I have read much recently on online forums on the thorny subject of ‘Training for Photographers’ so I though I would add my own opinion to the many that are floating around just now.

I start by saying that I have been in this business since the day I left school in 1969 and joined the family business which was established by my great grandfather back in 1864 making me the 4^th generation and perhaps making the business one of very few in the UK still to be run by a direct descendant of the founder.

Now, when I started as an apprentice, the staff had to call me Mr Trevor, I was not allowed near a camera for at least a year. I had to first learn all the other areas of the business, film loading, processing, retouching, printing, mounting, spotting etc. Then finally into the studio, a studio that still had a daylight roof and wall, a studio that ran mostly on tungsten lighting, huge 2000w + bulbs, spotlights, umbrellas with an array of 10 100w bulbs bouncing light from and finally a very early Courtney flash unit that looked more like several car batteries tied together in unison. Here I learnt how to use daylight in all is variant and transient forms, how to see the true effects of tungsten lighting on your subject and finally how flash made life so much easier and more importantly cooler especially if you were in the studio all day during graduation shooting on a 5×4 studio Linhof.

And my point in mentioning all of the above? Simple really, a good grounding in all 3 lighting disciplines, daylight, tungsten and flash all of which were honed over the following years by constant practice so that whatever circumstances or challenges I was faced with I knew the solution. This came to use when, in the late 70’s I was photographing the International Gathering of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme indoors at Edinburgh University. The Duke himself was present as were delegates from all the Commonwealth countries around the world, so no pressure! The group numbered some 60 individuals and was to be lit by 2 PF100 bulbs, camera left and camera right. PF100’s were powered by a sync box powered by battery and attached to the camera via a sync cord and gave a VERY bright light! Group assembled, positions taken and adjusted, then “Your Royal Highness, gentlemen please look to the camera” one, two, three click…… nothing! Close the dark slide, recock the shutter, open the dark slide, and again ‘Your Royal Highness etc.” I tried this 4 times all with no success and by this time you could see HRH whispering to the gentlemen either side, not, I can promise you a very reassuring sight!

Now this was a once in a lifetime group, my reputation was on the line, the pressure was unbearable, this was serious stress but this is also where the training I had received kicked in to try and rescue the situation. The only lighting in this huge room in which my group were assembled was from an enormous pair of chandeliers. The answer, open the shutter up of f8, set the exposure to, I think, somewhere around 2 seconds, then address the group once again in a slightly faltering voice. “Your Royal Highness, Distinguished Guests can I ask you all to please look to camera and also to remain perfectly still”. Silence descended upon the room, you could hear my little heart pounding as I pulled the dark slide out grasped the cable release firmly and then, looking firmly at HRH, pressed the trigger… I seem to recall I did this 2 or 3 time, slightly adjusting the length of the exposure before thanking His Royal Highness as he smiled back at me in a sympathetic fashion.

I could not get the equipment packed us quickly enough; men were walking by, patting me on the back, and with some sincerity telling me, “It could have happened to anybody”.

We went straight to the lab, this was shot in colour, and had them process one sheet to see what, if anything, was on it. Well it will come as no surprise when I tell you that the very first sheet was almost perfectly exposed in every way, the lighting was even, colour rich and, most importantly, NOBODY had move! What a result. The final 15” image was delivered to the Duke’s private secretary that evening, who expressed overwhelming delight at the finish result before proceeding, and in all seriousness, to enquire if they would receive a discount because my flash had not gone off! I will leave you to debate what my answer was.

So a long story just to demonstrate that whatever style of social photography you wish to specialise in there is no substitute for a good working knowledge of all the lighting techniques. Not all clients want a ‘Lifestyle’ portrait nor may they want a classic ‘studio’ portrait. If you are a ‘Lifestyle’ photographer, that’s running around outside in natural light, and discover after making the appointment that the client has changed his/her mind and now wants a portrait indoors, or even a classically light portrait, what do you do? Do you take the high ground and say sorry that’s my style, take it or leave it, thus potentially losing a client and the resulting income, or do you simply adapt your style and slip seamlessly into another lighting mode. I know what I would do. We regularly shoot in our daylight studio with natural daylight, Bowens flash, outdoors and occasionally, if I am feeling the need to be different, I get out the red heads and warm up the studio!

So back to the original question which is on training and who is a good trainer and who is not. There are many around these day’s, some, like myself who have been around and have a wealth of experience and knowledge and those who have only recently come into the industry and are already offering training and workshops! Now I am not saying that the ‘older more experience photographer’ is a better teacher, nor am I saying ‘the newcomer’ has nothing to offer this wonderful craft/profession what I do say is that whoever the teacher is they MUST instill enthusiasm in the delegates and create an atmosphere during the workshop that is positively inspirational. Knowledge and technique are only part of the learning process creativity and inspiration is equally important and the tutor must be able to bring that to the workshop.

Our motto is simply: ‘ The Power to Create and Inspire’

I do think that small groups work best, 6-10 delegates being an ideal number but please remember all speakers do have a break even point and that is dependant on the venue chosen and the relevant costs involved in putting on a workshop, models fees, refreshments etc. Our own workshops held here at Claremont are normally limited to 4 delegates while our SHOOT IN THE CITY + BOUDOIR SCHOOL workshops are normally limited to 10.

Our philosophy is very neatly summed up by a recent delegate on his blog site:

‘ If you are thinking about going on one of Trevor and Faye’s courses I recommend it. You will learn a lot and their skill is letting you learn from yourself as much as from them. It is a fascinating way to learn and I am grateful for the experience.’

What a blast we have had today photographing some really funky wedding cakes! Yes, wedding cakes, but wedding cakes with sassy attitude. It has taken all day but well worth the effort. Paul, the artist, has a business close by with his partner David and had been wanting some new images for his website, marketing and PR so we thought it would be a fun way to spend a Saturday. Paul is now off to Monaco for 5 days to hold Masterclasses for all the pastry chef’s from the area’s top hotels. He is very, very good. Pics later when we have processed them. In the meantime a peaceful Saturday to you all.

Well the bank holiday looms with the obligatory ‘unsettled weather’ forecast! Bit of a chill out day today but some great news on the horizon regarding special offers on Quantum kit and the all new, Totally Rad set of actions. Will post the details some time next week when they are finalised. Details of 2 workshops are currently being distributed by our good friends and sponsors @ Loxley’s: THE BOUDIR SCHOOL on the 6^th of October @ Maunsel House, Nth. Somerset and then a SHOOT IN THE CITY, here in Edinburgh on the 18^th of October. Both are booking up quite quickly so if you are thinking of coming along then please e-mail ASAP. Don’t forget all delegates to either of these workshop will receive a 20×16 wall portrait, framed to 20×24 from Loxley’s, (why do people go elsewhere?) $100 discount on the wonderful KUBOTA DASHBOARD, 35% discount on a Mario Acerboni album.

Faye and I are working on a new series of workshops for 2010 and due to the popularity of our SHOOT IN THE CITY series we will be taking this to London and we are looking at Paris and perhaps Prague in the early spring of next year. Fabulous locations and an ideal opportunity to create some stunning new images for your 2010 portfolio. Keep checking the blog for dates.

Have a great weekend and lets hope for at least a bit of sunshine across the land!

Today’s images is from a SHOOT IN THE CITY workshop in Copenhagen earlier this year.

I had a nice email this morning from Alec who is currently living and working offshore in South Africa. Alec was asking a couple of questions, first are critiques open to anybody and the answer to that question is yes, so if you have an image you would like a constructive critique on then please email it to me. Alec’s second question was about how we process our images so in the next few days I will post an image that we have processed together with details of the actions used. In fact I will probably try and make this a monthly post, try being the operative work here. Thanks for the kind works Alec and delighted that you enjoy the site. 2 final images (perhaps!) from Sunday’s session. We have the wonderful Anite de Bauch arriving at Edinburgh Airport this evening in preparation for a test session tomorrow. Some Classic Nude and some latex so hopefully some images to post in the next few days.

Another images from Sunday’s workshop. We are hosting another SHOOT IN THE CITY workshop here in Edinburgh on the 8th of October limited to 8 delegates.

Again all delegates will receive a £100 framed 20×16 wall portrait from Loxley’s, $100 off Kubota Dashboard, 35% off any Mario Acerboni album and 10% off DMLS light modifiers.

What a wonderful time we had yesterday on one of our SHOOT IN THE CITY workshops, here in Edinburgh one of Europe’s most beautiful cities. The only thing that was against us was, of course, the weather! The number of times I had checked the forecast last week was, well Faye had to tell me to stop! The day dawned with; yes you guessed it, rain. Soft, gently Scottish rain. Straight down from the heavens but at least it was warm. Our bride and groom for the day, Nicola and Steven are both actors, not models, as we think actors are more able to bring some realism to the part they are playing for the day. Anyway they both came to dinner on Saturday evening and spent the night with us so we were ready to jump into action early Sunday morning. Our delegates, some who had travelled all the way from London and Liverpool, met us at Café Nero on Lothian Road where Nicola and Steven magically transformed into our bride and groom in the respective loos! Still raining, we sprinted over to Festival Square to take advantage of the covered areas in this the financial area of the city. Not long into the first session the rain managed to stop so we were able to take advantage of the rest of the square. We were using the Quantum packs with the DML light modifier, which gives such a wonderful soft light reminiscent of my larger studio soft box, which many of you will know how much I love using. I just loved a revolving door, which I came across, and we spent quite some time here with Nicola and Steven working their magic for the delegates ensuring that they did indeed come across as a genuine bride and groom. Not sure if any of the delegates clocked the security guard inside the building that looked quite bemused at what was going on at his revolving door!

We ended the morning session on and around the steps of West Register House, a former church in the centre of the city, which provides wonderful wet weather options. I think that the tourists, and remember this is in the middle of the Edinburgh Festival, thought that we were a Fringe Performance! Faye even suggested that we host another at the same time next year and sell tickets! Lunch in Leith at one of our favourite restaurants, Giuliano’s on the Shore and then back onto the streets for more shooting in and around the harbour area of Leith before finishing the day at the prerequisite blue shutter door where we showed delegates what an advantage a Bowens Travel pack and Ring Flash can be to set yourself apart from the opposition. All of our delegates loved the effect such a powerful Ring Flash can achieve both on and off camera.

Back to Giuliano’s for a quick debrief and a welcome coffee, I downloaded some images and Faye demonstrated some of the actions we use in postproduction. Kubota and Totally Rad are our most favoured action sets and we are delighted to be sponsored by both along with Bowens, Quantum and of course the UK’s premier professional lab, Loxley Colour.

Judging by the e-mails delegates had a great time with us: We will be hosting another SHOOT IN THE CITY workshop on the 8^th of October. Full details on the blog and leaflets through Loxley’s.

Hi Faye and Trevor,
Just needed to say again a huge thanks for not only a highly intuitive, creative workshop but also a fabulous day in your company.
The images are simply outstanding, your models fantastic, the locations and lunch superb, and the company of other guests enjoyable.
I look forward to seeing you both again sometime, (soon I hope).
Best Regards,
Gordon.

An example today of how, after a few weeks, your interpretation of an image can be refined. You may have seen this image a few pages back and this is, to my mind, the improved version.

Nothing on today, Harry Potter, kids are back at school so peace and  quiet in the cinema. Looks like we have some wonderful new models to work with over the coming weeks. Keep looking!

We are in the initial planning stages for this all day workshop in Denmark’s beautiful capital city which will be held in the early spring of next year.

Just a reminder that all delegates on our Autumn Workshop Programme will receive the following free goodies through the generosity of our kind and loyal sponsors.

From Loxley’s a 20×16 portrait, overmounted and framed to 20×24 in one of their superb mouldings. Value of £100

From Kevin Kubota a $100 discount on the wonderful new Kubota Dashboard series of actions that are a must have for any photographer. (wait till your see what Faye can do with them!)

From Mario Acerboni a 35% discount vouch for any album purchased.