Sue Austin of Austin Images was nice enough to volunteer to do the first studio spotlight. It was fun to hear about how she has worked her way into the photography business and the kind of things she enjoys shooting. She does primarly portrait and wedding work. I think one of the most interesting things about her business is how she has aligned herself with a couple of wedding cooridinators in Mexico and does some destination weddings there. I think everyone thought that Mexico sounded awfully nice come the winter months. Here is a picture of Sue during her presentation along with a few of the group members taking it all in.
Next, Erin Johnson gave a recap of the Denis Reggie Conclave workshop that she had just returned from. This was an excellent opportunity to hear a few pieces of advice that she picked up from one of the industry's best. For those of you who haven't heard of Denis, he is essentially the godfather of "wedding photojournalism". I think we all left with some great information. Erin did a fabulous job articulating some of the topics he had discussed, one of which was knowing who your target market is. If you know who you want to attract as clients, it allows you to approach your marketing in a more precise manner. Here is a shot of Erin, and another of Erika McCauley diligently taking notes.
Erin also talked about an on-camera flash technique that Denis calls "foofing". It is essentialy using available walls (usually natural tones) as large reflectors to bounce light off of. This allows you to get a directional lighting effect while still using an on-camera flash. The one thing you want to make sure of is that your flash can swivel 360 degrees in order to use your available surroundings. This same effect can be used off of drapery, or linens. Here is an example using a wall to Erin's right.
If you notice, the one side of her face is nicely lit while the other side is shadowed, helping provide some dimension. We thought it would be fun if everyone practiced this method and sent us your favorite couple of pictures using the "foofing" technique. We can then run them as a slideshow at an upcoming meeting.
We also wanted to congratulate Elaine Wallace who won the raffle for $100 in Pictage credit.
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed the meeting and it is always nice to get together to talk shop! Once again, we would like to thank Sue and Erin for speaking.
Notes:
In preperation for 2007, please think of any pictage related guests or photographers that you may be interested in hearing speak.
We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting and will be sending out information soon regarding the holiday party.
- Jason & Stacey Thon
Staja Studios
