Photography workshops come in as many flavors as there are cookies floating around this holiday season. Some classes are in person, others are online. They encompass many different types of photography. Some teachers present loads of education and practice in a warm and encouraging workshop environment. Others concentrate on identifying and improving areas of weakness in a style more reminiscent of an elementary school principal’s office.
I learn the best from in person photography workshops that allow for lots of practice time. I’ve decided that the warm fuzzy teaching style is much more enjoyable, but it doesn’t hurt to visit the principal’s office every once in a while too.
I recently took a class led by Raul Touzon, a National Geographic photographer who teaches at various locations worldwide. His work is amazing and he is a brilliant photographer. I personally didn’t encounter much in the way of warm fuzziness from Raul, but I learned a lot.
As a documentary photographer, his photos present lots of information to the viewer, including a sense of location or event. He does this by including only important details in photos. As such, he most often uses a wide-angle lens (meaning that it has a small focal length).
He asked that we use a wide angle lens also, and that we not crop or edit our images in any way before presenting them to the class for critique. The cropping rule was especially hard for me, but it was an excellent exercise in paying attention to everything in my camera frame, from the corners in. Another rule? No Raw images – JPEG only. He said that Raw is an excuse for not getting a picture right in camera.
He talked a lot about using a series of images to tell a story, as if they were going to be in a photojournalistic magazine as an article on a certain topic, place, event or person. I picked up some great ideas that could easily apply to storytelling in family photography and would be great for scrapbooking.
And I also got lots of practice with my flash. Can you tell where it is in the image below?
See the red cup reflected in the mirror from behind the TV? The flash is behind the cup, flashing through it so that it’s red light could duplicate the atmosphere of the old time Texas bar that we were in. (That setup was the idea of my new friend Karmalized, who is an “alum” of Raul’s and came back as an assistant in this class.)
I also used the flash outside as fill to light up eyes under a cowboy hat.
During my first formal “critique” in class, I do remember that Raul said that most of my images were overexposed.
Beyond that, I honestly don’t remember much. He has a bit of a reputation as being tough in critiques. And I was too much on edge to remember much of what he said. I know that he kept some of my images as “passable”, which he did for everyone except the one poor woman whose pictures were ALL DELETED from the critique file because they weren’t good enough.
His critiquing style really is like a principal. Why did you do this? Why? What were you thinking? And I know he was truly trying to get us to identify the source of the weakness – not taking the time to think and plan, changing our camera settings too much, or whatever it was.
I learned a lot , and got to see a serious photographer in action as he set up shots and posed models. His focus on getting the composition right in camera, without cropping after the fact, is a great way to build discipline and maintain control over everything that you allow into the image you make.
People email me quite frequently through this blog asking about good photography workshops to take. The verdict on this one? If you are able to take a class from Raul, you will be pushed as a photographer. That is a good thing. And you will learn. I think you should sign up.
Just go with the understanding that Raul Touzon’s style of photography is potentially much different from yours and that you will be asked to dive into shooting using methods that you might not have ever practiced. Take pride in what you see as your own progress during the class without worrying about your “grade”!
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I was admiring your spray painting picture when I realized where it was taken… the Buenos Aires Cafe wall in East Austin! I just did a session in the 2 block radius. I like that the whole thing is in focus instead of just the cans or just the painter. It was actually the abandoned building across the street that I recognized first, not the wall itself. That wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t in focus!
Nice to meet you, Erika! The east side is a full of great shots isn’t it? I just visited your website and blog. Beautiful! I tried to subscribe to the blog but couldn’t figure out how. Send me an email if you’d ever like to get together for a photo walk. I love practicing with other photogs!
Very cool images…they have a ton of character~ What a great workshop this sounds like, I’d love to start getting critiques from people that know more than I do and really hearing opinions from others that view photography all the time. Have you considered entering competitions for the critiques? I think I’ll be doing that soon too. Thanks for sharing this experience~
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At first I thought these pictures were his, hehe cuz they were so good! WoWzer I think you did an amazing job. Good for you for putting yourself up to a harsher critique. I bet you learned a lot more by that.
Erin,
I was in the workshop and could not have said it better. You covered everything including nerves and humility. I am signed up for the Miami workshop with Raul in May. I hope it gets better with time and practice.
Fran
Fran,
So good to hear from you! Thank you for your comment. And my offer is still good to relieve you of that Mark II if you feel the need….
Erin
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