Well I have to say that I’ve been really busy lately. I’ve been spending time with Jorryn and Jen, and doing what I can when I can. Lots accomplished. I spent last week at the PPOK (Professional Photographers of Oklahoma) School at St. Gregory’s in Shawnee. I took a 3 day class with John Woodward on “Contemporary Studio Portraiture”, and decided to spend another 2 days with him on “Outdoor Portraiture”. Let me tell ya… if you really want to learn something, no matter how much you know, spend some time with John and you’re set.
Like every photographer that has been in business a while, he’s got his own style of lighting, and like every instructor he’s got his own style of teaching. His combination is a knockout. I learned more from him in the first day than I managed in my first year. Even though his knowledge on lighting and photography is hands down technically way superior, he presented us with simple techniques to eliminate variables and easily reproduce exquisite results.
We covered product photography, where we learned an easy setup to shoot food and other products including glass and liquids. We covered his methods of studio lighting that produce incredible results everytime. Then we went outside and covered the different methods of shooting outdoors in various conditions. Actual models were there, we shot actual food and wine, and we even made a couple of portraits for various special people around the campus.
The class was the best hands-on, in-depth, no fluff class I’ve taken, and John was a great guy to work with. He’s going to be coming back to PPOK Fall Conference in Tulsa. I’m not going to miss it because I want to continue to improve my work.