Having been involved in studio hire for many years now, we have seen a whole variety of standards of photography, from innovative and exceptional, to outright pants (well let's call a spade, a spade!), and of course just about everything in between.

For most clients this is a hobby and professional standards are not necessarily of great importance However, it is always very rewarding to improve the quality of your photography.

Based on these experiences, I have developed a series of short training courses, purely designed to overcome the most frequent barriers to taking good quality pictures.

The aim being to enable photographers to take far more control in what they are trying to achieve, and then to actaually achieve it e.g. to move on from just being a snapper (essentially just pointing the camera in the right direction), to exploring the use of studio lighting and extracting a mood or emotion from a model.

These training courses have been tried and tested and have achieved some outstanding results... so if your images are a little uninspired - let me help you light them up (pun intended!).

Having spent a significant part of my life training novices in a variety of skills, these courses have been carefully designed to meet a purpose but not to be over-whelming. The aim is to provide enough understanding to move people forward in their photographic goals... but in realistic and relaxed bite size chunks.

Are short courses worth it?

Absolutely yes... these short course are done on a 'One to One' teaching basis and therefore we can pay particular attention to your specific needs.

Why do they work... you will learn skills in appropriate bite sized chunks and then have an opportunity to practice what you have learnt immediately. Unlike group training courses, we can immediately adapt to your specific needs as there is no need (and of course, no point), in moving on until you are actually ready. For the less experienced photographer, this may mean that during your course you learn less (we slow down) but you will learn well . And, for the more experienced photographer, we can simply move on to the skills/topics that are of interest to you.

Simply put, photography training at STUDIO 11 photography is always conducted in a relaxed manner and at your own speed!

Basic: -

This short course will cover the basics of Studio Lighting: -

• Basic positioning and controlling of studio lights (Bowens).
• Basic light metering.

A 1/2 hour will always go very fast, so the key to this short course is "keep it very simple".

Specifically designed for new studio hire clients who wish to take some control over the lighting. A quick guide to get you started and simple enough so not to distract you away from the subsequent studio shoot.

Note:

Once these few foundation skills have been mastered, then an advanced course may be appropriate.

Advanced: -

This short course will cover more advanced topics such as: -

• Advanced positioning and controlling of studio lighting (Bowens).
• Advanced light metering.
• A variety of lighting styles / techniques.

The aim of this short course is to give you some key skills to take good quality and technically competent pictures.

This course is very practical with one hour of theory followed by two hours of training whilst you are actually taking photographs (three lighting styles: 'flat lit high key'; 'mood lit high key'; and 'mood lit low key'). Your photographs will be reviewed periodically during the session, to ascertain strengths and weaknesses and your progress... and adapted accordingly.

Notes:

An experienced model will be required for two hours (you may bring your own model but we do ask that they are experienced).

To get the best from this course, we would advise that you further hire the studio soon after to practise and consolidate your new skills. You may if you wish hire the studio and model directly after the course to continue your practise, however we would suggest that you have at least a one hour break prior to continuing .

Beginners: -

From camera pixels, to prints or web photographs... this course takes you through the essential steps necessary to convert a basic camera image into a quality photograph. A systematic approach (which makes it easy to learn and repeat) covering image optimization i.e. cropping, exposure correction, colour correction, sharpening, sizing and saving in appropriate digital file formats.

This two hour course is designed for those that don't respond to reading manuals or earning on your own. It will save you hours of tedious reading of incredibly dull and confusing manuals.

There is also a secondary benefit, in that good Adobe Photoshop skills can often dramatically improve your actual photography e.g. you will learn to pre-visualise the final 'crop' whilst taking the photograph.

Whilst this course may be all you ever need, it can also be used as a foundation for more complex techniques.

Advanced: -

Any further bespoke training that you require e.g. working with layers.

Note: I train people in the practical uses of Adobe Photoshop, as used by myself to achieve commercial quality photographs for prints, brochures, websites, Public Relations work etc. I do not train people in fancy arty-farty elements... that is for others with more artistic and/or more advanced Adobe Photoshop knowledge. Whilst I do train people to remove blemishes, scars and spots, I also do not train people in the frequently over-used total removal of skin flaws. To me this looks totally unnatural (women so often look like shop mannikins) and in the bigger picture, is probably not good for society.

Most of the people who hire the studio, do so to enjoy a spot of glamour photography... no real surprise there!

However, from 10 years of observations, I can state that there is definitely a misconception with glamour photography i.e. that if you hire a professional studio; a professional model; and you are technically competent and own a good camera; then good photographs will be easy to achieve... well sadly the truth is not so; it's just not that simple!

Why?

The photographer will be concentrating on the taking of the photographs i.e. lighting, camera angles and functions etc. (technical).

The model will need to know exactly what the photographer wants from her i.e. poses and looks (physical/emotional).

Unfortunately, these things often clash, in that the photographer cannot concentrate on the models needs whilst also concentrating on taking pictures.

The usual outcome is that the model lacking in appropriate direction, just gets on and does her best. And, the photographer just shoots images in the hope of getting a good photograph.

However, the reality is usually this: -

After a couple of hours of shooting several hundred images, the photographer leaves the studio thinking that he must have taken some fantastic images. Unfortunately, later under close scrutiny at home, he or she finds that at best the images are actually rather mediocre.

The model of course, would not have been overly inspired by the shoot either (however, if they got paid, they will have at least gained a benefit from the shoot).

This outcome is caused by the lack of balance between the 'technical aspects' and the 'human physical/emotional aspects' of managing a shoot.

How do we remedy this?

During the four hour course you will be given sound practical advice on how to manage the shoot i.e. how to: -

• Prepare for a shoot - pre-visualization / style choice etc.
• Prepare the technical aspects of photography - camera light - props etc.
• Prepare and direct the model - clothing, image concept and mood setting.
• You will be given some simple techniques to help you take control of what you are doing and actually confirm in real time that you are achieving it!

The things that you need to understand and do, are actually reasonably simple and very effective. What's more, you will actually enjoy your photography more as good images will now come through 'your management of the shoot'.

Note: a model will be required for three hours.