Home
>
Photography
>
Photography Workshops and Master Classes

Photography Workshops and Master Classes

Several years ago, I met a fellow photographer - albeit, he was an amateur, a very good one (the difference is not the quality of the work . the difference is that one does it for love, the other does it for money). He is now a new friend and fellow photographer named Marco, an Italian. His day job is as a top children's heart surgeon. His passion for photographing people takes him all over the world, seeking out that special face, interesting enough to be captured on film/file.

During our brief encounter in my brother's hairdressing salon, we had found common ground and a need to explore each other's pictures. He asked me if I would visit his photographic society to meet the other members and discuss the possibility of me giving a talk about my fashion photography. I said to Marco, "Whatever will I talk about?"

Well, first off, he said, there is something very magical in the expressions of my models and in the atmosphere of my pictures that he would love to have in his. He asked me how do you achieve this. Shocked at his remark, I said, "No, I can't, because I don't know myself." You have to find out he said because this is what you should talk about. We spent the next couple of hours disgussing photography and the feelings and techniques of managing your subjects whilst shooting.

During my visit to his camera club, we arranged for my talk to be done nearly 9 months later, so I had time to think about my talk and to get myself prepared.

For days, I looked at my work and examined myself whilst shooting assignments. It was maybe 6 months later whilst photographing a bridal-wear collection for one of my clients that something clicked. (No pun intended!)

I had decided that I would like to start shooting with wider lenses to change the style of my bridal-wear pictures. I shoot for so many bridal-wear designers, so I have to make them look and feel different to the each other. It also helps to use a short zoom, because during most of my shoots, I can take a variety of images from full length to portrait shots from the same distance, so my client gets much more usage out of the shots.

While moving in closer to my model, I noticed a big difference in the expressions in her face and her body language - they changed, as I got closer. I experimented more and began to play with this for the rest of this shoot. Not only could I see better, it also created a much better flow of the energy and communication between my model and myself. For years, I have been shooting fashion pictures using medium-length telephotos, at times so far away that my models could not hear me directing them. An amazing thing had happened. I could see and control so much more in my pictures. Not to say that I will never use long lenses, just that I prefer the new results that I am getting with wide lenses. In fact, most of my recent projects I have shot with a wide zoom.

I find that by doing the poses and expressions in my face that I want, my models seem to mirror mine. If I act daft, they act daft. If I laugh, they laugh. If I pull a sad face, they pull a sad face - which always makes them smile :-)

Since this experiment, I have been adapting my directions to my models in much the same way, obviously changing my energy levels to match the levels I want in my pictures. If I want a nice soft and gentle feel, I express this in my voice and my manor and my body. If I want high energy, I do high energy. If I want my model to leap, I will leap.

Think about this as if you were a conductor. The next time you attend a concert, watch him or her, and watch the orchestra. They mirror him - fast tempo, slow tempo, and medium tempo. You can do the same with your models.

Fashion pictures for me have RHYTHM and TEMPO. If you want to express high energy or tempo in a picture, the shoot has to be high energy or tempo, or visa- versa.

I look at pictures and sometimes wonder how boring the shoot must have been. I love to change the tempo up and down whilst I'm shooting, I would hate it if anyone viewing my pictures did not feel this energy. This is why I strive to make my shoots exciting for myself, my model, the other members of my team, and, most important, for my clients.

As a photographer, you are the conductor, your models are your orchestra, and your clients or viewers of the pictures are the audience. So you have to direct and entertain. Your performance will reflect in your pictures.

I want you to try a little experiment. The next time you have people over to your house or you get a moment with some people at work, pick a volunteer. Face each other, one or two feet apart, don't speak, and don't look at each other. In fact, do your best to imagine they are not there. Stay like this for 30 seconds and remember how this feels. Stay in this position but hold each other's hands, look into each other's eyes, smile at each other, don't speak. Instead of imagining they are not there, do the opposite. Try and send them all of your good energy. Stay like this for 30 seconds. Remember how this feels, and compare the feelings. Ask your friend or colleague and the others to explain how it felt for them. The next time you are shooting pictures, remember all of these feelings.

Bruce runs courses, master classes and workshops that give students an insight into the fascinating world of fashion photography. Instructor and photographer Bruce Smith teaches the fundamentals of preparing for a fashion shoot and setting up and photographing a shoot. "Introduction to Fashion Photography" is intended for anyone who wishes to shoot fashion images for fun in order to impress family and friends or for those who have a burning desire to become a professional fashion photographer.

Bruce's objective is to helps young photographers, initially to produce single fashion shots and eventually to produce fashion stories that would not look out of place in today's fashion magazines.

With a fashion photography career spanning 30 years, Bruce has shot projects in many parts of the world from Alaska to Thailand. For the past 3 years he has been giving workshops, lectures and talks in various parts of the UK as well as abroad, teaching hands-on the skills and techniques he has learned during his professional career.

There are several variations to the courses that photographers can take, from an online 8 week intense practical asignments course to 5 day master classes in beautiful settings in the South of France and Italy. Bruce teaches studio photography on his fashion and beauty or Glamour and Fine Artistic Figure and Nude photography workshops, held every month in fabulous studios in South West London. Students can expect to learn a lot of the secrets behind Bruces amazing fashion, beauty, glamour and fine artistic figure and nude photographs.

His work can be seen on his web sites:
http://www.brucesmithphoto.com
http://www.brucesmithphoto.com

You can read the many letters of thanks from his former students. There is also a students gallery where you can see the standard of photography his students are achieving in a short period of time whilst attending his photography master classes and workshops.

tidy up service Glenview ..

In The News:

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

A new phishing scam targets family photos with fake "Cloud Storage Full" alerts. Criminals steal credit card information through fake sites. Learn protection tips.

South Korean scientists create ultra-thin fabric muscles that turn clothes into robotic assistants, lifting 33 pounds while weighing under half an ounce.

Archer Aviation has acquired Hawthorne Airport for $126M to launch an LA air taxi network ahead of the 2028 Olympics, featuring AI-powered eVTOL operations and next-gen aviation tech.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Fake AI apps disguised as "ChatGPT" and "DALL·E" are flooding app stores with dangerous malware that steals data and monitors users without detection.

Fake buyers demand specific vehicle reports from unknown sites to steal credit card information from car sellers, but warning signs can help identify these scams before paying.

Android users can now manage apps across multiple devices more easily with Google Play Store's updated remote uninstall button in the latest update.

NASA's Perseverance rover discovers shiny metallic rock on Mars that could be a meteorite from an ancient asteroid, containing high levels of iron and nickel.

Holiday scams spike during Black Friday and Cyber Monday as criminals exploit your leaked personal data. Learn how to protect yourself from fake stores and phishing.

Commerce Department proposes TP-Link router ban over Chinese security risks. Learn how this potential prohibition could affect your home network and devices.

Hyundai AutoEver America suffered a data breach affecting 2,000 current and former employees, exposing names, Social Security numbers and driver's license information.

Washington court rules automated license plate reader images are public records, even when stored by vendors like Flock Safety, setting precedent for transparency.