I’m an information junky; One of those people who is constantly looking for new information on nearly ANY topic. I have a library of thousands of non-fiction books that I’ve read. The subjects span any where from politics and government to art history to computer programming to photography to business. My mail carrier’s back must hurt during the last week of every month as my 50+ magazine subscriptions are delivered – they too span every topic from fashion to current events. That love for information spans over to photography also. I listen to about 25 photo related pod-casts on a regular basis, check about 20 different photo blogs on a daily basis, and every year attend several photography conventions just to keep up my skills. Sometimes I learn something new, other times it’s just confirmation of what I’ve always believe, but it’s still information.
On Thursday night, I went to a photography seminar presented by photographer Ed Pierce called “Captivated by the Light“. Unfortunate for me the New York and Connecticut dates were either Sold Out or I was unable to attend due to prior commitments; So I took the 3.5 hour drive to Mansfield, Massachusetts. I must, however, say that this was one of the best seminars I’ve been to in a while.
Ed started out the seminar by saying that digital technology has made many of us forget about the basics, so he started the seminar with the basics of light — the quality of light, types of light, patterns of light, and different ways to flatter your subject. He moved on to some great location lighting techniques, including some of his proprietary tricks, and then on to studio lighting. His philosophy is that there are only two things you cannot control whether you’re on-location or in the studio, “The time the sun rises and the time the sun sets”, everything else is at the photographer’s command. After discussion of light he moved on to workflow and marketing.
The three hour long seminar had a mixture of lecture, live demonstration, and video presentations (which by the way were outstanding and well produced). Ed has a very entertaining and personable presentation style that keeps you interested throughout. Every attendee received a 2 DVD set with 4 hours of content, a 20 page seminar handout, and several other “benefits” (such as discounts). The hour before the seminar begins there’s a mini-trade show where you can purchase some of Ed’s instructional DVD’s, test out the newest and greatest from Canon, or view the products of several of Ed’s other sponsors (including Adobe, Westcott, Marathon Press, PPA, Quantum, Nik Software, Wacom, Delkin Devices, LexJet, Albums Inc, Collages.net, and White House Custom Colour.
By the way, it’s only $49.00 to attend and if you received an invitation via email or U.S. Mail by one of the sponsors, you can get in for as low as $19.00. I encourage photographers of ANY level to check out the schedule of remaining locations and get out to “Captivated By The Light”.
I’ve discussed the need to go “back to basics” every once in a while in many of my posts, this is just the perfect opportunity to do so with an expert and entertaining speaker, and with VERY LITTLE out of pocket cost.
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About the author
Kevin Michael Reed (Google+, Facebook) is a fashion & beauty photographer and producer/director based in New York City and Los Angeles, CA. He is the President/CEO of RedFOG Visual Media, a production company in New York City, and a partner in Passion of Photography, Inc, a company dedicated to teaching photographers and sharing our passion through charitable causes. Kevin has lectured and hosted workshops throughout the United States and the world teaching photographers the business and creative sides of photography. (Kevin's Fashion & Beauty Photography Portfolio can be seen here).
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