3B UP 01

Back in October we had a cheeky Randall Network catch-up at TGI’s in Leeds for photographers who’ve rallied under Stewart Randall‘s photographic umbrella.  It was a social really, and lots of fun getting together with like-minded creatives. Afterwards we 3B had planned to meet our Urban Portraits workshop models to do a little practice shoot around the Leeds Riverside.  We let the Randalists know about this in advance and put out an open invite for those togs to come along if they fancied.

By the time we’d pulled our fingers out, convoyed across Leeds & found parking, the light was already fading. It was great to hang for Rob, Phil & I to hang out & play with Mike Galley, Rebecca Honeywell, Olivia Brabbs, Chris Mckenzie, Cris Matthews amongst other illustrious Randalists.

3B UP 06

It was also a choice opportunity to pin down some backgrounds we can use for our upcoming 3B•Media // Inspiring Photography • Urban Portraits workshop, taking place on Tues 26th Jan in a couple of weeks.

Where our lovely model Stef is there is just the side or an ordinary modern building like you’d find in any city, but below are a few Urban Portraits I caught with one lens (50mm I believe) in natural (fading) light.

3B UP 03

It’s all about the lines in the above shot.

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Stef is always great to work with, with a bubbling energy and willingness to get down or up on anything.

She’s always changing, so while one minute she’s looking out of shot, as above…

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…the next she’s looking to camera.  I like both, but especially this lightly yellow/blue duotoned processing.

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A fraction down the wall and we’ve a new ‘Urban’ background, using bricks (which I always like to use to make a shot feel more street).

Our Randal patsy’s let us practice sharing what we knew in a teachy manor and I think by the end, we all came off richer.

The above images are the sort of images we’re aiming to teach how to capture at our upcoming 3B•Media workshop.  It’s amazing what you can do with just an SLR, one lens and a bit of experimentation and that’s what we’re looking to teach.

There are a few spots left if you’d still like to get involved. Details are as follows:

Location: The Round Foundry Media Centre in Leeds Centre (near the Station)
Date: Tuesday 26th January 2010 from 9am>5pm
Sustenance: Lunch and refreshments provided all day
Price:
was £295 NOW HALF PRICE AT ONLY £150

Click the image below to download the course brochure PDF or ring Lou for info on 0113 238 1011.

3B Media // Insipring Photography Workshops • Urban Portraits

Basically – it’s really going to be a fun day for all ages and levels of expertise with the aim being to help SLR wielding amateurs learn to get the most out photographing people with only basic SLR gear.  Delegates need only to bring a lens (or more if they have them) and their SLR camera, and we’ll teach them how to shoot manually, learn to find backgrounds in the urban environment (which applies to photographing anywhere) and how get the most out of the subject they’re photographing. It’s now half price at £150 for the entire day, with 3 pro-photographers and two professional models, lunch, refreshments & a goody bag thrown in!

3B UP 07Not long later we could barely see through our lenses, and I flicked on the ST-E2 and we got flashing! This time with another 3B model, Alex.

I like the fact the above shot is cropped square.  I rarely use a square crop.

3B UP 08I like the lights down the bridge and snooted flash across Alex’s face.

3B UP 09Bit of my yellow/blue Lightroom split toning again.

3B UP 10We ventured onto Leeds’ backstreets and I attempted to make a movie-esque shot of Alex, with Mr Booker holding the flash to camera right.

3B UP 11Back over the bridge again we found the gang snapping Charlotte, so I chucked Mr Matthews my flash and had a pop myself.

3B UP 12The models are such fun to shoot and we all had a great time.  Above is Mr McKenzie straining to lift his 1DsmkIII & glass tube of 85 f1.2

3B UP 13I quite like this one with the flash even further round to create an almost rimlit portrait.

3B UP 14And this one flashed from behind the model.  You can even make out Cris Matthews down the rail.  In fact, I think he makes the shot!

So – We 3B are planning out a year of exciting ‘Inspiring Photography’ workshops, from basic ‘getting to know your camera’, to intermediate ‘creative off camera flash’ and right up to advanced ‘post production Lightroom and Photoshop techniques’.  You’ll hear more on it here, but you can also befriend 3B•Media on Facebook by clicking here.

Be aware – your country needs wares…

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