PHOTO NEWS: Looking back, looking forward

Fellow photographers,

Stuart by Naomi, aged 6.

Firstly a big thank you to everyone who came to the open day on Saturday. It was great to see loads of people here celebrating the studio’s first birthday. There were some great photographers here, but we all eclipsed by one photographer: Naomi who is only 6 years old came to the studio with her mum and dad. She borrowed her mum’s camera and started shooting. As well as shooting our model Naomi also turned her camera on the other guests. The image on the right is of Stuart from the app development company “3Sheep” who had come to the studio to have a quick look round but found himself invited by Naomi to pose for her camera.

The studio appears to have done very well out of the open day as we now have an extra canon battery charger with battery and a second light meter. Would the rightful owner please form an orderly queue…..!!

Looking to the future… I have updated the studio website to list all the workshops and Friday night events up to the 1st June. You can see the full list here – or scroll down to the bottom of this newsletter for links to the individual events.

I’d like draw your attention to the next two Friday night events Big is Beautiful this Friday, 2nd March and Food Photography on March 9th. The next two full day workshops are Sunday 11th March: The Wedding Photography Workshop. And 16th March: Art Nude workshop. I have had a couple of people ask me about running workshops during the week – so this time I’m running the Art Nude workshop on a Friday. If this proves successful I’ll look at running other workshops mid week too.

Also in this newsletter I’m going to give you a little bit more information about the forthcoming free training and tutorial videos that I am currently working on.

So please read on for more information…..

Big is beautiful

Friday, 2 March 2012 , 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Location: Ian’s Studio
At this event we move away from the “size zero” models and turn out attention to photographing a larger model. Come along, take the challenge and prove that big is beautiful too.

For this event we will work with one or two plus size models (depending on how many photographers book).

We will look at techniques for different types of images from simple portraits to a more glamour style of image.I am in active discussions with a fantastic model for this event, her details will be published later.

Price: £20.00

Table-top night: Food for thought

Friday, 9 March 2012 , 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Location: Ian’s Studio

It’s table top night again. This time the theme is food. We will look at some of the photographic tricks used to make images of food look especially mouth watering.

We will look at different techniques including how to add steam to an image (believe me, once you know how it is done images of steaming food will NOT look quite so appealing ever again!); how to make some food look especially fresh. We will also look at lightbox techniques and if possibly have the water tank available for anyone who wants to try a food drop image.

Price : £13.00

Introduction to Wedding Photography Workshop

Sunday, 11 March 2012 , 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Ian’s Studio

At some point all photographers get asked to photograph a wedding – even if it is on an informal basis just as a favour for a friend. This workshop will introduce you to what is involved.

While taking the photographs is relatively straightforward what scares most photographers is the fact that you have limited time and only have one chance at a wedding. In this workshop we give special emphasis on the ‘stage management’ role that a wedding photographer has to assume.

We look at the planning side, and how to make sure things run smoothly from a photographic perspective. We go through the day looking at different scenes that wedding photographers have to photograph.

We conclude the workshop with the chance to photograph bride and groom models.
(Please note: 4 or more attendees are required to be able to book both bride and groom models. If there are 2 or 3 attendees on the workshop we will only have a bride model to shoot. With only 1 attendee I can still run the workshop as a one-to-one training session but would not be able to offer the chance to shoot).

Cost £69 (Includes lunch and notes)

Art Nude Workshop

Friday, 16 March 2012 , 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Ian’s Studio

At this workshop I will demonstrate a number of art nude set-ups. There will be printed notes detailing the lighting set-ups being used.

The day will be suitable for those who are a little unsure about where to start with art nude photography; but time will be built into the day to enable more experienced photographers to build on these set-ups.

I am pleased to announce that our model for this workshop will be Toni aka “Misty Model” – You can see her Purestorm Profile here: http://www.purestorm.com/misty_model (Usual warning – contains artistic nudity).

There will be opportunities to create high-key (white background) images, low-key (black background) images and bodyscape images. A large selection of props will be available to enhance the images and to help inspire you with ideas.

You can see examples of the images taken at a previous running of this workshop (that time with model Willow Rose) here: http://photos.imb.biz/models/shoot/willowrose/

Cost £82 per person (this includes lunch and printed notes).

Messy Art Nude Workshop

Saturday, 24 March 2012 , 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Ian’s Studio

At this full day workshop we will work with one or two art nude models to create a different style of art nude images using different messy substances such as chocolate & cream, foam, paints, and slime.

This workshop is expanded and extended beyond what was covered in the recent Friday night event. This workshop will cover additional set-ups and full documentation on the techniques and lighting will be given to all attendees.

You can find example images of the style we will be creating at this event/workshop on my gallery:
http://photos.imb.biz/model/genre/messyartnude
(As you might expect the gallery contains artistic nudity)

The model for this event will be Kiki Devine. Kiki is an experience art nude model, dancer and contortionist, so we can expect to photographer some great body shapes. Kiki’s purestorm profile is: http://www.purestorm.com/kayleighpage and her ModelMayhem page is: http://www.modelmayhem.com/1956586

Please note: While care will be taken to try to ensure that those attending the event do not get messy, you should be aware that we are working with messy substances such as paint and food substance which may stain. Wearing old clothes is advised.

Price: £75 (Price includes printed notes and lunch)

The Friday night version of this event was very popular and was actually over-subscribed. So early booking is advised for this event if you wish to guarantee a place.

Coming Soon – “Ian’s Studio – The Movie”

As hopefully you will know by know I am developing some free training and tutorial videos. I am pleased to announce the titles of the first 10 videos…