The BlogKor

Unless noted, All photos (c) 2006 Andrew Kornylak. Please contact me if you would like to license, download, or link to these images.

 

On October 6, I gave a workshop for the Showcase School on “Location Portrature.” The workshop was held at Arabia Mountain, a beautiful and relatively untrammeled piece of granite 20 minutes outside Metro Atlanta.

 

Above: Full Moon and Wildflowers, Arabia Mountain, GA: Nikon D2X, 105mm f/2.8 VR, handheld for 1/80 @ f/3

We had eight people in our workshop, and perfect weather. Starting on the lower mountain, we hiked to a small lake, discussed lighting concepts and dove right into the techniques and equipment available to light subjects outdoors, from simple reflectors to portable studio strobes. Along with the Nikon gear, I packed the full gamut of lighting tools, from SB800s to a Profoto 7b kit, plus reflectors, diffusers, etc. The emphasis was on shooting digital, and all the participants brought their own digital SLRs. One participant also brought an excellent Norman 400B kit, which we put to good use.

My (admittedly un-academic) approach to lighting is based on the concept that your light source forms an image on your subject, and you are capturing not only the form of your subject but also the substance of that reflected image. Sound heady? Consider a mirrored ball: an image of the world around it is reflected off its surface. If you photograph the ball, you are really photographing the way the world is reflected on that ball, not just the ball itself. Consider how this can simplify seemingly complicated lighting situations…

OK. Enough jibber jabber. The students in my class were mostly advanced in their photography skills, so it kept me on my toes. I think at a that level of skill, the difference between making good photos and great photos is more about inspiration and motivation. Thats where Herb comes in. No, that kind of herb!

Above: Herb Bowens, Atlanta, GA: Nikon D2X, 17-55mm f/2.8, 1/250 @ f/7.1, Profoto 7b

 

Herb Bowens is a dancer and performer from Atlanta with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with this year. I had asked Herb at the last minute to be a model for our workshop, and he came through. Herb is a wonderful model because not only is he great looking, but he also has a fun personality and is very imaginitive.

 

So once Herb showed up, I think the motivation in the class jumped to a new level.

 

By the end of the class, we were working with some beautiful light on the top of the mountain, and the students were getting some great shots!

Above: Workshop Participants, Arabia Mountain, GA: Nikon D2X, 105mm f/2.8 VR, 1/320 @ f/8, Norman 400B

The next week I held a review session at the Showcase School, where we enjoyed snacks and wine, and critiqued eachothers photography from the workshop.

Here is some of the students’ inspired work:

Above, photo by Tim Mueller: A portrait of Herb is made dramatic by good angling of the harsh sunlight to create an outline of strong features and posing of his sunglasses. A silver reflector was positioned by another student to the right. Great shot!

 

 

Above, photo by Robin Bise: The class jumped into action when we passed a flowering plant with purple berries. It was a little chaotic with everyone alternately taking turns directing Herb, holding reflectors, and shooting. Robin came away with a great intimate shot here, with good depth of field to make the subject stand out from the messy background, simplified further by her post-production. I like it a lot!

 

Above, photo by Wayne Ware: A very nice portrait of Adrian Ferrier here is enhanced by the posing of his camera on his shoulder, which picks up the pleasing late sun to the left and the well-positioned gold reflector to the right. Another student was also holding a diffuser over Adrian’s head to soften the sun. The key here was that Wayne moved around Adrian until both composition and light were maximized.

 

Above, photo by Adrian Ferrier: Adrian made great use of a wide-angle lens and filled the frame with a dynamic pose here.

 

Above, photo by Lisa Santore: This great action shot caught a nice pose and balanced the sunset exposure with the Norman 400B strobe. The composition is nice too; shooting from very low placed Herb against the sky rather than the dark ground below.

 

Thanks to everyone who participated in the workshop, and I look forward to seeing you again!

 

-akorn