Back to back weekend workshops!
June was a busy time; I taught two of the Portable Portrait workshops during the month; the first was out of my studio, and the second was at the New Hampshire Institute of Art.
The first workshop of June saw the day a bit overcast and drizzly. Not worrying much about the rain any more, we started inside and then took a small drive over to Nashua's Greeley Park and did some work in the large stone building they have.
Our models for the day were Marjie, whom I've taken Senior Portraits of a few years back, and Kate, who is a friend still attending NHIA.
Kate
Marjie
A visual example showing how Shutter Speed controls ambient light. Showing the students examples like this on location, while they are shooting, helps that light bulb go off in their heads and visually helps them understand how to manually control their cameras and lights.
June 19th
The second workshop, a week after the first, was held up at NHIA. The weather was more welcoming this week and all of our shooting was done outside in Manchester. This time, my lovely friend and NHIA student Katrina was our model for the day
Katrina actually used to exist in the 1950's and 60's, but somehow found a time-vortex and brought her into 2010. She has classic Hollywood starlet written all over her.
During the workshop we found our way over to Manchester's call box behind City Hall. I dug out a gridspot, put Katrina inside the telephone box and suddenly found myself in an Alfred Hitchcock movie:
This is one of the things I enjoy most about the workshop; just taking the minimal gear and walking around and finding locations on-the-spot. Photography is about trial and error. Its about taking chances. Its about learning as you go. When you only have lightweight gear with you, its minimal effort to set up. Its opening up your ability to take chances and throw caution to the wind. Dig that camera out, set that light up, and play. You might get something bad, or you might get something good. You'll never know unless you try. And by controlling your light, you have more options and more control over your image. By manually adjusting your camera settings and your flash settings, you have complete control over your image. Don't shoot lazy and fix it in post-production on the computer. Don't let auto-settings decide what your images are going to look like. Dominate your shoot because you are calling the shots completely.
Students during the June 19th workshop.
The next workshop is scheduled for August 14th out of my Studio in Nashua. To register, visit the workshop website.
To see a few more examples from the June 12th workshop, click here
To see a few more examples from the June 19th workshop, click here
To see some of the other students images from the workshop, click here
Cheers, Sid