Jules Cafe » Workshops

PartnerCon NOLA 2010 Schedule Announced

emily — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:27:14 +0000

If you can’t tell, we’re very excited to announce this year’s PartnerCon schedule. We’ve lined up some of the industry’s best to teach you about topics from business & marketing, organization & workflow, to selling more & working less, including 30 speaking sessions and 23 shooting workshops.

PartnerCon NOLA is not only about taking a closer look at “Where Y’at?”… the underlying value of this gathering is our community. With 500 seats available (that we’re sure will fill up fast) there is no doubt you’ll walk away not only inspired by our instructors, but by the new friends you’ve made.

Check out this film, created by Ron Dawson of Dare Dreamer Media ( http://daredreamer.net/ )

We hope to see you there!

To see the full schedule, click here. To reserve your spot, click here.

The start of many speaking engagements!

Jules — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 02:38:12 +0000

THANK YOU so much to everyone who came out to hear me speak on Social Networking last Tuesday at the NCPP (Northern California Professional Photographers).

If you missed the talk, here is a list of the speaking engagements I will be doing over the next several months (PLUS there are a FEW more that I’m not allowed to mention yet!) I am actually doing a few of these talks WITH my sister, Joy, and we are so flattered to have been asked to participate in such an amazing list of educational events. (Please choose a few to attend so that my mom isn’t only one there!)

August 23, 2010: WPPI Roadshow in Irvine
October 20, 2010: Professional Photographers of the Sacramento Valley
November 6, 2010: Kevin Kubota’s SummitUP
November 9-11,2010: Pictage’s PartnerCon
February 20, 2010: Wedding & Portrait Photographer’s International (WPPI)

Thank you to Tom O’Connor for shooting these pics of us at the NCPP event.

Photography workshops should pay for themselves.

Kevin Kubota — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:00:45 +0000

One of the best values in professional photography education is coming up soon. Last year I was honored to be invited to teach at Skip's Summer School in Las Vegas and I really loved the format of this unique, info-packed, program. Skip Cohen is very well known in the industry for his contributions to some of the most iconic photographic institutions ever – companies like Hasselblad and WPPI, for starters. He knows photographers, and he KNOWS our industry like nobody else - and that is one of the reasons he puts together such a valuable, immediately useful, program.

This August I'll once again be joining the lineup of educators at Skip's Summer School in Las Vegas and I hope you'll consider the value of adding this event to your summer schedule. I really think the format of the program is the least stressful and most beneficial - where all participants can watch all presentations. You don't have to choose between two or more interesting presenters going on at the same time because everyone gets everything - clean and simple.

Pictage Podcast – Carlos Baez

elizabeth — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 22:06:26 +0000

This episode of the Pictage Podcast features Miami photographer Carlos Baez

Carlos Baez – fashion, wedding, and nudeoir photographer of 25 years – talks to Sara about the topics of nudeoir and artistic inspiration. Highlights include…

How he came to build his style of nudeoir.
His view on the difference and similarities between general portraiture and his trademarked nudeoir portraits.
He reflects on his first nudeoir session.
Establishing trust with clients.
Being a man shooting nudes.
Finding your own nudeoir vocabulary.
His inspirations from great photographers.
The importance of listening and reading your clients.
Building your vision and building trust.
TruePhotoTalk.com his new blog for artistic inspiration and discussion.

You can see Carlos speak about nudeoir, specifically making a body of work, working with clients, and pricing strategies at Pictage U, a two-day intensive boudoir and lighting workshop in San Diego. Pictage U will give you the opportunity to get boudoir business knowledge and boudoir and lighting practical experience. This event is open to ALL professional photographers, Pictage members and non-members. Register Now!

White Balance: Tools to Help Set Custom White Balance ~ Part 3

Jodi Friedman, MCP Actions — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:00:18 +0000

White Balance: What Tools to Use and How to Set a Custom White Balance

by Rich Reierson

This post is the third in a short series on how photographers can use white balance to improve color in their photographs. Make sure to read part 1 and part 2.

Here is the sample image prior to any CWB:

White Balance Lens Caps

First we have lens cover calibrator devices for white balance. ExpoD, Brno BaLens and ColorRight seem to the front runners in this space. For around 50-120 dollars you get a curious little lens cap that looks like someone cut up a shower door and placed it in a frame.

To use the lens cover tool:

Place it on your lens
Set your lens to manual focus since it will not be able to grab focus on its own.
Select “user preset” on a Nikon and fire a calibration shot at the source. For Canon, take a photo with the cap on as explained next. Then go into your menu and choose to set that shot to the CWB.
Then tell your camera to use the custom white balance setting.
For instance if I was shooting my baby on a brick wall, I would put my camera where my baby is and fire the calibration shot toward the location I will be shooting from.
Remember to set your lens back to auto focus if preferred.
Do a new calibration if your lighting source changes.
On ebay there are also many knock off white balance caps that work pretty well also for about 6 dollars. There is an article on this blog on using a Pringle’s lid for white balance. And I have heard of photographers using tissue paper but I cannot comment on the accuracy.

Here is the sample after using an ExpoDisc:

Gray Card Targets

My personal favorite is to use a Gray calibration card such as a WhiBal White Balance Card. This card is Neutral and when I say neutral I mean that it is perfectly balanced for all colors. Notice that it is not a white card!! White has a tendency to reflect or harbor a color cast a gray card will reflect all colors evenly. With this said, in a pinch grab a white piece of paper to calibrate on. You can do it pre-process or post process in LR or PS.

To use a gray card to set white balance in camera:

Turn off your focus and fill your frame with the card or paper and fire a calibration shot. In Canon cameras you can select “calibrate with this image” under the White Balance menu and then set your camera to use the CWB setting. In Nikon you would fire a calibration shot at the target. That is it. The image should have perfect WB.
Remember to set your lens back to auto focus if preferred.
I must note that if you change scenery, you must recalibrate.

Here is the sample after using the WhiBal:

In conclusion White balance is one of the trickier skills that a photographer needs to master. There really isn’t a hard and fast rule for calibrating a picture and there really isn’t a RIGHT picture. Photography is a very subjective art and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Can you have a picture that is cooler, YES can you have one that is warmer, YES. Which one is correct? None of them! Obtaining calibrated WB is just a good starting point. Once you have WB and exposure calibrated you lay the foundation for a great shot.

*** Two related MCP Products/Services to this post ***

Achieving accurate white balance is only the beginning. Once you accomplish this, you may want to consider MCP’s Color Correction Photoshop Training Class – teaching you to get better skin tones in Photoshop.
If you did not shoot Raw, or your colors still look off when you edit inside Photoshop, you may also benefit from the MCP Bag of Tricks – these Photoshop actions help color correct and fix skin tones.

This post is by guest writer Rich Reierson, an expert in Photoshop and Lightroom and owner of Mariposa Photography in Dallas/Fort Worth. His main focus is supporting the photographer by building specialized computers built for editing and tutoring on Photoshop and Lightroom. As a sideline he shoots sessions on a referral basis. He has been using Adobe products since 1994 and still has the original 11 disks for Photoshop 3.0. He is a father of 2 kids and and he says his wife makes the best baby bows.

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Come Learn Fine Art Nude & Boudoir Photography From Bambi Cantrell

scottbourne — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 18:22:46 +0000

Hopefully you’ve heard of the Focus on Fabulous workshop I’m helping Bambi Cantrell with this coming June. It’s going to be a ton of fun.

I’ve personally only been paid to shoot nudes a few times, boudoir several, but I know it’s fun. During the time I shot portraits and weddings for a living, I’d get the occasional call for this work and while it is fun, it is also difficult. It takes a real knowledge of light to get it right. Fortunately, my experience shooting portraits taught me the importance of pose, expression and light.. And along with Bambi, I’ll be sharing with students the basics of light. If you want to know the difference between broad light, short light, split light, butterfly light and Rembrandt light – and more importantly how and when to use them, I’ll be working on that with you during the workshop. Likewise, if you want to learn how to sell photos online, I’ve gotten pretty good at that too and will involve myself in the business component of the class.

The rest is all BamBam. She’s the real star of this workshop. If you’ve never seen her work, well you’re in for a treat. She’s a fanatic with a camera. She’ll show you how to work with the models to keep them comfortable and responsive. Beyond the basic light and posing instruction I can teach you, she’ll move to the advanced stuff. In two days you’ll amass several portfolio quality images because unlike some of these workshops, you’ll actually get to shoot. Every photographer who signs up for the class will get to shoot every model we work with.

Remember, you’re getting instruction from two established pros, we’re going to have at least one assistant on hand to help out and we’re going to provide beautiful models who will pose nude, and seemi-nude. We’ll also do some fun boudoir outfits. I’ll be working with students on the business side of the event and Bambi is even throwing in a catered lunch daily. Your modeling fees are paid, your access to the studio and lights provided. All you need is a camera, a place to stay and an open mind.

We’re looking forward to seeing you. For more information email bournemediagroup@gmail.com.

FIVE REASONS YOU SHOULDN’T ATTEND THE ONE DAY INTENSIVE

Jason Aten | Starting Out Right — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:50:57 +0000

There's a lot of talk about workshops lately. There's a lot of people that are frustrated by the perceived direction our industry is taking. There's a lot of strong feelings about different workshops, and whether they offer value to photographers and our industry.

With that in mind, I want to help share some expectations - to be sure you understand all the reasons you should NOT consider attending a ONE DAY INTENSIVE.

1. You want to become a better photographer. You won't. I'm not going to talk about understanding your camera, or composition, or lighting, or post processing. This isn't a workshop to help you be a better photographer, so if that's what you're looking for - don't bother coming.

In fact, no workshop will make you a better photographer. You might learn some good techniques, but in reality - the ONLY way to become a better photographer is to shoot more. Who cares about your first wedding - I got excited when I had to replace a shutter after 118,000 exposures.

2. You want to be rich. Sorry, can't help you there either. There's no secret to becoming rich. There's no fast-track or easy road. Some people get lucky... good for them, but I can't teach you that. No one can teach you. By the way, if you're thinking about starting your own small business to get rich, forget it. 95% of them fail.

3. You want to be like _______ (insert photographer here). Attending a workshop won't make you anymore like someone else - then visiting the pet store will make you more like a golden retriever. You won't leave the ODI more like me (and that's good for both of us... trust me). If you pay money to go to a workshop, hoping that some magic dust will rub off on you, you're fooling yourself and wasting your money. It doesn't work that way.

4. You want someone to tell you the short cuts. Guess what. The most successful people in ANY field - ANY industry - are the people who work the hardest, for the long haul. A workshop presenter can help give you tools, but then you have to do the hard work. There's no secret recipe, and anyone that tells you that there is - well, I think you know what to think about them.

5. You are PASSIONATE about photography. That's great. I love photography too. I also really love ice cream, but that doesn't mean I open an ice cream stand. If you're passionate about photography - by all means, keep taking pictures. It's a wonderful hobby :)

BONUS 6. You want to hang out with a SUPER successful rich photographer. Sorry, not me. I run a pretty small business focused on taking care of a small number of clients. My wife and I drive a 5 year old car, own a condo, and spend a lot of money on diapers. Most days, I come home from my studio, and the first thing I do is change a stinky diaper, clean up crayon from the walls, and do the dishes. I'm just normal. My life is probably a lot like yours.

We're not rich. But I work very hard at treating my business like a business, and it exists to support my family. Our business does well, and we have wonderful clients. I get to shoot some really wonderful weddings, and I love that I get paid pretty well to do what I do. But, let's be realistic - I run a studio in a city of 7,500 people. If you think that this workshop is going to be about how much money I spend on cars, or sunglasses, or new camera gear - you'll be disappointed.

By the way, you can get a LOT of the information I talk about by reading this FREE blog. So why would anyone come? I can only think of one reason:

You want to build a business around this photography thing you do that supports the life you want to live.

You want to learn about best practices that you can use as you work HARD to do it right. You want to take care of your family by building something real. You might struggle with understanding how to control your expenses, set up your business, rationalize your pricing, managing your client experience, or sales. You're willing to invest your time by spending a day digging deep. This is no fluff. It's not a feel good workshop. It's not "fun."

PMA 2010 Workshop notes for attendees

Kevin Kubota — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:35:17 +0000

Thanks to all who attended my Lightroom Professional Workflow hands-on session at PMA. I apologize that they ran out of chairs for everyone to sit on! It was really exciting to see what PMA has done with their convention - with more of a focus on professional level photography education. I wish I had had more time to peruse the tradeshow floor, but it was a quick in-and-out for me.

The notes from the session are available for download here. You'll need the private password I gave you at the workshop to be able to download or open the notes. If you were there, your feedback is welcomed!

My studio helps Spread the Love.

Jules — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 08:02:15 +0000

Joy and I have really been enjoying the new studio. Its fun to have our own events, but we love hosting other photographer’s events there as well! Earlier this week we had the great pleasure of hosting the adorable Justin & Mary Marantz’s for their Spread the Love tour. If you are a new business owner – photography or not – this is a GREAT workshop to check out. They give a lot of immediately useful information to help you get your business to the next level!

60 seconds of Jules’ Light, Location & Love Shoot-Out!

Jules — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:39:10 +0000

I had so much fun teaching my Light, Location & Love workshop at the Hotel Menage. I want to thank my workshop partner Kerry Garrison of Camera Dojo who helped everyone get over their fear of portrait lighting!

Joy and I worked very hard to get an entire bridal party together so that our participants could see how I work with larger groups rather than just a couple. At first I was disappointed that it rained during our Shoot Out, but the group was glad to watch me use my lighting gear on the fly. Not only that, but we ventured out into the rain for some cute umbrella portraits.

We are thinking about doing a Light, Location & Love workshop in San Francisco, so if you are interested, please leave a comment!

I want to give a big THANK YOU to Downtown Flowers for providing us with GORGEOUS bouquets & boutonnieres and to Design Visage & Darling Bride for doing the hair & make-up on our beautiful models. Also, thanks to the lovely Heather Kincaid for coming to my rescue and modeling at the last minute!

I will do a blog post of photos soon, but in the meantime, here is a 60 second video of my Shoot Out part of the workshop that was shot & edited by my talented brother, Jeffrey Holmes.

Light, Location, and Love by Jules Bianchi from J. Holmes Productions on Vimeo.

And of course, a HUGE thank you to our workshop sponsors:
Pictage
White House Custom Color
Jules Cafe
Camera Dojo
Kubota Image Tools
Livebooks
Leather Craftsmen
V Gallery
Go Bee Bags
Kolo Albums
Lensbaby
OnOne Software
Red Leaf Studios
Tamrac
Think Tank
V Gallery
ShootSac
Photography Mentor