During this presentation you will learn how to balance lighting, setup hair lights, rim lights, background lights, and more while maintaining a proper exposure.If you are wanting to move into multiple lighting setups, this will be a great primer to get you going and learn how to use different modifiers such as softboxes, snoots, grids, and other accessories to really control your lighting.

Event Details

OC Photo Club (website)
Tuesday, Oct 11th 6-9pm
Irvine Heritage Park Library
14361 Yale Avenue
Irvine, CA 92604-1901

LA SmugMug (Meetup Group)
Thursday, October 20, 2011, 6:30 PM
Beverly Garland Holiday Inn
4222 Vineland Avenue, North Hollywood, CA

This week Kerry and David discuss a variety of topics including lighting, business, marketing, and staying in touch with your clients.Show Links

David Ziser
http://digitalprotalk.com

Matt McGraw

http://www.mattmcgrawphotography.com/home.html

Worldwide Photography Webcast
http://kppablog.blogspot.com

Discount code for David’s Captured by the Light Tour: cbldpt10
http://capturedbythelight2010.com

Show Host

Kerry Garrison
http://kerrygarrison.com

Disclaimer

In the interest of being completely honest here, I need to point out right up front that I did not pay to attend his workshop. He actually had asked me to come up and help out with the workshop as a group leader. I did not get any compensation for this help other than being able to attend the workshop at no charge.  That being said, I did want to really see if I would actually get any useful info out of his event. I also am not getting any compensation for this article nor any credit or kickback if anyone signs up for his workshop. Normally, I would put a disclaimer like this in fine print at the bottom but I really wanted to be upfront about how I ended up attending the workshop.

About Scott

Scott comes across as a very genuine and approachable person, he does not seem to want the role of the seemingly “rockstar” photographer. He comes across as fairly down to earth although quite successful at the same time. This plays well to the mostly 20 something audience he attracts. I have kids older than some of the attendees and my and my buddy Lloyd filled out the opposite side of the age Bell curve.

Workshop Format and Content

The first probably 1/4 of the day is spent talking about off-camera lighting. Scott shows numerous examples of the style and talks about a number of different methods for getting your flash off your camera. This section covers single and multiple light setups, different modifiers, and different light techniques. This part of the program also goes into some detail about how to use shadows to define shape,depth, and mood., again with plenty of good examples to drive the point home.

The second 1/4 of the day was the best part of the day for me. During this part Scott showed some very simple posing setups as well as tips on how to get the subject to portray a deeper sense of emotion which really made the images come alive. This is probably the single biggest issue I have with my images. While technically good, they are lacking (to me) something else that would take them to another level. I really thought that some of the lessons during this part were some of the absolute best pieces of information I have had in the last few years of learning from other people as well as watching other people work.

The last half of the day was spent actually shooting the different models that had been brought in. During this time we were instructed to work on the lessons that he had given us and to do it with available light as much as possible. As a group leader, my role was to keep people rotating through shooting the models, reinforcing the lessons Scott had given, and offering as much advice as I could. Scott would rotate through the different groups with additional advice on lighting, posing, communication with the subject, and whatever questions the attendees might have had.

This last part seemed to flow really well although as a group leader I didn’t take nearly as many shots as I would have wanted but that’s ok. I had absorbed some solid content that I was able to put into some use there and will certainly be using as upcoming shoots.

With Scott’s approachable demeanor, nobody seemed intimidated or felt awkward asking even the most basic questions and Scott would take as much time as needed to work with someone to make sure they understood the answer.

How is the workshop marketed?

I really stress that people need to do their homework and look carefully at what a workshop is offering before deciding to take any. The following text is taken right off of Scott’s website:

The Goal is to teach any photographer from the ground up and help develop them into an elite photographer through a year long teaching process on all facets of professional portrait and wedding photography. Scott will assign projects that will be accessed and critiqued and provide personal, customized coaching to maximize the learning experience of each individual photographer ensuring they are competent at each necessary skill. Every lesson is accompanied with 4 hours of practical hands on learning and experimentation. It is Scott’s desire to provide the most comprehensive photographic program in the country- certifying a new generation of highly skilled and successful artists ready for real world application.

The Method is to combine world class teaching with fully stylized live practice sessions and individualized coaching.

This particular workshop is an eight part series with a different installment taking place every other month or so. This class was:

Lesson #1
The Four Elements of WOW- How to create images with impact.
Posing 101 (part 1)
How to use one light and available light.

Given that course description, this is a major cost and time commitment of the students to attend eight different workshops (major price breaks on buying the complete package or the lifetime membership). The most interesting aspect I found in this approach is that Scott does not promise you any magic or secrets that will make you an awesome photographer in one day. Instead, each day is a very defined and limited set of information with hands-on application of those lessons to help drive home the point. The students are then to practice those lessons and try to get as good with those techniques as possible during the time between workshops.

The Bottom Line

At the end of the day what really matters is whether or not you feel it was worth your time, effort, and of course, money to attend any given workshop. Would I have spent a couple of hundred bucks to go, before hand I would have said no, that decision would have been based on current budget issues, time constraints, and mostly, not having seen Scott talk anywhere before and not having read any reviews about his workshops.

Having now attended the first part of the mentoring program, would I have paid to attend, yes. I absolutely feel that my images will look better. I think my clients will see a difference in what I can do over someone else and I really believe that this will help improve business. At the cost of the entire mentoring workshop series, I will need to sell ONE more job to cover the cost. I honestly believe that I will make that up with just the lessons from the very first class, let alone what I would get out of the entire series.

Does Scott’s workshop earn the “Camera Dojo Seal of Approval”? I am going to say, a big yes to this one. Whether you are just starting out or are already making money with weddings or portraits, you WILL learn some techniques that will take your images to new levels, that will separate you from the hoards of other photographers out there.

Will you be a huge success and make untold fortunes as a photographer? Well, that nobody can promise you and if they do, run..run fast. You have to have very solid business skills, accounting skills, marketing skills, people skills, and much more to run a successful photography business, but Scott’s Mentoring Workshops will certainly give you a solid foundation in the image side of the business.

For more information, check out http://scottrobertworldtour.com

I have mentioned David Ziser’s upcoming seminar series several times and I will continue to until it is over as it is going to be the one big not-to-miss seminar this year. David is an expert on lighting and technique and presents these topics in very easy to understand ways so that you can go back and start implementing them immediately.

David Ziser’s Digital WakeUp Call 2009 Tour will get underway on March 30 and hits 58 cities across the country. I got a sneak peak at some of the material while at WPPI and it made my entire trip worthwhile so I am personally excited about the Digital WakeUp Call Tour.

I had asked David how I could help promote tour for him and he responded with a special discount code for Camera Dojo readers. The discount code ZKGDWC09 will get you into the seminar for only $59 (a $20 savings!).

Who Should Attend?

I have been asked this a lot, and while David is one of the best wedding photographers in the world and certainly many of the examples will be of wedding images, anybody that wants to shoot people, make their images better, and learn Lightroom, should most certainly attend. Even if you are not selling weddings or portraits, for $59 you will improve the quality of your images signifigantly by using the techniques that David will be teaching.

Is It Worth Attending?

Again, yes yes yes!! For $59, you will leave with materials worth $250 more than you paid to get in:

• Tour Handbook including: program notes, photography, marketing and more
• 2 Hour DVD with extended program content
• $100 Rebate from American Color Imaging
• 1 year membership to WPPI and Rangefinder magazine, a $99 value
• FREE 3 month membership to DigitalProTalkPlus.com, a $45 value
• FREE 3 month subscription to PPA Magazine, a $15 value
• FREE PPA Indemnification (no-fault) insurance for all new PPA members, a $50 value
• Over $2,500 in door prizes awarded each evening
• And a chance to win 1 of 4 Grand Prizes worth over $5,000

Where will it be held?

The answer is, almost everywhere. David (and his amazing model LaDawn) will bring DWC to 58 cities across the country. The the schedule and registration page lists all of the days and locations. I will be attending the one in Irvine, Ca on May 20th.

Links:

Digital WakeUp Call Tour
David’s Digital Pro Talk Blog

YOU WILL LEARN…

• 32 ways to use your on and off-camera flashes for creative and dramatic effects.
• 10 of the best camera settings and lens choices for creating striking images on every job.
• 7 ways to use the new DSLR video capabilities to transform your product offerings.
• 10 “Magic Bullet” techniques to make your digital workflow nearly effortless, highly efficient, and fun with today’s top software from Adobe Lightroom, NIK, and LumaPix: FotoFusion.
• 20 new product and solid marketing ideas targeted to today’s customers to add substantially to your bottom line.

PROGRAM BONUS:

• Tour Handbook including: program notes, photography, marketing and more
• 2 Hour DVD with extended program content
• $100 Rebate from American Color Imaging
• 1 year membership to WPPI and Rangefinder magazine, a $99 value
• FREE 3 month membership to DigitalProTalkPlus.com, a $45 value

$2,500 in Door Prizes at EACH location and 4 Grand prizes totaling $20,000

If you sign up now, the price is only $59!! At the door the price is $79 which is still an amazing deal.

Go visit the Digital Wakeup Call website for additional information and to sign up. This event is most likely going to sell out in every city so I highly recommend you get registered as soon as possible.

Vu’s background in video production as well as marketing combines to give you an interesting perspective in how you should be looking at this medium for use in your own business.

Vu and his brother Lan give regular seminars and workshops and will be doing some really cool things at WPPI. Listen to the show to find out more about the WPPI event.

Vu Bui – http://vubui.com

The Bui Brothers – http://thebuibrothers.com

Show Hosts

Kerry Garrison (http://kerrygarrison.com)
David Esquire (http://esquirephotography.com)

This podcast is also available on iTunes.

“Lost That Spare Tire” from PeptidBond. He will receive a new R-Strap from BlackRapid. They also announce the next contest “converging lines”. More info about this new contest will be posted tomorrow.

Later, Kerry sat with Master Photographer David Ziser. David is a high end wedding photographer who has recently made the switch from JPEG to RAW and discusses the reasons for making the switch.

David has also recently switched to the new Canon 5D Mk II and discusses the new camera and how video will play a role in wedding photography.

Be sure and check out David’s website at http://digitalprotalk.blogspot.com and watch for news on his upcoming seminar.

Show Hosts

Kerry Garrison (http://kerrygarrison.com)
David Esquire (http://esquirephotography.com)

This podcast is also available on iTunes.

If you have never heard Roberto talk, be sure and check out our podcast conversation with him.

For more information on the class, please visit http://robertophotography.bigfolioblog.com/

The seminar itself is almost 4 hours long and the price includes a DVD with another four hours of training on it. At $49.00 this is one of the best deals around. Based on some of the things we learned there, watch for some upcoming tutorials on lighting and angles to help flatter your subjects.

Seminar information: Captivated by the Light workshop