JVS just me this video that I had to share with you. It gives you a glimpse of what to expect at his workshop. If you are coming to his Boston workshop, please let me know in the comments. Only a few spots remain.

If you are interested in joining us in Boston, use this link to register. Please enter “PICSESHU” in the “Enter Promo Code” box during step one of three on their shopping cart. The cart will automatically apply a $50 discount for the first 10 people to register.

Check out these links to learn more about JVS' Lighting Workshops and Wedding Photography:

Off-Camera Flash
1 Day Speedlites Workshop
JVS Wedding Photography

I think it was Zack Arias who lit a fire in me to think about off-camera lighting for my wedding and portrait photography. Since taking his workshop in Boston a few years back, I have been to a number of other workshops. I'll be happy to post a short list of those in a future blog post.

The one lighting workshop that always eluded me, however, was Joseph Victor Stefanchik's 1 Day Speedlites Workshop in Dallas. For a few years JVS, as he is called, only had these workshops in Texas. Now he and his lovely wife Anne are now taking these workshops on the road.

The one in Boston will be on August 26th. It will be held at LensProToGo‘s amazing warehouse space in Concord, Massachusetts. Learn more about these workshops.

JVS and Anne publish a blog called Off Camera Flash. You may want to bookmark it as it is one of my go-to-blogs for inspiration. Check out the images posted there and at his wedding website.

The word – “excited” – is a bit of an understatement. I spoke with JVS about this workshop and he promises me that he will elevate my ability to craft images with light and depth. The cost of the workshop is $500. It's a long, intensive day where you can expect to start using one-light and then two-lights and by the end of the course, three-lights. Class size will be small – no more than 15 people. The bonus is a PDF that JVS and Anne custom-design from the workshop that you attended with images, lighting diagrams and a list of equipment used for each example. This dedication to their craft and to their students alone convinced me that these guys are the real deal.

If you are interested in this Boston workshop by JVS & Anne, use this link to register. Please enter “PICSESHU” in the “Enter Promo Code” box during step one of three on their shopping cart. The cart will automatically apply a $50 discount for the first 10 people to register.

Yes, we are all inundated with requests to attend photography workshops all the time. Which ones are going to hit the mark … for you?

No easy answer to that one. However, here are the steps I usually take when I am considering a photography or lighting workshop of any kind:

1) I outline my immediate needs to grow as a photographer
2) Research the forums to see what is being said about a workshop I want to attend
3) Ask my peers if they have attended the workshop you are considering
4) Get a sense of who the instructor(s) are and what their goals for the workshop will be
5) Look for a way of following up after the workshop

Full disclosure: If I get 10 people to register using the link above, my registration fee will be complimentary. So, yes there is vested interest in plugging this workshop, but people who know me even remotely will tell you that I promote products and/or services that are only of a very high standard.

I hope you will join me in Boston on August 26th. We have much to learn … together!

Learning to light is one of those big steps that you will take as a photographer. True, there is a lot you can do with ambient light, or if night time photography is your thing, then investing in a tripod makes sense.

As a wedding photographer or portrait photographer, I am called to a variety of scenarios and I have to make quick calls to whether to use the existing light or enhance it with a flash. I recall buying two Nikon SB-800's and then asking myself, “now what?” I didn't know much about flash, how apertures and shutter speeds and ISO's all worked in tandem, or that my images would truly rock if only I took the flash off of the hot-shoe on my camera body.

Subjected to wedding after wedding where the reception lights were getting dimmer and dimmer, I was desperate to learn to light. Through the Digital Wedding Forum, I learned about Zack Arias, an Atlanta-based photographer who had cut his teeth photographing bands and music concerts. Zack was and is photographing weddings with another fabulous photographer named Marc Climie (more on him in a future post). When I heard about Zack's OneLight Workshops, I had to attend. The description matched my needs to a T. It was meant for those who wanted to learn from the ground-up, to light.

Well, some weeks back, Chase Jarvis and friends inaugurated CreativeLive.com, a website for photographers to learn from the very best photographers in the world.

On June 11, 12 and 13 (yes, this coming weekend), Zack, will be presenting at CreativeLive. If you can't make it you can buy his presentations as a digital download for $79. That, my friends, is what I call a STEAL. Get it!

And you've got to watch this by my man Zack:

I have to be on the road for that weekend, so I have ordered the download. If you are anywhere near Connecticut, bring some popcorn; we can watch it over at my place. I hope it is in HD! I am sure it will be a treat and a great learning experience. Perhaps we can even watch it and then go out and practice like real Strobists.

So, in full disclosure – I have attended two OneLight Workshops by Zack – one in Boston and the other in New York. They were both fabulous and I recommend them to anyone who is just starting out. If using your flash freaks you out (I was one of those to be totally honest), you should go. If you don't know what “off-camera lighting” means, you should go. If you want to create images with a greater depth, by using lighting, you should go. Well, you get the picture, right? [grin]

Unlike a lot of workshops where you sit and stare at an instructor and take furious notes, Zack broke it up and had us go out and shoot and practice and practice and practice. He split us into groups, had models stand in and made his equipment available for our use. He isn't just a photographer, he is a teacher. And by that I mean he talks and shows and makes darn sure you GET IT, before moving on to the next topic. One of the first things he declared was that there were no “stupid questions.” All was fair … from the very basic to the very technical. And if Zack didn't know the answer, he would say that he didn't know rather than bullshit his way through it.

Well, with this workshop now on CreativeLive.com, you don't have to travel far. The workshop comes to you online. That's bonus number one. And as I have said, if you are busy or away from your computer or you are still running on dial-up (God save you!), you will want to get that download for $79. That's bonus number two. Both will lead you to bonus number three, which is your desire to go and see the man in person at a workshop near you.

I don't make a dime for saying all this, so rest easy, sit back to watch and learn from a lighting guru. Your comments (after you watch the live event, which is FREE, by the way) would be greatly appreciated.

This is a guest post by Bay Area-based wedding & portrait photographer, Jigar Champaneria.

Those of us in the world of wedding photography have been following a growing controversy about the variety of workshops offered to help photographers with everything. Whether it's marketing materials, technical proficiency, or general “awesome-ness,” there seems to be a workshop for it.

I can't say that I've taken many workshops or attended many seminars. Not because I think they're a waste of money, but because I personally need to experience things and work through them myself. For the most part, I openly rely on the generous sharing of knowledge from friends and colleagues who take the time to honestly share their experience. And after 6 years of photographing weddings, I'm trying to share as much as I can locally and on the web.

So where's the controversy? Well, people like wedding photographer and entrepreneur Gary Fong and Pictage CEO, Jim Collins have blogged about it. For me, it boils down to trying to take that generous sharing of knowledge & experience and monetizing it. Don't get me wrong, I see nothing wrong with charging people for your time and experience, especially if you can teach students well. But as Jim Collins alludes to in his blog post, many of these workshops are ill-conceived for one of two reasons:

1) The workshop leader has great experience to share, but isn't a great teacher so it's difficult to impart the information well.

2) The workshop leader is just full of him or herself and thinks he can teach anyone how to be a great photographer who's radtastic in every sense of that made-up word.

Hmm … did that sound sarcastic enough? :)

Well, my sincere belief is that EVERYONE has something significant to share. They may not be able to easily explain themselves, but they've got something to share (heck, we all love to give advice, don't we?!). The leader who falls into “Reason A” above can pretty easily be identified: sincere, always has something helpful to contribute, BUT doesn't seem to plan things well or is unclear on what they're trying to teach someone. So even though this person has something significant to share, it's probably not worthwhile to attend a workshop lead by such a person. How do you know for sure? Well, check out the agenda of the workshop. If there isn't a written agenda, that's your first clue! If the agenda seems vague and the leader is unable to clarify, that's another sign to stay away. If the leader doesn't have many positive reviews of previous workshops he has lead, that's yet one more clue.

A few of these leaders will certainly fall into “Reason B” above. It may actually be pretty easy to tell these people from the rest, but let's try to stay away from the cynicism and just being labeled a “grumpy”. I think the main way to identify such a person is from the sincerity they exude. It's a gut feeling, but if you don't see sincerity coming from such leaders, then you may want to think a few times before signing up for their workshop. Sure, you might learn some great things, but I suspect you'll learn more  from the generous people across the web and in your PPA meetings who share their experiences with sincerity. I won't belabor descriptions of people who fall into “Reason B” since I really don't think we should dwell on it.

Before you click away from this blog post though, I want to mention something Jim Collins noted about “the sheep”. He certainly didn't call us photographers sheep, but in addition to calling out the rockstars, he called out the fanbois and fangirlz. And in many ways, we all fall into this category to some degree. We need to ask ourselves why we attend such workshops? Are we attending to bask in the glow of the rockstar? Are we going to learn how to be rockstars ourselves? Well, if there are enough of such attendees, is it really a surprise that there are workshop leaders who fall into “Reason B” above? So after reading this posting and the others around the web, we really need to look at ourselves and make sure we're attending workshops for the right reasons. And with that, here's a short list of questions that I think everyone should go through before signing up for their next seminar or workshop:

1) What do you want to learn? Portraiture? Off-Camera Lighting? Marketing yourself? If you don't know what you want to learn, well heck, maybe you need to think about things some more before spending hundreds of dollars.
2) Does the workshop you want to attend actually clearly indicate it will be teaching you such things? If not, ask the leader about that. They should be able to clarify what their workshop is about and hopefully they don't just promise you the world.
3) Does the workshop leader have experience teaching in the agenda topics? If not, then why are they charging?

If you don't feel comfortable with the answers to the 3 simple questions above, then I'd strongly suggest staying away from the workshop. Don't worry too much about bad-mouthing such leaders. The marketplace will take care of itself (eventually). And in the meantime, continue to share & learn openly with the wealth of websites, blogs, and twitter users out there. We're all here to help each other, even though we don't all charge for it.

Back in January, I posted about Selina Maitreya‘s audio program for serious photographers: The View From Here.

If you haven't had a chance to read it, I suggest you go there first and then come back here. It's a quick read and it will outline why you may want to buy this MP3 program for your photography business.

Recently, I had a chance to speak and record Selina (who now has an amazing blog called OneView). What you will hear below was my first attempt at recording a podcast (go easy on me will ya?), but the takeaway from it is still very good.

So, hit play, sit back and relax as you listen to Selina Maitreya talk about her background as a photo consultant and why she launched The View From Here for photographers like you and me.

Remember to use the code: FOSSES to get it for only $99 (original price is $199).

Full FTC disclosures: I received a complimentary copy of the entire program from Selina Maitreya. That, however, in no way alters my perception of it being a stellar product that you will find useful. If you use the code supplied above, I do receive a minor affiliate commission (enough to keep this website going every month).

[podcast]http://www.tiffinbox.org/tiffincast/042010/selina-maitreya-the-view-from-here.mp3[/podcast]

Did you like this podcast? Would you like to see/hear more from other photographers? Please let me know in the comments section below. I look forward to hearing from you.