The Studio lighting course is aimed at getting photographers up to speed in using their DLSR’s in a studio environment in everything from setting up the camera to the different lighting patterns to get the best from the studio lights. Here are some examples from the Studio Lighting courses as well as some of the models we use for the courses:
Marita:
Laura:
Jade:
Rhiannon:
This course is aimed to teach you how to use off camera lighting on location using simple speedlites or hot shoe flash guns. The techniques discussed include balancing your flash with natural light and how to use the surrounding to create stunning portraits with just a DSLR and a single flash gun. Here are some of the models and some examples of photos taken on these courses.
Laura:
Marita:
Chloe:
Emily:
I have now partnered up with Mark Simms of EyeCandyPhotographic to increase the photography training programme under the name PhotoTeach. We are starting with four courses: Introduction to DSLR Photography, Studio Lighting, External lighting with speedlites, and a one day wedding workshop.
I will add details of these courses in their own posts.
I had a great new band in the studio for a portfolio shoot today called Firelights. They’re based in Liverpool and are a genuinely great bunch of guys who produce some brilliant music. Check out the details for the band and listen to some of their music on the bands MySpace page www.myspace.com/firelightsmusic.
As they are a new band they were looking for some basic promotional photos for advertising and web sites and so we spent about 3 hours in the studio getting a few different setups and a good mix of group and individual shots. 
Today I was able to get backstage at the Brentwaters Rally Stages event in Bentwaters Airfield Suffolk. My wife knows one of the CoDrivers Lindsey Watson who very kindly invited me along and gave me a service car pass to get into the events main preparation area. I’m a massive car fanatic and so any forms of motorsport really interest me but I’d never been to a real life rally before and so I took Lindsey’s arm off for the invite! Her Driver was John Talyor and they were driving a Ford Escort MkI which for me is a fantastic car and one I’ve always loved. 
I’ve posted a couple of pictures from the event but security was very tight on safety and so I couldn’t get very close to the track at all and so a long lens and an amount of cropping was needed! next event I may speak with the organisers about getting a spot on track to find a better viewpoint.
Back to Crondon Park Golf and Country Club for another of our wedding workshops run by myself and Mark. We were battling with the weather once again but this time it was a November day and so the weather was pretty typical of the time of year and needs to be factored into a wedding photographers plan. That said we were able to get a good hour outside with our brave models Gareth and Rio enduring the high winds and low temperatures before the rain came and forced us indoors for the later part of the training.
The setup was the same as always with the morning spent running through the events of a wedding day and how to plan it out as well as things to watch out for. Then the models arrive during a nice hot and cold buffet lunch and once everyone is fed we head out to take some pictures. This part of the day is fully hands on and we run through how to use the natural light for individual portraits up to full wedding guests group shots.
We then move on to the bride and groom portraits and show the delegates how to find great shots from almost any area of the venue. We then talk a lot more about posing and using the surrounding for the shots to give the delegates much more confidence to position people and see the shots before even setting them up.
All in all everyone on the course had a great time and went away with a head full of information and a camera full of great shots!
On to Week 3 of the Love In Essex project and we have Tony and Coni from Pilgrims Hatch. Tony and Coni have been together for 22 years and been married for 19 of those. They’re also the Mum and Dad of Josh from last weeks Love In Essex shoot and have another teenage son.
They originally met through the police force where they worked in the Plaistow area in different departments, but have since both left the force and work as teachers in a local school.
This weeks shoot started in the beautiful grounds of Ingatestone Hall but this was closed for the winter and so we moved onto Mountnessing Windmill for the remainder of the shoot. The weather was on our side with a glorious sunny afternoon dispite some heavy rain showers in the morning.
Tony and Coni were really fun to work with and even though Tony confessed to hating his picture being taken they both really enjoyed the shoot and said they loved the concept of the project.
Week 2 of my Love In Essex project introduced me to my youngest couple currently booked onto the project, Josh and Justine of Brentwood. Josh at 17 and Justine at 16 signed up to the project right at the beginning and helped to spread my age range from 16-90!
They met through school sharing a Geography class for a few months in their last year of GCSE’s at Shenfield High School. After getting t0 know each other Josh built up the courage to ask Justine to the School Prom, held at Stock Brook Manor. She said yes and this was their first date! Now into the sixth form at Shenfield School, with Josh doing a BTEC and Justine taking A-Levels, they’ve been together for just over 6 months.
I decided to take them for a shoot at Hylands House in Chelmsford as I’ve shot weddings there and there are loads of little places t0 shoot hidden away from the other park dwellers. I thought this would be an advantage as a younger couple can be a little self concious having portraits taken in a public park and I could ease them into it away from the masses! This worked well and as we worked our way through Hylands House’s beautiful gardens I could sense (and see) them relaxing into the shoot and becoming more comfortable having their pictures taken
I had the very first couples location portrait shoot for my Love In Essex project today. My first couple was Dawn and Sean who came in the studio for a portrait photography shoot a few months ago and I think it was working with them that gave me the insiration for the project. Dawn and Sean actually live in South Weald Country Park in Brentwood as Sean manages the maintanance of the park as well as other country parks across Essex. Dawn also works for the council managing country parks and so they seemed a perfect start for a project showing the beauty of Essex!
Not only this but it’s very obvious in Dawn and Sean’s company how very much in love they are and they’re a pleasure to photograph and we had a good laugh during the shoot.
Here are a few of the shots from the session and as you can see we started at around 5pm which might have been a touch late as by the end we were shooting in pitch black! Lesson learned there and I’ll get the future shoots underway a bit earlier I think!
So week one is done and I look forward to the following 51 weeks…
This evening I shot portraits at a charity event at The Burstead Golf Club. The Burstead is a wedding venue that I have photographed at before and that’s how I got in contact with Teresa at the club. It’s a family run club and has a great community spirit amongst the members which meant the evening was a huge success in raising money for the Essex Air Ambulance charity. I setup a white background for the shots and had a good turnout in the makeshift studio area that is usually the reception areas conservatory. Amongst the families and friend that were there was the celebrity hairdresser Lee Stafford who has appeared on the likes of Comic Relief and has a salon in Leigh. The picture attached of Lee was taken on the night