There was a great turnout to the “Photography Made Simple” workshop this past weekend—over 150 people showed up! The class was a blast; we just spent the whole time laughing and having fun. Thanks to everyone who came out!!

This class is designed for everyone from complete beginners to amateur photographers. The goal is to learn how to tell a story with photographs. Over the course of the day, we cover topics like using an SLR, posing groups and individuals, changing lighting to create a mood, utilizing windows and household items to shape light, and touching up pictures with Photoshop.

This class was one of the most engaged and excited groups we’ve ever had. Everyone was excited to try new things and asked great questions. The day just flew by!

If you missed the workshop, you still have a chance to catch the next one this upcoming weekend. We’re teaching it again on Saturday, February 4th from 9 am to 3 pm. Breakfast and lunch are included, so all you have to do is show up with a camera (preferably an SLR) and a notebook or laptop. The session is held at The Lookout, located at 605 Macara Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94085. The class is already 92% full, so
hurry up and get your ticket while you still can.

Also, we’ll be teaching an intermediate/advanced photography workshop at The Lookout on February 29th from 9 am to 3 pm. Everyone knows that the best way to get the perfect photograph is to capture it with the shot, instead of trying to fix it up in Photoshop later. “Garbage in, garbage out,” goes the saying. But how do you get beautiful shots on the fly? Come find out! This class will teach techniques you can use to create standout photos, whether you’re photographing portraits, food, products, or anything else you can think of.

We are looking forward to meeting everyone who comes to these classes! Getting to teach these workshops is one of our favorite parts of the job, and we truly appreciate each and every person who decides to spend a day taking pictures and having fun with us.

A good landscape photographer needs to excel in a variety set of skills. He/She needs to be a pre-visualizer and a person who truly understands lighting, composition and skilled in Photoshop. On top of that, knowledge on meteorology, topography and copious amount of patience play a big deal. It is the former set of skills that scored me great shots in landscape but my type-A personality prevented my photographs from rising into the stratosphere work of geniuses (the likes of Ansel Adams).

However, I do understand the basic requirements. I have shot my share of great landscape throughout the world, from the luscious rain forest and great ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia; to the Antelope Canyon in Arizona; to the 3000 year old ancient Bristlecone forest in the White Mountains.

My experience with landscape photography allowed me to utilize some of my skills in that arena to be applied to the arena of modeling photography. Case in point is my recent modeling portfolio shoot with Katie Sue and Madeline of Look Modeling Agency. The shoot was fraught with disasters back in December with two cancellations due to family emergencies with the crew. “Third time is a charm,” I said. And it was. Christal Saville helped with both hair and makeup. She’s quite the multi-talented whiz, helped tremendously with picking the wardrobe as well.

After finishing up with the indoor studio shots, we adjourned to a field of yellow wild flowers, a location I selected specifically for this shoot. It is truly about timing and planning. These fields of golden flowers do not last very long, about a week or two at most each year. So, to catch them on full bloom is quite an amazing sight to behold.

Capturing such a large field of flowers without diverting the attention of the images from the model is a key compositional skill that is needed. The point to remember is that this is a model shoot. The subjects are the model and the beautiful field is only secondary that compliments the subjects.

Using elements such as those that shows the size of the fields (using the horizon line and blue sky), color matching (dress colors to match the flowers), knowing when the sun will set (timing for the best lighting), how to use the shadow of objects in the vicinity, will all help to craft the final art form. Rapport with the models to contribute towards great expressions will pay big dividends as well.

So, as you can see, photography isn’t just a single point of mastering one or two skills but rather about gaining proficiency in a multitude of skills. These skills range from soft (people) to technical, and together create a work of art that elevates a photographer from someone who merely records an event to an artist that can create masterpieces.

- Michael Soo