Category Archives: workshops

Studio Lighting 101 + iPhone = fun.

We had a great time in our Studio Lighting 101 workshop yesterday.  We had a great group of students.  During the workshop I took some snapshots using my iPhone just for fun.  Here’s a low resolution look at some of the fun.

IMG_0201

The first lighting setup of the day.  This was a basic 3 light setup with a two lights added to give the background a bit more light.  We mixed our Profoto equipment (foreground) with our student’s equipment (background lights) to illustrate how to mix and match lights.  Our model, Amanda JoLynn, sits patiently while we discuss the different options.

IMG_0202
Another shot of Amanda, this time from the reverse angle.

IMG_0203
Students Johanna and Praveen makes some adjustments to the lights for one of the setups.

IMG_0206
Students shooting Amanda.  Praveen, Johanna, Dave and Hartono are shown.  I think those are Angie’s hands just to the right.  The white blob is our studio dog Luka.

IMG_0214
Diane gives some pointers to the students.  Left to right; Angie, Stacy, Dave, Praveen and Diane.

IMG_0215
Johanna holding a reflector.

IMG_0212
Angie saying, “WOW! I love the ring flash!!”  Amanda smiles in agreement (every model loves the ring flash) and Johanna agrees in the background.

IMG_0213
Dave getting in on the ring flash fun.  It’s just too good to pass up!

IMG_0217
Dave, Praveen, Diane and Hartono.

Yesterday was a lot of fun.  Thanks to such a great group of students. We’ll be adding more workshops in 2008.  We’re working on the schedule and will be posting it soon.  I hope to see a lot of new faces in the coming new year.

WQ2U3754

The 3-light setup


This is the latest episode of Digital Photography 1 on 1. In this episode Mark shows you 2 different 3 light setups. This is the final episode in the 3 part series that helps you understand what equipment to buy.  Make sure you subscribe to our videos by clicking the “subscribe” button on YouTube.  If you are enjoying these please make some comments or ask questions for the next episode.  We love feedback.

Cool new video and fun workshop

I’ve been working on some videos to help people understand what our workshops are all about.  The first video has been posted and it’s ready for prime time.  I just ordered some new video equipment and I’m anxiously waiting for it to arrive.  In just a few months SnapFactory will be able to produce high quality digital video for web, DVD or other media.

Click here to take a look at our new Digital Photography 101 video promotion.

In other news, we had a terrific studio lighting workshop this weekend.  We had a great group of students and we
had a lot of fun playing with the lights.  Below is a photo taken by one of our students, Dana Repak.  Way to go Dana!  The model is Amanda Jo Lynn, a regular in our studio.

Hair_blown-2
© 2007 Dana Repak

Weekend Workshop

Jerri working on her photo skills
© 2007 Mark Wallace/SnapFactory
Workshop attendee, Jerri P., works on an assignment.

Our weekend workshop was a great success.  We had a small class so we had plenty of time to get to know each other and have a lot of fun.  Our new laptop and video projector worked well, although we found that we’ll need some new desk lamps next time.

I used Adobe Lightroom to demonstrate some post production work.  Lightroom was great and I’m happy that the final release is out.  I’m very impressed with the software and am happy to have it as a tool for our workshops in the future.  One of our “hands-on” sessions took place on Mill Avenue in Tempe.  After the session I quickly selected some of my shots, did some minor post production, and posted them on the web in no time.  Lightroom is speedy!

We’ve already started to get requests for the next weekend workshop and we’re looking for openings on our calendar.  If you’re interested in attending please contact us!

Busy, busy

Our new weekend workshop is approaching quickly.  I’ve been busy building all of the PowerPoint slides, gathering new photo samples, editing workbooks, and all the other tasks associated with building a great experience.  Our new A/V equipment is going to take our workshops to the next level, but it’s a lot of work getting everything put together.

We’ve also been talking to some photography stores in other states who are interested in me coming out to teach some workshops.  If things go well I’ll be making regular visits to southern California beginning this spring.  There have been a lot of requests for our workshops to be filmed and distributed via DVD.  We decided we’d do some trials and see how things go.  We ordered a nice wireless mic setup so we can take our video gear to locations and still get great audio.  Look for some workshop videos to hit our web site later this year.

In addition to that we’ve been busy shooting a lot of portraits for Valentine’s Day.  Lucky for us we’ll be taking a break on Sunday.  Tomorrow I have another portrait session while Diane is out on location doing makeup and styling for Lane’ who we shot just last week.  Whew!

Speaking of Lane’, here’s another shot from our session last week.

WQ2U2906
© 2007 Mark Wallace/SnapFactory