foto Priority

Behind The Scenes - The amazing Bradley Chatfield turns it on for our first ever weekend workshop back in June 2005

I can’t believe that I didn’t think of this earlier! Last night while trolling through the thousands of images taken over the last 5 years worth of workshops, I realised that there are just so many amazing images that have never really been seen, so over the next however many months I’m going to open up the vault and see what pops out. The amazing models, cool locations and the fun we had.

Hope you enjoy seeing them as much as we enjoyed making them.

Link to Sydney Photographic Workshops

[svgallery name="Studio Lighting Student Gallery"]

The final SPW Studio Lighting workshop for 09 has been hailed a great success.

The workshop started promptly at 8:30am where a mix of new and familiar faces gathered at the new Light Pro Sydney studios in Artarmon.

The day began with a short presentation by Daniel Linnet running through some theory of basic lighting techniques. There was also a short slideshow of images from both Daniel’s and Scott McGale’s portfolio, showcasing some of their high and low key images to which the students will be shooting today.

After the initial presentation Scott McGale took the students on a walk through the huge Dragon image showroom, going through each light and explaining the effect they could expect to get when using it. Meanwhile, our two models for the day, Olivia and Tara were having their makeup done and choosing the first of about 3 outfits each.

By this stage it was obvious that the students where keen to start shooting! We broke up into 2 groups; 6 students in the low key set with Daniel and 6 students on the high key set with Scott.

Both Scott and Daniel got straight into it, starting with a blank canvas and adding one light at a time to produce the desired effect. The students were given plenty of shooting time. Of course, all this with the help of the ever-so hard-working-assistants for the day; Kieron Dobbin and Jose Fernandez.

Lunch was the usual SPW feast; wraps, sandwiches, sushi and fruit to fuel the students for the afternoon session.

There was a quick costume change for the models and then back on the sets for the afternoon session. Again, different lighting techniques explained and lots of time for the students to go one-on-one with the model.

For the finale of the day in the low key set, the props included a mini tramp and a smoke machine which produced some stunning images, as you can see in the images attached to this post.

The day finished at approximately 6pm (I reckon the students would have stayed on until 9pm if they could) and there were happy faces all round. That is, except for Daniel and I who were left feeling a little jealous that we weren’t getting the opportunity to produce some of the fantastic shots that the students were getting!

Check out the photos and behind the scenes from the day!

Jose

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Approximately every 8 weeks a new batch of SPW “Beginners DSLR Workshop” graduates go out into the world armed with their new cameras and enough new photographic knowledge and inspiration to make the most of them.

From chatting to the tutors and also the students themselves, one of the most beneficial, and I would say fitting ending to the course, is the Final Night presentations where each student brings along a selection of images created during the 8 weeks for a final slide show to music. Being able to see other photographers interpretations of the various exercises and subject matter as, well as uses of basic techniques in unique ways, often broadens the creative mind and can offer a new perspective on an otherwise familiar subject.

Images are created to be shared, to teach, to inspire and off course, to communicate the creators vision of the world. I always make a point to encourage ALL to attend this final night as the value gained from seeing the results of others often outweighs any that can be passed on verbally or by the written word. After all, photography is a visual medium.

For myself, the reward is seeing the quality of the images created and the breadth of ideas from a group who just 8 weeks earlier had little or no photographic knowledge. So it is with great pleasure that we present the first selection of our ‘Final Night Top 30′.

To view the image larger, just click on the photographers name below the thumbnails

[svgallery name="SPW09 T4 Final Night"]

This set of Top 30 Images was selected anonymously from over 800 final night images presented. In the selection process we considered; initial impact, originality of idea/concept, technical execution, composition and overall mood and feel.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THOSE WHO MADE THE FINAL CUT!!!

by: Daniel Linnet

And this time it’s going to be even bigger!

To be held at the new Light Pro Sydney studio in Artarmon on the 8th of November 2009. This time we will have access to even more lighting equipment, and triple the amount of space.

Every time I visit Light Pro (Dragon Imaging) I feel like a kid in a candy store, so we will make sure to do a walk through as a part of the equipment introduction. Not a sales pitch.

NEW Light Pro Studio - High Key Set

On the day we will run 2 sets, a high key and a low key, which will give a more rounded understanding of studio lighting possibilities.

Tutors for the day are Daniel Linnet (www.linnetfoto.com) and Scott McGale (www.scottmcgale.com)

- 2 Sets (high/low key)

- 2 Pro Photographers + assistants

- 2 models (Dancers)

- All demonstrations are tethered

- Hair / Makeup + Wardrobe Styling

- Introduction to Lighting basics

- Full Equipment walk-through

- Flash Metering techniques

- Home Studio setup

- Mastering Lighting Ratios to control mood

- Working with movement

- Invaluable pro tips and tricks, and ALL questions will be answered

+ PLENTY OF FREE SHOOTING TIME!

Numbers are limited to only 16 (split into 2 groups).

To attend this workshop you MUST have a firm grasp of your camera in manual mode.

BOOK A SPOT HERE

DOWNLOAD PROMO PDF

Hi all, Milton Gan attended last weekends Photographing people workshop, Milton has written up a great review of the days events, check it out here as well as some photos from the day.

Don’t forget you can read all about the workshops run by Sydney Photo Workshops on their website as well as future workshop dates and pricing.

Jose Fernandez

Naomi - Scott McGale

‘Editorially in the UK, Scott has shot for Vogue, Arena, Marie Claire, Elle, GQ, the Sunday Times Magazine among others. While in Australia he has shot for for Marie Claire, Instyle and Noise. His beauty and fashion work has been published in over 20 countries around the globe, including over a dozen Sunday Times Magazine covers.’

Scott will be our guest speaker at the forthcoming Shots @ The Arthouse – flash session on Sep 8, 2009 , where he will discuss some of his location lighting techniques as well as being available to answer any questions.

See more of Scott’s Work

Book a ‘Shots’ Session