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Ask me..

1, 2, 3, say cheese

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Ok, so this is a follow up to the previous posting where I’d mentioned about doing a Portrait Lighting Course run by Martyn Rayner from  his studio The Works Studio in Croxton, St Neots.  BTW, you don’t really say 1,2,3 say Cheese to a model Smile

It was a good day and with only 5 photographers in the studio it was easy to get Martyn’s attention and time with the model, Amber Tutton (Amber on Facebook).  Amber was wonderful to work with, especially with a complete novice like myself.   I think it was the idea of giving direction to a model that scared me the most about doing Studio work, but luckily, Amber helped a lot by giving some pose suggestions or simply using her experience to keep moving and providing interesting poses.  I had a chance to chat with Amber while we were all having lunch, and for someone her young age, I got the distinct impression she is a very confident young lady that knows what she wants to do and more then anything, she really really enjoys what she does!  Keep up the great work Amber, you’re going to go far and do very well!

I found using the lighting equipment to be easy and while I didn’t personally man handle the flash heads or softboxes,  I can see it’s not rocket science in terms of assembling and and positioning, something else I’d not really known what to expect to be so simple.  However, getting the best results will certainly take practice.  While it’s easy to position a light, doing it correctly is another matter.   We’d used a Beauty dish, a Ring flash, and a few different Softboxes.  The ring flash was interesting but you don’t wanna do a lot of shooting with it, sure adds a heap of weight to the camera haha

Would I ever use a studio again?  Absolutely!!! The cost of studio rentals has been one of the biggest surprises for me, the hourly cost really isn’t that high and the result could well be spectacular, certainly a hell of a lot better then you’ll likely trying to get those really nice photos at home.   I will certainly hire a studio at some point for photos, even just some family photos to start with, then perhaps a model again.

I had a great time on the course and an even better time shooting in the studio. 

Continue to the next page to see some pics from the day.

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