There are photo workshops you should attend and then there are photo workshops you should avoid. That's just a fact of life.

I have been to a great many of them and in a future post, I'll list them all. I've always been careful about picking the ones I've wanted to go to. The instructors are all typically working professionals, not professional workshop instructors. Each had something to teach me that I could incorporate in my business or craft immediately. Every instructor promised me their full attention and delivered on it. I of course did my research. I asked my peers through forums, Facebook and Twitter. I checked their websites, blogs, forum posts and their public persona. I took mental notes on how they explained topics. Were they patient with people or did they cut people off? Did they invite discussion and conversation or was it all about them?

The ones I chose to attend seemed like they would be a good fit for me at that time. They taxed my premium resources – time and money – but I chose to spend it because I was convinced I would be a better photographer or better businessman.

But in the past few years, I have read a spate of bad press by frustrated photographers attending workshops, produced by those with little experience and clearly “rockstar” motivations. In one workshop review, I read how the instructors made more time for the video crew filming them than the workshop attendees who had paid top dollar to learn from them. That's plain appalling.

Photolovecat, a blog I respect a great deal, has occasional reviews of workshops and their presenters. These are unbiased and not anonymous, which I think gives the feedback some credibility. So that's one place you can go to see how a workshop you may be considering fared in terms of meeting or exceeding or failing expectations.

FishEye Connect, run by Kristy Dickerson, is also a great place to research workshops. So check that site out too.

Today, on Twitter, I saw Gary Fong Tweet this:

Before you sign up for anybody's seminar or workshop, protect yourself with this and please RT tinyurl.com/garyfonginstru…

— gary fong (@garyfong_REAL) July 5, 2012

Gary calls it a “Disclosure Declaration” and it's for workshop attendees to send to their workshop instructors. Will workshop instructors fill it out? Can they handle the truth? Will workshop attendees forward this form to their instructors to fill out prior to signing up for a workshop? Hard to say how far this will go, but I think Gary is on the right track.

I suspect that the PDF Gary has started to distribute is either a part of his third book – “So You Want To Be A Rockstar Photographer” or it is meant to lead up to it. At this time, I don't know what the book is about and I haven't read Snaps or Accidental Millionaire: How To Succeed In Life Without Really Trying, his first two books. If you have read them, post a comment below and let me know.

What we need to get back to is a promise or a commitment from the teacher to the student – to freely impart information without bias, malice or agenda that will in the end be of benefit to those who have come to learn from them. When workshops are covers for flimsy work or shady business practices, credibility and trust for all workshop instructors suffers. Do you agree? Sound off below.

Would you like to see a Tiffinbox branded photography workshop? If so, what would you want it to be about? Go on, humor me!

Ever since Mark Wallace picked my name out of a hat to win a pair of PocketWizard Mini TT1/Flex TT5 units, I have been a fan of his.

Just kidding.

I always enjoy the way Mark teaches photography, especially lighting. His technical acumen about big studio lights or little on or off-camera speedlights is phenomenal.

While his YouTube channel is full of great videos explaining how he uses light, from May 18 through the 20th, he is going to be doing a bit of a brain dump through CreativeLive. So, sitting in the comfort of your home, you can tune in online to view Mark talk about Speedlights for FREE. On those days alone, it is a live event.

I have watched and bought several CreativeLIVE courses and they are all very well produced. Also, knowing Mark, I expect his attention to detail and his dedication to teaching to come through. What's truly awesome about CreativeLIVE is, as it is happening, you can ask the instructor questions or comment on what you are learning. You do need a Twitter account and the right hashtag to do so. If you enroll now for Mark's class, I am sure you will be emailed some instructions on what to do.

If you can't make the online event or the nightly re-broadcasting of the show, then you can buy the download for $99 – a small investment for your business or hobby. If you know the in's and out's of using your speedlights this course may not be a good fit for you. But if you are like me who wants to know all the functions, say, a Nikon SB900 provides, then I would recommend tuning in (hey, it's FREE) on May 18th, 19th and 20th.

If you miss Mark's CreativeLIVE presentations, you can hopefully catch him during one of his photography workshops this year. He is going to start in his hometown of Phoenix, then goes to Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, Miami and Houston. Other cities may be added to the list. So, keep an eye out for that on his workshop site. Mark is offering 4 distinct workshops at each stop. Check them out! I hope to go to the ones in New York, unless of course, he decides to bring the workshop to Boston, or better yet, to Hartford, Connecticut.

This is a guest post by Kristy Dickerson, an Atlanta, Georgia based photographer and entrepreneur.

I figured I would start a give you a brief background on myself. My degree is in business finance and I met the love of my life while working at a bank. Yep, he was one of my customers. I fell in love with photography at my own wedding, and after having my first son Roman, I was determined not to go back to the corporate world, but rather pursue my passion photography. Read more about my story here.

Photography to me was a way to still be a mom, pursue my passion and also incorporate the business practices that I love. While searching for educational resources on the web all I could find were local photography schools here in Atlanta. Little did I know, there was this whole world of workshops and tours by photography instructors where a lot of them came to my backyard.
 
The more I got immersed into the photography industry, the more I realized that different organizations and companies promoted instructors. However, I noticed there wasn’t a way for the aspiring photographer to see all the available quality workshops in one location. So I created Fisheye Connect, to help these new emerging photographers like myself get the education that we need in both business and technical aspects.

Coming very soon, Fisheye Connect is having a huge launch! I figured I would share it with you guys and give you a little preview. Did you ever wish there was one “social” website that you could go and connect with other photographers like yourself? Or, search for photogs in your local area? Or, have a forum to ask questions? Do you now have a place to discuss past workshops or share the awesome blogs you follow?  Or how about finding resources like this awesome blog? Stayed tuned for more information! We are hoping to launch prior to WPPI!

Did you ever feel overwhelmed by all the workshop choices you have? Would you use a service like Fisheye Connect to get a better sense of what that photography workshop may offer you? Lend us your thoughts below!

This is a guest post by David Jackson, a Wisconsin-based editorial portrait photographer and an international award winning wedding photographer. In 2007 he left his full-time job of 14 years as a law enforcement officer to pursue a career as a full-time photographer and to maintain his life's priority as a devoted husband and father to three little girls. His passion for education has lead him to develop the Breaking The Rule Portrait Workshop, focused on honing photographers skill sets in creating more compelling portraits. David's fine art photography project entitled SIMPLE+DIRTY, has also gained wide attention through his documentation of abandoned structures and modern industrial ruins across the Midwest. Follow him on Twitter and connect with him on Facebook. And if you like his post here, trust me, you'll love his blog.

Here’s the deal and I’m going to cut right to the chase. This letter is an open and honest gripe specifically directed at you. Why, you ask? Well, we know each other. I view you as my competition, my nemesis and my enemy. I’ve been quietly watching your every move as an artist, a business owner and a person I typically respect. But this whole time I’ve been judging you. I’ve grown increasingly tired of the photo industry and I can see that you have a small integral part of its inherent failure as a whole. You’re just one more number in the growing sea of photographers who think they can make it and at the same time snuff out the veteran shooters. For this reason, I’m going to be blunt and an all-around asshole in what I’m about to say. I rarely take pot shots like this, but I’ve had enough and now’s the time to lay it all out on the table.

To begin with, you irritate me.

By no means does this come from a place of envy, but rather out of genuine frustration. I have seen your work many times before. To be honest, it’s really nothing to brag about. You are the same old thing that I see every other day spewed out on blogs across the web and sold as something fresh and “different.” Just executed in a similar “cheesy” and sometimes over-done way. I have watched the way you shoot. I’ve seen the way you indirectly portray yourself as “awesome” to the Facebook and Twitter masses just chomping at the bit to gain attention by other photographers around you. Not to mention having ambitions of getting hired by potential big-name clients who I’m sure, are knocking down your doors to give you cold hard cash. You’re that new up-and-coming photographer in the industry and you have it all figured out.

Well I have news for you. You’re far from it.

It’s like watching a slow-moving train wreck. You post photos and blog links like it’s going out of style and manage to get such GREAT compliments on the mediocre work you produce. It’s all too predictable:

“Great Photos!”
“WOW”
“You are truly talented.”
“You’re an inspiration!”
“LOVE!”
“Amazing!!!”

Doesn’t the same old recycled essay of comments make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? It might, but all this positive fluff only enables your head to grow larger and you’re your ego to inflate to ridiculous proportions. Not your photography.

Well, let’s dissect your work. From what I’ve seen online, your post-production is all over the place. In the beginning you struggled to take a halfway decent photo. Although you have the basics down, I can tell you prefer taking the easy way out. You love the idea of using Photoshop actions and filters instead of actually editing your photos in a simple, organic way. You love shortcuts. You’re a product of the digital age and rely on your LCD screen to attain a halfway decent exposure. You barely know how to use a light meter. You have attended workshops, bought DVD’s and stalked numerous other photographer’s blogs with hopes to mimic their style. And by doing this you deliver photos that you can hardly call original, yet comfortably fit into the “what’s hot now” category. After all, it’s these trends that are selling at the moment…

Time after time you deliver the same old predictable photos that we’ve all seen before. What you don’t realize is that the things you are doing today to attain your new-found “signature look” will soon be outdated and un-marketable. And the further you back yourself into a corner, the harder it will be to get out of when you become the new “selective-color” of 2013.

Sure, your clients may fall hard for your work and you sometimes ooze fairy dust in a lovefest for yourself. But I don’t think you’re truly happy with any of it. You’re often afraid of other people’s opinions and constructive criticism. Far be it from you to get honest feedback without becoming defensive about your precious photographs or better yet, face an unhappy client. But then again you’ve NEVER had an unhappy client… Right? They ALL love you and your photos.

I can tell by the crappy outdated photos STILL in your portfolio, you are yet to update your extensively mismatched galleries or put any effort in getting your website together in a logical way. Looking at it closer, I see you continually struggle to find your voice. Who knows if you will ever find it? I however, look at your work and know exactly the things I should never do in the future. You call that marketable? Wait, I have a great idea… Delete it all and start over from scratch.

It’s awful. And you’re not even close to finding your true identity as a photographer.

How in the hell do you expect to get actual paid client work with the garbage you’re shooting? Sure there are some good-looking folks in some of your well-lit shots, but does that make your photos exceptional? Does that make you the next best thing? Apparently everybody is the “next best thing” these days. Your work does not speak to me or stop me dead in my tracks.

Early on, you wanted to romanticize the photo industry and the esteemed status of being a photographer. Truth be told, it makes me sick to think about it. You came into the photo world with big naïve eyes, hoping to save the world with your undying love for your clients, your “passion” for making “awesome” photos or your ability to “capture true emotion.” You love being called an artist, but you seemingly fall short most times.

Go to your website. Just read your bio. Listen to yourself! You sound like a pompous assclown. Amidst your redundant words and poor grammar, I know you want to shoot weddings in exotic locations due to your availability to “travel worldwide”. Yet oddly enough, you’re still stuck shooting in some dimly lit catholic church or one of those typical VFW reception halls. Oh, sooooo glamorous. But you never seem to find the motivation or drive to push yourself hard enough to get to where you truly want to be.

Take a hard look at yourself. It’s not difficult to see that you have idolized the status of some, if not all of the “rockstar” photographers who spew their gospel out to the uninformed photographic masses. Yet you yourself seek to glean some magic bullet of success from these folks by buying into the shit they are selling you. Come on. You’re transparent and wear your true colors on your sleeve.

It’s clearly apparent you are a clone of hundreds, if not thousands of other photographers out there. You’ve made all the classic moves; a slick URL incorporating your name, cool clothes, half-assed DIY branding and a web-sized ego to boot. Let me guess? Now you have ambitions of selling your diatribe to other photographers at some point too. Perhaps you have a desire to teach a workshop? Maybe you even want to publish a book or release a DVD someday? You want the recognition and status of rubbing shoulders with those who’ve “made it” in the industry, but you’ve failed to look at the bigger picture. No one cares about you. What the hell makes you so special? You’re a newbie on the scene and that doesn’t give you the right to spew your awesomeness to the hungry. You play it off well, but I can clearly see through you and your need to gain some amount recognition.

But is it about recognition or the need to feel accepted? Probably a mix of both IMHO. (Oh, that abbreviation is cool web-lingo for your social media devotees). You probably stare into your iPhone endlessly waiting for comments to appear on your blog, Facebook page, Flickr or get mentioned on Twitter. Or better yet, you waste half your day on a photography forum expecting it to provide you with some sense of real community but never actually participate in pertinent discussions.

You’ve now made the shotgun decision to move into a studio space because you are in such HIGH demand. WOW! Good for you. I can see the clients stacking up at your door as I write this. They must all think you’re a REAL photographer now, huh? You have a brand new studio, complete with a comfy couch, a flat screen TV and that nausea-inducing hiptser vibe we’ve all come to love lately. What you didn’t see when moving into your space is the stress this will cause on you financially and the toll it will take on your family, your relationship with your spouse and your friends.

And friends? Do you still have any of those? I’m assuming they’re dwindling by the minute. And the ones you use to be tight with, you rarely see.

To others, you make it seem so easy. You make it look like a breeze to live up to your luxurious happy-go-lucky photographer lifestyle. At least that’s what it looks like on the outside. But on the inside it’s not so shiny, is it? You make it seem like everything is perfect, exciting and well in Happyphotorainbowland, USA. You always tell people you are SO BUSY and that business is GREAT, because it’s the easy way out. I’ve seen the Tweets. You know, the ones where you brag about the number of weddings you booked THIS WEEK ALONE! What you don’t tell people is the truth. You never mention the struggles of actually running a business and balancing your life in a healthy way.

The truth is, you lack direction. You feel uncertain with who you are. You find this awkward need to feel accepted by your peers. You are struggling with your photography every time you pick up a camera. You’re clients aren’t always as “amazing” as you make them seem throughout your false façade of social media ramblings. Running a business is tough and the thought of having to walk away from it is always on your mind. You’re work is nowhere near stunning. And you have a long way to go before you even begin to reach your goals. It’s the brutal truth.

In the big picture, you are one small component to dragging the entire photo industry down. It’s because of this, so many other people in the photo industry stand in line beside you in the same boring old category of just being average at best. You have big hopes and dreams, but time after time you fail to inspire me. In fact, I only expect you to fail entirely.

I bet at this point, you’re probably rolling your eyes and fairly irritated at my all-too-typical sentiment plaguing the photo industry on the internet these days. You know, bitch about this – complain about that… Unfortunately, I tend to speak the truth. And sometimes it bites me in the ass. But I needed to get this out of my system.

Are you still listening to me Mr. or Mrs. Local Photographer? If you are, perhaps you didn’t see the real bigger picture here. Although I am writing this letter to you, what you didn’t realize is that I’m speaking about someone I know extremely well.

I’m talking to you, David Jackson. This is an open letter to myself.

I’m that Local Photographer. And I’m calling myself out for my views, techniques and ideologies spanning the past 10 years of my career in photography. I’m not writing this to bash myself over the head, generate a pity party or for that matter carry the bright flaming torch for the entire photo industry. But rather I view this as a means of keeping myself in check.

Sometimes we find the desire to point fingers, push blame, complain and endlessly bitch about all things failing in our current industry. At other times we inflate ourselves to epic proportions and end up looking like babbling fools in the process. Yet all too often we forget to look inward – to take a close look at ourselves and examine the things we do to box ourselves into a corner and push others away. We forget that we all have room to grow, to be better at what we do. Making mistakes is part of the game. And I have made plenty and will continue to do so for the rest of my career.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time looking at myself lately, determining that this mentality will cause all of us to eventually self-destruct. As hurtful as this letter comes across at face value, we can never change others. We can only change ourselves and grow on a personal level as photographers, artists and business people. I’m finding out it’s not about the other people though. It’s about you and I. I’ve made the mistakes. I’ve followed the sickening trends early on and unsuspectingly listened to the masses. But I’m the only one who can do what is right for me. I need to remind myself that coming into my own isn’t an overnight process. I’ve spent thousands and thousands of hours trying to find my voice and place within the industry. I have yet to even scratch the surface and I still have thousands of hours ahead of me.

However, if we as creatives muster the courage to be honest with ourselves and follow our hearts, then we’ve begun to make a step in the right direction. There’s no handbook issued to us at the beginning of our journey, outlining the right moves and keeping our heads safely above troubled waters. We have to forge our own path. We make our own decisions. We are the ones who need to be honest with ourselves.

And at the end of the day, that is the only thing that truly matters.

Your pal,
Dave

What's your take on this open letter? Can you be so candid … to yourself? Tell us down below by your comments. A dialogue is a good thing. Your voice is heard here.

Syl Arena is known around the world as much for his colorful persona as he is for his colorful hair. He freely admits that he has long been obsessed with light.

For the past year, Syl has been writing and shooting the Speedliter's Handbook which will be published later this fall. His first book, LIDLIPS: Lessons I Didn't Learn In Photo School is a collection of micro-essays on the philosophy of photography.

Each spring and fall, Syl travels the country teaching Speedliting seminars and workshops. He is also the founder and director of the Paso Robles Workshops. You should follow him on Twitter especially because he is giving away one lucky Tiffinbox subscriber a seat at one of his lighting workshops. Scroll down to read details about that awesome opportunity.

In case we've not met before, you should know that I'm a flasher… a long-time flasher. And I'm not shy about it. I am not one of those only-flash-when-it's-dark flashers. I like to flash in broad daylight. In fact, I often flash when the sun is high overhead and everyone can see me. The fact that it's really bright outside has never stopped me from flashing.

If you're not a flasher, ask yourself “why?” Is it because you think that flashing is wrong, or because you're shy, or because no one has ever showed you how to flash, or because you tried flashing once and didn't like the experience?

“I don't flash because…”
I’m always amused (and often concerned) when a photographer says, blogs, or Tweets, “I don’t use flash because…

“I'm a purist and only use available light.”
First, there is no such thing as pure photography. Every photograph is an abstraction. No photograph is a perfect record of the entire moment that passed in front of the photographer. The mere act of pointing the camera at one part of the scene and not another is artificial. The activation of the shutter at one instant over another is artificial. The conversion of light into long series of numbers or into layers of dye on a transparent substrate is artificial. The manipulation of digital files in a computer is artificial. The re-creation of the light on a computer screen or piece of paper is artificial. So, I see no reason to limit one's actions because of a philosophy that is as artificial as the actions it rails against.

“I don’t need flash because I can always turn the ISO up.”
Let's be honest about this one. Crappy light at ISO 12,600 is still crappy light. For a painter, having more colors does not automatically make one a better artist. It's knowing how to work the paint with a myriad of strokes that adds depth to the painter's ability to express herself. Photography is no different. A better digital sensor is no substitute for learning how to see and use light.

“I always shoot in bright light, so I don't need flash.”
If you think the main use of flash is to provide light when there is none, then you're missing out on half the world of flash. No camera today can record the full range of brights and darks that the human eye can see. Photographers often avoid shooting under full sun because details are often lost in the shadows. Even in full-auto mode, today's digital cameras and flashes are brilliant at adding just the right amount of fill light to reduce the contrast of the shadows. The brighter the ambient light, the greater the need is to add fill light to the shadows somehow.

“Flash limits the shutter speeds that I can use. A sync speed of 1/250″ is too slow.”
High-speed sync (aka: Auto-FP sync if you're a Nikonian) is a Speedlite-only mode that enables you to shoot at virtually any shutter speed. So, lighting your subject with a Speedlite means that you can use a fast shutter speed to freeze high-speed motion or to saturate the sky by underexposing the ambient. Contrary to the popular myths, you can't do HSS with studio flash. Nor is a neutral density filter a good substitute. For more details on HSS, check out these articles: Simple Truths About HSS, Dimming The Sun – Part 1, and Part 2.

“Flash is unreliable. It changes from frame to frame”
Even among shooters who like to flash, there is the concern that the automatic flash modes (E-TTL for Canonistas and I-TTL for Nikonians) are unreliable because the flash power changes. Well that's exactly what E-TTL / I-TTL is supposed to do: change the power. When your flash is close to your subject, then you need less light from it than you do when your flash is farther from your subject. While these auto-flash technologies are not perfect, they can be amazingly useful in situations, like weddings, where the subject-to-flash distance is always changing. The real root the problem is a lack of understanding by the photographer about how the camera meters for flash — which is especially tough at a wedding where in one frame the bride in her white gown is the dominant element and in the next frame the groom with his blackhole of a tux is the dominant element. Learn how your gear works and the consistency from frame to frame will improve dramatically.

“Flash always looks bad.”
This should be re-phrased as “On-camera flash often looks bad.” It's not the flash, it's the location of the flash that kills the shot. Anytime the dominant source of light goes right down the axis of the lens, then your subject will be lit equally on both sides. Without any shadows, there is no depth to the image — no shape to your subject. You don't need flash to flatten a shot; stand with the sun straight behind you and the same flat light will happen. When it comes to crafting great light with flash, the position of the flash and how you modify the flash is key. So, a bare Speedlite locked in your camera's hotshoe is a tough way to craft good light.

“Flash looks artificial.”
Once you move beyond the issues with on-camera flash, another huge complaint against the look of flash is that it does not blend with ambient light. The color temperature of flash is about the same as daylight at noon. If you light your subject with flash indoors under tungsten light, the ambient-lit background will appear very orange or your subject will appear very cool. Likewise, if you are using flash to fill shadows at sunset, the fill light will be very cool and unnatural. In both of the situations, the use of a CTO gel on the flash will change the color temperature of the flash so that it blends into the ambient more naturally.

So, while I'm proud to be a flasher, I believe that flash is just another tool in my toolbox. My photos go out into the world without me. What matters to the viewer is the light that was captured within the frame — not how it got there.

Other Articles I've Written About Flashing (Particularly Small Flash)

15 Insights For A New Speedliter

It's Where You Put The One Speedlite You Have That Matters

Deciding How To Start With Off-Camera Speedliting

Consider ZOOM To Be A Speedlite Modifier

Deciding Between E-TTL and Manual

Shadowing and Other Revolutionary Ideas

Twitter Contest: Learn To Flash ByTweeting To Win A Seat

PRIZE

Win a seat at any of my upcoming two-day Speedliter’s Intensives (value $200)

• Seattle, Oct. 2/3
• Boston, Oct. 30/31
• Austin, Nov. 6/7
• San Francisco, Dec 4/5

RULES

1. Follow @Syl_Arena on Twitter.

2. Tweet this exactly:  Hey @Syl_Arena I want to learn to flash at the Speedliter’s Intensive http://bit.ly/coPPUC. Contest on Tiffinbox.org > http://bit.ly/dsGLsP

3. Contest ends at 1:00pm PDT, Thursday, September 30, 2010.

4. One winner will be selected at random by Tweetaways.com and announced via my Twitter account Thursday afternoon.

5. Multiple Tweets will disqualify you from the contest.

6. The prize is the ticket to the Speedliter's Intensive. Transportation, lodging, meals, that lens you've always wanted, etc. are on your own nickel.

7. You can give the registration code to a friend if you want to attend the Speedliter's Intensive yourself.