A Nikon D3 lies conquered at Ryan's feet as he teaches the class 🙂
This past Saturday I attended a photography workshop given by Ryan Brenizer, one of the rising stars in wedding photography, and someone whose overall approach to wedding shooting and portraiture is, I feel, quite close to my own (how close our skills, experience, and results are is another matter entirely :)). Click through to my complete review.I’ve been following Ryan’s work on Flickr for a couple of years, so when I heard about the workshop, the decision to attend was a no-brainer. This was Ryan’s first ever workshop, and demand seems to be huge, judging by the people in attendance – about 35 talented photographers from all over the US (Louisiana, California, South Carolina, Michigan…), a couple of people from Canada and Mexico, and even a guy from Bologna, Italy. The workshop was held at Philip Stark’s studio on West 29th St.
For most of the day, Ryan focused on technique, namely the three he has become known for: Creative use of bounce flash, striking flash composites (I got to be in one), and, of course, the so-called Brenizer Method, a panorama technique that essentially serves to increase the sensor size and lets you produce images with a seemingly impossible depth of field. Two very talented models were on hand all day: Mae and Lydia, who is herself a photographer.
Mae
Lydia
However, Ryan started the day by talking about the whys, rather than the hows, of photography. The class was silent when Ryan asked us who felt they could articulate their own photographic philosophy. He proceeded to talk about his approach, the need to tell people’s stories, to show people as they really are, and his uncynical belief that wedding photography is truly important.
Ryan sets up a flash composite
He also stressed the importance of being bold, of not always playing it safe. That if all your images are pretty good, you’re not pushing yourself enough. One of my favorite points was that a good portfolio should repel some clients as much as it attracts others. This approach takes some guts, especially for a photogarpher at the beginning of their career and desperate for work, but I believe it’s essential to finding your voice as a photographer.
I’m sure Ryan will be giving more workshops in the future, and I can recommend them without hesitation. It was a great opportunity to learn from a talented and generous photographer, and to meet a great and diverse group of people.
Thanks to Ryan, Thomas, Isla, Mae, Lydia, and all my new contacts for a great weekend.
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