That 3 seconds is not enough time to fully appreciate the image or the story you might be trying to tell.

Shadows make your mind wander and think about the other things the image could be trying to tell or show.

Take the time to play with your lighting setups and experiment with light and shadows, its not always about blasting the subject it is about telling the story with the lights you have and can afford. © Black Diamond  

Hello Everyone,

I have a few things to let you all know about.

Several people have brought to my attention that the Bahamas Workshop sounded great, however it was announced on short notice, and with the economy bad, they needed more time to get it together for the shop. So I have decided to make it an irresistible deal. I want you all to take advantage of this because being able to tie a workshop into a cool event only happens every 3 or 4 years!

So I am going to cut the price of the workshop itself to $1000!! That’s a 33% reduction.

Click here for info: http://www.markdaughn.com/bahamas2009

Click here to register: http://tinyurl.com/ncknpo

Click here to see a press release about the event: http://tinyurl.com/n363hb

The long promised DVD on metering will be released late next week I promise…no really I promise. I am approving the final version for duplication tomorrow morning and all the labels and boxes are sitting here ready. So it will be in the store next week. It is a very good DVD packed full of very, very important info. In my opinion this is one of the most important in the series.

Ok, that’s enough for now.

Mark

A few notes:

I highly recommend attend at least one of Marks’ workshops – its basically where I learned how to be a photographer! If you have any questions about what you can get out of the workshop just shoot me a note.

2009 AUGUST 13

tags: glamour

A Crash Course in Glamour Photograph

Guest Post & Photo by Brent Burzycki Follow Brent on Twitter

What do I need? How much will it cost? Why are models so expensive? Do girls hate me?

Those are just a few of the questions I have been asked as I have made my way through my short glamour career so far and as far as answers, well, some are easier than others and that last one is a tricky one.

So if you read my last post here it dealt with rapport and the model interface. The bad part about this is I failed to mention who I learned that concept from and I need to clear that up. About four years ago I met a photographer (well two actually) that have become my mentors and my friends. Mark Daughn and Wild Bill Melton are both great photographers in their own right. Yet I think both excel in the most important skill many photographers are missing and that is people skills and the ability to teach and learn. To be able to teach and yet still learn from your students is something that is a rare commodity and those are the teachers one should look to learn from as that willingness will make you a better photographer in the end. Please take a second to check out both the sites, sadly Bill was lost to us in 2006 in a tragic car accident but many of us try to keep his spirit alive in our photo style and customer relationships.

So this is where four questions can turn into multiple posts so let’s concentrate on one at a time and look for the answers or at least my views to the others in upcoming posts.

#1 – What do I need?

To answer this you need to ask yourself many questions that you hopefully already know the answers too. (hey life is full of questions – get used to it). What style of glamour photography am I shooting? What mood or tone do I want to have in my photos? What will my specific subject matter be?

Since I really only know about what I do, let’s start with how I look at what I need. I shoot primarily Glamour. My style of glamour work uses the subject matter of women and a tone of sexuality, power and beauty. Basically my plan is to make that subject the sexiest she has ever been in a very comfortable environment. Sometimes this is easier said than done but I can expand on that later. I need a few simple things to get this done. A camera, an off camera flash setup and a location. I rarely use more than one flash, a large umbrella modifier and a camera. My setups are extremely simple because I tend to be lazier than I should and also I am on a strict budget per shoot. But simple setups also allow me to move quickly from space to space and keep the model interested in what we are doing and hopefully allow the shoot to flow a bit better.

Budget is one of my largest concerns and one of the questions I get all the time. The deal is simple; you do not need a lot of money to get beautiful light. Your light will cost less than you model in most cases so it’s the first thing you should spend your money on. Over on Mark’s site you can grab a copy of his lighting DVD and get an in depth tutorial on setups but in a nutshell one light and one light modifier and you are good to at least start on your way to beautiful lighting.

So you have your light, you hopefully have a camera. A very important note here thou, your camera must be able to function in fully manual mode and must be able to properly sync with an off camera flash. Remember we are not using a TTL style flash here this is a fully manual strobe head and camera method. Can you shoot glamour with a TTL flash? You bet you can, just for me it does not give me the control or desired effect I want in my portfolio.

Last you will need a light meter and well your model. Start your shoot setup as far ahead as you need before your model gets there. If you are uncomfortable with setup use the prep time to your advantage and be ready for when the model arrives. A model that feels you are unprepared will only feel her attentiveness and professionalism is as important as yours seems to be, be ready, be professional and shoot.

Are you, or do you dream about being, a photographer … amateur, semi-pro, or pro?

Have you ever wondered what it takes to shoot stunning photographs of beautiful women, or perhaps just wanted to improve your current shooting abilities?

Ever wanted to attend a photo workshop from one of the top glamour photographers in the world, but just couldn’t afford it or coordinate an opportunity to do so?

http://sirensmystique.c.topica.com/maam7XhabQDC2aQ8f1tbaeQCqs/

Mystique photographer Mark Daughn is now revealing his secrets and techniques in a new series of instructional DVDs. These DVDs are perfect for all levels of photographers, from someone who just began or is about to, to practicing professionals.

For the past eleven years, photographer Mark Daughn has been creating the unique look and feel of the images in Mystique Magazine. In addition to Mystique, he has published pictorials in Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler, as well as many of the top women’s fashion magazines. And top clothing companies have paid him mega bucks to create national ad campaigns for them.

Mark got his start in fashion photography, which gives him a unique perspective on how he approaches glamour photography.

Students pay thousands of dollars to take private lessons from him, some even flying to the United States from Europe and Australia just to attend one of his workshops.

But Mark understands not everyone can afford to attend a private workshop, so he is now sharing his decades of experience in a new series of affordable glamour photography DVDs.

The first three DVDs in the series are now available. Take a look …

Disc 1:

Production 101: Producing a Successful Shoot Mark explains each step of a successful production, giving you all the information needed for you to produce your own shoot.

http://sirensmystique.c.topica.com/maam7XhabQDC3aQ8f1tbaeQCqs/

Disc 2:

Lighting 101: The Fundamentals

Mark will teach you the breakdown of lighting, giving you all the concepts and information that will allow you to build your own lighting from the ground up.

http://sirensmystique.c.topica.com/maam7XhabQDC4aQ8f1tbaeQCqs/

Disc 3:

Lighting 201: Ultimate Single Light Setup By the end of the lesson, you will master the single light setup.

http://sirensmystique.c.topica.com/maam7XhabQDC5aQ8f1tbaeQCqs/

Also available are a set of 40 lighting diagrams, either as 4×6 cards, or on DVD for easy transfer to a mobile device or computer.

Photo Tip Cards:

http://sirensmystique.c.topica.com/maam7XhabQDC6aQ8f1tbaeQCqs/

DVD with Photo Tip Cards:

http://sirensmystique.c.topica.com/maam7XhabQDC7aQ8f1tbaeQCqs/

If you are serious about wanting to know how to improve your photography skills, and wish to learn what to do to take the best possible image of a woman, then these DVDs are an investment that will pay for themselves over and over again.

Order yours today!

http://sirensmystique.c.topica.com/maam7XhabQDC2aQ8f1tbaeQCqs/

If you want to learn from one of the top glamour photographers in the business here is a way to learn without breaking the bank.

From Mark’s Website:

“I’m very excited to finally announce the grand opening of my new online store!

On sale now:

* BRAND NEW, JUST RELEASED INSTRUCTIONAL DVDs!

Lighting 101 – The Fundamentals
Lighting 201 – The Ultimate Single Light Setup
Production 101 – Producing a Successful Shoot

* POPULAR ITEMS!

Lighting Diagrams DVD Format *New*
Lighting Diagrams Card Format *Best Seller!*

This was a huge project and after many months of hard work, things are now coming to fruition. This is just the beginning, there are more products coming soon. The estimated completion date for my next couple of DVDs in the lighting series is this August.

Click this link to visit my store: http://www.markdaughn.com/store.html

“I wanted to announce a 2-day photography workshop in Los Angeles on May 14 and 15. I’m really glad to have Aria Giovanni and friends as the models for the workshop. This is a rare opportunity to spend two days photographing Aria Giovanni.

Workshop Content:
- 12 lighting scenarios demonstrated and made simple
- learn how to use a concept to create artistic glamour images
- learn how to evoke emotions and expressions from models
- learn the secret of model posing
- I will be available to answer your questions all day long

You will get to shoot 6 looks each day, so there will be plenty of shooting time to create unbelievable images. There’s no better way to create images at this level for your portfolio.

Rarely is there access to this level of models. You get an opportunity to shoot 1-on-1 with each model on each set. This is not a shoot out. You will learn how to build rapport with each model to maximize the beauty of the images you will create.

This workshop will include nudity at the level of Playboy and Mystique Magazine. We will be shooting a wide variety of wardrobe ranging from fashion to lingerie to fantasy looks. This will all be done at an amazing Los Angeles location, used by all the major adult magazines.

The number of attendees is strictly limited to ensure maximum shooting time. I expect this workshop to sell out quickly.

For more details, check out http://www.markdaughn.com/workshop200905/main.html

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me at

workshops08@markdaughn.com

Later,
Mark Daughn”

Part of the PhotoAssistant Series: http://www.profotoassistant.com

Nice work from these guys to help all of us improve our studio work.

You can go to the page here: CLICK HERE

The above Podcast is well worth the listen for the interview with Paul Buff of Alien Bees.

I have one of these and I am very sad to say i have not devoted the time to even play with it as of yet so my first hand experience will come at a later date. From the word on the net many like the ability to be able to use this unit and Alien Bees bringing this to us on a more budget oriented basis is a great help to us more budget aware photographers.

The ABR800 AlienBees Ringflash

The ABR800 is a highly evolved, self-contained ringflash system designed to meet the challenges of the new-generation creative professional photographer. It is extremely compact, lightweight and easy to use with professional or semi-professional cameras with lenses up to 4 inches in diameter. A studio ringflash is an invaluable and instantly favorite tool of the professional photographer due to its ability to produce essentially shadow-free lighting, revealing unique catchlights in the eyes of subjects when used with fashion and portrait work.

My opinion on this would be there is no question if you need to learn it – the question is should you learn it or pay someone who is already great at it… To properly learn PS will take a huge outlay of time and effort – I know many that have pushed aside that learning to better their business and photo skills to hire a pro Photoshop user to get done what is needed.

I think in the future you will see a significant change in who uses Photoshop vs.. Lightroom style applications.

I think you will see the photographer use Lightroom – and their "editor" using Photoshop. Or whatever workflow application you use for small adjustments etc – vs.. pixel editing of images.

If you are going to try to learn Photoshop – take my advice and before you do anything sign up with an online learning source like lynda.com and check out some of the courses first – then you can look at the initial expenditure – and the time of learning etc – and compare your bottom line…

You can get allot of Photoshop work done these days for the amount you will outlay in PS software, and most importantly your time… many never take into consideration their personal time and more should as that is time that should be spent working on the thing you really want to be best at.. not all the support role items.

That all said you should always strive for the best out of camera image you can first – do not shoot to edit… rather shoot to edit less…