The Societies Convention
I love speaking.I don't mean the process of opening my mouth and uttering words. I mean the processing of imparting knowledge learned over my 15+ years of photography. I find it utterly satisfying to have people stop me in the corridors of a hotel to thank me for my class, and to say it one of the best they attended this year. It's really satisfying.So the annual Societies Convention is over for another year, and after weeks of preparation, my Masterclasses are done. I kicked off with a talk on Landscape photography on Thursday morning. I go loads of great questions, and of course got to show off my work as part of talking about composition and processing. I really put a lot of work into this class and it really reminded me that I should finish the ebook I started creating way back in 2010. It's time.
My second class was on location lighting, showing off editorial setups to get that studio look on location. The class opens with a discussion of what makes light good, then goes on to talk about on camera flash, before going off camera. Again the layout of the class would make the basis for a nice speed light ebook. A big part of the response to this class is that you can do a lot without breaking the bank and still have gear that works really well, as well as looking better than the cost. Things like my 120cm Octa (yes I was able to fit this in a case for Ryanair!), and the Meking ring light for speed lights. Of course as well as the value for money modifiers, I also demoed my favourite modifier, the Elinchrom 70cm Deep Octa, and the MagMod system. I've done a post about the modifiers I used here.The final class is the topic I'm so well known for: Lightroom. In this I explored Develop, looking at things like portrait retouching, landscape processing, as well as things like Smart Previews and Profiles. Of course I have a book about Lightroom out right now! I also showed the Palette, and I think people got straight away what a time saver it is.The Convention isn't about me though, it's about the choice of hundreds of classes with world class speakers. I never sleep well out of my own bed, and this week was no exception (though packing one of my own pillows really did help). I should point out that this wasn't due to late nights at the bar-I was in bed by midnight! It meant I missed some classes I really wanted to see, like Sean Conboy or even Jared Platt.Still, I got to see some great classes. London based family photographer (and friend) Panikos Hajistilly did a great class on family posing, lighting and product. Very enjoyable. I've shot in his studio and it really was a delight to be at his first convention talk. Great stuff Pani!Probably one of my favourite classes to go to was that of Stuart Wood. Stuart shoots loads of TV related stuff, shoots Elinchrom, and is moving to Fujifilm. I went to the class last year and loved it. Having had spoken to Stuart briefly in the bar, I knew that he'd have loads of new work to show. And it really was compelling viewing. It's funny that you can really know and use stuff, but when someone describes it in a different way to how you think of it, it really drives it home. And last year it made me start to light a little differently for editorial work. I brought out techniques that I hadn't used in a while, so for me it was a great class. This year it gave me a better way of directing the shots. Cheers Stuart!I popped by Damian McGillicuddy stand more than once. Despite the fact that I did have an Olympus E-M5, and changed to Fuji, doesn't mean that I don't appreciate these quality of m43 cameras. They really are fully featured and great tools. Damian regularly shows techniques in a particularly entertaining fashion, and I really do believe that good teaching is a performance. Engagement is critical and the Big Dog has showmanship in spades. There's always a new idea to glean from this master-like with Stuart Wood, just because you know something, doesn't mean there isn't some new angle that you've missed. And Damian is great for that.Speaking of Damian, Damien Lovegrove was there as well and his portrait masterclass was a great watch. I met Max De Martino there as well. Even more Fujiness.I got to hang with my buddies from The Photographer Academy too. I love that bunch so much. They've given me a lot, and we've sorted out a way for me to get a lot more content over for the site, which is a relief to me. Time is tight enough, so anything that eases it is fantastic. Mark Cleghorn has so much energy and passion for training, it's always amazing to see him at work.You can probably guess there's a lot of networking going on too. There's always great people to meet, and I got to meet some incredibly talented photographers like Terry Donnelly, Kevin Mullins, Vicki Boulter, and a host of others. Not to mention mates like Nathan Wake from Fujifilm or Seamus Costelloe, or even the Gavtrain himself, Mr Gavin Hoey.I write for the Kelbyone magazine Photoshop User, so it was great to bump into a gang of peeps from there. Glyn Dewis was speaking for The Flash Centre, and Dave Clayton was around. It's Dave's fault I got to work with Rocky Nook on my last book! Rich Harrington was on the Lucid Perfectly Clear stand, as was Vanelli and Eric Renno. Great to chat to those guys.As for the time I did spend in the bar, it was in the company of some great people, like the Whitmores, or the Photographer Academy group (including the birthday girl Michelle Szpak). I had a great conversation with Richard Curtis from Adobe and nice chat with Damien Lovegrove as well. There was a huge Fujifilm connection going on throughout the convention, so it really felt like home. Yes, I did get to fondle the X-Pro2, and it really is a magnificent beast. No budget for one as yet, and being a working pro isn't about the latest and greatest, it's about making money on the gear you have, and working it for all you can get from it.Here's my funny Fuji story. I did mention the lack of sleep thing already. Anyway. Fuji were doing a free sensor clean offer, so I put the camera in for a clean. The trade show closes at 5, so I was told to collect it near end of day. I wanted to go to a Photowalk (with the Photofocus guys) at 5, but was tired, so I lay down at 3, with the alarm set for 4:20. Plenty of time to collect the cameras and get a tube over to the walk. The alarm went off. Perfect. I rolled around to check the time again... and it was 5:19. I'd unknowingly dozed right off again. Cue jumping into my clothes and running to the trade show to beg my way in. The Fuji peeps were still there-just, so I was able to get my cameras. They looked pristine too-they'd cleaned the outside as well, so were looking practically brand new. Of course the firmware was reset too, so I had to redo my custom dials, but that was fine. Phew.. close call. Still missed the photowalk though :(For me this was one of the best conventions. I will be putting in proposals for next years too, and I've a better idea of ancillary stuff I want to do for it. I'll post to my newsletter when I know what's happening. Do sign up, I'll have more freebies coming soon, so it's worthwhile. No selling your details, or spamming, just quality content from behind the scenes to tips and tricks.There is one thing that I didn't do that I wished I had.. and in ironic fashion, I wished I'd taken more photos!