The Annual and Fabulous Societies Convention 2016 Wrap Up Post

(Awards Night by Aled Davies)

Each year this event highlights for me just how fast time is passing. Its a milestone marker a bit like a child's birthday. It seems like it will be forever for the next convention to come around as we say goodbye but before we know it we're hugging everyone hello once again in the halls of the now very familiar Hilton Hotel on Edgeware Road in London. We've spent so much time there that place now feels like home for one week every January.

(My masterclass on Photoshop - I was quite pleased with the turnout)

This year I presented 2 talks, one on Photoshop Tips and Tricks as well as one on Lighting. Both of which were well attended and well received. I'm often amazed how many people turn up to hear what I have to say.

For those in the Lighting Superclass I wanted to share a few of the images created during that session. In hindsight I wished I had asked someone to make notes of the noteworthy images so that I could show everyone the differences in the resulting images as we made changes to our setup. If I am invited back I intend to do just that next year. But I have what I have for now and hopefully that is enough.

(This was shot using a large Octobox with a reflector for a fill light from below)

(This was shot with the Bowens 21" Beauty disk with grid and sock attached. We also used a reflector from beneath to fill in the shadows under the chin.)

(Here we used black flags to block some of the spill light from our background lights so our subject had more defined edges creating separation between our subject and background)

(For this one we used 2 strip softboxes and a single small softbox)

This year I decided to get more out of this event for myself than I usually do. As a speaker my energy is usually divided between my commitments and socialising at the bar, not taking the time to participate as a delegate myself. Attending for 10 years now sometimes we can feel like there isn't much more we can see or learn from our peers. But in reality there is always lots to learn and I'm crazy not to take advantage of the opportunities this event offers. So this year I did more than I've done in years. I attended several hours of print judging and 3 masterclasses, time very well spent. I was also privileged enough to receive a critique and a brief mentoring session with this year's amazing 20x16 overall winner David Edmonson (author of the stunning family portrait that scored the elusive 100 points). Some of his work you can find here.

This convention provided a fantastic and much needed kickstart to my year. I've come back armed with fresh enthusiasm and plenty of ideas I now need to implement. I've even come away with my ideas for next years talks. My proposals are being written as we speak even though they won't be required for several weeks still.

If you attended one of my classes and felt it was really worth your while, please pass on your thoughts to the Societies so that they know I'm worth having back. I'd really appreciate it.

I hope to see you all next year.

Comments

Portraits Even a Teenager Boy Loves

Finally I've had the opportunity to photograph a young man in my studio again. And funnily enough this was the second time that week which is absolutely superb. In both cases these young men were just as enthusiastic to be involved as I was, which is something I don't often get when I'm working with very young children, my usual subjects. With young children I find my energy in their cuteness. But with young adults I get energy from their excitement over how the portraits are working out. I get such a buzz from the experience and that can keep me going for hours, often editing the photos straight after the shoot for hours more. Shoots for teenagers is something I've been wanting to focus on for some time. Its not something that I often get asked for though unfortunately. It tends to be parents of very young children who want to capture moments that are slipping through their fingers at lightening speed. Maybe its teenage moodiness that means these moments don...

Happy New Year Everyone!

Well again it has been a while since I last updated the blog. It was just crazy busy in the lead up to Christmas, with completing all outstanding orders and completing work on the studio. It is yet another New Year's resolution that I maintain this blog on a more regular basis. It is my goal that this year there will be no need for apologies for any lengthy absences. Since the completion of the studio I can already feel my life turning around. I feel happier, less stressed and much more organised, both personally and professionally. Our home is becoming a home again, now that all the photography gear has been moved out. And now I am able to store all my photography gear in one place it is making my life much simpler. I now know exactly where everything is and it is at my finger tips. What a difference this is making to my life. As I read the Facebook statuses of friends moaning about Mondays and getting back to work I actually find myself looking forward to going to work. Especial...

Fine Art Portraits of a Beautiful Young Girl

So this is really becoming my thing lately. I am having so much fun working with children individually where I can direct and interact in ways that bring the best out of my subject. This has certainly become a process now of creating rather than taking photographs. And its what I have always wanted to be, a portrait artist rather than a photographer. I cannot put into words fully just how rewarding this is. For each of these shoots (as with nearly all of my shoots) we begin with a consultation where we discuss what we would like to achieve in the shoot. Here we will consider the type of clothing and any possible props. We will look at both the clients clothes and my ever growing collection so we can pick what will work best. In all circumstances we are heavily guided by what the child in the portraits wants to wear as I see this as vitally important. If he or she is uncomfortable its going to show and the portraits won't work. But most are happy to play dressups and wear a com...

London in Spring, Whats Not to Love?

Well I know there is still a lot not to love but I'm choosing to see the great things about London at the moment. I am having a ball this year visiting London as often as I can. Which is unusual for me since I usually prefer the comfort of my own home, in rural old Leicestershire. Staying home and avoiding people has always been the easy option. But this year, possibly due to the wonderful weather we keep having, has me longing for venturing out. Again, just like my last trip, I headed out with my good friend Panikos Hajistilly . Living in North London he finds it easy to meet up for our shoots. This time though I had more of an idea of the sights I wanted to use as the backdrops for my portraits. With it being spring I was in search of colour, preferably flowers. Admittedly. I didn't quite get what I was looking for. The white fronted terraced houses with pink magnolia trees we did not find unfortunately. But I did make it to Peggy Porchen's which was a must see on m...

My Work Experience Week by Hester Sharpe

A week in the life of a Photographers assistant, is not all about saying cheese! I’m Hester Sharpe, currently at JCC but took a week out of normal school life on work experience to be a photographer’s assistant and learn the bits behind the camera, photograph and the process to get to the end result. During my week of work experience in photography I have learnt that there is a lot more than just taking the pictures and printing them. The steps in between are the key to getting the perfect photo. For example the photos have to be cropped, tweaked, edited, colour corrected. That is just a taste I have had in the processing of the photos and there is a lot more than just those things. Those processes are the most time consuming part of the photograph and a tremendous amount of detail is put in to the picture but all the hours spent are paid off with the end result; a perfect picture. It isn’t just how the picture looks; presentation is a key to photography too. Selecting the best ...

Christina Lauder Portraits

Search This Blog