WHY
I am visiting O’ahu for a week as I do the Hawaii Photo Fusion tour with the wonderful model and makeup artist, Tracie Cotta. We are being sponsored by SmugMug to come out and spend a week shooting photos and videos to create a series of video tutorials and behind-the-scenes looks at some of our lighting, posing and shooting techniques.
I did a small photography and lighting workshop in March of 2009 the last time I was out here… it was literally thrown together at the last minute at the request of a few people… and I was happy to have had 26 people attend and spend a few hours with me at Magic Island, Ala Moana Beach Park, as the sun set. This time I thought I’d go all out and cover everything I think is necessary to light and capture great photos AND videos and meld them together into what is now being called photo fusion videos.
WHAT
The workshop will begin indoors at the ING Direct Cafe in Honolulu (map), light refreshments will be served and we’ll spend a couple hours in-class. We’ll then head outside for a 2.5 hour hands-on lighting workshop.
Bring your camera, we will have a live model (the gorgeous Tracie Cotta) and you’ll be shooting her in various scenes using some natural light, some flash-lighting. (you can also see Tracie in the iJustine video above, she is the makeup artist!)
Fusion Workshop
“Fusion” is probably a term you’ve heard a lot recently. With the proliferation of DSLRs with video features it’s now easier than ever for photographers to capture GORGEOUS video while shooting photos without worrying about taking along an additional device. This allows for the simple “fusion” of photography and video for wonderful videos of weddings, events and photo shoots.
We (The Bui Brothers) also use it in other ways. The last few high profile photo shoots we’ve done we’re accentuated by behind the scenes videos that have actually gained more attention than the photos themselves. We actually attribute more than half of our recent photo business to these videos. When watching them, potential clients are able to see not only how we work but also who we are.
Here is the behind the scenes video we shot during our photo shoot of iJustine at the Ritz Carlton Laguna Beach:
CONTENT
- photo editing workflow
- basic video editing software (iMovie)
- video editing techniques
- how to create simple music for your videos (Garage Band)
- how and where to find legal free music online
- how to publish your content on SmugMug and share it on your blog or other sites
Photography Workshop
The questions we get most often from people are regarding the lighting techniques we use in our photographs. We typically do outdoor shots using a combination of ambient and flash lighting supplied either from small flashes or Alien Bees lights.
On this trip I’ll be shooting with two Vivitar flashes and a brand new set of Radiopopper JrXs. They are all as affordable as it gets! I’ll also be using some homemade modifiers to properly control the lighting, and will spend a couple hours setting up multiple sets for you to photograph.
In this part of the workshop I will show you exactly how to light your subject and why I make certain choices to get the effect I want. You’ll have the opportunity to photograph Tracie in each set with the lights I set up.
CONTENT
- choosing your location using the available light
- using flashes to fill against the sun
- using a single light for portraits
- posing your model
- using direct sunlight to backlight your subject
- using light modifiers for complete control
- a bunch of other stuff that will come up as we work
WHERE
Fusion workshop (1st part of the workshop)
ING Direct
1958 Kalakaua Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96815
View Larger Map
Photography workshop (2nd part of the workshop)
Fort DeRussy Park
right across the street from ING Direct
WHEN
The photo fusion workshop will be held:
September 24th – Thursday
2:00 PM – 7:00pm (it may go a little later)
RESERVATIONS
In keeping with the low-budget nature of my trip and this workshop… I’m pricing it at an absolute no-brainer $35.
Due to the size of the venue and in the efforts to keep this workshop reasonably small and intimate, seating is limited. Click to reserve your place now:
Note: Purchase is non-refundable.
SUBSCRIBE FOR UPDATES
Sign up to receive email updates from me about workshops and video tutorials I’ll be releasing in the future. I don’t email very often because I hate annoying emails as much as you do.
MORE INFORMATION
Visit the Facebook event page
Visit the upcoming.org event page
Hawaii Photo Fusion tour
Ritz Carlton Photo Workshop
The Bui Brothers shoot Felicia Day
Very cool!! Looking forward to this and getting help on how to use our new Canon T1i.
And I can’t wait to meet Tracie!
You shall have both very soon! :)
Aloha! Sounds like an awesome workshop. What are the chances that you might be coming out to Maui after wards to do some workshops there as well?
Hi Jana!
I would LOVE to come to Maui next time… and it is totally possible. Perhaps we can get BOTH Bui Brothers out there for that workshop. :)
Hi Vu,
I’ve admired you and your brother’s work for a while now. As it happens, I’ll be visiting Hawaii during your workshop. I’m a rank amateur/photo hacker, and don’t even have a DSLR (an old point and shoot Minolta Dimage A1). Will this workshop work for guys like me, or is it aimed toward a higher level hobbyist with pro-like gear?
Also, do you do these workshops in L.A.? If I can’t make my schedule to work, just trying to see if you do these in your home base (and mine).
Many thanks,
Neal
Hi Neal!
Yes this workshop can definitely work for you… if you get a chance check out my post that goes more into detail about what the trip is all about (Hawaii Photo Fusion Tour)… it’s basically “budget” fusion. Everything I’m doing is going to be done with the lowest budget possible with the most entry-level gear and software out there.
The camera I’ll be using is an entry-level DSLR ($820 with kit lens), but the same concepts and techniques could be applied to many of the point and shoots out there as long as you have some degree of manual control, and preferably if you can control a flash from it (hot shoe). Your A1 totally fits the bill.
The video part will work with literally any kind of video, I shoot more video on my iPhone camera than anything else (you can see a lot of it on tresvous.com). I used to shoot most of my video on a Canon ELPH SD800IS, which is a tiny pocket point-and-shoot.
Hope you see you there, but if not, we’ll have more workshops in CA in the future, although our next one will likely take us up the coast to NorCal!
Vu
Hey Vu,
Thanks for the info………..I purchased, but am still trying to work the schedule out.
I hope I’m not the village idiot with my point and shoot A1!
BTW, what is the parking situation like over there? Any recommendations?
Thanks!
Neal
Hi Neal!
You’re going to fit right in I’m sure! Hahaha we have a lot of people with entry level cameras, I believe. :)
Parking is available in the rear, or if full, you can use the empty lot around the block on Niu St. (Kalakaua then left on Pau to Ala Wai to Niu).
Aww!!! Tracie looks so pretty!! You guys are awesome :) Wish I was in Hawaii that week! I wanna learn me some lighting, yo!
Hey thanks Justine!
We’ll just have to give you a private workshop one of these days! :) Or you can join us in NorCal later this year or early next… we have an amazing one being planned!
Aloha….I’m interested in eventually becoming a photographer….I have a minolta camera …it has a zoom lens and video capability….it isn’t a SLR or anything. I really don’t know anything about photography …it is just a dream of mine and i stumbled apon your add for your workshop.
Would this workshop be for me?
Mahalo
Theresa
Hi Theresa!
If you Minolta has an M mode and a flash shoe on the top then it will be compatible with the lighting setups I’ll be teaching. If you use Macs then you’ll be able to use the software I cover (although even if you are on a PC all the same principles still apply, it just won’t be a straight click-for-click tutorial for you).
You will definitely learn some cool things about using natural light and about creative flash photography on a small budget. You’ll also learn how easy it is to create and upload videos then post them to your blog or website. So if these things seem interesting to you, even as a total beginner, then yes you should get a lot out of the workshop.
Also, just getting together with a bunch of other photographers for the afternoon/evening will be good for you! :)
Vu
Vu,
The workshop looks like it’ll be a blast! I am going to refer some of our customers who are just getting started with photography. Thank you for making it affordable – it really helps in tough economic times like these!
All the best,
Joshua Strickland
Hawaii Photo Rental
Joshua,
Thanks for the comment and the support! (also for the retweet) ;)
I was very happy to have SmugMug come on and sponsor the workshop (and trip), which is what allowed me to have it for such an affordable price for everyone!
hey vu,
great session today. very informative. thanks for all the help with the lighting and workflow stuff as well as the smugmug information.
hope to see you around the island again soon (get radio poppers to help you out next time, haha)
-kyle
great session today
Hello, I love your photo style. Amazing!!!
Great job. Good article I must say.
Great job. Good article I must say.