Some of the readers of my blog may be unaware that in addition to photographing weddings, I also take time to teach other photographers.  By presenting as well as attending seminars and workshops,  I keep myself inspired as a photographer.

This year I’ve scheduled a series of photography workshops on lighting techniques, to be presented in cities across the USA.  I just completed the first of the series of workshops held this week in Phoenix and three cities on the West Coast - San Francisco, Portland and Port Orchard (near Seattle).   The workshops are based on material I’ve written to help other photographers and is published on my photography techniques blog, planetneil.

In each location I helped the attendees deal with lighting situations that are typical of their specific area - and each workshop included practical sessions where the attendees were able to photograph models to put into practice the techniques I taught. The image at the top was taken at the Boat Harbour in Port Orchard, WA.  The images below were taken during the photography workshops held respectively in San Francisco, and Phoenix.

Thank you to everyone who attended the workshops, and to our models in each city.
Do keep in touch. 

It was an honor to be invited to be a presenter at the convention held this past weekend by the Professional Photographers’ Association of Massachussets (PPAM). The 4 day convention was held in Natick, a city just outside of Boston, and I had a 3 hour segment on Sunday afternoon. My presentation was a scaled down version of my workshops on flash photography techniques.

The response afterwards was tremendous; numerous people thanked me and congratulated me, and I even got several “best presentation of the convention” comments. Not only was that gratifying to hear these comments, but also to see that there were actually more people at the end than when I started the presentation.

Here’s a compilation of a few images, mostly of the time during the break when I was chatting to people in the front. It seems I can’t keep my hands still when I talk.

Two years ago I attended a small get together for photographers in Mystic, CT. That meeting drew 28 people and was the catalyst for the main pages on my photography techniques blog.  It was also the very first presentation I did in front of other photographers, and as such was the actual kick-start to the workshops that I’m currently presenting.

So it was with real pride that I was invited to do a presentation again this week in Mystic - the third such get together.  By now the event had grown to 120 photographers meeting up! The subject of my presentation this time was how to use flash for some quick scene sweetening. (A description that Bruce Dorn kindly allowed me to appropriate for myself.)

The get together had evolved into a 12 hour program with top-notch speakers. And it was a real honour to do a presentation along with top photographers like David Mielcarek, Monika Broz, Michelle Turner, Steven Frischling, Walter van Dusen, Joseph Prezioso, Ben Chrisman, Michael Cody and Doug Boutwell.

Walter my friend, you did yourself proud with this event, really upping the standard to a new high!
And Jeannie, hopefully the shirt is less crumpled for your tastes this time.

Each time I teach others, whether in a workshop format or in a personal mentoring session, it also provides me with a great opportunity for personal and professional growth. My approach to teaching shifts as I redefine the material I present.

With the most recent workshop in Manassas, I realised I have moved from a viewpoint where I want to teach other photographers what I do, and how I do it …. to an approach where I want to teach other photographers how to achieve what they want to do.

(photo by Brian Knapp)

Also, something truly affecting for me with this workshop, was when I realised that two attendees had travelled all the way from Michigan to attend … and then said it had very much been worth it.

Thanks to the Candy Factory Art Center in Manassas, which was a fantastic venue for a sold-out workshop, and to Karen for handling the planning and coordination … and Ashlea, our gorgeous model who was so patient.

Thanks to everyone who attended. Do keep in touch!

For this workshop, we were fortunate in having the run of a large studio, courteously allowed us by Zack Arias of the One Light Work Workshop fame. The workshop was the regular combination of lecture, demonstration, and hands-on practice for the attendees.
Here I am (in crumpled shirt), explaining the histogram display to Stacey …

… and here is our beautiful model, Nicole, who helped us out on the day.

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Thank you to everyone who attended, and a special thanks to Zack and Karen of the PWP forums for making this possible. Here’s the PWP report-back on the workshop.