Are you someone who is interested in making money from digital portrait photography without the added & expensive costs of running a studio?

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 A no-non sense behind the scenes look at how to make profit from Digital Portrait Photography working from home.

You will learn how to operate a successful & thriving business from home.

Whether you are a beginner, experienced, part or full-time photographer, this report will unlock the secrets to profitable portrait photography.

You will learn:

• how to start a home portrait studio business
• outdoor photography tips
• portraiture photography
• what camera, lens, computer, software you require
• lighting on-location with minimal of equipment
• how to use available ambient light
• off-camera flash techniques
• how to capture great portraits on-location
• learn work flow for shooting as well as post-processing
• online & offline marketing
  
• and much much more….

This workshop is kindly sponsored by onOne Software and Sim2000 .

This workshop is aimed at those who wish to take their portrait photography business to the next level up or if you are thinking of starting a new photography business. This workshop will cater for everyone from the beginner to the experienced photographer.

Small Groups = Better Learning

We want you to enjoy and have a fantastic learning experience. With this in mind, the workshop is unique in a way that you will not be in a group of no more than 8 delegates . Throughout the 2-days you will be in small groups so you get great value for money and one2one tuition. Plus you will be able to network & socialise with fellow tutors & delegates during the evening. (except during 2 sessions out of 10, all the groups will be in one room together due to time constraints.)

10 Practical & Theoretical Sessions

You will go through 10 intensive & enjoyable sessions of  90 minutes each. The workshop covers a wide variety of subjects & topics to help you get started or take your portrait photography to the next level. You will learn how to shoot traditional portraits, kids, environmental portraits with tutors who are ‘masters’ in their respective fields, how to set up & run a thriving business working from home and photographing on-location without the high costs of running a high street studio. Images shot by you will be allowed for use in your portfolio & marketing activities.

The 2-day workshop is designed to give you practical experience as well as teach you some key business & marketing strategies, workflow tips and much more. You will also post-process images on your own laptop using images which you’ve shot during the workshop with simple workflow techniques.

Workshop Content Includes:

• how to take simple but breath taking portraits using window light & just a reflector.
• photographing outdoors using natural & available light
• use of reflectors / diffusers the right way
• photographing outdoors to create sell-able images
• practical shooting sessions for Boudoir, Kids & Environmental portrait photography
• learn how to set up and use 1-light studio for incredible results
• posing tips, how to use props like a chair
• understanding light i.e broad, short lighting etc
• learn how to master off-camera on-location
• advanced workflow techniques using simple software
• how to set up your pricing, products & promotions
• how to get new leads at low (or no) cost
• setting up your website / blog the right way
• understanding social media and how to kick start your online presence
• and much much more

Social Media

Not only you will learn how to take great portraits, you’ll also learn how to promote your business using the social media. Maz Syed is an expert in Social Media and she will share with you how to :

– generate new business
– build your online brand
– build customer loyalty and engagement
– drive traffic to your website
– get found in the search engines for free

On Day 1, you will learn how to set up your Facebook Business Page, how to utilise the photo strip, strategies to increase your fan base, best times to post and how often you should be posting, SEO optimisation and more…

On Day2, Maz will cover Twitter, how it can benefit your business, 6 key areas on Twitter that you must pay attention to, how to get your tweets shared so you receive free traffic, measuring your Twitter strategy, Twitter tools & resources.

What to bring

– Your camera gear
– Laptop & charger

When

29 & 30 Oct 2011
0900 hrs to 1815 hrs on both day

Where

NEC, Birmingham

Price includes:

– male / female & children models
– unlimited tea / coffee on both days
– lunch on both days
– car parking

£275.00 

There will be a maximum of 32 delegates grouped in no more than 8 per group.

In this webinar series Vincent & Clare will teach you how to create superb ‘fine art fantasy’ images with little or no Photoshop skills or knowledge! How to create art which you can sell to your clients for a premium fee and make you stand out from your competition. You will be creating incredible imagery once you see how easy it is to create fantastic images like these.

Regardless of where you are or what you do, you will learn to create magic which can be created absolutely anywhere! you simply have to see it….and believe it. You will learn to create the most sensual & exquisite images that can hang as pieces of art or sit as a book of memoirs.

Price

£60.00 + VAT

Instant Download after checkout

Webinar Content Includes:

• over 240 minutes of high class tuition
• how to create an idea for your ‘fantasy portrait’
• how to take your idea through the brain storming sessions to a vision
• how to use simple lighting techniques to light your subject
• how to pose your subjects
• what backgrounds to use
• how to connect with your subject
• simple Photoshop workflow techniques
• pricing your ‘fine art master pieces’
• what products can be created from such imagery
• how to market your services

You can run into some real problems if you can’t control or eliminate the harsh shadows created by the scorching sun! You may use fill-in flash or shoot in the shade, but my personal preference is to use off-camera flash or use a big reflector.

The most important factor here is the metering of the exposure as well. Photographing in bright conditions can fool the metering of some of the most advanced cameras. So I would say you set your camera to ‘M’ manual mode and start to control your exposure and decide how much ambient light you want to let go through your lens.

Use a Reflector

Using a simple reflector will help you take simple images like the one above. I’ve underexposed the ambient light a bit and used the sun as a hair light. Having a reflector in front of your subject throws the light back on to the face and creating the catch lights in the eyes.

Its your choice whether you wish to use a Gold, Silver or a White reflector. I prefer to use a Silver Reflector. Lastolite do a 1.8m x 1.2m Panelite Reflector which is great for on-location work. Ideal for full-length portraits. They are also available in six reversible colours (Sunfire/White, Silver/White, Sunfire/Silver, Gold/White. Silver/Gold and Sunlite/Soft Silver). This reflector collapses down to just one third of its original size. Sunfire adds a warm glow (4750k) to the subject.

The Lastolite 8:1 Tri-Flip Cover Kit includes 8 surfaces in 1 bag. The TriFlips are designed to increase the options available to the photographer by increasing the versatility of the TriGrip reflector. Each of the TriFlip Kits comes with a 75cm (30”) 2 Stop TriGrip Diffuser.

In The Shade

When photographing in the shade / under a tree, you may get a green cast from the tree / leaves on your subject. If that is the case, then you may consider turning the image into a black & white or a sepia toned image.

Off-Camera Flash

When photographing in such bright conditions, you’ll need a fair bit of flash output to overpower the sun. For the below images, I’ve used 2 x Nikon Speedlights to double up my flash output. For best results, underexpose the ambient light and use the flash as your main light for your subject. You can use the flash as fill-light as well, it is up to you as to what kind of image you are trying to create.

For portable & light weight lighting kit which is easy to use and set up, I use one made by Lastolite.

The Lastolite All in One Umbrella Kit is  available with the Hotshoe Tilthead Shoelock. The Tilthead Shoe Lock features an adjustable ‘screw locking’ shoe mount which offers an additional locking mechanism as well as accommodating variances in the dimensions of the hotshoe from one flashgun to another. The kit comes in two sizes featuring either a 80cm (34”) or 100cm (40”) Lastolite All in One umbrella. The kit includes the All in One umbrella, 4 section stand, the new Hotshoe Tilthead Shoelock and padded shoulder bag. The All in One umbrella can be used as a silver or white bounce, a silver and white bounce or shoot through.

You may purchase the above from Warehouse Express by clicking here .

This 3-hour course will cover everything you need to get started in Digital Photography and how to get the best out of your camera on the day to day basis. You’ll learn an assortment of techniques, how to set the right exposure and how to use the camera, lens & the flashgun to maximum effect. Plus you’ll also learn how to edit and post-process your images to get that ‘wow’ factor in your images.

This course is divided into 2 parts. First part is all about theory and the second part is a hands-on practical session on how to take great photos. You’ll take with you some incredible tips and tricks on how the pro photographers use simple yet highly effective techniques to take great photos.

I host these events on a regular basis completely free of charge as a little thank you for being my valued subscriber / customer. Also to make online friends (Facebook, Twitter, etc) to become ‘real’ friends!

Today wasn’t about photographing models, it was about practicing your skills as a photographer. Without any undue pressure in beautiful surroundings on a gorgeously hot & sunny day.

We shot with off-camera flash, ambient light only using reflectors, tried multi-flash lighting setups with the largest being set up with 6 flashes.

We also played with the Pocket Wizard Mini TT1 & Flex TT5 for Nikon & Canon and everyone enjoyed using them. In fact, we had about 8 Flex TT5 between us!

Thank you all for attending and making this afternoon a memorable event. Here are some images and hope to see you guys sometime soon.

Oz

Few weeks back I decided to try these out to see how good this system was. I’m delighted to say that the results I achieved were incredible. I couldn’t have shot these images without them. The consistency is superb and this has opened up a whole new shooting workflow. The system is easy & quick to set up and very portable and lightweight.

So lets take a look at what & how I shot this session. The kit I used were:

Nikon D3

Nikkor 200mm f/2 and 35mm f/2

3 x Speedlights

Nikon SU800 Commander

Mini TT1 & 3 x Flex TT5

Lastolite Triflash Bracket

Walkie Talkies

I started the session with a long range shot. I went on the other side of the lake and I’ve circled myself on the above image. You can clearly see the distance I was shooting from. On the right is Charlie and my son who was helping us out! Had no problems firing all 3 flashes consistently from such a distance.

Below was my viewpoint for the above shot. You can just about see the tiny spec of the flashguns firing. It is ideal to have walkie talkies or mobile phone for communication.

Firing 3 Nikon Speedlights gave me 3 times the power on a sunny afternoon. I used one SB900 and two SB800 to test and see if they all work seamlessly. Over 2 hours of the shooting, all the images had consistent exposures.

My Speedlights power output was around the 1/32 to 1/64. Very little flash was used even though I had under exposed the ambient light quite a bit. I was controlling the remote flashguns via the Nikon SU800 commander unit. The remotes can also be controlled via the Pocket Wizard AC3 ZoneController.

The biggest advantage of using the Pocket Wizard Mini TT1 & Flex TT5 is the ability to shoot from longer range and they also sync at any shutter speed up to 1/8000th.

Overall, I’m extremely impressed by the Pocket Wizard Mini TT1 and Flex TT5. Completely 100% reliable. I’m not making this judgement from 1 session only, in fact I’ve put them through the paces for the last 4 weeks or so during various photo shoots. There is also no need for any wired connection to the Speedlights. I wanted to write the ‘Pros’ and ‘Cons’ of the system. However, I’m really struggling to write any ‘Cons’. Just love it. For the price they are, it really is a tremendous value for your investment.

I believe Calumet are running a great money saving offer on these units.
Check out there website. Click on the logo.

Forthcoming Event:

I’m holding a free ‘ PW Portrait Afternoon ‘ soon at this very location. It will be a very informal meet up to practice lighting & posing. Just put your name below in the comment box. First preference would be given to those who are on our subscriber list. If you wish to join the list, please send an email to info @ sfdigital.co.uk with the subject line ‘Add to mailing list’.

Please feel free to share your experience below in the comments box or if you have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer them.

Oz

This lens is just an amazing piece of glass. The above shot was taken with ambient light and a silver sided reflector throwing light back on to the subject. Most importantly creating the catch lights in the eyes.

In this shot I underexposed the ambient light and used my SB900 to light up the subject. Balancing the flash with the ambient light is the key to any great flash photography. I find it  easiest and best way to control your exposure and the flash by setting the camera and flash to Manual control.

Where possible, I’ll use the sun as a secondary light source to back light the subject. This helps in separating the subject from the dark dackground and creating a pleasing hair light.

To overpower the strong sun, I used 3 x Nikon Speedlights. To photograph a shot like these, you must have a camera body which is capable of syncing the flash at any shutter speed. Otherwise you’ll really struggle to take images like these. Expose for the highlights in the sky, bring in the flash and light up your subject.

A simple 2 Speedlight set up. One used with a shoot-through umbrella and the 2nd fired on the dark background.

Model: Katie Green

Read the review for the Pocket Wizard Mini TT1 & TT5 here.

With an idea of the perfect image in your mind, bringing it all together means working with a team of people who are talented and creative. With ideas, tear sheets and inspiration all put together on a mood board, it is quite easy for everyone to envisage the kind of image you are trying to create.

Few things which you need to consider are:

Location

It is ideal to shoot indoors as you can totally control the lighting and secondly there isn’t any wind which may cause havoc with hair being blown everywhere. Plus there isn’t any danger of rain spoiling the shoot as it is expensive with all the work done for make-up, hair & styling.

A great location is very important and you must spend some time doing the recce and finding the right location i.e a modern flat, country park, car park, graffiti walls, etc.

Styling: Make Up & Hair

This can pretty much make or break your makeover photoshoot. A professional stylist can bring a valuable dimension to the table. A good and talented stylist can help our job being a lot easier by styling the subject the right way and creating the look you are after. Styling is one of the most important things on the photo shoot. Some make-up artists also do hair styling, so do look for someone local to work with and build up a good relationship. You will definitely need someone you can trust and rely on every time.

Do allow some time for the styling, depending on the kind of look and styling, it may take around 1 hour for the hair & make-up to be done. The stylists I use take about 1 hour. They know what I’m looking for and I also know how they work. This trust-worthy relationship works well and helps me achieve my images on time every time.

Image on the left lit with 2 x Nikon SB900 & on the right lit with 1 x Nikon SB900.

Clothing & Props

Depending on your budget, it is quite important to have a stylist. A good stylist will have strong relationships with fashion PRs and know the latest trends and fashion. They also know what works well in front of the camera and will bring a variety of clothing & props for the shoots for different looks.

Lighting

This image was shot using a Ringflash.

When shooting on location, you need to have a fairly lightweight & portable kit if you are working on your own. The lighting kit I use is fairly portable and quick to set up. When I’m photographing say at a Beauty & Hair Salon, I make sure that I don’t take over their premises. My kit usually consists of Nikon SB900 & SB800 flashguns along with a Lastolite Ezybox.

As you can see that I’m using a small corner of the salon and have shot images as above. In this set-up, I have 3 x Nikon Speedlights. This 3 light set-up took no more than 10 minutes to set up. It is completely wireless and I am controlling all the flashguns using a Nikon SU-800 commander.

Retouching & Workflow

Lastly, images need to be retouched. You will need Photoshop to retouch your images. It is not necessary to have the latest version of Photoshop. You can quite easily use older versions and get some terrific results. There are also loads of software available at low cost which can retouch very well. One software which I have heard good reviews is Portrait Professional. I personally don’t use it, but have heard very good things about it and is also very affordable.

If you aren’t very efficient in Photoshop, there are many companies and retouchers out there who can retouch your images for very low cost. If you don’t enjoy this part of the process, then best is to outsource it. All you need to do is FTP the images and you’ll get the edited, retouched & colour corrected file back usualy within 24-48 hours.

I hope you enjoyed this post and please feel free to share your experience of Makeover Portrait Photography in the comment box below.

Do you want to tap into the lucrative ‘Lifestyle Portrait’

Photography market?

Are you someone who is interested in making money from digital portrait photography without the added & expensive costs of running a studio?