UK Safari

On the wild side

terry hewlett arps

A day with the family

There is nothing more satisfying than spending a day with the family and grandchildren, to see the delight in the little one's eyes when they look at the animals not seen before and savour the joy when their inquisitive minds ask questions.

Afie and Katie - his mum
A little fill flash to complement the ambient from upper left
and some reflected light from Katie's top.
EF70-200 @145mm f/2.8 at 2.3m
Metering - Evaluative

That was me last weekend when I went to the Cotswold Wildlife Park with my wife, little Alfie, Bobby and their parents, providing me with the opportunity to photograph both them and the animals.

Now here is the question, when you are a professional photographer on a day off, do you switch your brain out of gear and just shoot "snaps", or do you go the whole nine yards and shoot creative, memorable images? I think that is a no-brainer as any photographer will tell you, its in the blood and when you understand the basic principles of composition and lighting, the process becomes so much easier to produce images that are much better than just "snaps".

Don't get me wrong, shooting snaps for most people is all they want to do with their cameras, capturing those special moments, however with a little targeted training those "snaps" could be so much more.

Lighting is a key consideration when taking an image, after all it's the reflected and direct light that forms the image - with the help of a decent lens. In the shot with Alfie and his mum there is nothing more than considered positioning of them both coupled with a very small amount of flash, controlled with Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC), something that all DSLR cameras are capable, even a small compact can achieve a similar result.

The day was a casual walk around the park taking in the exotic and not so exotic animals, some offering the opportunity for great imagery, with a little patience added to the mix.

Meerkats always make for photogenic subjects.
EF70-200 @ 400mm with 2x extender on a monopod
f/5.7 at 3.8m
Metering - Evaluative

When shooting animals it is not advisable to use flash so all the images were shot with the available light, waiting for the furry friend to be in the right position. Using a wide aperture will give you a shallow depth of field that isolates the subject from the background, a key element when producing images that captivate.

There are times when your patience can bear that little extra fruit as in the second Meerkat image I was in the right place at the right time and  he performed on queue.

A small hover fly came into view and captivated the Meerkat - a moment in time.
EF70-200 @ 340mm with 2x extender on a monopod
f/5.7 at 3.8m
Metering - Evaluative

One of the problems shooting animals in captivity is that some are behind bars, wire or in the case of the Lions, behind a double layer of toughened glass. This presents a particular problem in that glass will reflect you the photographer unless you place the lens tight to it, which is what was done with this shot of the sleeping pair. The image has suffered a little because the inside of the glass was not as clean as I would have liked it and none of my family offered to go and clean the it for me!!!!

The couple
EF70-200 @ 310mm with 2x extender on a monopod
f/5.7 at 13.8m
Metering - Evaluative

The image was processed in Filter Efex Pro "wet rocks" to help add a little edge and contrast. The shot was taken straight on as any attempt to shoot through the dual layer of glass at an angle resulted in a distorted image.

The shelter roof they were lying on was at an angle helping to add a small amount of energy to the shot.

These observations are just some of the few tools in the photographers armoury that help produce a pleasing image that so easily could have been just a "snap".

Composition plays a huge role in creating an image that stands out from the page and something I regularly notice when I am teaching the workshops, with delegates who do not visualise the image before they take it. So often, just getting in a little tighter with the crop can make all the difference.

The Rhino shot could so easily have been the whole body,
the tight crop produces a stringer image.
EF70-200 @ 400mm with 2x extender on a monopod
f/5.7 at 13.8m
Metering - Evaluative

If the diagonal in the image is coming from the lower left to the upper right it will produce a more balanced and stronger image. The line you take will invoke different emotions in the viewer and diagonal lines are more dramatic. With the Rhino shot I kept the camera horizontal as the horn produced the diagonal, with the eye on the left hand rule of thirds, I the image works. The 200m lens with the 2x extender would only open up to f/5.7, however it provided sufficient shallow depth of field, combined with my viewpoint to  produce an unobtrusive background.

There is nothing cuter than a Red Panda, notoriously shy creatures, that spend most of the day in the tree canopy, so it was a joy to see this timid little animal venture down to its feeding station, and just after we had fed ourselves, impeccable timing. However a large crowd soon developed, all wanting to catch sight of him, so a long lens was vital, coupled with a large serving of patience.

Red Panda
EF70-200 @ 400mm with 2x extender on a monopod
f/5.7 at 3.8m
Metering - Evaluative

Animals will not normally pose for you so you need to be quick with the shutter release, capturing  the right expression at the right moment, as with all animals you do not always get what you want. In circumstances like this there is generally no opportunity to use a tripod, hence the use of a monopod to provide some stability.

Finally we have what are probably one of the cutest animals on the planet, the Ring Tailed Lemur who are in a netted compound so you can walk amongst them as they leap around the enclosure. On this occasion there was an adult and two young that makes such a nice grouping, there is a rule about odds and evens in a photograph and in this case three was ideal.

Ring Tailed Lemurs
EF70-200 @ 140mm with 2x extender on a monopod
f/5.7 at 2.3m
Metering - Evaluative

The fact that we were in the cage with them eliminated any netting or wire fencing in between, allowing me to get real close. They were so captivating that I took a huge number of shots from different angles and they were constantly changing their position.

Ring Tailed Lemurs
EF70-200 @ 140mm with 2x extender on a monopod
f/5.7 at 2.3m
Metering - Evaluative

I will leave you to judge which is your preferred image..

A full day with so many opportunities, however rain curtailed the day slightly so maybe another visit is called for.

Our next workshops:

19/20th September  ........... 2 day wedding
12 October ......................... The Big Posing workshop
19 October ......................... DSLR supercharger
26 October ......................... Film Noir

Book online at:
photographyworkshops.co.uk

Hope to see you on a workshop sometime.

Get Flash with Flash

Knowledge is love, light and vision

A day on the get flash with flash workshop

with terry hewlett arps author of Flash Photography - Art and Techniques

On-camera to off-camera flash

Balanced window light with on-camera flash
demonstrating just how bad this flash light is,
its flat and adds no structure to the subject's face

The get flash with flash workshop proved to be a journey of discovery and inspiration for everyone involved. It's fair to say that all the delegates attended the workshop because theory either has a gap in their knowledge of using flash or they had rarely taken their flash out of its case.

The morning started with a brief introduction to speedlights and the fundamental principles of light, being intensity, direction, quality and colour, all of which was to be integrated into the day.

Exposed for window light - no flash

After coffee we started to look at flash exposure compensation and balancing ambient daylight with the flash. Its true we started with the flash on the camera - the worst possible place it could be - however with guidance the delegates were very quickly able to control the background window light with their speedlights. 

The progression from on-camera flash to off-camera flash was seamless and everyone was soon shooting with radio triggered Yongnuo flash units supplied by PW. those that were not conversant with the use of a light meter were provided with instruction from terry, taking them through the process of ambient and flash readings.

We needed to take control over the window light so a meter reading was taken both in camera (a reflected reading) and with a light meter (and incident reading) to obtain the true ambient exposure. Once this was achieved the delegates took photographs with their on camera flash units.

Off-camera  single flash using a shutter speed
that exceed the camera's flash synch speed

We then removed the on-camera speedlights and moved to the off-camera set-up that comprised of a Yongnuo 560 II flash with a 40cm intermit soft box mounted on the intermit strobesXS bracket. The flash was triggered with an Elinchrom universal radio transmitter and receiving unit, a configuration that works across both Nikon and Canon users.

Off-camera flash with second hair light

Shots were taken to demonstrate the significance of the camera's Flash Synchronisation speed and the problems that can ensue if it is exceeded without high speed synch and a dedicated flash system.

The final shots taken with two Yonganuo's, the main on the left with a 40cm soft box and the hair light from the right with a Gary Fong honeycomb grid.

Using some very simple techniques the delegates moved from a very poor image (the top one) to a much improved shot, giving consideration to framing and composition.

On location

After a buffet lunch we all moved outside to a location behind Malmesbury Abbey and started to work with the available light.

The location was chosen to challenge the delegates to produce a shot that made full use of the available light and balance it all with flash. We had taken out with us the Elinchrom Ranger Quadra that is a 400w/s unit, almost 7 times more powerful than a speedlight, combined with a 60cm soft box. 

The location presents us with a pattern of light produced by the overhead wooden pergola from the hard direct sunlight, the task was to balance it all so the final image produced used the patterns created as part of the image and not to suppress them but light the model. The Quadra was placed to the right about 60cm above the models head to fill out the dark shadows created bu the direct sunlight which was lighting her face, and creating the shadows.

The image was shot in colour and i have added it here, it's a personal preference whether you prefer this version or the monochrome image above
Watch out for our Monochrome Magic workshop later this year.

As always the process was to measure the ambient light first to determine a starting point and then balance the flash accordingly.

Candle light

After a warm interlude outside everyone returned to the studio to shoot simulated candle lit subjects. Candle power is very low and would require a very high ISO to achieve a reasonable result however it would be jam packed with noise so the task was to simulate the candle light with flash. Now most of the articles stress that you should turn your flash off, however the challenge was to simulate the candle light as closely as possible.

Now candle light has a Kelvin temperature of 2500K and the flash has a colour temperature of 5500K so you can either gel the flash or adjust your dolour temperature on the camera to warm up the lighting so the white balance in the camera was set to 3500K, I did not want the image to too warm.

Flash lit candle lantern

I used a tea light lantern bought from Wilko for £15.00 and constructed a flash with a cardboard snoot to light the lantern from below. I needed to a little DIY to the lantern, drilling holes into the base to allow the flash light to penetrate into the lantern. Once the light was inside it bounced around and flooded out through the fretwork and open door onto Sarah's face.

The lighting pattern on the white backdrop was achieved with some artificial flowers through which a flash fitted with a honeycomb was fired. This was just to break up the white background, the angle of the gridded light also produced a slight vignette to the background.

I have shown the colour version, however for those that love the monochrome magic I have illustrated the version created using Silver Efex pro 2. There has also been some Photoshop and Portrait Professional post production work carried out just to soften the skin tones as light attacking the side of Sarah's face from the lantern accentuated the texture of the skin, not very attractive.

A flash lit subject including candle light

Finally we prepared a set with a candle in the shot and lit to replicate light both from the candle and also from the tablet Sarah was viewing. This was at the end of the day and everyone was running on reserve energy as, like all our workshops, the day was full on with a comprehensive programme and multiple sets and shooting opportunities.

Flash Photography

Art and Techniques 

is available through our website

www.photographyworkshops.co.uk

Should you be interested in any of our workshops then please check out or website:

www.photographyworkshops.co.uk

We are back

PWacademy

Terry hewlett ARPS

Andy Cubin MBE FSIFGP (hon)

• Tell me and I forget
• Teach me and I may remember
• Involve me and I learn

After a long absence we are back with the photographyworkshops blog page. A great deal has happened since we left with the introduction of NEW workshops and a slight rebranding. Photographyworkshops is still there however we introduced the PWacademy banner earlier in the year with our new logo.

The new workshops added to our ever popular catalogue are the PIN UP, FILM NOIR and POSING titles that take you on a journey of discovery producing strong creative images.

The Pin Up programme draws heavily from the 1940's where Pin ups were all the rage for servicemen and advertising, with a style that is clearly identifiable, different and fun. 

We have just presented a workshop where 8 delegates were introduced to the lighting, props, posing and character of Pin Up with a humorous element combined with the Photoshop post instruction for the final image.

As with all our workshops we have a great deal of fun, injecting as much humour into the sessions as is humanly possible, making the whole experience exciting and enjoyable. We are developing numerous sets to keep the catalogue of images going with a number of gifted models. 

Almost any daily prop can be used to create what is after all a piece of art and when humour is added you step into another dimension with almost endless scenarios.

Keep a close eye on our website photographyworkshops.co.uk for new dates and opportunities. 

Why use flash on a wedding shoot?

With the next wedding photography workshop almost upon us, 19/20th September, here are a few thoughts on using flash during a wedding shoot. It is common to see wedding photographers using on camera flash during the day, however how many do you see using stand alone flash to add that distinctive individuality to the couples wedding images. Many photographers consider the use of flash and abomination and will only work with available light, this is Ok until that light either fails you or is just totally unusable. 

Flash has its place, not everyone is a fan, used creatively it can add that extra dimension and there are opportunities during the day when it can be used without compromising the day's programme. Shortly after the Groom's arrival you can engineer an element of time to shoot him with his ushers and best man holding the rings, all it needs is a little forward planning and help from an assistant, something you should always have at a wedding, even if they are just hod carriers.

The other opportunities that present themselves can be directly after the ceremony and when you take the couple for the creative/signature shots at the reception venue.

It goes without saying that you will need to have tight control over your lighting, especially when you are combining it with the available light. These are all techniques that are taught in detail on our wedding workshops, gifting you with the confidence to go out and be creative.

Visual Guides

Terry has produce two visual guides that provide pictorial assistance for when the red mist descends. They may great visual aids for the planning and shooting elements of the day. Terry has been teaching wedding photography for many years and is more than happy to share his knowledge. 

To download the guides please go to the online sales section of our website, photographyworkshops.co.uk 

And finally, lets pose.......

Our next posing workshop is on the 12th October, a day full of posing techniques, posing models, couples, groups and children. We will provide you with a learning experience from one of the leading exponents of posing, Andy Cubin MBE FSIGP (hon), author of the Posing Pouch articles in the SWPP magazine Imagemaker and his own "The Essential Guide to Perfect Posing for Models and Photographers" and "1000 Poses The Essential Reference Library for Models and Photographers", both available on iBooks. 

The day costs just £95.00 including a buffet lunch, further details are available from our website photograpyworkshops.co.uk 

Flash Photography - Art and Techniques

terry hewlett arps

£15.00 plus £2.50 p&p

Good lighting is fundamental to creating images. This book provides a roadmap for producing creative images with a flashgun. It introduces lighting principles and then advises on more complex lighting sets and situations. Practical instruction and advice throughout apply the principles, and explain how photographs are taken and stunning results achieved.

Guide to the main characteristics of lifer - intensity,    direction, quality and colour.

Advice on modern flashguns and their features.

Techniques to create professional effects such as film noir and hollywood lighting, high-speed synching and handling reflective surfaces.

Practical examples are used, from portraiture to product photography.

The new flash photography book can be purchased form our website:
photograpyworkshops.co.uk 

Boudoir Workshop

Zoe and Casey


On the 2nd May we completed our first boudoir workshop with Zoe, a superb stand in when our original model flaked out at the last minute and Casey.


In today's very competitive market it is important to have as many revenue opportunities to cushion those times when business is slow. Boudoir photography is becoming increasingly popular providing sensual and sexy images. It is a skill that is not easy to get right, however can be learnt and in conjunction with creative and simple lighting great images ensue.

A simple set up with the window ambient at 1/125s f7.1 The light on Zoe's back was set to match the ambient using an Elinchrom BX250ri head with a 100cm octagonal soft box triggered with the skyport radio transmitter.

Boudoir photography is about sexy sensual images that the bride to be wants to give to her groom, wearing as little as possible. For me boudoir is not about nude photography, more about the suggestion and sexuality of the bride. However this type of photography need not be restricted to just brides and works extremely well for any woman who wants to look sensual for their partner.

Boudoir is more about suggestion and the simplest lighting can produce results that I think work. In this shot I set up a single BX250Ri with a honeycomb grid on the floor. For the techies the shot was shot at 1/125s f14 on 200 iso.

Despite several heaters the temperature was just a little cool for zoe in this basque/corset shot, again the simplicity of the shot works for me using a single light again directional across the back. Slight underexposure to add intensity to the colour. Shot info: 1/125s @ f16 - 200 ISO.

I just loved the texture on the back wall and used a single head to light with a honeycombe tight against the wall. Having the light tight to the wall enhanced the stonework. The light on Casey was fron the front right and balanced to about 1 stop under the wall light with the overall exposure 1/125s @ f8 200 ISO.

In the afternoon we moved on to the white background set using a venetian blind to shoot through. Casey was lit with a BX250ri head and 100cm octagonal soft box from high. 1/125s @ f8 200 ISO

In the final minutes I set up two florescent lights either side of Casey and flagged them so they did not "blow" back to the camera. This setup will give you two rim lights with a shadow down the center of the subject that can be controlled by moving the white flags to provide the fill light. A very single and low cost way of achieving a stylish image.

1/60s @ f4 on 800 ISO

If you are interested in joining us on our next boudoir workshop then please contact terry on email: terry@terryhewlett.com

Next Boudoir

25th July 2011 hope to see you with us.

photographyworkshops

Photographyworkshops

Red Six joins forces with PW 

in North Wiltshire

A question:  What does a Red Arrows pilot do when he hangs his flying boots up and finishes with looping and rolling and military service with the Royal Air Force?

In North Wiltshire, Andy Cubin MBE (Squadron Leader retired and ex-Red 6) pursues a challenge that has a curious number of similarities to being a member of the world’s best aerobatic team.

Andy has completed the formation and is now wingman with award winning Terry Hewlett, who has been running successful photographic courses for the past 4 years under the banner photographyworkshops, including courses for the Royal Photographic Society and National Trust. Terry and Andy are inviting people to their latest local 2-day wedding photography workshop on the 29^th – 30^th April in North Wiltshire. Here is an opportunity to create a second income from your hobby as well as learning from a seasoned professional wedding photographer how to plan, prepare, shoot and produce the final product. The overriding experience, apart from learning about wedding photography, will be the fun, enjoyment, and enthusiasm that Terry brings to the occasion.

Continuing on from the 2-day intensive wedding workshop there is an opportunity to complete the training with a 1-day portfolio wedding album shoot on the 1^st May where you will be able to shoot all day producing stunning and creative portfolio images. To complete the experience Terry is also running, in conjunction with fellow tutor Andy Cubin a 1-day Boudoir course on the 2^nd May. Different from art nude and glamour, boudoir photography is about sensitive and sensual images that will sell. Boudoir photography is gaining incredible momentum in the market place for brides who want to produce a sexy but tasteful gift to their partner.

If that is not enough, and to round of the complete training package Terry is also running a 1-day wedding/portrait album design course on the 3^rd May where you will learn how to present your images in stunning ways.

 The courses will help you develop the perfect package with equipment that does not require a mortgage to purchase. The simplest of lighting sets in conjunction with available light you will produce commercial images that will excite and electrify.

For more information please go to  www.photographyworkshops.co.uk  for more information

www.photographyworkshops.co.uk

01249 750777 / 07540 834255

terry@terryhewlett.com

Wedding workshop and portfolio shoot in Pembrokeshire

What a fantastic 3 days in west Wales on the Pembrokeshire coast, teaching and shooting stunning brides and grooms with the photographyworkshop delegates. The weather held fine for us with just enough cold wind to bites with its teeth or lash out with its tail.

My exposure on this shot was 1/3200s at f/4.5 - ISO 200 with a 30mm lens

Lighting was ambient plus a reflector

The first 2 days were about the business of wedding photography with a number of location shoots, including a pier that had seen better days. Fortunately the tide was out (proper planning) and the weather fair so of we pranced, fully loaded with kit and a model.


We tried a number of shots just using a reflector as the skies were clear and the sun bright so the micro mini would work well, silver side from about 4 meters, set about 45 degrees left of the camera position. I chose f/4.5 because I wanted to allow the background to diffuse slightly so the larger aperture worked well. There were some white buildings in the background that I did not want in the shot so camera position and viewpoint were quite critical.

Another shot with a reflector

We moved on to using speedlights for the later shots to demonstrate the art of balancing with the ambient light. In conditions like bright sunlight, close to noon, speedlights may struggle with their output, trying to match and balance f/22 when you are limited to your flash sync speed as we were, not having the latest gizmos that help resolve that issue.

1/200 s at f/16 ISO 200 with a 40mm lens

Under the pier there was no opportunity to use the reflector effectively so pulled out the trusty Nikon flash heads in the interfit strobies XS brackets, triggered with the elinchrom universal skyport receiver and transmitter. 


After about one and a half hours, covered in mud we returned for some well earned lunch and a chance to review the images.


Once the two day training was concluded, after covering marketing, planning, preparation, shooting the wedding and perceptive vision, finishing with digital workflow and presentation options including albums, we planned for the 1 full day of shooting on the 3rd day.


We were traveling a few miles south to Bosherton ponds and Broad Haven where there was a stunning beach setting, with a short stop over at the church.

Shot with a speedlight and a soft box positioned high right to provide sufficient illumination to light both bride and groom

With everyone loaded with kit, including elinchrom Quadras, speedlights, stands and cameras we walked down to the ponds to a location I new had a low bridge and maybe some swans.


The other advantage was the shelter it provided from the biting south westerly.


We worked around the many walkers crossing the single lane bridge, including a labrador who decided to take a swim, as long as he did not shake himself over the dress. The exercise was designed to teach the use of camera flash as a fill, using flash compensation.

The wind was starting to destroy the brides hair, however not time to get the hairdresser. The swan is a nice touch despite drawing the eye away from the bride. There are times when I like the swans and time when I will clone them out. It would have been nice if it was swimming towards us. I love the lighting on this shot.

It is possible to take these off-piste shots if you plan correctly on the day and if it's what the bride wants then make it happen. This shot needs a little bit of work to remove the people in the background on the bridge, oh the joys of location lighting.

At last no walkers, a simple shot of the groom with available light and a small amount of fill flash

We moved on after 30 minutes to drive to the beach and a short buffet lunch. Our hosts provided a superb buffet lunch which included welsh teacakes - yummie.

The second half of the day was spent on the beach and cliff top working with the Quadra. We needed the 400 w/s the quadra pushed out. The wind was blowing straight onto the beach, funneled by the cliffs, causing significant problems with the veil. If a bride is wearing a veil it is advisable to shoot any veil shots early as she is more than likely going to bin it after the groom has stepped on it several times and the wind makes it a bit of a handful.

We completed the shoot with some images on the cliff top, shooting from a low angle and balancing the f/22 ambient light with the quadra.

Should you be interested in joining us on our next wedding course or just the one day portfolio course then please email terry@terryhewlett.com

photographyworkshops

Next wedding course 29/30th April

Portfolio course 1st May

Boudoir Photography 2nd May

Wedding album design 3rd May