This past Friday and Saturday I held my first photography workshop. I used to say I'd never do one, but I'm glad that I changed my mind because it was a very fulfilling experience for me. I was a little nervous about how all of my creative vision talks would go, since most workshops are either technical or business focused, but everyone gave me positive feedback. This weekend was a wonderful confirmation for me that I love to help others find themselves as artists and to challenge them to push beyond their current level of artistry. What was really humbling was that only one of the attendees was from Tennessee. Everyone else traveled from out of state, even as far as South Florida!
On the first day we went over technical things and had a couple of photo shoots. I brought in the amazing Sulivan Mellencamp to model for us during the instructional portion of the day. First, I went over shooting in ambient light using reflectors and then did a simple one light, off-camera flash demo. After the instructional part of the day I threw the attendees a slight curve ball and had them photograph each other. They all spread out around the Factory and had a lot of fun shooting each other. Then that night I gave them another photo assignment, which was to photograph something for themselves and to find beauty in their surroundings.
Then on the second day I talked specifically about the journey of finding your own vision, followed by a long photo critique session, then I gave a quick summary on the history of photography and we ended with an open Q and A session. This was probably my favorite day because we got into the 'why' of photography and not just the 'how'. From the feedback I've gotten it appears that most of the attendees got a lot of the 2nd day as well, which is a bit of a mini fine art photography program.
Overall, this was such a great learning experience for me as well, so be on the look out for future workshop announcements! I might even be doing an underwater workshop this summer!
Here are some quotes from some of the photographers that attended:
'Michael Howard's minimalist approach to photography opened my eyes to think more about art form rather than the technical or "money making" aspect of photography. I was able to flourish at this workshop rather than thinking I needed to spend thousands of dollars to become a better photographer. I will definitely attend another of Michael's workshops. My favorite quote I took home with me was "If you breathe in shallow things, you will produce shallow things." - Melinda
'Michael, your workshop was fantastic! I learned so much about technique and especially creative vision. The hands-on approach yesterday was just excellent at driving the points home. And today's discussion was like a mini-course in photography. Plus the people that I met are just incredibly inspiring! So, so glad I came...well worth it. Thank you for putting so much time and energy into making it a success! It was!' - Rhiannon
'I must say that Michael Howard met and exceeded all of my expectations. This was his first workshop but he has such a vast breathe of experience as well as a true gift for this art form that he was able to impart to us. I would definitely take more workshops from this wonderful and kind gentleman. He gave me the gift of confidence in my talent. Thank you Michael!' - Lori
'Thank you so much for an amazing learning experience. I honestly didn't know if this workshop was going to be beneficial to me as a beginning photographer, but was blown away with all that I was able to learn. I came away feeling very inspired and confident that I can take my photography to the next level.' - Grace
'I FINALLY have a good handle on my off camera flash set up that I’ve been working on learning for almost a year. But more than that I got a reminder that I shouldn’t be comparing myself to the 1,000s of other photographers out there, I learned how to critique my own photos, and I was reminded of the importance of taking the time to create photographs for yourself and not just your business. It was a remarkable experience and one that I am still mulling over days later.' - Amber
Below are some of the images that I took of Sulivan during the instructional portion of the day |
