I just got back from speaking in Tacoma Washington, and judging at the state’s convention for professional photographers. It was a great event and very inspirational.
I was sponsored by White House Custom Colour and brought some samples to show of various products that I use and love. The program was on having a system from beginning to end, so that everything along the line is quality.
I spoke on lighting women specifically, and on just how to get everything right in the camera so that there is no need for retouching, color correcting, or even having to make adjustments later using software. Everything should be manual, including your flash, and angles and poses are specific. When everything is done right, images should look amazing right out of the camera.
That was the first half of the day, then after lunch I was going to demonstrate my fast digital workflow using some images I already had on my hard drive. But during lunch I was getting a lot of questions about lighting and exactly how to do what I was teaching. So at the end of lunch, I asked this attendee named Lexi to be a quick model for me outside the hotel. It gave me a chance to demonstrate what I was teaching, and also have some images I could use in the second half of the day that everyone could be sure were never touched by software and never retouched even slightly.
A photographer friend at the convention, Rich Breshears, took this image of me and Lexi outside in the parking lot. It shows me shooting with my light pole that I have built so that I can really control light even better. I like to hold the light so that I can move it as I need to, putting the highlights and shadows exactly where I want them, not leaving them to chance. I used this big bush as a background because it complimented Lexi’s red hair and also gave me a dark, low-key background that was mostly solid with a little texture. It have me interest in the photo without distractions.
After getting a few images, we went back inside and started up again. I spoke on my fast workflow system, which is made even faster by not having to correct any images. I also showed that with images already looking great out of your camera, your computer time should be fun and creative, coming up with some cool ideas for the client rather than correcting problems. Here I just added one of my new custom edges.
And then I used that same image to create an abstract painting in front of the group.
I also used three images to create this trio, showing everyone how to create their own trios and composites to make designing later even easier.
It was a great event and very inspirational. When I speak, it means that I study and go through all of my material to determine what to spend my time on with the group. I find myself being uplifted as well as everyone else when I share and give. I really appreciate the opportunity to speak in Tacoma for the Professional Photographers of Washington, and want to thank Lexi for being a model for me at the last minute. And finally, I want to especially thank White House Custom Colour for their support of me and the Professional Photographers of Washington. This was a great event.
If you’d like to attend one of my photographic workshops, please visit my upcoming schedule on this site. Until next time, America.