Light, Language and Line Workshop

Light, Language and Line – The Art of Studio Lighting and the Fine Art Nude

This 2½ day hands-on intensive workshop with Halifax based photographer Steve Richard will increase your understanding and mastery of advanced studio lighting concepts through the creation of art rather than the process of simply capturing an image.  The goal of the workshop is to give participants a firm understanding of shooting fine art nudes in various studio lighting environments and to introduce a new way of seeing. This course is targeted at photographers with some studio lighting experience who are looking to push their lighting knowledge to the extreme. Studio experience is not a prerequisite however; beginners with little or no studio experience will still benefit from this workshop. In addition to lighting this workshop will also focus on being able to understand the use of body language and line to create/reinforce the story of the image.

Steve has a strong personal style and a unique creative vision when it comes to shooting fine art nudes.  In addition to an introduction to a wide range of studio lighting setups, Steve will share his personal approach to working with fine art nude models and his method of creating beautiful, world-class images within a very simple framework.  He will also discuss and demonstrate his technique for capturing the final image in camera using little or no post-production for his final images.

The workshop will allow a maximum of 4 photographers per group, for an excellent model-to-photographer ratio.   This workshop is intended to provide as much shooting time for each photographer as possible while allowing time for questions, critiques and support from the instructor throughout the day.   During each workshop on Saturday and Sunday there will be three different lighting setups per day, allowing every participant to get individual instruction/coaching and about 25 minutes of shooting time for each setup and model.  On the Friday evening there will be an introduction/presentation and review of the studio lighting/grip equipment being used on Saturday and Sunday.  Each evening there will be an opportunity for review/critique of the images shot that day.

The following lighting topics will be explored in detail:

• Understanding and working with studio strobes
• Understand and using light modifiers
• Working with Diffusion/Reflection – managing the “quality” of the light
• Learning how to create depth in the image using light
• Histograms and light meters
• Balancing light intensity between sources to promote the story
• Mixing tungsten and strobe light sources
• Slow shutter speed techniques
• Controlling texture and mood with light
• Colour compensation techniques
• Using negative space
• Learning how to remove light (working with flags, gobos, and grids)
• Working within minimal environments
• Using body language to tell the story
• Understanding line and form in an image

All studio lighting and grip equipment will be provided.   Participants are only required to bring their personal camera equipment, batteries, memory cards and a lot of energy.

Please note this is not a glamour/playboy style workshop.  For each group of 4 there will only be one person shooting at a time.

The cost for the 2 1/2 day workshop is $550+HST and is limited to 8 participants and includes lunches and snacks on Saturday and Sunday.

A short video of Steve at work:

To see more of Steve’s work, visit: www.steverichard.com

Details:

Next workshop date: TBA

To register or for more information, contact Martin Renters at [email protected]