Sunday, April 25, 2010

How do you do that effect???

 

Next to 'Do you need someone to hold the lights?', the question I most often hear in regards to my photography is 'How do you that?'.

How do you get that vignette effect?
How do you get the models skin that smooth?
What is that material you are using for the background? How did you get it that color?

Those are just a few of the most commonest questions I get asked every time I post a new photo online. It never fails; a few minutes after posting a new photo, I get a chat window popping up, or an email, or just a comment on the photo itself.

And, the truth is, at one time, I had those same questions. I've been shooting for over twenty years. And I had experience shooting models. But, one day I saw a persons work that just blew my stuff out of the water! And I had to know how to do it! Luckily this person put on his own workshops. I not only signed up for two of his workshops, I travelled many hours to get to them.

I invested in myself. I knew that by making a small investment in myself, I was avoiding the long term trail-and-error method of trying to figure out how to do this...and how to do it right. I mean, how many times can you get a model to commit some time, at her own expense, just so you can experiment with getting it right? Not only is she going to get perturbed, but you're going to look incompetent with all the fiddling of the lights, chimping at results, readjusting lights, changing backgrounds, etc.

So, I invested in the workshops at almost $300 each time. And that's just for the workshop. That's not counting the 3 hour drive to Houston, or the 5 hour drive to Dallas, hotel rooms, meals, gas, etc. I think I figured out that each weekend cost me an average of $500.

Then, I came home from each and ordered more gear; lights, booms, backgrounds, softboxes and grids. I already had a plethora of lights and such, but I wasn't absolutely confident in how to use them, or what other gear I should invest in to create the results I desired. And this is one of the things that those workshops solved.

So, ask yourself these few questions:

1. Do I want to improve my confidence in photographing models?
2. Do I want to improve my confidence in using my lighting system?
3. Do I want to know what equipment I need in order to create those images that will stand out from competition?
4. Do I want to learn using real, live models, creating images that you can add to your portfolio immediately?

If you said yes to any of those questions, do yourself a favor and invest in yourself. Save yourself from wasting time and money on trail-and-error, and learn it quickly and inexpensively. Sign up for one of our workshops at: http://www.210PhotoWorkshops.com
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