I’ve been a bad, bad blogger. Since returning from a month-long trip to the US, I had been in the office 3 days. Shoots, more shoots, seminars and workshops are taking me away from home. Yes, 3 days are all I have with the LPS team in August. For the rest of the month, I am splitting time between Kuala Lumpur and Hanoi. I’ll be home for a couple of days before I head off to Amsterdam for a wedding shoot. This is indeed the craziest year ever for me. No complains. Our team is thankful for the growth we experience in the midst of a global slowdown.
Today in Kuala Lumpur, we kicked off the three-day Get Real Workshop. After running workshops for two years and much reflection, I have decided to restructure it. So much has changed in two years. I wanted the workshop to mirror how I shoot, work and think today. Hence the name change. Real techniques, photography and relationships are the keys that drive our studio–not gimmickry, trickery & empty hype. Never was. Never is. Never will be.
It was wonderful to have 21 participants from as far as the Netherlands, Hong Kong & Singapore at the class. I am humbled by their presence and hunger to learn. They’ll learn not only from me, as they’ve found out today, but also from their fellow course mates. We can’t grow alone. We need a strong & positive community. It is my biggest wish that the friendships that are cultivated during the workshop will grow to become a thriving network of support and sharing.
Day 1. I demonstrated many lighting setups in the class and on location at Central Market. The participants had to convince total strangers to be photographed. On top of that, they had to setup their lights, pose and direct the subjects! It scared the hell out of them but hats off to their perseverance and courage, everyone pulled through. Truly proud of how they supported, encouraged and worked together as a team. What a wonderful bunch of photogs! Here are some of my personal favourite shots…
Mr. Sim, who has been working in this shop for more than 20 years, was happy to be photographed. He was quite flattered by us…flash from camera left via Ezybox HotShoe.
Two SB800 behind Krister. Single SB900 with one cut of CTO from camera right. WB Tungsten.
The woman least photographed…my wife, Jasmine. I was fascinated by the roll of windows. I thought Jasmine in red adds pop to this rather dull scene. Flash with EzyBox Hotshoe with one cut of CTO from camera left.
Sathia has been to my workshops three times. Gotta photograph my number one fan, man! Main light is flash on EzyBox HotShoe. White reflector on the left to add fill. Hair light from the back with another SB800. This is how I shoot portraits.
See the big difference? From the same spot!
Man, we had fun!
