Photography Workshops and Master Classes

Several years ago, I met a fellow photographer - albeit, he was an amateur, a very good one (the difference is not the quality of the work . the difference is that one does it for love, the other does it for money). He is now a new friend and fellow photographer named Marco, an Italian. His day job is as a top children's heart surgeon. His passion for photographing people takes him all over the world, seeking out that special face, interesting enough to be captured on film/file.

During our brief encounter in my brother's hairdressing salon, we had found common ground and a need to explore each other's pictures. He asked me if I would visit his photographic society to meet the other members and discuss the possibility of me giving a talk about my fashion photography. I said to Marco, "Whatever will I talk about?"

Well, first off, he said, there is something very magical in the expressions of my models and in the atmosphere of my pictures that he would love to have in his. He asked me how do you achieve this. Shocked at his remark, I said, "No, I can't, because I don't know myself." You have to find out he said because this is what you should talk about. We spent the next couple of hours disgussing photography and the feelings and techniques of managing your subjects whilst shooting.

During my visit to his camera club, we arranged for my talk to be done nearly 9 months later, so I had time to think about my talk and to get myself prepared.

For days, I looked at my work and examined myself whilst shooting assignments. It was maybe 6 months later whilst photographing a bridal-wear collection for one of my clients that something clicked. (No pun intended!)

I had decided that I would like to start shooting with wider lenses to change the style of my bridal-wear pictures. I shoot for so many bridal-wear designers, so I have to make them look and feel different to the each other. It also helps to use a short zoom, because during most of my shoots, I can take a variety of images from full length to portrait shots from the same distance, so my client gets much more usage out of the shots.

While moving in closer to my model, I noticed a big difference in the expressions in her face and her body language - they changed, as I got closer. I experimented more and began to play with this for the rest of this shoot. Not only could I see better, it also created a much better flow of the energy and communication between my model and myself. For years, I have been shooting fashion pictures using medium-length telephotos, at times so far away that my models could not hear me directing them. An amazing thing had happened. I could see and control so much more in my pictures. Not to say that I will never use long lenses, just that I prefer the new results that I am getting with wide lenses. In fact, most of my recent projects I have shot with a wide zoom.

I find that by doing the poses and expressions in my face that I want, my models seem to mirror mine. If I act daft, they act daft. If I laugh, they laugh. If I pull a sad face, they pull a sad face - which always makes them smile :-)

Since this experiment, I have been adapting my directions to my models in much the same way, obviously changing my energy levels to match the levels I want in my pictures. If I want a nice soft and gentle feel, I express this in my voice and my manor and my body. If I want high energy, I do high energy. If I want my model to leap, I will leap.

Think about this as if you were a conductor. The next time you attend a concert, watch him or her, and watch the orchestra. They mirror him - fast tempo, slow tempo, and medium tempo. You can do the same with your models.

Fashion pictures for me have RHYTHM and TEMPO. If you want to express high energy or tempo in a picture, the shoot has to be high energy or tempo, or visa- versa.

I look at pictures and sometimes wonder how boring the shoot must have been. I love to change the tempo up and down whilst I'm shooting, I would hate it if anyone viewing my pictures did not feel this energy. This is why I strive to make my shoots exciting for myself, my model, the other members of my team, and, most important, for my clients.

As a photographer, you are the conductor, your models are your orchestra, and your clients or viewers of the pictures are the audience. So you have to direct and entertain. Your performance will reflect in your pictures.

I want you to try a little experiment. The next time you have people over to your house or you get a moment with some people at work, pick a volunteer. Face each other, one or two feet apart, don't speak, and don't look at each other. In fact, do your best to imagine they are not there. Stay like this for 30 seconds and remember how this feels. Stay in this position but hold each other's hands, look into each other's eyes, smile at each other, don't speak. Instead of imagining they are not there, do the opposite. Try and send them all of your good energy. Stay like this for 30 seconds. Remember how this feels, and compare the feelings. Ask your friend or colleague and the others to explain how it felt for them. The next time you are shooting pictures, remember all of these feelings.

Bruce runs courses, master classes and workshops that give students an insight into the fascinating world of fashion photography. Instructor and photographer Bruce Smith teaches the fundamentals of preparing for a fashion shoot and setting up and photographing a shoot. "Introduction to Fashion Photography" is intended for anyone who wishes to shoot fashion images for fun in order to impress family and friends or for those who have a burning desire to become a professional fashion photographer.

Bruce's objective is to helps young photographers, initially to produce single fashion shots and eventually to produce fashion stories that would not look out of place in today's fashion magazines.

With a fashion photography career spanning 30 years, Bruce has shot projects in many parts of the world from Alaska to Thailand. For the past 3 years he has been giving workshops, lectures and talks in various parts of the UK as well as abroad, teaching hands-on the skills and techniques he has learned during his professional career.

There are several variations to the courses that photographers can take, from an online 8 week intense practical asignments course to 5 day master classes in beautiful settings in the South of France and Italy. Bruce teaches studio photography on his fashion and beauty or Glamour and Fine Artistic Figure and Nude photography workshops, held every month in fabulous studios in South West London. Students can expect to learn a lot of the secrets behind Bruces amazing fashion, beauty, glamour and fine artistic figure and nude photographs.

His work can be seen on his web sites:
http://www.brucesmithphoto.com
http://brucesmithphotoworkshops.bravehost.com/online.html

You can read the many letters of thanks from his former students. There is also a students gallery where you can see the standard of photography his students are achieving in a short period of time whilst attending his photography master classes and workshops.

---

Understanding Digital Photography

Most serious photographers and all professionals use a Single Lens... Read More

The Best Wildlife Camera To Take On Safari

Good wildlife camera equipment on safari can make the difference... Read More

How to Take Great Photos of Your Child

Children are naturally photogenic. Ive worked in studios and children... Read More

Passionate Organizing: How To Create A System To Organise Your Digital And Traditional Photos

Digital photography promises much. Store your photographs on your computer,... Read More

Removing Cracks and Creases when Restoring Old Photos ? 5 Minute Digital Fix

A common problem with old photos is that they often... Read More

Tame Those Memories

Family vacations, summer weddings and family reunions are in full... Read More

Removing a Textured Pattern from a Scanned Photo ? 5 Minute Digital Fix

One of the most common problems when dealing with scanned... Read More

Get Closer to Your Subject

Almost any shot will look better if you take two... Read More

Online Photo Sharing: Not Just for Family and Vacation Photos

You may have joined the photo-sharing craze to share your... Read More

Market Your Photography Business

Setting up your own photography business it easy, you don't... Read More

A New Way to Use Old Snapshots

If you're like me, you have hundreds of photographs sitting... Read More

Studio Photography and Digital Backgrounds

The article given here was written for Adobe Photoshop 5,6,7,CS,... Read More

Photography Business: Taking Baby Photos - for Professionals & Families

Babies make the best and the worst subjects to photograph.... Read More

8 Simple Tips for Taking Great Baby Photos

Taking pictures of your new baby is a great way... Read More

Photography 101 Part 2

Basic CompositionNow that you are beginning to understand how your... Read More

Olympus Digital Cameras - Digging Into The History

One of the oldest companies, Olympus has had a long... Read More

Tips for Purchasing a Digital Camera Lens

Your lens is an essential element to good photographs. It's... Read More

Better Photos with Your Digital Camera

Everyone has a digital camera today and we all take... Read More

Nikon Digital Cameras - Cool(pix) and Functional

Even though Nikon entered the camera world by 1948, today... Read More

Digital Camera Disc Formats

As it is a fact that digital cameras are comprised... Read More

Start Up a Nude Photography Business

There are major obstacles to overcome to get into nude... Read More

How To Make A Time-Lapse Video With Your Digital Video Camera

Getting the most out of your digital video camera can... Read More

Portrait Photography: Tips and Methods

Portrait is defined as, "A likeness of a person, especially... Read More

Panasonic Digital Cameras - The History Behind Their Cameras

Panasonic is a world-renowned consumer electronics company today. Its digital... Read More

Four Unique Ways for the Pet Portrait Artist to Stand Out

The warm feelings are flowing all around when the pet... Read More

Your Mobile Digital Darkroom ? Five Tools of the Trade

While digital photography offers you the ability to review photograph... Read More

Infrared Photography and Big City Crime

One of the major problems of the larger cities of... Read More

Tips for Taking Better Vacation Photos

Photos are a great way to share your travel experiences... Read More

How a Digital Camera Works

The digital camera is not something of a magic box... Read More

The Venice Rookery

Love is in the air at the Venice Rookery. The... Read More

Start a Photography Business from Home

Anyone with the right camera equipment, and the necessary skills... Read More

How to Create a Family History Video Memoir with Photos and Interviews of Your Loved Ones

Here are examples of two basic videos you can create... Read More

Digital Camera Memory - An Introduction

The digital camera is essentially a computer-based device, whose core... Read More