Private Photography Workshop Atlanta | Photographer Angela Livingston

Photographer Angela Livingston contacted me about hosting several one-on-one private Workshops. Her husband is in the military and they were moving to Colorado. Once there, Angela wanted to launch her career as a professional photographer. Our custom one on one workshops are designed completely based on your needs. With this blog post, we’ll show you several images from our on location shoot with a high school senior. This Private Photography Workshop Atlanta was designed to increase the images in Angela’s portfolio.

Here we have the lovely Nikki Quisenberry modeling for us with a waterfall backdrop. The day before we had torrential rain creating a very misty waterfall the day of the shoot. We used natural lighting to backlight Nikki’s hair, while using a reflector as a fill light. The sun reflects into her eyes, making them pop!

We take workshop clients here quite frequently, because it offers a wide variety of elements. But the image below is one of my favorites. The amazing background was provided completely by mother nature. This is a great example of how something can change with a lot of rain! The mist creates an incredible volume behind Nikki. Then the sun catches all the mist and voila- a stunning full length portrait.

Next we utilize a slighting larger shallow depth of field. I showed Angela how to use an off camera light as a fill light. This was necessary because Nikki was underneath a canopy of trees. They created too much shadowy texture. The flash was a filler, so we didn’t lose any of the ambient light. 

A little outfit change, and a little background change and we have a whole new set of images for the portfolio. We turned the model to face the sky to light up her face and eyes.

Next we used the video light to create a dramatic lighting scene.  Don’t be afraid to ‘shoot the ugly.’  Sometimes the ugly is a great provision for cool backgrounds and textures that make the subject pop! Before you know it, everyone will be asking you what exotic location you traveled to!

Glasses can be tricky, but remain calm. It’s important to treat glasses like every other relfective material. Just be aware of the highlights and your light sources. We used the reflector to bounce light in under a covered bridge. 

What looks like a normal sun flare, is actually artificial lighting! On the shadow side of the building, we put an off camera flash behind Nikki to create a fake sun flare. Later we photoshopped the light stand out! If you like the Photogrphy tips you’re reading about be sure to check out our Photography Workshops! Offered year round, there’s a photography workshop out there for all levels!