A full course photographic Workshop (COMPLETED)
"Life Altering. Best Investment in my professional education. Just Do It." -Wendy R
Burgundy, France | March 05-12, 2018
This was a PHOTOGRAPHY workshop covering many genres of the art.
This was a portrait/wedding/fine art/nude/landscape workshop.
We focused on making superior images, with lessons on when to settle and when to push further.
We explored the ideas behind what makes a memorable image. THIS is our mission as a photographer. Making images that we see once and it sticks with us, sometimes for a lifetime.
I challenged these photographers to slow down and think about these key elements that I believe make a memorable image or at least get us closer!
Having a story to tell. Whether it be truth or fiction. Say something. THIS is an endless well to pull from and where authenticity is born! Even if you are the only one that can see it or translate it, having this starting point for your image is key! It can be something simple like this simple statement I just pulled out of the air. “Happy to be alive, but flowers makes me cry”. This leaves wide interpretation to your image. What could you do with this statement? This could be sad, happy or sorrowful. It is whatever YOU want it to be.
Then choosing your canvas. The location/scene you select for your image is a major key to making a memorable image.
Styling the scene. Taking time to perfect the field of view. Perfecting the wardrobe, makeup and hair. Taking time to convey your purpose of this image to your subject. This is styling too. We will have amazing wardrobe and world class styling and models on hand to make some truly magical images together!
Posing and un-posing will be another element. How to construct the mood in your subjects body, then let them make it their own and settle into it.
Now add or subtract light!! Lighting will be a key element to this workshop. Lighting with finesse. Lighting with attitude. Lighting with purpose!! Light is our megaphone for the words we are trying to say.
Then step back and take inventory.
Check your canvas. Could it be altered in any way to make it “stronger”? Do you have leading lines? Is there distractions that could be removed by simply moving up or down or left or right?
Look at all aspects of your styling. What could be altered? Should it be? How does this relate to your story of this image?
Does the current pose speak to you? Will it speak to your story? Is it supposed to look real or uncomfortable?
Now perfect your light in the whole over all scene. Too many photographers light without a purpose. Just because you add light doesn’t make it a success. Sometimes the simplest lighting is more powerful. Sometimes finding the light that existed in the scene already makes the strongest image of all. We just need to manipulate it with camera settings and see it in a different speed or level of intensity. This is one of the hardest hurdles in lighting. Seeing something that is right in front of you but your eyes cannot see it. Only after scientific settings in your camera will the magical image appear.
Now we drop our shutter. Now we can send out your message to the world. Now we can inspire the world to read our stories.
What past attendees are saying!
"Parker doesn't just change the way you shoot, he changes the way you think. About everything". -James C.
"When you know how to use the gear in your hands, but over time, the gears in your head have locked up. Parker J Pfister takes you apart piece by piece, before the workshop even begins, and rewires your brain so that the gears in your head work the gear in your hand in a whole new way!" Kim D.
"Parker reminded me that photography is an art form, not just a service I provide." -Clare B.
"I have never been to a workshop where it was not about the instructor but it was truly about me. I have never had an experience before or since quite like it. I learned to embrace me and my own path and make peace with it in a way that it began to show up in my work like never before. It was life changing and career changing. It was the best gift I could have ever given myself." -Cindy S.
"This workshop was the catalyst in our business that propelled us in a direction that separated us from the rest of the photography crowd. Rather than Parker just teaching you how he does what he does or how he shoots the details and bride and groom, he teaches you how to shoot in a way that makes it completely you, and in doing so you find your voice and your work becomes a representation of your soul. This Workshop was the best money we have ever spent on our business and is one of the biggest reason our work stands out the way it does, ultimately leading to bookings and finding the right clients for us!" -Devin R.
Images from previous Parker J workshops.