Classes

This class is all about bad locations and how to overcome them. In real life situations, like a wedding, we may not get to choose the most ideal situation to photograph in. We need to be prepared to create in any environment, in any lighting condition and at any time of day. We don’t always get blessed with flower fields, cool architecture, golden hour and other “perfect” photography scenarios, but our clients still expect amazing results. So what can we do?

This class is all about taking the “bad” and turning it into AMAZING. Curtiss will take you to a location around Union Station that you wouldn’t choose to photograph normally (dumpsters anyone?) and show you how he sees a scene and walk you through his vision to create images in that location. He will demo various lighting setups, various poses and so on to show you different looks that can be created in those locations to create images that clients would LOVE. Then you will be broken into small groups to photograph the models with the concepts that he taught you. Curtiss will work through the different groups to make sure each attendee is grasping the concepts and would be able to replicate it on their own when they get home. You will get to work with a few different models and a few different looks. At the end of the class, Curtiss will do a speed posting tutorial and show you 50+ poses you can do with your clients in a single location to provide different looks without moving to a new location. This class is all about seeing the world in a different manner and being able to create ANYWHERE at ANYTIME regardless of the circumstances we face.

So make sure you bring your camera and lenses and get ready to create. You would ideally want a lens in the 70-200mm range as well as a lens in the 15-24mm range. To keep the chaos down and keep things organized, lighting will be provided along with triggers for Sony, Nikon and Canon to share amongst the class.

As we all know, the photography industry is rapidly changing as technology becomes better and more affordable. Everyone is a photographer these days and good pictures can be captured on cell phones and edited by AI. People do not NEED to go to a photographer for their portraits anymore. It has become a luxury.

As such, we need to treat it like a luxury. How can we do that if we are selling the very thing that they can do? The answer is to ditch the idea that we are photographers selling pictures and embrace the luxury experience market. We are now needing to curate experiences for our clients and not just simply take their pictures. People are willing to pay for experiences. We see this all over. Theme Parks, Concerts/Festivals, Athletic Events and so on all create experiences for their clients to invest in. We need to do the same in our studios. The client then purchases the result of their experience with us.

In this class, we will talk about creating experiences for our clients and different things that we can do to help boost the client experience which results in higher sales.

Wall Art sales are a major driver of profit in any studio. How can we sell more wall art in our studios? We have to shoot images for it. While certainly pretty, no one wants a giant face on the wall staring at back at them with eyes that follow them around the house. Those images are great for smaller prints like 8x10s, but not for walls. If you want to sell more wall art to your clients, you have to shoot images that are perfect as wall art.

In this class, Curtiss will walk you through how he shoots images for wall art. He will show you lighting techniques that help him create these amazing images. He will show you different posing techniques that allow you to sell multiple pieces of wall art to a single client. No one wants to buy the same pose over and over. He will show you ways to make wall art sets. He will also show you ways to make unique “wide” images using a “normal” lens.

This is hands on, so you will be shooting and working with the models. Bring your cameras and a wide lens, somewhere in the 15mm to 35mm range (also a lens in the 85mm range or higher for the “wide” technique), and be ready to create images that your clients will want in their home on their walls.