Guest Speaker at Florida Camera Clubs

Valencia Shores Camera Club, Highland Lakes Camera Club, Ybor 1701 studios are just some of the places where you can catch my 1 hour seminar entitled "Kicking up your creativity through composition, lighting, and psychology" Some clubs allow you to attend for free others have a nominal charge like 10 or twenty dollars. Always check ahead with the particular club before you go.
On October 26 I spoke at the Highland Lakes Camera Club to about 40 people. This club is located in Palm Harbor Florida. They have print competition and show their work at Tiffany's a restaurant in Palm Harbor.
Monday November 1, I went to Lake Worth Florida at the Valencia Shores Camera Club. An absolutely beautiful place and also with about 40 people in attendance. Many of which purchased the Get The Picture DVDs.
This Thursday night, November 4, I will be speaking at Ybor 1701 studios at 7PM. Jim McDevitt who owns the studio is himself a talented photographer. If you should be in the area stop in and get a great informative lecture on Composition, Lighting, and Psychology.

Photos by Missy at the 2 Day Workshop

Missy got some great shots in Orlando and Tampa. The one on the left was in Tampa at USF.

Using the Diagonal line in Composition within a horizontal format makes for an interesting composition.

Using no flash or reflectors the lighting on the model is also excellent. Not to mention the relaxed expression. Whether we took the photos in the day or at night you can see we all used a tripod for accuracy. Some of the photos were taken at a shutter speed as low as 1/4 of a second. After editing the photos she made the photo below into a black and white. This is one of the photos taken on the porch of the place we stayed at. The lighting is natural light without flash or reflectors. Directional light coming from the left and causing slight shadows on the right. I say slight because you can still see detail in the shadows. They are not black. The use of the Dominant Subject Rule and Informal Composition make this a Professional Portrait to be proud of.

Although a little cool in the shade the day in Tampa was a lot warmer than Orlando. Every now and then we got that little gust of wind to help out with the hair. Again, I really like the expressions. They are very natural and not forced or fake. Good rapport with the model is key. The more confident you are with the technique the more energy you can put to establishing a connection or rapport with the model. Lighting and Composition are important but it's the expression that sells the photo.

If you are wondering which camera she used or what lens I purposely left that out. Everyone at the workshop had Canon, Nikon, and Sony cameras. Lenses ranged from the expensive to economical. Yet everyone walked away with terrific photos. That's because Missy and the rest of the photographers invested in themselves and learned technique.

All the equipment in the world can't save you but a little equipment with the right technique will yield amazing results.

Great job Missy!

Photography by Lea at the Orlando 2 day workshop

This set of photos were taken by Lea in Orlando. Really good lighting and composition as well as expression. There is an old saying in professional photography, "expressions sell photos". This is true. Combine that with good technical skills like lighting and composition and you have a winning combination.

The other side of this is you could have a technically perfect photo but without a sincere expression from your subject you are dead in the water. As you look at these photos notice how relaxed and confident the subject looks. This has a lot to do with the photographer. If the photographer has control of camera technique and is also able to establish a good rapport a successful outcome is guaranteed. As you can see in the 2 photos of Lea she is using a tripod and cable release for precision and to help her "connect" with the model.

The use of the telephoto lens throws the background out of focus so the attention goes to the model. The choice of background here is equally important. It is low key and not loud or busy. The color close up on the left has split lighting which gives the illusion of depth and roundness. Lea also made this in black and white. Some might have a preference for color and others for the black and white. The bottom line is that it is a terrific portrait either way. If it were not making it into a black and white would not help much.

The first day everyone got to practice studio portrait lighting. Being able to do studio portraiture really puts you in a different league. Although having studio lights is convenient it is not a prerequisite to studio photography. Knowledge and the correct application of the knowledge is everything. These studio portraits were created not in a studio but on the porch of the apartment we were staying at. No studio lights. Just a studio background and well executed technique. The wide angle shot to the right shows our model holding a white balance card. It is amazing how little you need in terms of equipment to produce professional results. This is why for me there is no such thing as professional equipment. Only professional photographers.

Great Job Lea!

What's Going On?

Okay,

We are just a few days away from completing the most fantastic set of DVDs on photography! I did a lot of research before starting this and this set is light years ahead of the rest.

Clear, concise explanations of some of the most difficult techniques and concepts. With exciting examples and bonus footage.

The set includes three DVDs This is the cover of the case

Composition

Camera Functions

Lighting

Then there is the photo contest;

At the moment there are over 320 images submitted. The prize is a $400 gift Certificate to B and H photo. Don't wait till the last minute. Upload your 5 best now!

Lastly,

I am going to get up early Friday and go out and do what I tell everyone else to do. Make a point to take photos. Yep,, I'll be up at sunrise and I am coming back with stunning photos. I don't know where yet. I am going to get in the car, close my eyes, drive for 15 minutes and wherever I end up I will stop and create great photos using the rules of composition and lighting.

Well, maybe I won't close my eyes.