No, it wasn’t an exploding strobe. It was the sound of thunder on the horizon as the cold front brought the prospect of a storm into Fremantle!

Photo by Jacinta Mathews

The overcast day with gusty winds and patchy bouts of rainfall did not deter seven photographers working with two fantastic models from creating eye-popping portrait photographs with their flashes! Granted, we took a lot of photos in the dry and warm setting of the studio, but ventured out for some on-location shots in the arcades and back alleys of Freo.

Sensational Strobing focuses on the art of strobing – the use of speedlights and studio flashes – to create images with impact and drama. The photography workshop, designed for photographers keen to come to grips with a working knowledge of their strobes and strobe lighting, covers everything from using speedlights in eTTL (through the lens aka automatic) modes, to setting up and triggering speedlights manually, to working with studio lights and studio lighting techniques.

For this workshop, participants worked with models Goyder and Wild Kat and learned about the creative use of bounce lighting, metering for strobe light, balancing strobes and ambient light, and providing art direction. The workshop concluded with a photo challenge, where punters had to complete two photographic briefs, to put what they have learned about strobing and studio portraiture into practice:

• Brief 1: Create a CD cover for Wild Kat, the latest musical sensation
• Brief 2: Take editorial photographs for a magazine feature on Goyder, the new Australian action hero who is starring as a swordsman in the next Hollywood blockbuster.

It was great to see each participant gain greater confidence not only in using both speedlight and studio strobes, but also in working with and directing our models for this workshop. Kat made a great rock-chick, in her leggings, jacket and leopard-print heels, while Goyder glowered as the imposing swordsman.

If you missed out on this workshop, another is scheduled later in 2010. To be informed of the next Sensational Strobing workshop, please contact Seng.

Have a look below at the photos created by Sensational Strobing participants Jacinta Spry and Jacinta Mathews. My thanks to Goyder and Kat for their great modeling (as always). Check them out on Model Mayhem (links are located after the photos).

Photo by Jacinta Spry

Photo by Jacinta Spry

Photo by Jacinta Spry

Photo by Jacinta Mathews

Photo by Jacinta Mathews

Photo by Jacinta Spry

Photo by Jacinta Spry

Photo by Jacinta Mathews

Photo by Jacinta Spry

Photo by Jacinta Mathews

For more information about our talented models, please visit their Model Mayhem pages:

• Goyder: http://www.modelmayhem.com/goyder
• Wild Kat: http://www.modelmayhem.com/wildkatx

Some of them work. Some of them work spectacularly. Others don’t. And yet others fail dismally, leaving participants uninspired and, worse, bored!

What gives some photo workshops that extra zing and pizzaz, and why do others just make you want to push that “sleep” button and catch an extra couple of hours nap time?

I believe that it boils down to four main things:

1. Outcomes
2. Structure
3. Content
4. Engagement

Before I was a photographer, I taught in a high school for a number of years. Any teacher will tell you that if you’re not able to engage a class of 13 – 17 year olds within the first 5 minutes of a lesson, you’ve lost them. Thankfully, adult learners are more forgiving, and they have a longer attention span (15-20 minutes being the “average” attention span of an adult).

I define a successful workshop as one where participants have gained a new set of skills or understandings from having attended it. If a participant completes a workshop without having learned anything new, then all you’ve done is presented a shooting opportunity. If a participant leaves a workshop stimulated, perhaps a little frustrated (always good for learning) and inspired to try out the set of new skills they have picked up, then you’re conducted a successful workshop.

When designing a workshop, the above four principles are critical to ensuring that your workshop runs smoothly, is enjoyable for participants, and is a success.

In this article, we’ll cover the the related areas of Outcomes and Structure: the framework of a photo workshop (or any workshop for that matter). In the next, we’ll look at Content and Engagement, the guts of a workshop.

OUTCOMES

In any learning endeavour, you need a set of learning outcomes. What is it that, upon completion of the workshop, participants SHOULD be able to do. To what degree of success should they be able to do it? These are questions you need to ask prior to designing structure and content of the workshop. For a workshop on basic use of a DSLR, these outcomes can be as simple as the use of various settings and functions on the DSLR in order to create photographs.

Connected to this then is how can participants know that they are achieving these outcomes? The simple answer: build in opportunities for participants to use the skills they have learned, to review the results and receive some feedback from you and/or their peers. In some of my workshops, for example, I build in a photo-challenge where the reins are handed to participants who need to take pictures according to fairly simple photographic briefs. There is then opportunity for me to review the work (even if informally) and to provide some feedback or remediation if required.

STRUCTURE

Structure is important if learning is to take place. Any workshop needs to have a formal beginning and a formal end. How you structure the bits in between can often determine if your workshop is an active and engaging experience, or a snoozefest.

Most of us are used to the traditional didactic approach to providing instruction. Put your hand up if you’ve ever attended a lecture at college, university or a seminar you have attended. You’d probably remember 30-45 minutes of the instructor talking (or worse, reading from a set of notes) on a particular topic, after which you either attended some kind of tutorial, round table discussion or demonstration. The problem with this approach is that we’re all so used to it that we think it is okay to replicate it for photography workshops. However, we forget how bored we were during those sessions, and how bored workshop participants can get if all we do is talk about the content for an extended period of time.

Remember the 15-20 minute long adult attention span? That’s pretty much how long you’ve got when speaking to workshop participants. Then, you need to move on to something a bit more hands on.

Structure your workshops around this principle. Sure, it’s important to have a formal beginning, and to cover key concepts at the start. But don’t try and cover everything at once in the same talk-fest. Spread the provision of instruction and content across the workshop. If you’re covering one key concept, then give participants the chance to try it out and use the opportunity to provide further instruction and demonstration.

Look at the duration of your workshop, and see how you can break it up into micro-sessions that alternate between instruction and activity/exploration. If you’re running a 3 hour workshop, perhaps structure this around 6 x 30 minute blocks. Include times for breaks – to allow participants to socialise and network with each other and, more importantly, for them to process what they have learned.

Where you might be tempted to initially structure your workshop along more traditional lines as follows:

1. Welcome and introductions (10 minutes)
2. Presentation (50 minutes)
3. Break (15 minutes)
4. Demonstration (30 minutes)
5. Activity (45 minutes)
6. Discussion (20 minutes)
7. Close (10 minutes)

You may find that participants get itchy fingers and itchy backsides during #2 the 50 minute presentation!

If you have a lot to cover in that 50 minutes, try splitting it up across several micro sessions. A revised structure for a more engaging and accessible workshop might be as follows:

1. Welcome and introduction (10 minutes)
2. Ice-breaker activity (10 minutes)
3. Topic 1 presentation (15 minutes)
4. Topic 1 activity and shoot (20 minutes)
5. Topic 2 presentation (20 minutes)
6. Topic 2 activity and shoot (30 minutes)
7. Break (10 minutes)
8. Topic 3 demonstration (15 minutes)
9. Topic 3 activity and shoot (20 minutes)

… and so on.

This structure allows participants to put what they have learned per topic into immediate use, and have the opportunity to ask you questions and receive feedback during each activity. It increases participant engagement with content, and encourages processing and uptake of new content/concepts you’re presenting.

The beginning of a workshop is important. Use it to inform participants of the structure of the workshop, the content to be covered, and the outcomes to be achieved. Kick-start the first key concept as part of the beginning and then move on to an activity. Your 15-20 minutes would be up just about this time.

Equally as important is how you end a workshop. It’s an opportunity to wrap up what participants have learned within the context of the content and activities covered during the workshop. Outline the key topics and outcomes, and link these back to the activities undertaken in the workshop. Leave some time for a Q&A (questions and answers) session for participants, and for you to conduct any final housekeeping required eg. distribution of evaluation forms.

In the next article, we’ll look at what constitutes the guts of an effective photo workshop: its content and activities.

Family friend, David Winch, a keen photographer, has been photographing Michelle’s maternity journey over the last few months, and wanted to give the couple a special photo shoot as Michelle nears her term.

The Studio Stay-and-Play session allowed David and the Horts to work in a relaxed and intimate setting. We went with three different studio set ups for the Horts: a fairly traditional setup with two lights, a low-key shoot against a black backdrop, and a high-key shoot to inject a bit of fun and energy into the sitting.

David was able to bring his experience of photographing Michelle at various stages of her pregnancy to bear in this studio sitting. Being able to work with lights gave him greater flexibility in setting up each shot, ensuring that lighting was pitch perfect for the image he had in mind.

There was tremendous energy during the session, with a number of costume changes, the introduction of an exercise ball into the shoot, and some maternity glamour, courtesy of a diaphanous white sheet and a fan!

If you’re a photographer keen to get some studio photography experience, check out Studio Stay-and-Play for more information.

Here are some of David’s picks from the Studio Stay-and-Play session.

All photographs in this post are (c) David Winch.

The Studio Stay-and-Play session is part workshop and part fun shoot, allowing photographers of all levels to participate in their very own studio shoot, taking portraits of their family, mates and better halves! The Mitchells’ session was geared around the Mitchells taking photos of each other, and even I stepped in and snapped a few frames of the whole family as I found out that they have never had a family portrait done before.

If you’re a photographer keen to get some studio photography experience, check out Studio Stay-and-Play for more information.

Here are the photographs from their session — thanks to Brad, SallyAnne and Thomas for sharing these pics with me!

Studio Stay-and-Play conbines a fun studio photoshoot with a personalised guided introduction to studio photography. It’s easy to do, very accessible, and available for pretty much anyone with a DSLR and a love for portrait photography!

Many beginning photographers enjoy taking portraits – of long-suffering partners, spouses, family, mates, acquaintances, you name it. However, few enthusiast photographers have access to a studio, much less studio lighting. Studio Stay-and-Play (SSP) lets beginning photographers experience and enjoy studio portrait photography without getting too bogged down in the technical details.

Photographers bring along their unsuspecting victims… err… I mean beloved partners/spouses, relatives, kids or friends to the studio, and photograph them using studio lights and backdrops, while being guided in studio lighting setup and techniques by me!

Introducing the Mitchells!

The Mitchells came by today for their SSP session. Dad, Brad, is an avid photographer. While the session had been designed for young Thomas, 7, who was going to take photographs of his Mum and Dad with Dad’s mighty DSLR, everyone ended up having a go as photographer and model.

Out came the props and it didn’t take long for Thomas’s parents to be sporting various props, including a fedora, various lengths of textiles and a bouquet of (plastic) flowers!

During the session, I learned that the Mitchells had never had a family photo done since Brad married Sallyanne — so I took a couple of turns behind Brad’s DSLR and snapped some fun family portraits for them.

Thomas took to art direction like a pro – giving his folks very clear directions on how to pose and where to look! When it came time for Brad and Sallyanne to take control of the camera, young Thomas bounced into action as the star of the show!

Here are some shots from the Mitchells’ turn at the studio! For photos taken by the Mitchells, check out the next post.