|
Photography Workshops and Master Classes
Several years ago, I met a fellow photographer - albeit, he was an amateur, a very good one (the difference is not the quality of the work . the difference is that one does it for love, the other does it for money). He is now a new friend and fellow photographer named Marco, an Italian. His day job is as a top children's heart surgeon. His passion for photographing people takes him all over the world, seeking out that special face, interesting enough to be captured on film/file. During our brief encounter in my brother's hairdressing salon, we had found common ground and a need to explore each other's pictures. He asked me if I would visit his photographic society to meet the other members and discuss the possibility of me giving a talk about my fashion photography. I said to Marco, "Whatever will I talk about?" Well, first off, he said, there is something very magical in the expressions of my models and in the atmosphere of my pictures that he would love to have in his. He asked me how do you achieve this. Shocked at his remark, I said, "No, I can't, because I don't know myself." You have to find out he said because this is what you should talk about. We spent the next couple of hours disgussing photography and the feelings and techniques of managing your subjects whilst shooting. During my visit to his camera club, we arranged for my talk to be done nearly 9 months later, so I had time to think about my talk and to get myself prepared. For days, I looked at my work and examined myself whilst shooting assignments. It was maybe 6 months later whilst photographing a bridal-wear collection for one of my clients that something clicked. (No pun intended!) I had decided that I would like to start shooting with wider lenses to change the style of my bridal-wear pictures. I shoot for so many bridal-wear designers, so I have to make them look and feel different to the each other. It also helps to use a short zoom, because during most of my shoots, I can take a variety of images from full length to portrait shots from the same distance, so my client gets much more usage out of the shots. While moving in closer to my model, I noticed a big difference in the expressions in her face and her body language - they changed, as I got closer. I experimented more and began to play with this for the rest of this shoot. Not only could I see better, it also created a much better flow of the energy and communication between my model and myself. For years, I have been shooting fashion pictures using medium-length telephotos, at times so far away that my models could not hear me directing them. An amazing thing had happened. I could see and control so much more in my pictures. Not to say that I will never use long lenses, just that I prefer the new results that I am getting with wide lenses. In fact, most of my recent projects I have shot with a wide zoom. I find that by doing the poses and expressions in my face that I want, my models seem to mirror mine. If I act daft, they act daft. If I laugh, they laugh. If I pull a sad face, they pull a sad face - which always makes them smile :-) Since this experiment, I have been adapting my directions to my models in much the same way, obviously changing my energy levels to match the levels I want in my pictures. If I want a nice soft and gentle feel, I express this in my voice and my manor and my body. If I want high energy, I do high energy. If I want my model to leap, I will leap. Think about this as if you were a conductor. The next time you attend a concert, watch him or her, and watch the orchestra. They mirror him - fast tempo, slow tempo, and medium tempo. You can do the same with your models. Fashion pictures for me have RHYTHM and TEMPO. If you want to express high energy or tempo in a picture, the shoot has to be high energy or tempo, or visa- versa. I look at pictures and sometimes wonder how boring the shoot must have been. I love to change the tempo up and down whilst I'm shooting, I would hate it if anyone viewing my pictures did not feel this energy. This is why I strive to make my shoots exciting for myself, my model, the other members of my team, and, most important, for my clients. As a photographer, you are the conductor, your models are your orchestra, and your clients or viewers of the pictures are the audience. So you have to direct and entertain. Your performance will reflect in your pictures. I want you to try a little experiment. The next time you have people over to your house or you get a moment with some people at work, pick a volunteer. Face each other, one or two feet apart, don't speak, and don't look at each other. In fact, do your best to imagine they are not there. Stay like this for 30 seconds and remember how this feels. Stay in this position but hold each other's hands, look into each other's eyes, smile at each other, don't speak. Instead of imagining they are not there, do the opposite. Try and send them all of your good energy. Stay like this for 30 seconds. Remember how this feels, and compare the feelings. Ask your friend or colleague and the others to explain how it felt for them. The next time you are shooting pictures, remember all of these feelings. Bruce runs courses, master classes and workshops that give students an insight into the fascinating world of fashion photography. Instructor and photographer Bruce Smith teaches the fundamentals of preparing for a fashion shoot and setting up and photographing a shoot. "Introduction to Fashion Photography" is intended for anyone who wishes to shoot fashion images for fun in order to impress family and friends or for those who have a burning desire to become a professional fashion photographer. Bruce's objective is to helps young photographers, initially to produce single fashion shots and eventually to produce fashion stories that would not look out of place in today's fashion magazines. With a fashion photography career spanning 30 years, Bruce has shot projects in many parts of the world from Alaska to Thailand. For the past 3 years he has been giving workshops, lectures and talks in various parts of the UK as well as abroad, teaching hands-on the skills and techniques he has learned during his professional career. There are several variations to the courses that photographers can take, from an online 8 week intense practical asignments course to 5 day master classes in beautiful settings in the South of France and Italy. Bruce teaches studio photography on his fashion and beauty or Glamour and Fine Artistic Figure and Nude photography workshops, held every month in fabulous studios in South West London. Students can expect to learn a lot of the secrets behind Bruces amazing fashion, beauty, glamour and fine artistic figure and nude photographs. His work can be seen on his web sites: You can read the many letters of thanks from his former students. There is also a students gallery where you can see the standard of photography his students are achieving in a short period of time whilst attending his photography master classes and workshops.
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Digital Camera Memory - An Introduction The digital camera is essentially a computer-based device, whose core is controlled by the computer. And as a result the photographs are stored in a location called memory. Now, this concept is or paramount importance in discussing digital camera. Strictly speaking, digital camera memory is where digital pictures are stored inside the camera. The digital camera memory is an essential and often a very neglected and overlooked section of equipments for digital photography and camera. There are many types of memory available for digital cameras, and it is a good practice to mull over what type of memory a camera uses before buying a digital camera. This discussing is aimed in revealing some of this relevant information! Picture Framing for Photographers - Part 1 Imagine being able to frame all your own photographs just as well as a professional. You can save enough money to easily pay for all the necessary tools, and the convenience of being able to do it yourself frees you from having to get someone else do it. If you're an amateur a mount cutter, a frame clamp and a hand-operated frame joining tool is all the equipment you need to make professional looking frames. These days the tools are easy and safe to operate, inexpensive, and give you a good result. Picture framing can be divided into four areas. Cutting the bevel mount, cutting and joining the frame, mounting the photograph, and fitting and finishing the job. The tools required to perform each one of these functions are as follows. Landscape Photography - Capture the Beauty That is All Around There are many different types of photography. You can take pictures of anything and there is someone out there somewhere who would like to see the pictures that you take. So, photography is a great field to get into. Modeling Portfolio Webites In the age of home phones and 8x10's we all wondered how anyone could ever afford to get into the modeling industry. Even after you invest a small fortune in professional training and other peripheral services, you still have to purchase all of the marketing materials to send to anyone with a mailing address. Magic and the Photograph It was widely reported in the press (15 September 1997) that a British tourist, who stole a lump of stone from the base of the Great Pyramid five years earlier, returned it to the Cairo Museum with a letter saying that 'it had brought him bad luck ever since'. The Museum authorities were not surprised; several such items had been returned by people who felt cursed {When the Luxor Casino was built in Las Vegas it moved on its foundation so the elevators had a lot of re-engineering to be done, while I lived in Las Vegas. The death toll during its construction was nine. Do you think a religious and spiritual force knows when it is being improperly sullied?} after stealing them. A good reason for caution is the largely bogus story of an Egyptian coffin lid - or fragment of a coffin lid. It was told to Arthur Weigall, author of 'Tutankhamen' (1923) by its one-time owner, Mr. Douglas Murray who purchased the coffin some time in the 1860s: 'no sooner had he done so than he lost his arm, owing to the explosion of his gun. The ship in which the coffin was sent home was wrecked, and so was the cab in which it was driven from the docks; the house in which it was deposited was burnt down; and the photographer who made a picture of it shot himself. A lady who had some connection with it suffered great family losses, and was wrecked at sea shortly afterwards...The list of accidents and misfortunes charged to the spirit which is connected with this coffin is now of enormous length. Diffusion & Softening of Digital Photography Images Like many people who've made the switch from film cameras to digital, I've discovered that the lens tools I once used so effectively on my cameras to soften, diffuse and vignette my images for quality "finished" professional results won't do for digital what they did for film. Photography - Rules of Composition Composition is defined as the combining of distinct parts or elements to form a whole. In photography that definition is very important in taking quality pictures. The following rules of composition should be learned and considered but not necessarily used in every photo. Once you have learned these rules you will be more observant of the possible photo opportunities that surround you. But keep in mind that the really famous photographers usually find a creative way to stretch or break the rules of composition. The Well-Dressed Photographer - Summer Outdoor photographers shoot year round. That includes the hot summer. You may be surprised to learn that the best way to tolerate the heat is not to strip down to your skivvies. Instead, using the right products and wearing clothing designed to face the challenges of summer will help you keep your cool. Photography Courses Online There are also some excellent online courses available and some of them are free, just type "Photography free online courses" into your search engine. Morguefile is an example they offer sound technical advice on a variety of subjects, as well as aspects of types of photography, it is a good point to start with, showing the resources Jodie Coston, a freelance photographer, has made available online, after a series of classes she gave. The New York Institute of Photography offers an online course over a period of about eight months, with a few hours work a day at your own pace, they offer courses in Photography and digital photography. Whilst they state they have been teaching photography for a hundred years, they do not quote their prices online, you have to contact them direct. They offer the information that most of their students are mature. Photo seminars offer a free workshop and a free lesson, so that you may you may evaluate the course before you buy. The enrolment cost is 39.00. U.S. dollars. They also offer links and resources. Better Photos, also offer a wide range of courses at different prices, with differing lengths, the subjects are either technical or cover "How to take more dramatic photographs". For these courses you need to transfer the photographic assignment you were given to a web page on their site, so you need access to a computer. Digital Camera Bags - Purchasing and Using Some compact cameras are small enough to fit in your handbag or pocket, but I still recommend purchasing a camera case. It will save your camera from unnecessary wear and tear. Olympus Digital Cameras - Digging Into The History One of the oldest companies, Olympus has had a long and historical journey. Olympus digital cameras are being used all over the world today. Let us take a look at the glorious history of Olympus here. Portrait Photography: Tips and Methods Portrait is defined as, "A likeness of a person, especially one showing the face, that is created by a painter or photographer, for example." In the area of portrait photography there are some guidelines that you should consider when you go to take photos of people. Guidelines for Printing Great Photos at Home So you have this great digital camera and you've taken lots of great photos. Now what? Well you could go to a store and have them print your images for you, but isn't that what you did with film? The point of all this great digital technology is that you can print your own photos at home without having to pay someone else to do it. Here are some tips to help you get started: History of the Camera Early cameras of the 16th and 17th century were able to project images onto paper or glass but the study of capturing, processing and printing the images took many more years. Up until the 17th century, scientists believed that light was composed basically of the 'white' that is perceived by the human eye. It took the research done by famous physicist Isaac Newton to discover that light is actually composed of a spectrum of colors. While he made a big contribution to the study of optics (that is at the core of camera advances) with this discovery, Newton did not actually have anything to do with camera development per se. The Mysterious Powerful Element of a Picture That Sells A photo buyer calls for a picture of pigs. It could be about anything. A hundred responses go online and one lucky so-and-so gets the sale. That's 99 pictures deemed to be second, and that's no good in any race. 8 Simple Tips for Taking Great Baby Photos Taking pictures of your new baby is a great way to preserve life long memories. Baby pictures can also make great postcards, keepsakes, or baby shower gifts. Here are some simple tips to get great baby pictures: Weddings, From a Photographers Point of View Your wedding day is without a doubt one of the happiest and stressful days of you life. The happy part comes naturally but how can you cut down on the stress? Well from a photographers standpoint, seeing that he is with you from the beginning of the day till the end, and sees you before and after the wedding, I would like to offer some tips and secrets to make it more happy than stressful. Black & White Photography Photography is a diversified field of creating a spectral variety of art. It is a specialization that deals with different experimentations with colors, however it is also a fact that only shades of black and white can also do wonders in this zone of creative art. With the advent of the digital camera the scope of this wonderful business has opened up new horizons for the users and photographers who seek to explore new lands and trod the ground of innovative creation and thus it can be aptly said that black & white can become more creativity with the boon of digital photography and digital camera. This discussion is primarily aimed at exploring the incipient information regarding the blessing of the digital camera in black & white photography so that the novice as well as the expert photographers can become richer in knowledge! Christmas Rush this Holiday Season to go to Digital Photography So you have rushed out into the malls in a mad panic for this christmas holiday and are going to purchase a electronic item on Credit think again. Consumers are paying again through the nose agin this year 1.5 billion in sales up from last year and sure to gain ground next year again. Where Do Great Ideas Come From? At a Photo Club meeting I attended recently, the President made a comment on another meeting he had attended, where someone in the audience asked the presenter where to find good subjects to photograph. The presenter in question started giving specifics instead of identifying the core issues in question, Attitude and Perspective. |
|
Copyright © 2006 Advancing Women/font> |