the groups. We worked with a Q-flash and a softbox (and sometimes without the softbox), and a bunch of Pocketwizards that I handed to anyone in the group who didn’t have. Strange thing – I ended up with one more pocketwizard than I started out with. Bonus! (Actually, if you were there and you’re missing one, let me know.)
It was a bit of the Wild West out there with the huge groups of photographers firing away.
The second group had an interesting addition to the shoot …
The final workshop of the year! And what a wild interesting ride it’s been the past two years with the workshops. Wonderful people that I’ve met; interesting cities and places .. and some adventures. (Those who attended last year’s workshop in Dallas, will remember the belligerent cowboy!)
The workshop in Dallas was a great way to end up this series of workshops – two fantastic models in an interesting venue, and a great group of people. As always, it felt really good seeing how things click into place for the photographers who attended. Thank you to everyone!
The image above was from the session where we played around with video lights. In this case, finally getting the two models together in a dramatic pose; then lighting them with a video light from either side. The sconce lighting on the walls then helped make the image more compelling that a bland background would have. A few tweaks in Photoshop, essentially bumping up the contrast and saturation, also helps give the image more impact.
I always like visiting Austin with its vibrant music scene and night life, so it was good to visit again. I also met up again with Juliana who was our model at last year’s workshop. That’s her crazy self there on the right-hand side of the image, along with her friend Tatiana who also modelled for us at the workshop.
Some techie details:
The photo was taken during the practical session where we work with manual flash (via speedlights in softboxes). In this instance we had both softboxes in use, one on each model. Both were set for the same output. The flash output was chosen such that the ambient light is under-exposed by a stop. It allows us to get clean controlled lighting on our models with the diffused flash. My final camera settings were: 1/250th @ f5.6 @ 250 ISO .. but I had to pull back the exposure in RAW by 1/3rd stop.
Thank you to everyone who attended – it was a nice group of people and it was great meeting all of you. Also, a thank you to our two models.
Regarding the workshops in general – The Austin workshop was the penultimate workshop of the year, and also the travelling workshops. Next stop is Dallas .. and then from next year, a restructured revamped 2-day workshop on lighting which will include more practical sessions with on-location lighting.
