New Opportunities for Studio Portraiture

All SWMOCC portrait photographers,

With the procurement of the new portrait studio, we now have the flexibility to provide members with many new opportunities to enhance their portraiture skills. In addition to the ongoing group studio portrait sessions, I invite all SWMOCC members to sign up to attend a one-on-one portraiture workshop with me at the new studio.

In order to familiarize members with many of the basic concepts and techniques of studio lighting, I propose to begin each member's studio workshop session with a two-hour orientation which will include the review of a 90-minute training DVD on digital studio portraiture, followed by a quick review of the DVD's main points utilizing the lighting equipment at the studio. By the end of this two-hour "mini-workshop" members should have a clear understanding of how to use their camera's exposure controls and histogram displays, proper use of a handheld flash meter, and how to effectively employ studio strobes and light modifiers to produce professional-quality portraits.

The mini-workshop portion of the session will be followed (after a short break for lunch?) by the actual portrait session itself, wherin the member will have the opportunity to employ many of the techniques learned during the mini-workshop to photograph a guest model. The guest model will be provided by the member, and should be scheduled to arrive at the studio at the end of the two-hour mini-workshop. I will make myself available during the portrait session to assist in manipulating the lights, taking meter readings and to provide posing assistance as required by the photographer. The actual duration of the portrait session will be determined by the photographer, and could be up to four hours if desired.

I may request during the portrait session, with permission from the photographer and their guest model, to take a few shots for posting on the SWMOCC website as well as for my own portfolio. Model releases will be made available for use by all photographers.

Once the initial studio workshop session has been attended by a member, they may sign up for additional individual portrait sessions during which the entire session will be devoted to shooting (up to three guest models or a single group). Those members who may be interested in non-portrait related studio photography (still-life/commercial product) are invited to sign up for an individual studio workshop session as well, with the understanding that they will be asked to attend the same pre-session mini-workshop as the portrait photographers since most of the same lighting principles and techniques are used in both still-life and portrait studio photography. I will do my best to accomodate the needs of the club membership in regards to scheduling of initial studio workshop sessions and subsequent portrait sessions. As is the case with many of you, I do juggle a 40-hour work week along with several other personal commitments, so please bear with me. You can schedule a workshop/session by e-mailing me at richsmith@mchsi.com with (weekend) dates that you will be available. I will schedule on a first-come-first-served basis.

The next SWMOCC group portrait session will likely be an outdoor (environmental) shoot, and will probably be scheduled for sometime in late May or early June. If you have any ideas for good outdoor portrait locations, please e-mail me with your suggestions.


Richmond Smith
SWMOCC Portrait Session Coordinator

PS: You can view photos of the new studio at http://picasaweb.google.com/pixelpusher100/HoleInTheWallStudio02

Studio Procurement and "Grand Opening" Session

Good news!

I've finally procured a permanent studio location where we can conduct our SWMOCC portrait sessions. It's only 8.5 miles (12 minutes) from my home in Forsyth, MO. It's located in Kirbyville, and takes just under an hour to travel to from Springfield.

This increase in travel time for most club members is offset by flexibility in terms of portrait session frequency, session duration, and opportunities for individual member instruction sessions. I've just completed repairs and cleaning of the rental unit, and will be setting up the lighting equipment this weekend.

I'd like to propose an open (no theme) SWMOCC portrait session to be held Saturday, 31 March as sort of a "grand opening" event. If I can get even a few RSVPs by this weekend, I'll set it up for that date.

We will, of course, also need to round up at least three or so guest models for this shoot, so please ask friends or family members for volunteers if you are planning to attend. As in past sessions, bringing a guest model is not a prerequisite for attending, but we will need to find some folks to model for us.

I will be available at this Thursday's club meeting to answer questions and take suggestions for the proposed portrait session, or just e-mail me with questions, ideas or RSVPs at richsmith@mchsi.com. I will provide a map to the studio as an attachment to portrait session invitation e-mail messages.

If interested, please RSVP as soon as you are able so we can get this session scheduled and locked in for March 31st. Based on my personal schedule and the club events calendar, it looks like April 28th would be our next window of opportunity, assuming we are to hold the session on a Saturday. Sundays after 12:00 noon are another possibility as well.

I'm excited about all the new opportunities made possible by this new studio for those club members involved in portraiture. I'll be soliciting feedback from members in the near future regarding interest in video/performance-based workshops, as well as one-on-one instruction (by appointment) at the new studio.

PixelPusher

Portrait Parlor Orientation

Welcome to the SWMOCC Portrait Parlor. This blog was created as a forum for sharing information related to club-sanctioned portrait sessions with the club membership and other interested parties.

In the future, you'll find info on upcoming portrait sessions on this blog. Also, I'll routinely use this forum to post commentary on recent portrait sessions.

To view portraits taken by club members at the 3 Feb 07 portrait session, go to www.picasaweb.google.com/pixelpusher100/swmoccportraitsession3feb07. Also, you can view David Strong's unprocessed images from this session at www.griznliz.com:80/portrait_gallery.htm.

Those members who were in attendance of the 3 February session are invited to have up to five of their favorite shots posted on the PicasaWeb SWMOCC Portrait Session web gallery. These images should be sent as e-mail attachments to richsmith@mchsi.com. Just resize and save the images as maximum-quality JPEGs at 72ppi (screen) resolution and 12 inches maximum size (measured on the long axis). This downsizing of images is necessary to reduce file transfer time and to make efficient use of the limited data storage space provided by Picasa Web for our gallery.

I'll update the gallery with new images from our club members as they are submitted. Enjoy the gallery, and I hope to see you at the next portrait session.

Richmond Smith (AKA: PixelPusher)
SWMOCC Portrait Session Coordinator