Hollywood Vintage Lighting Workshop
January 2023
I have had many clients over the years ask me how I do the lighting setups for the Lerro Photography reenactments. This interest was a big factor in deciding to offer this particular new style of lighting workshop. I decided to keep the workshop small regarding participants because I wanted to make it a more personal experience and also because the space we were using was limited.
I found a great Airbnb in Rockhill Furnace, PA, that had vintage charm and a style that was the perfect backdrop for our workshop. The workshop was held on two separate days, with 5 attendees on the first day and 2 on the second day. Having the small group was very beneficial for answering questions and assisting the photographers.
I decided to use a program that allowed me to tether my camera directly to my laptop. This allowed the participants to see exactly what I was looking at through my camera lens on the laptop. We started the workshop with instructions on different types of light modifiers and how they each work. We then focused on how to create a classic vintage portrait. I also went into detail on how to work with and pose your model. We set up several scenes with dramatic lighting and had the students help with the process using the information they learned.
We had two models for the workshop, Darby and Jennifer, that were very fun and easy to work with and accommodated the student’s requests. They even gave them some tips when working with models.
The shoot had a very relaxed and fun environment, which allowed the photographers to try different angles and approaches when taking their pictures.
This new style of workshop allowed me to brush up on my teaching skills and I felt the whole weekend was an excellent experience for everyone. I look forward to offering more of these types of workshops in the future.
