(The last photo was taken by fellow classmate Eric. Proof I was in the same room with Master Zack)
The three day studio lighting course with Zack Arias felt more like 3 months. SO much information...in so little time.
It was a photo geek fest. Lights, exposures, cameras, lenses, modifiers, my new boyfriend the 7ft westcott octabank, community, twitter, chat rooms, ruby slippers.......
If you weren't able to watch it live online, and you think you can handle the "geek" level, buy a DVD of the course here.
Zack is an open OPEN book. I have used studio lighting before even though I am a natural light girl at heart, but even with my limited knowledge there was so much I didn't know. Some might have been a review like some of the fstop/numbers talk BUT I had so many little questions about set up and settings and tips on getting a perfect studio shot through the camera. Zack answered all of them. I especially wanted to learn more about modifiers and his opinion on what to buy...what was really needed.
I feel extremely blessed to have been one of the 6 people invited to attend. It really is kind of dreamy for me to be surrounded by people that share so much of my same passion. Being there and reconizing my extreme interest and love for my sport, confirms again what I have always known. I love photography.
Zack and his crew were beyond gracious and kind. Chase Jarvis hugged me when we met, feed us barbecue and then let me borrow his iphone charger...nuff said. AMAZING. The Creative Live team was so inviting, fun to be around and so on it! You should have seen the production. So impressed. And my other 5 classmates......quality, quality people. Genuine, ego free and all with that fire behind their eyes. I know that fire.
I also gained a lot of new Twitter friends (if you want to follow me on twitter you can here) and for that I am so grateful. I love how the photography community has changed through twitter. It was an amazing process to watch this weekend as questions rolled in and Zack was able to answer them in real time. A wealth of information was being shared. It was humbling to watch.
I received numerous questions via twitter and thought I would answer some of couple of them here:
-No, I do not have an "actual" studio in my bathroom. I have this great mini bathroom that boosts great window light and a white wall behind my tub. I have been know to fake a studio look tub side in a pinch. My tryout video, seen here, for this class shares a glimpse of my fake studio. I also shoot every once in a blue moon in real studio setups like here and here.
-So many of you kind of souls were concerned about my focusing issues while I was shooting live (in front of probably 16,000 plus people!!!). I have not yet solved the issue. I did find a forum with some info here, http://photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00WVzY, but not a firm solution. I have been shooting with that 5D for over three years now. Might just be time for an upgrade. My focus lock has been intermittently working and not working for a couple of months now. Very annoying, especially when thousands of people are watching it happen. Such is life. Let me know if any one has any suggestions on the matter.
Love, love, love to everyone that made this weekend happen and thanks again to Zack & Meg for having me out. It was like Disneyland on crack.
I just feel inspired to be better. A better photographer and a better person.
Links to all my awesome classmates (or as Jeramie called us, "The Oceanic Six"...even typing that makes me miss LOST pretty fierce):