Fine Art Fotos Blog: June 2013

www.WPPIonLine.com/On-The-Road.shtml, www.PDNonline.com, www.RangeFinderOnline.com

WPPI, PDN PhotoPlus Expo, ASMP and Kelby Training are offering a series of 2-day photography workshops where new talent will emerge and pros will be re-inspired. You'll experience all the fun, excitement, education and inspiration of the photo industry's best events in person, all in a city near you. This is your opportunity to learn from awesome, established educators who will share their paths to success and help you strengthen everything from your creative shooting techniques and post-production skills to how to be successful in your business and marketing practices.

A full day of seminars taught by today's best educators on the hottest topics, in two program tracks: Wedding & Portrait Photography and Commercial & Editorial Photography. Topics will include lighting & posing, business & marketing, post-production and workflow techniques. You may attend seminars in either track to customize an educational experience that's most valuable for you. One on one portfolio reviews will be conducted during the Happy Hour mixer. Lunch and daytime refreshments will be provided.

A combination of seminars and small group hands-on photography experiences where you'll get creative and productive under the guidance of the industry's best educators, while applying what you've been taught on Day 1. Attendees may choose to partake in a seminar or hands-on sessions including studio lighting, continuous lighting, off camera small portable strobe lighting and available lighting.

What photographers do at the scene of the accident. LOL!

www.DougGordonWorkshops.com, www.WPPIOnline.com

Since Doug Gordon is a star of the WPPI Road Show 2013 we are reissuing this post when he did a class in Hudson Valley, NY. His next appearance on the WPPI Road Show is in Las Vegas on August 5th.

www.DougGordonWorkshops.com

Both www.PPANJ.com and http://www.ppgny.org/ invited Doug Gordon to teach all he knows at their region photo class.

It didn't cost to attend, IT PAID! It's always great to see how others work and Doug is a master. His studio does a thousand weddings a year, his brides get exactly what they saw in his sample albums, no matter which of his photographers shot the event. He began as a shooter in his family studio. Paying his dues using film and learning the tradition key shots. (the tradition was knowing how each piece of film was going to be used) Assisting Monte Zucker was a boost and a education in itself. I have known of Doug for years and am glad I had the opportunity to learn from him and watch him work.

Ie: he doesn't use a flash, why contaminate the natural light and the beauty that it is emanates. Shooting wide open ( 2.8 ) also helps, besides being his built in soft filter it opens up the background's dark places. This trick is something that us newspaper photojournalists have used for decades but most weddings shooters love their f/8. By developing Flo-Posing he can work fast and get in and out. No one hgets hurts. And this is so desirable on the wedding day. Yes it is a paint-by- number technique but with modern, sexy, fashionable results. By daring to be different and unique whenever possible he commands attention when he is shooting. Ie: The bride flat on her back, laying on her side or her legs up against the wall. Using negative space, cropping the the face down the middle and showing just one eye, angling the camera to create a feeling of gracefulness.

He really has thought out every shot (and actually named them down to the number of the pose) It is so important to to be designing the album as you work the day for every thing you do and decide now doesn't have to be done later. That is why he edits the shots on the job using lightroom presets to make them special. You can then present them at the wedding on a screen (or even a laptop) and for the most part have your entire editing work done before you leave the reception. Yes you had to be there to get the full effect, my advise is to always keep learning and that is why I go to my local photography organizations workshops.

www.WppiOnline.com, www.LindsayAdlerPhotography.com

Since Lindsey Adler is a star of the WPPI Road Show 2013 we are reissuing this post when she did a class in Hudson Valley, NY. Her next appearance on the WPPI Road Show is in Los Angeles on July 15th.

Thanks to HVPPSNY for hosting the TEP event with Lindsay Adler and Neil Van Niekerk. I was looking forward to seeing them and even though they have both been speaking at many events recently (including PhotoPlus) I kept missing them.

I am excited to say that the workshop more than lived up to my expectations. I am out of chapter and belong to PPGNY AND PPANJ but gladly go to seminars I deem worthy. Fashion photography is not something I specialize in but what Lindsay demonstrated can easily be done with brides. With style and grace and her command of lighting, she inspired all all us to think out of the box. The very next day I started using my beauty dish and barn doors again and created some amazing images!

We all want to be better photographers and make more money, nothing takes the place of being in a class but I would like to go over some of the finer points our presenters made. By becoming the expert you can build your reputation. By sharing and giving knowledge you can become a leader in the industry. her ideas on blogging were helpful, many people don't know what to blog about, the answer is simple; recent work, reviews and reflections, people love outtakes ie. behind the scenes stories. Updates, cover an event, even interview others. By using analytics you can see who is following you and which of your blog posts are the most popular. Put yourself out there, build your on-line business presence by including testimonials. Don't forget Youtube and Vimeo, embed them in your blog. Youtube partnerships can make you $$ and they have a high pass-along rate which makes you famous! Visit her website at www.LindsayAdlerPhotography.com

I didn't know what to expect from Neil Van Niekerk. I missed him at PPGNY but Owen Kassimir (www.OwenImaging.com) told me he was real good and he would see him again. That's enough to make me want to check him out. He covered on-camera flash techniques for wedding and portrait photography. Nobody like on camera flash, right? Well think again. I have been doing bounce flash tricks for a while now. I am not talking a straight-up-to-the- ceiling bouncing (that is not the greatest because of the raccoon eyes etc.) I always try to bounce off the walls or what ever happens to be on one side of me (usually the video guy, LOL) Neil takes it much, much further. From him I learned why I doing things and how to do them better! He doesn't want any direct light from his on camera flash to be hitting his subject WHAT-SO-EVER! He has a small black flag attached to his flash to divert any light from going forward. The result is amazing! Others sell diffusers or bounce card devises to soften the light but when you see what can be done by bouncing off a wall or reflector you will throw all that stuff away. (or sell it to a beginner, LOL) He opened my eyes and I was already going in that direction! Please visit him at www.Neilvn/tangents.

www.Woodstock-NY.com, www.WoodstockNY.org, www.WoodstockGuide.com, www.WoodstockChamber.com

There are a few perks to being an international artist, usually the gallery or museum picks up all costs for transportation and lodging and if that is not the case then I just inquire ahead to seek a place to stay. Without fail and no matter what part of the world I am heading to, there are folks willing to put me up. I love having access to peoples lives and in return I make new friends and photograph their lifestyle.