Previously I discussed some of the problems I felt there were with the portrait photography workshops I had attended over the last 2-3 years. To be clear, I’m not saying any of these were bad, indeed some, if not most, were actually very good. I feel however there is currently a bit of a gap in the market for a more complete learning experience. Something that would address the issues identified in my previous post. Here then is what I would do if I were running a portrait workshop to address some of these gaps. This would be my marketing blurb for my off-camera flash workshop.
The Off-Camera Flash Portrait Workshop You’ve Been Looking For
The use of off-camera flash has mushroomed over the last 10 years. The technique was made famous by the American photographer David Hobby in his strobist blog. Off-camera flash, or strobism as it is called in America, is now a huge industry in its own right with many manufacturers making gear to cater for this particular photographic technique. The aim of this workshop is to show you how to get the best out of using off-camera flash for portrait photography. It will discuss the kit you need to start shooting this way and more importantly give you the experience you need to gain the confidence to use this technique when working with clients to create portraits for them. Here is what you will learn:
- The minimum gear you need to move your flash off your camera.
- How to set up and remotely control up to three flashes.
- Some example lighting setups that give you interesting portraits your clients will really love.
- How to relax and pose clients to get the best portrait possible.
- An example workflow showing you how to post-process your images.
- A focused learning experience that gives you ample opportunity to try out the techniques you will be learning. We will work with a professional model during the whole day.
- A chance to meet like-minded photographers and the opportunity to network and make longer lasting relationships beyond the workshop.
Here’s an example timetable of how I would see a days (7 hours) workshop being run:
- 10:00 – Introduction and Workshop Objectives
- 10:15 – Off-Camera Flash Gear Guide
- 10:45 – Some Example Lighting Setups
- 11:30 – Posing Clients
- 12:30 – Lunch
- 13:15 – Free Format Shooting I
- 14:30 – Review/Feedback
- 15:00 – Free Format Shooting II
- 16:15 – Post Processing Portraits
- 17:00 Close
The timetable is structured to give attendees as much individual shooting experience as possible. To that end two and a half hours is devoted to this in the afternoon.
Diagrams for some of the main lighting setups would be provided:
together with examples of the images that can be created from each:
Example Portrait
Of course, the the big question with such a workshop is – how much does it cost? My guideline cost for a seven hour workshop for a maximum of six attendees with a professional model plus lunch and coffee would be around £95.
Please provide your thoughts on this type of workshop plus your ideas on what should or should not be not be included. You never know, someone might decide to run a workshop following this format?
Peter Cripps | Photography 