A Workshop Unlike Any You Have Ever Attended - Seriously

It really is like no other workshop out there. Real world information YOU can use immediately to increase the level of your photography. And it is intensive... no sitting around, no wasted time, we even shoot while having lunch most of the time. I have a lot of information to get into your head and hands, and we don't waste time with any frills.

This Two Day workshop will introduce you to lighting by learning the basics and then working with the tools of the trade to make the images you see in your head. We start with basics and move through the amazing world of lighting. We aren't interested in auto settings, or sticking a flash on your camera and clicking away. We do it with manual strobes, manual settings and attention to detail that is the mark of a professional photographer.

I believe that the best way to teach someone is to Tell Them, Show Them, and Have Them Do It. That is my approach. Sure we talk about the ISL and what that means to our light. But we also see it, and work with it to get it ingrained. Once the concept is embedded in what we do, there is no limit to what we can achieve. Me yakking about how close an umbrella is not as powerful as me yakking, you watching, you doing it... moving it to see the difference. Embed... yeah!

My goal is to take you from what ever point you are and move you up a couple of levels. Will I be able to make you a great photographer after a weekend? Hell no. Anyone promising that is simply not telling you the truth - or worse. I can show you how to work the tools to find the light YOU want, and how to work with it. And how that all plays into your photography

And I want to motivate you to make better pictures. I want to inspire you to shoot with both knowledge and heart. And I want you to be successful in your photographic adventure.

Simple Tools: Great Light

Look, having the coolest strobes on the planet is, well, cool. But it doesn't mean that you must have that gear to make great photos. Light is light. If you know how to light and how to use light, you can use a Home Depot work light and a shower curtain, or an old flash you bought off of Ebay and a cheap umbrella, or even the sun bounced into a car window shade for fill. I am not making that up, I do all of that and more.

Sure, there are times when you need the big guns, and we teach you what to do when you use them. If you know how, you can always rent some big ol' killer strobes when you need that power. But in my workshop, we focus on making light work for you.

Less Me, More You - Less Bluster, More Shooting

If you have ever attended a workshop where the presenter went on and on about how cool it was being them. And who they shot when. And all the cool people they hang out with... you are gonna be shocked at this one. We talk about light. We do light. We make light... we make pictures... we shoot. We light some more and we shoot some more. If you want to talk about me, we go out afterwards and you buy me a Corona. I'll tell you all you want to know and more... but when you are paying me to learn to light... we're gonna learn to light!

Why This Workshop Is Different From Most Others

We will explore the concepts of lighting, and the hands-on creation of lighting. From a simple natural light headshot, to a glamour shot with only one strobe, to a multi-strobed shot with several lights... we will do it from the position of power. No guessing and 'chimping' to find out what works. You know what works, now you can finesse it into what you want. See it in your head, light it in your head and then produce the photograph you wanted all along.

Girls of Rocky Point Weekend from Jesse Hoekstra on Vimeo