Models on Manual – A photography workshop for learning to use a DSLR on manual settings, and learning to control light while shooting models.
$89 for two three-hour classes, limited to 15 students
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| From a photography class I taught in Denver with 80 students |
Two Classes, Sunday, August 18, 2013 at 9:30 am and Sunday
August 25 at 9:30 am
Class is held at 1055 E. Ocean Blvd., # C, Long Beach, CA 90802 and at the
beach
Call 213-434-3344 to Register
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| New York Models, shot in Long Beach with reflectors |
Session one – Natural light and reflectors
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| Natural Light portrait, using 2 reflectors |
Using only one reflector and window light, we will pose
models next to various windows in our daylight photography studio. The soft
skylight highlights the hair and the side of the face, while the light from the
reflector lights the eyes and the front of the face with soft, natural light.
We will try shots with slow shutter speeds and wide open apertures at 100 ISO
on tripod, then move to 500 ISO, faster shutter speeds and discuss the depth of
field benefits of large apertures vs. smaller ones such as f11 or f 16 for
shooting models.
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| Natural Light Headshots www.DennisDavisPhotography.com |
We will pose the models on the natural wood floor, on muslin
backgrounds and in the 1950s style room with an ocean view. We will shoot them
using one or two reflectors. We will also shoot them with a window in the
background, and we will adjust the shutter speed and aperture until the view
outside is totally blown out and the light looks good on the model. During
session one, we will discuss the mathematical relationship between ISO, shutter
speed and aperture size. The shots are put on the screen and we discuss them.
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| www.DennisDavisPhotography.com |
The “sunny f16” rule. The correct aperture for a brightly
lit subject in full sun is the ISO speed matching the shutter speed at f16. We
will explain what that means, and how to apply it to the beach, where we will be
going next. We will learn to use the histogram on the back of the camera,
learning what it means when the histogram data touches the right or left side
of the chart, or if it peaks at one side or the other.
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| Natural Light Headshots, taken across the street from our Photography Studio. |
We cross Ocean Blvd, go down the steps at Third Place and
take our models to the beach! Here we will continue using our cameras on manual
settings, exploring the sunny f16 rule on the beach. We also pose the models in
the shade with various trees and plants in the background, and talk about how
sunny f16 rule becomes “shady f11 or deep shade f8 rule” as a starting point
for bracketing when shooting models on manual. We explore shooting models with
various lighting and background combinations, such as in front of the ocean,
sand, boats, the Queen Mary, islands, yachts, restaurants, etc. All using
natural light, reflectors and manual settings on our cameras.
We return to our daylight photography studio to download our
image files and talk about the best techniques for editing the RAW images in
PhotoShop. We demonstrate how to find a good white balance, and how to have
clean whites without over exposing the image and blowing out the details. We
give the models their CD ROM disks, their money and thank them for signing the
model releases.
Session Two – On camera flash, Studio Strobes and Continuous lighting
We light our models with classic studio lighting setups, which
could include standard headshots lighting with a hair light, fashion lighting
with a beauty dish, rim lighting, side lighting and butterfly lighting. We look
at the camera histogram as we change aperture settings and strength of the
strobe output.
We will pose the models in various areas of the studio, and
mix flash with daylight to create a commercial looking environmental portrait.
We will look at our portraits in PhotoShop and talk about which camera RAW
adjustments make them look better.
We will walk with our models across the street to the beach,
and we will take a 1,000 watt second battery strobe on a light stand, as well
as on-camera flash. We will mix sunlight; reflectors and strobe fill to create
pleasing outdoor portraits of models in manual mode with our DSLR cameras.
We will return to the studio and download our pictures,
comparing work and creating disks for our models, which have signed model
releases and are waiting to be paid.
We finish with a discussion about how to start a photography
business, what type of lighting gear and camera equipment to buy, and how to
market a photography business through social networking.
