Article by:

Deon Van Den Berg with Michael Gazzola

Creative Photo Workshops – Summer Series Review

In just under a 12-month period Creative Photo Workshops run by Shelton Muller and Glynn Lavender have generated great momentum for a new little niche they’ve created. Their CPW Facebook profile has more than 1300 fans , growing daily and is testament to this.

On Tuesday night we were invited along as guests to participate and observe what they do and why there is a buzz about town. We arrived around 6pm to a beach location and it was not hard to spot them conducting their final workshop of the summer series, controversially titled ‘Emerging Nymph’.

There were 16 keen photographers of all levels of experience, all in knee deep water, taking photos of an acrobat being tossed in the air. There was no shortage of interest from locals, dog walkers and passers by watching the spectacle. This was CPWs warm-up exercise to get their attendees ready for an evening full of entertainment.

The first technique was simple, using a combination of the silhouette of the sun and reflection off the water but adding a little razzle-dazzle using an acrobat in mid-air. It was clever. It was great to watch.

Shelton and Glynn took the 16 enthusiasts through a step-by-step process first up, as was the case for later setups and then each time allowed the attendees to set their own creativity in motion. The CPW fellas, where needed assisted each person and talked to the group as a collective sharing their insights and experiences.

Once the sun neared the horizon, the first main setup began. The first of three models took position under Shelton’s guidance, dressed in a black suit, white shirt and a red tie sporting an umbrella. This was where Glynn cleverly put a spin on an everyday umbrella, by spraying the inside with silver and lining it with foil, followed with the attachment of a remote controlled speed light flash hidden inside the umbrella. The magic here though was all about the hidden flash, powered around a stop over the ambient light. The results were… magic.

CPW provided pocket-wizards for the attendees allowing each access to the flash from their own cameras. This proved a great scenario to assist with on-the-job learning with how effective off camera flash coupled with ambient light really can be. A nice touch was the constructive feedback provided by Shelton and Glynn for all attendees. There was no back-patting regardless of the results attendees produced, it was all about learning a new technique, it was about understanding that technique and then being able to walk away and reproduce it unassisted.

When the first main setup was complete the attendees moved onto photographing a model lying down submersed half in the water, bathed in the warmth of the deep orange low sunset light glistening on the water behind.

The second scenario utilised one strobe light on a stand in the water, positioned to the side of the model powered to around 3-4 stops above the ambient light reading. This simply gave the sky a dynamic not visible with the naked eye and one that blew most of the attendees away when they’d adjusted their camera properly and nailed that first shot.

Shelton time and again encouraged the attendees to direct the model where needed, reassess where they were positioned and called for paying close attention to in-camera framing and composition.

While this part of the evening continued, Glynn initiated the final scenario for what was to be the high point for session.

It was apparent something special was planned with the smell of gasoline wafting though the air. After the final touches were applied for make up and costume, Glynn introduced The Flame Throwers. There was a brief run though of where, as a photographer to position yourself, what recommended settings were for everybody’s cameras and what to expect from The Flame Throwers.

At this point, the sun had disappeared completely as we were left with the sparsest of light. Shelton and Glynn made a final address to the hired talent instructing them to perform specific tasks, that would delivered the opportunity for the attendees to finish the night with something very special.

9am the next morning, it’s clear that the attendees each took away a great experience as the CPW website had already been updated with images and copy from its event just 12 hours earlier, and was buzzing on its Facebook fan page with attendees posting and discussing what they’d just experienced.

In conclusion we feel that this was a well planned, thought out workshop with an all important entertainment perspective that keep all interested from the start and well and truly past the ending. Thumbs up.

Visit: http://www.creativephotoworkshops.com.au/