Brett Harkness Photography Training

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Lighting Masterclass PROAPR12

It is very important for me as a photographer to constantly change what I am doing, to look at different things for inspiration , to take my camera into situations that challenge me and push my creativity to another level.

For some years I have been somewhat fascinated with the world of the Grave yard and despite the image that we all have of this environment it is an amazing place to shoot. I often wander around different graveyards looking to document what I see. Last week I got the opportunity to go a little further & deeper!! Shooting a couple of portraits also of some of the grave-hands! This is an ongoing project for me and I will be returning to the graveyard on numerous occasions to shoot some more.

Equipment used:

Canon 1ds Mark III
Canon 50mm 1.2L
Canon 16-35mm 2.8 L
Lexar 16GB 300 x CF card
Elinchrom Ranger A head with RX Speed pack
Elinchrom 70cm softbox with honeycombe
Lastolite Extending Pole
Hard hat, boots and old clothes!!

Macwet gloves ( great to use when control & feel of the camera are needed without getting hands cold! )

On a shoot like this I mostly always have an image in mind that I am after. Despite the fact that a lot of the shoot is documentary I am starting to use my lights more for my own work also. Not just fashion! To use the lights on location isn’t easy and you must have an end goal, especially when people are working. You haven’t got too many test shots to get it right! I love just walking around people and creating images in my mind, this makes it easier & quicker to take the picture when the camera is put to your eye.

Here are a few images from last weeks shoot.

Portrait shot with a x4 ND filter. Using Ranger head, 250th sec @f2

A quick shot of yours truly 7ft down at the bottom of a grave! All in the name of Art!!!

A couple of video snippets from the shoot

We are delighted to announce that Brett Harkness , the highly acclaimed ‘social photographer’, will be giving an insight into his amazing photographic style as part of our photographic seminar series. Brett will talk about his love of travel imagery and reveal the techniques that make his weddings and social business run like clockwork.
You can ask questions and find out what makes him tick in the crazy world of high-end weddings. To be held at the home of Amateur Photographer and What Digital
Camera, in the Blue Fin Building, rising above the London skyline, 90 delegates will be treated to an intimate one-and-a half-hour seminar, including a Q&A session, followed by the chance to buy one of Brett’s books at a book-signing.

Tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis at £29.99 per head, and include the seminar, a glass of wine and a goody bag.
For more information about Brett Harkness and the secrets behind his beautiful images, including details of his DVD Real Life Wedding Training, his courses throughout the year and his latest training book, The Complete Guide to Organising and Styling Professional Photo Shoots, visit http:// brettharknessphotography.com.

What digital camera:

Amateur Photographer:

SPI:

We travelled light by my standards with only a Quadra pack, couple of heads and a 70cm softbox. Also a small lastolite tri grip. We shot a mixture of daylight and flash during the day using the Quadra on lowest power for a little fill and then pushing it to the max for some hard shots. I love wandering the streets and just looking for backgrounds to use and which lighting is appropriate for the background that we are using. Because of the weather we had to work quick which meant we didn’t have too much time to “work” the shot as much as we wanted to. But considering the elements we came away with some beautiful images.

Full power Quadra meant we could over ride the ambient light, shot at 80th sec @f22 with the Quadra A head through a 70cm softbox.

Shot at 125th sec @f8. I love shooting into the sun like this, it is very demanding but rewarding when it works.

Looking for items to make a shot work is a big part of what we do. This bike was the perfect color and matched the models handbag perfectly!

Concrete is a great background to work with and would love some panels in the studio! This small concrete panel down a backstreet made a perfect backdrop for a series of shots. Sometimes keeping it simple is the best way to go about things. Shot using a Quadra head on 1/4 power with a 70cm softbox.

Shot on iso 320,  1/100th sec @f11 at 3/4 power.

Taken using daylight, 400 iso, 60th sec @f2.8 with a small Lastolite reflector.

Taken towards the end of the shoot with the rain coming down, 640 iso, 1/60th sec @f9.

This was a great session in Amsterdam and the first time we have shot fashion abroad in the streets anyway. Our 1-1. 2-1 & 3-1 sessions are catered and tailored to your own personal needs. CLICK HERE for more information on our courses. Whatever you need to learn whether it be flash, business or anything to do with your own photography business then give us a shout, spending a day at the studio can invigorate your year and help you get back to the place you want to be.

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For more info or to order PLEASE CLICK HERE THE RRP is £30 +vat & p&p
 

I don’t go too  overboard with muted colors, adding vintage effects etc.. I do dabble a little sometimes just to see what I can do but mostly stick to the look that is synonymous with my name and image. When I am shooting I usually know when an image is going to be B&W or color, you just know. Our wedding albums have a natural flow to them that tells the story, mixing B&W images with color. Sometimes an image needs hardly anything doing to it, other than dust removal. I aim to get it a near as I can in the camera rather than trying to make the image into something it was never meant to be. I am a great believer in working through and image in my mind as I am walking to the shot, if I am using flash then I will give myself one test shot to get it right and then nail the shot. Making sure I take a few images in case of any blinking  that may occur. I try and move around the subject when just using daylight as this might give me a shot that I had previously not seen.

Either way most of the time for weddings & lifestyle work I shoot in jpg. This gives me the freedom on shoots that I need, I shoot fast. I like the pressure of having to get it right there and then. This means I am on top of my game and striving to do the best I can for myself and for the clients. Only images that are sold for an album, product or print are worked on individually. Otherwise through Lightroom and or Photoshop they are batched to suit the event and shoot.

I posted this image a couple of weeks ago from a wedding of James & Lisa. Someone said I would love to see the original to see how much or how little I worked on it! So here is it.. dust and all! The original is shot on 160 ISO, 250th sec @f22. Using an Elinchrom Ranger RX speed pack with one A head. Also using a Deep Octa Box for even illumination. Shooting on around 1/4 power. Camera used – Canon EOS 1ds Mark III, with a 16-35mm 2.8 L lens.  Most of the tones are there, nothing is blown out, the original file is a little underexposed. There is just enough detail in the shadows to avoid too much noise.

Here is the original image straight from camera:

Here you can see the difference between the worked on shot on the left and the original on the right. Using a mixture of layers, curves and Color Efex pro this enables me to select certain areas and work on those independently to the others. Keeping the true identity of the image and how I remembered the scene. Here is the finished image as appeared in the album. If you would like to see how I work on images, then PLEASE CLICK HERE. This is the way I work on most of my images, although not showing this image the process is pretty much the same.

It is a very interesting read with different takes on the pros & cons of using different prime lenses. To discover more about Photo Pro magazine please click HERE.

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