Last month I had the opportunity to attend a great workshop at the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops in Santa Fe. The reason I took the workshop is because I loved the photography of the person who was instructing it. The workshop was the “Editorial Portrait” and the instructor was one of my favorite photographers Jeff Lipsky. I love the way he uses light and how natural and just plain amazing his images look. I’ve always looked at his work for inspiration and guidance for my own style. I was really exited to get down there and shoot some photos with him. The workshop was four days long and we shot at two different locations during the workshop with class time in the mornings to get feedback and do critiques of each others work. There were about 14 people total in the workshop from all over the country. It is so fun to get down there and meet new people, learn new tricks and make some good images. It was so great for me to see someone as successful as Jeff with the same approach to lighting as me namely simple uncomplicated light when necessary and preferring natural light. It was also good for me to see how he plans his shoots and the crew of people that he uses to make the shoot happen. I hope to be as successful as Jeff is one day and taking this workshop really helped me feel like getting to the next level was closer to me now than ever before. I would invite you to check out his site and his work. During the entire workshop he was really approachable and friendly about anything you wanted to ask him, which made me respect him even more. In an age when so many big photographers have huge egos and anrn’t very approachable it was sure nice to meet someone like Jeff which was completely opposite. After taking this workshop and talking to Jeff I think there are a few things that has helped him to become as successful as he is and that can help all of us photographers become more successful. First, he is a really cool and genuine person. This really helps when you photograph people for a living because lets face it everyone from the person you are photographing to the client to the crew you work with are all affected by working with some that is personable and fun. Second, he plans everything out before he shoots to make sure he will get the shot. He knows the location, where the light(sun) is going to be at what time etc. We can all learn from this. Third, he is great as seeing light and how to shape it in a flattering way for his subjects. He uses the same lights and modifiers on all his shoots so he knows what to expect. It is important to be confident in what and how you are going to light things when you need to. Lastly he works really hard and knows his style. Everyone that has done this for even a little while knows that great photos don’t just accidentally happen they are created and it takes a ton of work to get things dialed. You have to know who you are as a photographer and maintain that style. All in all it was a great experience. Even the unexpected 12 hour drive home with fellow photographer Derek Isrealsen because both of our flights got cancelled out of Albuquerque due to a crazy wind storm was fun. Here are a few of the shots I got while down there!
Jeff Lipsky Portrait as requested by Jeff haha! Probably my favorite!
