Tuesday 29 November 2011

Bradley - wow!

Bradley, who attended our Boudoir Course last weekend has been good enough to allow us to use this cracking shot of Roseanne - great atmosphere, great shot!

Bradley:  "Yet another great workshop, really enjoyed it. Thanks for a great day".

You are very welcome, sir.

Monday 28 November 2011

How it was done - the blind shot

On the Boudoir Course yesterday, we demonstrated a simple but very effective shot using 2 lights and a set of blinds.

The very important thing to note is that the back light is 2/3 of a stop LESS than the main light - it is still very evident on the models hair in the final.

Here is a shot of the set-up:


And a diagram of the set-up showing the numbers:


And finally a result:



Simple yet striking- enjoy!

Boudoir Course - the day was fabulous.

Well done everyone who attended the PW Boudoir Course yesterday. It was certainly a packed programme and there was not a minute to sit down and relax.


Delegates' images and feedback to follow and look out for a "how it was done" explanation for one of the sets.

Saturday 26 November 2011

How it's done - glamour glow in photoshop

In our series of "how it's done" and especially because we are concentrating on Boudoir at the moment, we thought we'd share a little photoshop sequence to get the added glamour glow effect to your images.  So:-


here is the original finished image to which we will add the glamour glow effect.

1.  Firstly, make a copy of the layer and change the blending more to "overlay":



2.  Next select Filter-Blur-Gaussian Blur.  Select a percentage of blur that softens  the image but leaves the features discernable - we used 20% in this example:



3.  Now we have lost a lot of detail in the darker areas that we need to bring back and just leave the glow effect on the skin.  Select a layer mask and using a black brush, paint out the darker areas to being the detail back, especially in the hair:



4.  Finally, to take some of the orange out of the skin, with the mask selected - "create new fill or adjustment layer" - "vibrance". Adjust to taste - we used -40 on the vibrance:


5.  Before & after:



Try that sequence a few times then save it as an action - good luck!!

Boudoir tomorrow



Tomorrow on the 27th November, PW will be running the last boudoir course of 2011.

9 delegates, 2 tutors, 2 models and we promise you images, feedback and a "how it was done" on one of our instructional demos.

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Wedding Course

Terry was lucky enough to teach a full 2-day wedding course last weekend.  Looks like he is having all the fun (for now!!)

Dave Goodman was kind enough to share some of his images from the course:



Very nice work Dave - you can see how concentrated tuition and good lighting technique can really raise your imagery.

Unfortunately, not all of Dave's weekend went well:  "Thanks for a very informative weekend - thoroughly enjoyable... only dampened by dropping a flash gun in the drink (!) - that won't happen I again - lesson learnt... "

Highs and lows Dave!

Friday 18 November 2011

More Portrait Course images and feedback...

from Terry the tutor(ttt!):

Everyone on the portrait workshop had a great time, lots of humour and co-operation.

Models: Becky, Malcolm and Katie & Mark.

I started out with demonstrating the various lighting positions, highlighting the shadows, if indeed you can highlight shadows?

Day 1 concentrated on studio lighting using grids for carving light, beauty lighting with a 1m softbox and tri-flector. We also set a 1940/1950's lighting set. There was a chess player and poker player sets.

We moved on using a speedlight for texture lighting with Malcolm against the stone room wall, pulling out the texture on the wall.

Day 2 started with balancing ambient light outside.  We later moved on to fisherman sets, couple and Becky for ambient portraiture using speedlights.

The tight crop portrait shots of Malcolm with the fishing rod etc were shot with just a silver reflector.


From Alan Roderick:

"The Portrait course was a great two days. Terry's instruction and enthusiasm helped deliver the key messages and had all of us re-assessing how we could use light to achieve the results we wanted. Lots of time to practice and shoot a variety of models and different settings. Learnt a lot !!! And now practising like mad, so that I can encourage Terry to do a Part 2 soon."

Nice gritty shot by Malcolm - well done!

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Introducing Sophie

A warm welcome to Sophie, our latest model to join the photography workshop stable.  Sophie will be joining us for 2012 and we are delighted to have her on board.

Tuesday 15 November 2011

Boudior Course - 27th November - FULLY BOOKED

The boudoir course is fully booked and the day is packed with shooting and theory. 

There will be 2 models - Zoe and Roseanne, two of our experienced boudior models, and both Terry and Andy will be teaching lighting, posing and how to break into the industry. 

The level of interest in the boudoir market is very high and the demand for good photography is as strong as ever...


Bob Massey - get you!!

Bob, who attended the last weekend's portrait course has been good enough to send through some of his images.  I have selected my 2 favourites to share.  Well done Bob, the first one is very well lit indeed and the second is very nice - images to be proud of.



Just watch chopping off those fingers, Bob - think sausages when your eye is composing in the viewfinder!!

Monday 14 November 2011

How it was done...


We like to pass knowledge on - thats what being a trainer is all about.  Occasionally then, you will find an image and a breakdown of how it was shot - we'll keep it simple, because we like simple.  Remember, good photography need not cost a fortune in expensive cameras and lighting;  good technique and good knowledge win every time.

The day after the course...

...and Terry is a shadow of his former self!  This weekend's portrait course was a resounding success.


This is what was said:

"I really enjoyed the course, made my confidence really zoom up !
Before going on your course, I never dared even go off automatic, as is was too daunting (I still got some good shots though :-)
Now another world with the "magic triangle" (aperture, speed, ISO) has opened, boosted with understanding of Flash modulation ! Thanks really very much."


High praise indeed! - now look out for the "how it was shot" breakdown and some submissions from the delegates themselves.

Friday 11 November 2011

portrait workshops

Andy McConnells efforts

One day to go before the portrait workshop and we are delighted to share some images from the last portrait course taken by Andy McConnell.  Excellent control of the light Andy – well done!  Here’s what he had to say about the course:  "Thank you very much for an excellent course that was well worth the money. Your approachable manner helped create a warm supportive atmosphere so that the delegates felt free to ask questions.

I learned a lot about the use of modifiers indoors and the use of off-camera flash outdoors. The models were all very good too".

Thursday 10 November 2011

Portrait Workshop - this weekend 12th/13th November - FULLY BOOKED!

Terry is chomping at the bit and looking forward to a full portrait course this weekend. We run the course at The Mayfield Hotel in Crudwell, a super Cotswold location. 


I am looking forward to seeing the delegates results - and posting them here!!


Good luck to everyone on the course - you'll have a brilliant time

Wednesday 9 November 2011

photography workshops blog is open for business

This is the new photography workshops blog, created so that we can keep you right up to date with everything happening at the workshop. 

 It also serves as a method whereby pw's delegates can show off the results of their hard study and we welcome comments or questions - at pw, there is no such thing as a stupid question.

Course dates for 2012 will be published very shorlty.