"Photography is an art and models are it's paint" MODELS WANTED -  CLICK HERE     STUDIO SPACE FOR RENT - CLICK HERE
	WORKSHOP UPDATE     ONLINE DIGEST     WORKSHOP INFO     FAQs     OUR YAHOO GROUP

 

---

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ABOUT OUR GLAMOUR PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP

---

Q: Who attends your workshops?
A: My workshop is open to photographers of all skill levels. It does not require a technical expertise in photography, just a good attitude and desire to take photos of good looking models. Most of the attendees are advanced amateurs. Professional photographers have also attended, as well as beginners. Although the workshop is open to both male and female photographers the attendees have been overwhelmingly male - which is no surprise considering the subject matter. Although most of the photographers come from the NJ-NY-PA area some have come from as far away as Calgary (Canada), the state of Washington, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Arizona, and Texas. One photographer from South Carolina has been to at least 17 workshops, another one from Toronto has been to 7 workshops, and an 80 year-old photographer from NJ has been to 80 workshops.

Q: Do you use male models at the workshop?
A: We have not used male models because there doesn’t seem to be a demand for them. I would consider using a male and female modeling team, but not a solo male model. In fact, a while back I took a model photography course at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. About one third of the students in the class were female. When asked if we wanted to use male as well as female models it was unanimously decided that we only wanted female models.

Q: Why don’t you have workshops in other areas of photography?
A: In the past I have been involved with camera clubs and have given programs on special effects, shooting glass abstracts, lighting techniques, and the business of photography. I also ran studio nights at my camera club which eventually led me to start the workshops. The reason I only have glamour workshops is because it is my favorite area of photography. Also, it is the only type of workshop that attendees will come back to over and over again. Most other areas of photography are adequately covered in camera clubs, but there seemed to be a void in the area of glamour photography, at least in the NJ area. This type of workshop is extremely popular in California.

Q: Why do photographers come to the workshop more than once?
A: My workshops are designed to be more of a shooting opportunity than a class. You do not just learn glamour shooting techniques and then go out and shoot models. Most amateur photographers do not have access to models, especially ones who will model nude, nor to locations or professional lighting equipment. That is what we provide. As of August, 1999 (the last time I took count), 411 photographers had attended the workshop and 237 had attended more than once. In fact about 100 photographers have attended 5 or more, and at least 42 have attended 10 or more workshops. Five photographers have attended between 34 to 42 workshops, and we have two photographers who have attend over 60 workshops each - we must be doing something right!

Q: What can I do with the photos I take at your workshops?
A: Models at the workshop sign a limited workshop release. This allows photographers to use photos taken at the workshop for their portfolio, and to use the photos for self-promotion, display, exhibition, and competition. Photographers may use workshop photos on their own web sites as part of their portfolio, but may not use them on a pay web site. You cannot use the photos for any commercial use without a full release from the model. Models are advised against signing a full release from photographers at the workshop because they are paid workshop rates, not commercial rates. If you want to use a workshop model for a commercial shoot you should make arrangements to hire her specifically for that purpose. We also schedule one-on-one private sessions at many of our workshops. Many of our models will sign a standard (full) release for photos taken during these sessions.

Q: Do you use a makeup artist at your workshop?
A: In the past I've used a makeup artists but discontinued it for two reasons: (1) It was too expensive - most photographers would prefer that I spend the extra money on another model rather than a makeup artist. (2) It took too much time away from the workshop: the makeup artist would spend up to 45 minutes with each model - time not spent modeling. I’ve found that most of the models do a pretty good job of doing their own makeup. Sometimes a model will bring her own makeup artist to the workshop.

Q: What type of camera and film should I use at the workshop? What about digital?
A: Most of the workshop photographers now use digital cameras. The cost of digital cameras has come down and the quality has gone up. I personally started shooting digital in early 2003 and have not gone back to film since then.  Some of our shooters still shoot 35mm, and a few shoot medium format. One of the nice things about digital is that you can see your results immediately. I find that I do a lot more portable flash shooting with digital than I did with film. I recommend that you bring a portable flash with you to the workshop, whether at the studio or on location. We do a some studio strobe lighting also. You will need to have a PC socket on your camera to attach the camera to the studio strobes. If your camera does not have a PC socket I usually have one or two hotshoe adapters that you can use. I use my 24-120 mm zoom (which equals 36-180 on a film camera) for my glamour photography. I think that it is the ideal range for this type of shooting. I usually set my ISO at 100-200 when using studio strobe and 400 when using my portable flash or available light. I will often use 800 or higher when shooting in low light conditions.