I missed a few days here. I was getting ready for a class and then taking the class and then processing the information from the class and, well... I got nicely sidetracked from posting to this blog.

It always takes me a while to mull over what I learn in any class. This was private instruction on studio lighting techniques utilizing my own make shift studio space.  Lots and lots of info to process.

My instructor is John Griffith, a local photographer that I admire.

I will repost what I published to Facebook here:


I'm still processing all the information I gleaned from my class with John Griffith. John is a local photographer I admire. I love his work and appreciate his philosophies of working with models. I was thrilled at having an opportunity for my daughter and me to have a private session class with him on studio lighting.

Wow - we packed a LOT of learning into our time. He came to my house so he could see first hand my available studio space. He brought some high end equipment so I could see what possibilities were available, and then explained how I could do without those high end things until when/if I could justify them. I'm thinking the amazing professional strobe lighting is not in my future. I couldn't afford to replace the bulb. The bulb is more expensive than my previous camera. The unit without the bulb costs more than my current camera. LOL But he told me how to best use the lighting I already have and what I will need to upgrade to the next step.

He also gave me some great advice on how to modify the natural light sources I'm dealing with to give me more control. I'm feeling more confident in being able to get the images I'm trying to create.

A lot of the class time was spent analyzing images that I liked and images that Cate liked and understanding how to figure out "How did they do that?" I think I'm starting to understand how to purposely place my light sources to get the look I want. I'm excited again about working with some models for portraits. I had been getting a bit frustrated.

He let us pop some images into Photoshop that we shot in RAW format. I think Cate really liked that. She is much quicker at grasping the technical stuff than I ever was, and my old brain is very very slow. But I'll get it eventually.

He was fun to talk to, comfortable to be around, all in all it was a good day and well worth the very reasonable fee he charged for his time and expertise.
If you get a chance to take a photography or lighting class from him, I highly recommend it.