Bambi Cantrell & Paul Ernest – Romance the Pose Workshop

As young children, we eventually learn to walk; but not before first learning to sit-up, crawl, stand and in due time, place one foot in front of the other. But what would we be if we stopped there? What if we never learned to run or skip or jump? What if we never even tried?

Learning to walk is just one step in our development as humans; learning how to Romance the Pose is just as vital in our growth as photographers. In this hands-on 3 day workshop, Bambi Cantrell & Paul Ernest team up to explore the metamorphosis your photography will take when you begin implementing form-flattering posing. With an arsenal of techniques in your wheelhouse and the knowledge of how and when to use them; you can take a staid image and turn it into a work of exceptional fine art. From haute couture fashion to whimsical illustrations and romantic portraiture, you’ll learn the step by step succession for creating gallery worthy images, every time.

This workshop will be held at Bambi’s Benicia, California studio and will consist of several live demonstrations from both Bambi and Paul. Students will be able to interact with the models and practice the concepts being taught. The workshop will end with Photoshop techniques to help finesse your images and complete your transition into a fine art photographer.

Go beyond just your camera’s photographic capabilities and discover how you to transcend the photographic and come out, an artist. This exclusive workshop is being offered to seasoned professionals only. For consideration and acceptance into this exclusive workshop, and to find out how you too can Romance the Pose, go to:

 bambi@cantrellportrait.com or paul@paulernestphotography.com
or call (925)934-1994 Tuition is $1,800. for all three days of instruction and includes model fees. A NONREFUNDABLE retainer of $900. will hold your seat. This course is limited to 10 students so HURRY and get your seat now!

For details go to:
www.epicvoyage.com.my

Our session began about 9:00 in the morning and we moved quite briskly to get it done in a timely fashion.  I scoped out the area’s about 30 minutes ahead of time, with an eye for simple backgrounds,  that would enhance the image without drawing attention away from the dresses.

For those wanting a bit of the details on the shoot here goes:  I used the Prophoto D1 light system which has a terrific battery pack especially designed for locations where one needs to bring their own power source.  We used simple small umbrella’s and I used the umbrella as the main light and a reflector to fill in on the opposite side.

Here are a couple of images from the shoot.

http://vimeo.com/38414255

To register email bambi@cantrellportrait.com or dawn@dawnshields.com Tuition is $1800. and includes model fees.

Here is how you do it. You will need about 4+ newspapers, preferably the Sunday paper. Duct tape, a simple slip, (I got mine at TJ MAXX for $12.00) and most of all, a willing subject.

Have the model put on the slip, and then make the top portion of the garmet with the newspaper. You want to fold the paper and mold it around her torso. After that, gather a length of the tape and take a portion of the paper and tape it to the dress. Go in a circle around her. That is pretty much it. Here are a few images from my first attempt.

In these tough economic times, it is more important than ever to find creative ways to promote our business.  One way that has worked particularly well for me has been working with local hair salon’s and makeup artist.  I believe it is really important to build relationships with these vendors, because people recommend people that they like.  There are a lot of talented individuals out there, and sometimes it is not just how good you are that gets you noticed,  but how nice you are as well.  My friend Lisa Perry is a local makeup artist, and an amazing one at that.  This past weekend she was exhibiting at a local bridal fair and needed some promotional material to hand out.  I happily agreed to create, produce, and print the piece for her, as it would have one of my images on it, and she would be handing them out personally.  We decided to feature one of our mutual clients, and keep the piece simple.  I choose to use a single large image to keep the piece simple, and elegant.  We mutually decided to keep the words to a minimum, to keep the impact on the image, and not the logical words.  Too many words on a page draw attention to the logical part of the brain, and we would like the potential client to be moved by the emotion.  

As someone who started their career as a wedding photographer, I’ve had many clients come back and want me to photograph their children.  In the beginning, I approached it with about as much enthusiasm as having a root canal, and must admit to being scared to death of those little critters.  That is until I changed my thought process and approached my children’s imagery as I would a wedding day event.  Weddings include formal set up images for sure, but much of the imagery shot is done in a more photojournalistic fashion, that is to say, unprompted and unrehearsed… thus the lifestyle family session was born.  I generally like to go to the home of the family and do the session in the comfort and relaxed location the clients home provides.  I love to come early in the morning when the kiddos are just getting up,  then proceed with photos of them as they go through their routine of breakfast, play, and family interaction.   My favorite lenses for these sessions are one’s that allow me to get a bit farther from the subject so as to not intrude upon the magic of the moment.  The 85 1.2, and 70-200 2.8 IS are my two favorites, but the 24-70 2.8 is also beneficial when a bit more background is needed.  Where possible, I prefer natural light since it is a bit less distracting.  To capture the image of this little cutie, I walked into her bedroom shortly after she awoke, opened the curtains, and just played with her for a short while.  I watched the way the light fell on her face, and if needed, I moved the direction of my play, to draw her face or body towards the light source.  Afterwards, she just wanted to show me all of her toys, and the rest was history.  In each of the above lighting was my first priority.  Find a location where the light is pretty and then you are free to explore and capture expression without trouble.  You can focus on the things that matter, expression, and storytelling.  Each images was captured in manual meter mode, with the meter point on the brightest part of the subject, and then an f-stop close to wide open was used to selectively focus on the subject, and aid the background from becoming too sharp and drawing the focus away from the kids.

Recently my friend Corinne Alavekios introduced me to the wonderful world of Citrasolv prints to make textures for Adobe Photoshop.  These beautiful textures can be used to create captivating composites, or just funky fine art.  The process is relatively easy.  You will need 1.  Citrasolvl (which is a readily available cleaning product found at most grocery stores) 2. a paint brush, 3. torn out pages from National Geographic magazines AFTER  2005.  (National Geographi Magazine changed their ink after 2005). I like National Geographic Magazine, because the photos are generally larger, with less text on a page.  You don’t want a lot of text on the pages you are going to paint.  You are going to want to find two complimentary pages from your magazines that will blend together well.  eg, images with reds and aqua or golds n reds to give an example.  Paint a small amount of the Citrasolv on one of your magazine pages, and then take another magazine page and lay it on top with the two pictures you wish to blend facing each other.  Let the Cirtusal sit for about 15-20 minutes, and then gently pull the two pages apart.  You are done!  Your magic Citrasolv prints are done, and ready for use.  I will then photograph each of the finished pages, and use them for textures, and just beautiful fine art prints.  Here are some of mine.  (not bad for my first attempt!)