Lessons
Day 1
1Class Introduction
09:35 2Shoot: Basic Posing
50:46 3Shoot: Refining and Lighting the Pose
17:09 4Posing Two People
17:23 5Shoot: Hannah and Amanda
21:46 6Shoot: Back Two Thirds
20:03 7Shoot: Basic Two People Poses
22:34Shoot: Group of Three
18:15 9Groups of Four and Five
22:54 10Shoot: Groups of Three
42:27 11Shoot: Slimming Poses
23:38 12Shoot: Beauty and Innovation
39:28Day 2
13Student Portrait Critiques
16:17 14Shoot: Window Lighting
30:20 15Shoot: Split Lighting
21:36 16Shoot: Corporate Portraits
36:42 17Shoot: Outdoor Lighting Roof Top
32:29 18Shoot: Family Group One
53:40 19Shoot: Baby and Parents
26:47 20Shoot: Family Group Two Part 1
34:24 21Shoot: Family Group Two Part 2
17:37 22Shoot: Family Group Three
17:52Day 3
23Student Portrait Homework Critiques
22:33 24Shoot: Bridal Session Part 1
32:34 25Shoot: Bridal Session Part 2
23:49 26Clay's Slides and Discussion
08:41 27Shoot: Portraits of the Students
17:21 28Shoot: Wedding Couple
39:11 29Shoot: One Light High Key
25:46 30Shoot: Speed Lights
21:49 31Shoot: Different Lighting Setups (Sand Box)
38:51 32Shoot: Innovative Portraiture
35:25 33Shoot: Shake and Bake
20:35Lesson Info
Clay's Slides and Discussion
I want to show you a little bit about weddings because I really kind of feel like, you know, weddings, that's what got me here and let's take a look at a few wedding photographs and talk about the dressing room and the different things I'm doing at my weddings uh, you'll save me right here again, everything here that I've been speaking to, I'm working on a tripod, I've got an off camera flash. I've got a couple of them there, I've got a photo journalist over to the right and I've got a filmmaker back in the background there, and we're just taking care of business, you know? We divide and conquer, we've got time lapse going, we've got filmmaking going, we just capture the wedding from every angle, and I know that the dsr cinema has driven a lot of new business to my wedding photography and because people think you know what? It's a one stop shop, they go here, they could get the pictures that go here, they can get a video or then come to me and they get great photography and gsr boutiqu...
e film is what I call it not always use the word cinema film, I don't call it video because it sounds inexpensive, so I'm a filmmaker and I'd love to do a small boutique film for you at your wedding. When I'm in the dressing room, it's just pure fun. My goal in the dressing room is to get the bride out of the dressing room. I have a beautiful photo journalist, I hope she's watching her name is linda wing. We call we call some of the pictures at the wedding. The linda effect you know she's so wonderful. But you know what? She's very green. She she's only done twenty weddings in her life and they were all with me. So I'm teaching her and we trade out. She gets to be my second photographer and I get to show her you know what to do. Which lenses to use howto had opened up the lanes and that's important. What does that mean? Open up the lanes. I've been to weddings where photographers just stand in the middle of everything with the tripod. And you know what? Nobody can get anything done. We need to come to the edges and let the wedding happen. I love having the second camera there, you know you can't get the entire wedding and I'll definitely speak to that. My goal in the dressing room is to get her out, and I said this because linda came to my studio the other day were just getting ready to go. To the wedding you know what I did? I pulled out a wedding album and I said, linda let's look at this album and let's look at what the brides are put in in the book and I counted the pictures for her eight pictures from the dressing room in the book so we don't need eight hundred you know, sometimes we get to a wedding and we're so keyed up don't would you start to doubt that is shooting everything that's not the plan we want to pace ourselves, I'm using camera position as a journalist now this is a statement I want to make tv even though that's not the perfect profile, there are pictures that should be in here, I think I trimmed him out where you can move your camera to get better camera position. Can I say that again in the dressing room? You can now move your camera to get camera position you can go toe profile or a two thirds or full face just by moving your camera. We did it yesterday by the window here's some of my big shots and you know I'm usually out of breath I mean out of voice at the sunday after the wedding because I'm a big cheerleader I'm helping people, you know, march up pennsylvania avenue a back quite a sidelight there's a second photographer, high end smith this was made by my photographer scott davis he's not my photographer he's probably the most talented photographer I've ever met in my life I invited him to be here on stage with me he just never stops he makes us all feel lazy the guy never sits down he doesn't eat he shoot and shoot and he won't show us pictures until he's had time to run him through his his post process and he is scott you're listening to me because I just love you to death and my clients love you and I took you to monaco because I said I'm going to do the film would you please take my position on the camera the client never knew they never knew that it was scott and I was so lucky because the albums were magnificent but martin I wanted to speak to double lighting and we just kind of I don't have the time to teach weddings but we go in with two lights you saw the quantum q flash yesterday off camera they go together on on camera and an off camera guess what? I usually have four lights going so that I have this beautiful wraparound look like you see here there's a cute flash just over here to the left you can see kind of flair e feel their trim it out or dark and a little bit that's double lighting and that's kind of what we're doing here we've been to some beautiful affairs here's a great tip I'm telling you a lot of people want to get their back to the window and shoot this direction that's amateur I want to come around into the dark and shoot towards the window. This is so huge if you shoot from the dark to the light and I've said that twenty times on creative live and I want you to write it down because I'm always shooting to the window I'm always shooting in fact yesterday and we made the portrait we scrambled again and I don't know how we pulled it off and I want to show you the pictures I made of kenna and marais yesterday because well show him in the end of the day the best shot was shooting from the dark to the light when I went over here and hit the window I loved it when I came over and use the studios a background it just went dark and money behind them. So again those rules they seemed to always work and I don't know why they just seem to be perfect. I like the big shot though here's a fish islands with a flash where is the flash on the right or the left it's right over the camera why it's a fish I shot and it's a double profile so that when I'm doing fish eyes and the couples look at each other the lights right over the camera like that so the off camera flashes everything what's the first thing I looked for before I took this picture the background do you know this is a true story? This is one of my best wedding's biggest weddings ever at mar a lago for the miller family and I had four minutes with her for her bridal portrait. Um trish mcevoy make up have you heard of that? Trish was there doing the makeup it's the kind of wedding we had but I had four minutes to do portrait maybe eight minutes and the guests were coming so I had to run the bride into different areas to get picture like these and I had to work hard. And bart, this is a picture you made last saturday bars laying on the pier and I'm doing video and I told the bride just walk keep walking and I said walk step over bart and he's taken pictures and infrared and I love the shot it's probably the best picture of her we got all day you know, uh I hate to say that but infrared everybody keeps speaking to in the chat rooms I have my camera modified by digital silver imaging dot net or dot order dot com just put digital silver image and they do my black and white conversion and my printing and this is art I mean, these photographs every time I pull out the infrared that people say, wow, how did you do that? Look at this image. How is that maid I exposed for what? The sky, the background. So what is it? It's two fifty eight eleven how much light did I have to put on them? Eleven. I'm married it together. Where is the light coming from? Bart's leaning way over the rail and the lights way out here toe light them evenly. You know what I'm talking about? Because if the light's on camera it doesn't work, the flash has got to be off camera. That could be, you know, one of my top ten photographs ever. I think I love it just because it's on the fly we're leaving to go to the church and I'm like no, no, no, no, just in a real quick got this picture and, you know, I think it's really fun infrared marching up, you know, some help monaco from the back high end smith another I hope ryan's out there because between high end, you know, and scott, the guys were just pure passion and they're not in it for the money these guys don't some people like second photographers, they asked me how much you gonna pay me you know, before I even invite him out and I'm saying, well, you know what? Let me just get back to make sure I need your click. You know, let me get someone in here that is in it for the pure love, and I'll take care of him financially. Uh, let's, get the pictures. This in color would be nothing like it is in black and white. This is what it looks like when it comes out of the camera infrared on. Then you go in and de saturating the ads, some cpn it comes together. This was her holiday card, and we put a christmas tree on top of the capitol building. You know what I mean with the little red light? A star on top of the capital and this is a portrait made by infrared infrared works great by flash it's a daylight balance, uh, medium so we can always use daylight or flash. I love that shot the wedding party. And so you see, a big passion of mine is the I r.
Class Materials
bonus material with purchase
Ratings and Reviews
a Creativelive Student
Clay Blackmore is the real deal in portrait photography. The guy is a bundle of creative energy and technical mastery. I took portraiture with Monte Zucker, and am glad to have Clay now as his successor. This concepts in this course are the rudiments. They'll never change, regardless of trends and fads. Clay is also very likable and fun to watch work. Keep your ears peeled for every word. When Clay points out those many little details, they all count. Love the course, and have a ton of respect for Clay. He's a portrait master, and a great guy. What else could any portrait student hope for?
Rosina Ortwein
This a wonderful class. Clay has worked w/Montey and brings a supreme knowledge to photographers who want to learn more. His skills are creative and insightful with a modest personality. This is an amazing class that comes with a great price.
Tom Lokos
Of all the courses I have purchased without exception this is the best. Clay is an excellent teacher. When he speaks he is saying something and not just talking. He explains his lighting techniques in great detail while demonstrating them . He is clear, concise and fun to listen to. You will learn how to pose individuals all the way to large groups, while learning the correct way to light them. All this while being entertained by one of America's great portrait photographers.
Student Work
Related Classes
Wedding Photography