We both spent a very enjoyable evening tonight in the company of Michael Lau, a local professional photographer who was leading a small class on the subject of studio photography. He began by asking what sort of cameras we had and how we used it. Michael suggested that we all tried to use the manual mode all the time, instead of auto or aperture priority etc, as we would get better quality shots, as we would be controlling how the camera took the photograph. Even though it would take us longer to work out the individual settings.
Whilst Kat our model for the evening got ready, Michael explained how the lights worked and what we would be doing with them. Although we had done a tiny bit of studio work before, it was good to have a bit of a refresher. Kat said that she was ready and so the shooting began. As there was only five of us in the group, it allowed plenty of time for us to have a good go each.
The biggest problem I had was trying to think up imaginative poses for Kat to create, such as the one here. Fortunately she had obviously done this sort of thing before and so helped me out. I will have to start a collection of fashion photos, so they can give me some inspiration for next time, as its something that Gail and I want to continue with. Especially now, as we bought a small studio lighting kit from the camera show last week in Birmingham.
For more information about Michael, why not pop over to his website and see the sort of photos that we aspire to taking.
What you describe is the thing that dooms most 'would-be' pro photographers. My son went into pro photography many years ago and has a large studio with backdrops on rolls and lights the look like giant tents and umbrellas. He shoots all kinds of pictures from nude models who need shots for their portfolios to gold courses. He has all kinds of cameras, including one or two of my early or, nowadays, old fashioned film cameras, and while he don't use them much he does use most of the Olympus digital camera models.
ReplyDeleteI never had problems. I was an artist most of my life and finding the right light and the place to set up the easel is something I was used to. I am now so dependent on oxygen and a bottle of it, that I have to walk around the thing several times thinking how it will look from this or that area.
I have always been a writer too and got paid for that in addition to writing books I write for newspapers and magazines. So I am in a constant flux about where to take the picture and then what to write about.
Your post today has made it all seem so easy.