Fellow Photographers,

Just a quick message to let you know who I have booked a model for this Friday’s “Summer in the Park” event….

I am really pleased to announce that the model for this event will be KirstyClare – you can see her profile on PurplePorthttp://purpleport.com/portfolio/kirstywhitelegg/?referrer=ianbutty It is worth noting that she has five front page images on purpleport http://purpleport.com/portfolio/kirstywhitelegg/fpis/ – so you can be sure of getting some great photos!!

Also this weekend we have Rhianna Grey returning to the studio for a studio day (book by the hour) plenty of places still up for grabs on that one. Please let me know by tomorrow evening if you want a place.

For those who missed out on the Trash the Dress shoot this Monday – you missed a fantastic day. I’ve done a blog post about some of the images, mainly talking about the post processing techniques used. So for that and details of other events…. please read on….

Forthcoming Events

Friday, 29 August 2014 – Summer in the Park

Summer in the Park

Location: Ian’s Studio
Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Price: £25

As we head towards the end of Summer, this week’s Friday Night theme will be summer in the park. A chance to practice your strobist (off camera flash) techniques as we work with our model(s) in Vernon and Woodbank parks.

Depending on the number of photographers booking I will arrange one, two or three models for us to shoot.

In the event of bad weather there are several locations we can use to shoot in the park and of course we can always use the studio.

I am really pleased to announce that the model for this event will be KirstyClare – you can see her profile on PurplePort http://purpleport.com/portfolio/kirstywhitelegg/?referrer=ianbutty (It is worth noting that she has five front page images on purpleport http://purpleport.com/portfolio/kirstywhitelegg/fpis/ – so you can be sure of getting some great photos.

Price £25

Please book via my website: http://www.ians-studio.co.uk/events/summer-in-the-park/

Saturday, 30 August 2014 – Rhianna Grey: Studio Day

Rhianna Grey: Studio Day

Location: Ian’s Studio
Time: 10:00 AM – 6:45 PM
Price: £40 per hour

PLEASE NOTE THE ALL-INCLUSIVE PRICE FOR THIS DAY TO JUST £40 PER HOUR

Rhianna Grey returns to the studio for a studio day. Book model and studio for an all inclusive price of £45 per hour.

Rhianna will work at any level up to art nude.

You can find Rhianna’s profile on purpleport here: http://purpleport.com/portfolio/rhiannagrey/?referrer=ianbutty (NSFW)

As ever with any event or studio hire I will be on hand to provide as much (or as little) help and support with lighting and settings as you wish. And if you don’t wish or need any help I will sit quietly in office out of your way.

There is a 15 minute break between hourly sessions. Book two consecutive hours and get the 15 minutes between for free.

The following sessions are available:

Session 1: 10:00-11:00
Session 2: 11:15-12:15
Session 3: 12:30-13:30
LUNCH 30mins
Session 4: 14:00-15:00
Session 5: 15:15-16:15
Session 6: 16:30-17:30
Session 7: 17:45-18:45

Please book the hourly slot(s) you wish using the booking form below. If you have any problems making your booking please contact me.

Price: £40 per hour.

Please book via my website: http://www.ians-studio.co.uk/events/rhianna-grey-studio-day-2/

Friday, 5 September 2014 – Enter The Red Room

Enter The Red Room

Location: Ian’s Studio
Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Price: £29

For tonight’s event we will be creating a number of different types of images using the studio’s “Red Room Set”. The Red Room set is made up of red background paper, a red sofa and for some shots the use of red Venetian blinds.

The Red Room set offers a variety of possibilities and will enable you to create some striking images.

Our model this evening will be working at a variety of levels from clothed to nude.

Details of the model for this event will be published shortly.

Price: £29

Please book via my website: http://www.ians-studio.co.uk/events/enter-the-red-room/

Tuesday, 9 September 2014 – Introduction to DSLR Photography Course

Introduction to DSLR Photography Course

Location: Ian’s Studio
Time: 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM
Price: £149

This course will give all the basics to go out and start creating great images. The course is 7 sessions long and will be running weekly on Tuesday Evenings 7pm – 9.30pm. starting Tuesday 9th September (Please note: There will be no session on Tuesday 23rd & 30th September).

Ie the course sessions would be as follows:

Tues 9th Sep
Tues 16th Sep
Tues 7th Oct
Tues 14th Oct
Tues 21st Oct
Tues 28th Oct
Tues 4th Nov

The course content will include the following:

Composition, seeing and finding great photos.
Camera settings – understand what your camera can do
Getting the camera off auto: understanding F-Stops, shutter speeds, focal lengths and ISO
White balance – what is it and when to change it
Flash photography. Creative ways to use your flash gun to enhance your photos
Controlling the light – reflectors, defusers and filters.
RAW and JPG – what’s the difference? Why shoot RAW? How to process it
Downloading, processing and editing.
Photography in difficult conditions: at night, in the heat of the day, in the rain.
Photo critiques – learning how to assess your photos and teaching yourself to improve.

The course is aimed at beginners and those who wish to consolidate their photographic knowledge. As with any course the time spent on any given subject will be tailored to reflect the current knowledge and experience of those attending. Printed course materials (over 100 pages of notes) will be provided to all attendees. Throughout the course there will be opportunities should you wish to have your photographs assessed to help you improve.

The total cost of the course is £149. A minimum deposit of £40 is required to reserve you place on the course.

Please note: The course is designed for users of DSLR cameras. If you have a “compact” camera or a “bridge” camera please contact me to discuss its suitability for this course.

Please book via my website: http://www.ians-studio.co.uk/events/introduction-to-dslr-photography-course-5/

From the Blog…

[BLOG] Trash the Dress – the results

Readers of this blog will know that on Monday I organised a Trash the Dress shoot up in Fleetwood. Although it was very much touch and go on the weather – we went ahead regardless. And despite having a couple of technical issues (for the first half of the shoot, I discovered I had only been recording JPEGs without the associated RAW files) I am very pleased with the results.

The first of the images from the shoot appeared as my Photo of the Day for Monday – http://www.ians-studio.co.uk/2014/08/potd-mon-25-aug-2014-trash-the-dress/

I have now put a number of other images from the day on my model shoots gallery: http://photos.imb.biz/model/shoot/maude-ttd

I have worked quite extensively with Nik Software’s Colour Efex Pro on a lot of these images. For example in the image below I have used “Detail Extractor” and a “Graduate Filter” to bring out the detail in the sky. The Graduate Filter was also used to create a cool blue sky.

To prevent the detail extractor creating havoc with the skin tones it is necessary to add a control point on the subject skin to prevent the filter affecting that part of the image.

Similar techniques have been used in the image below – except this time I have also used Brilliance/Warmth filters and Glamour Glow filter to warm the image up to make it look more like it was shot during “the golden hour”

Saddly, however that error which meant I only had JPG files and not RAW files to work on has meant that some images are not the quality I want.

The above image for example at first glance looks ok but a JPEG image doesn’t have the same information as a RAW file. When I processed the image to bring out the sky detail it led to posterization of the sky. Look at the sky directly above the model’s head to see what I mean.

This serves both as an example for why it is important to shoot RAW (especially when you know you are going to be editing images) and as a warning to double check one’s camera before starting a shoot!

I am sure if I want to spend time in photoshop, I can probably fix the sky in the above image, but of course it would have been so much simpler had I not made the mistake in the first place.

As mentioned above more images will be added to the gallery for this shoot over the next few days: http://photos.imb.biz/model/shoot/maude-ttd

Photo of the Day

POTD Mon, 25 Aug 2014: Trash the Dress

Trash the Dress at Fleetwood with Model Maude

First image edit from the Trash the Dress shoot in Fleetwood. My thanks to model Maud who braved the cold and the mud to create some great images.

PLEASE NOTE: This is not a source of free photographs.
This photograph is (c) Ian M Butterfield. All rights are reserved. No use Is permitted (including non-commercial use) without prior permission. If you wish to use any of my photographs please ask first.

Image Reference: FG0825A-G10911