Faye and I have some exciting new ideas for expanding the Boudoir genre which we will be revealing in some of our workshops in 2011!

We are hosting a seminar here @ Claremont (EH47 0JY) on Monday the 22nd of November. Limited to 5 delegates @ £250 each to include lunch. Topics to be covered will include your business model, studio branding and promotion and marketing in all the relevant areas of portraiture, Maternity, Baby, Children, Teenagers, Couples and the Family. Each photographer will be asked to bring along 4 topics relevant to their business. 10.00am through until 1.00pm. Lunch 1.00pm until 2.00pm and then 2.00pm until 4.00pm. All that you require to bring will be an open mind a notebook and a very sharp pencil! Email trevor@yerburystudio.com for booking details.

Yesterday saw us hosting the second in our series of 3 seminars at the new Loxley lecture theatre in Cumbernauld.  65 delegates, Steven, Nicola and Chloe as our models. Faye myself and Jilly our PA made up our team. These are just a few of the images taken during the afternoon session which was cold and very windy so a typical UK wedding scenario!

I shot this image of Anita on our Boudoir workshop last Monday in Guildford. I used a Bowens 400 head fitted with our favourite Bowens Fresnel attachment. I have processed the image to give it that retro 30′ look which I love.We will be offering a Classic Boudoir Workshop in 2011.

We have had so many requests we have decided to host a Maternity and Baby workshop here at Claremont, near Edinburgh, on Sunday the 20th of March 2011. Limited to only 4 delegates.

In the morning we will demonstrate how we shot a pregnant mum to be, our style and our techniques and in the afternoon we will skip forward and photograph a new born baby when Faye will demonstrate her style and approach.

This is a great opportunity for 4 delegate to experience, learn to shoot with daylight and artificial light and how to compose your images for home or studio sessions.

The fee for this day inclusive of lunch and refreshments is £325.00

Just a passing thought but how many of you social photographers follow up each sale with a personal hand written note of thanks? (and remember to hand write the envelope as well and make sure its beautiful and luxurious that begs to be opened)

Just to keep you updated the book is progressing well and looking promising for Pre Christmas availablity. Each copy will come with a specially printed image onto the new Fotospeed Platinum Baryta 300gsm paper stock. A5 size, signed, dated and stamped with the studio logo. Choose from 2 images available. The book will be Limited Edition and will also be signed, numbered and dated. We need email addresses for those interested in purchasing a copy. This image, not in the book, is to show how to use a window to frame a classic nude.

The first released dates of our Winter/Spring programme.

BOUDOIR – Sunday the 13th of February – 4 delegates – £395.00 inclusive. Business with a Power Point presentation and practical session with model. Delegates leave with a copy of the PP presentation and copies of our advertising and marketing material.

PORTRAITURE – Sunday the 27th of February – Lighting and Posing – 4 delegates - £325.00 inclusive. Studio lighting – use of natural light – posing with models.

Refreshments and  lunch are all included in the fee. Workshops run from 10.00am until 4.00pm.

We are 15 minutes from Edinburgh International Airport. 20 Minutes from the centre of Edinburgh. 10 minutes from the local Bathgate train station which is direct from Edinburgh mainline station and 2 minutes from J4 of the M8 motorway.

PORTRAITURE – The Business and the Art – Loxley Colour – Glasgow – Monday 24th January 2011

A one-day seminar concentrating on the business and the art of portraiture.

The morning will be spent on the business side of portraiture, Marketing, Branding, and Promotions etc. How to run a successful portrait business; offer promotions that gain valuable clients without giving anything away free. Relationship Marketing is the way forward with many portrait studios whether you work from a high street studio or from a home base.

Brand yourself and your business so you become easily recognisable in your targeted area.

We will be offering you several ideas on promotional activities that can provide valuable income to your business. We will suggest suitable companies with which to offer Relationship Marketing opportunities.

Some of the areas we will cover; Maternity, Baby, Children, Teenagers, Family, Boudoir.

We will look at the range of products you can add to your price lists to add additional sales opportunities.

In the afternoon we will be demonstrating, with models, our studio lighting and its simplicity.

Questions will be welcomed throughout the day.

10.00am until 4.00pm    Lunch 12.30pm –1.30pm.

£85 per delegate which includes an excellent buffet lunch and refreshments throughout the day. Each delegate will receive a £35 voucher from Loxley to be used against any product. A £30 discount on the next Yerbury workshop at Loxley’s.

In addition 4 lucky delegates will receive a $100 discount voucher from KUBOTA.

Lighting supplied by BOWENS.

Although we have been very quiet recently we have been busy. We are currently working on a presentation on Portraiture for Monday and Tuesday of next week for Loxley. We are expecting over 100 delegates on each of the 2 days. Fortunately we only have 1 hour on each day but even that short time requires meticulous preparation.  With that in mind we decided to raid our archives of negatives, going back many, many years, and scanning the selected images which range from 2 1/4 square up to 10×8. So today’s image is one from the past, in fact around 15 years ago, and is a portrait of Lesley who was at that time a member of our staff and an excellent photographer. Mixed lighting source, heads from a Bowens 6K pack and the background lit by one of my grandfathers tungsten spotlights. One of our favourite images of all time.