Upcoming Workshops

           I teach a variety of workshops in a group setting both on location and at a rental studio, and a listing of my upcoming workshops is below. I also teach all of these subjects, and more, on a personal basis to individuals and small groups, who may learn more easily in that type of environment, or who have special needs or techniques they would like to develop more fully.

Upcoming Workshops: (My next workshop will be on Sunday afternoon, January 15th, 2023. See below.)

Dear Fellow Photographers,

I will be holding my next studio photography workshop on Sunday afternoon, January 15th, at the First Rock Studio, 12216 Parklawn Ave in Rockville, where I have been holding my last few workshops. The workshop will start at 1:00 PM, and end at 5:00 PM.

The topic will be "Lights and Lighting". We will have my favorite model available during her college winter break, Model Kelly, and we will have her for 3 hours: one hour for beauty photos; one hour for fashion photos; and the last hour for dance photos. I will be using a variety of lighting systems, including some Christmas tree "twinkle" lights (see example below). We can use these lights for a variety of purposes, including winding them around the model/dancer for some interesting effects. We also will be using the various high key and low key lighting techniques, as well as color gels for special lighting effects.

Immediate Past WORKSHOP - held on Sunday Afternoon, August 21st, 2022  

Dear Fellow Photographers,

My next photography workshop will be held on Sunday afternoon, August 21^st, starting at 1 PM. It will be held at the First Rock Studio on Parkland Ave, and will be on the topic of Fashion Photography: Retro and Contemporary. 

We will have a new model for this workshop, Alyse, who is also a face and body painter. When appropriate, Alyse will do some face-painting on her own face, to add some interest to some of the fashion images. Some examples of fashion images with face-painting are attached to this email.

I have also been experimenting with a lighting technique called “light painting”, in which a flashlight is used to “paint” the model with light. This turns out to be a relatively simple technique, and some of the effects are very beautiful. So if you register be sure to bring a tripod to the workshop. I hope to try some light painting during this workshop. If the trials turn out good, we might have a full workshop on this technique in the future.

As stated above, the workshop is August 21^st, from 1:00 to 5:00 PM, and will be held at the First Rock Studio at 12216 Parklawn Ave, Rockville. This is the same location as our last two workshops, for those who have attended them. More information and directions including a map will be forthcoming shortly prior to the workshop, for those who have registered.

The workshop cost is $125, payable thru the PayPal widget on my website on www.donbeckerphotography.com. Click on the “Upcoming Workshops” section to find the description of this workshop and under it will be the PayPal widget.

Registration is limited, and the workshop is only 2.5 weeks away, so if you are interested don’t wait too long.

Best regards,

Don

​PAST WORKSHOP - Sunday afternoon, July 17th - from 1-6 PM

Dear Fellow Photographers,

Past Workshop: 1940's Hollywood Glamour Workshop - Sunday, May 22nd,2022 - from 1-5 PM

Dear Fellow Photographers,

This workshop was held on Sunday afternoon, May 22nd, and was titled, "1940's Hollywood Glamour Photography". It was based on the striking B&W photography of George Hurrell, which I am sure you all are familiar with. The workshop  started at 1:00 PM, and lasted for 4 hours, ending at 5 PM. Our model for the day was beautiful ModelKelly, and I have attached a photo of her taken at this workshop, in addition to the four photos of her from previous workshops. She is a classic beauty, very similar to the glamorous actresses of the 1940's. She wore some of the glamorous gowns and wardrobe which reenact the Golden Days of Hollywood!

The workshop took place in the First Rock Studio where we have held our last two workshops. It now has a flat black wall which makes our backgrounds easier. By the time of our workshop, we may also have a beautiful new floor in the studio! There is also the capability for a white/light background for some of the photos as well. While I took my photos in color, as you can see from the attached images they convert to B&W very nicely, so we have the best of both worlds!

This was one of the outstanding workshops! Kelly was just back from college finals, and gave us her best in her modeling! We also had her hair consultant available to help with any hair modifications that we needed. We used direct lighting a lot to give the high contrast effects that are so dramatic in Hurrell's images!

If you missed it, you missed a good one!

Best,

Don

Recent Past Workshop: Photography of the Ballet (Sunday 1-6 pm, April 24, 2022)

 The Photography of the Ballet workshop took place on Sunday afternoon, April 24th starting at 1 PM, ending at 6 PM. 

This workshop was at the new studio, the First Rock Studio, located only a couple of blocks from the old WSP studio. The address of this new studio is 12216 Parklawn Drive, Room 108. It is a very nice studio, and should fit our needs very well. It worked very well for our workshop. 

As usual, there were two dancers at this workshop. The first one was Allison, which I have used previously and am including photos of her from a previous workshop. The second dancer was Aurora, an excellent dancer from the same ballet school as Allison.

They also overlapped overlap some, so that we obtained photos of the two of them together. That opened a number new possibilities in terms of ballet images. We also tried some controlled blur effects during the workshop.

As mentioned above, this workshop was held at the new First Rock studio we used a my last workshop, located in Rockville close to the old WSP studio. This new studio worked out very well, and will likely be my studio of choice for future workshops. Additional details on location and use will be sent to all participants as the time gets closer.

Everybody seemed to have a great time at the workshop, and many got some excellent images during the workshop.

Blessings,

Don

Past Workshops: Photography of the Ballet (14Nov2021) and BodyScapes (17Oct2021)

Since I missed holding a workshop in September, I recently had two workshops, shown above.

One, Photography of the Ballet, was held on November 14th, from 2-7 PM. Same time, but different location! I have arranged to rent an actual ballet studio, from the Berrend Dance Centre, located in Gaithersburg, just off of Shady Grove Road near I-270. The first dancer was one of our favorites, Allison, and two photos of her ballet work are included below. Allison continues to amaze us with her skills and abilities! We will continue to explore her creativity by the use of special lighting and exposure techniques. The second dancer is a new one, Vivien, a dancer that is quite young but still an excellent ballet dancer and quite beautiful, who I envision as an excellent subject for photos of a budding child dancer, using mood photos and dance portraiture. She will be dancing with her mother, who was a dancer at the Washing Ballet for 10 years, and is now an instructor in ballet at the Berrend Daance Centre.

The Bodyscapes Workshop was held on October 17, and had a figurative model posing for us creating fine art images using special lighting techniques, sometimes selecting only a small portion of the female figure to create abstract images of curves and shadows. There are four photos of her from the workshop, using a varierty of lighting techniques. This workshop will explore dramatic lighting and composition techniques to create fine art images. The workshop will be held at the Serendipity Art Center Building, and will be held on Sunday afternoon, October 17, from 2-5 PM. The workshop is 3 hours in length, and we will  have our model for 2 hours, from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM. The cost will be $150 for this workshop, and will be limited to 6 participants. This workshop will use mostly continuous lighting, so up to 3 photographers can shoot at the same time.

Both workshops were very well received, and participants obtained many artistic images from them.

Past Workshop: Special Fashion Photo Techniques - Sunday, August 22nd, 2021

Dear Fellow Photographers,

Past Workshop: Special Portrait Lighting Techniques - Sunday, July 11th, 2021

Dear Fellow Photographers,

The "official" name for the workshop is "The Many Faces of ModelKelly", since that is what we will be doing...photographing ModelKelly in many ways.

Last Saturday I had a test shoot with Kelly, along with John Dukes at John's home studio. We tried out some of the lighting that I want to use in the workshop, including the three new wigs I purchased for her. Everything went very well and we got some great images, some of which are shown below. I will have a number of additional lighting techniques at the workshop, that we were not able to implement at the test shoot. (Also below is a favorate image of mine, also taken at the test shoot, but embellished a bit!)

Any the end of the workshops, we usually have a little time left over. I plan to bring my laptop and can look at some of the images we get, and suggest techniques in LR/ACR and PS that will enhance these kinds of images. Sort of a Photoshop mini-class.

 I have permission to use a lobby area for the workshop if the studio is not available. The lobby area is 30 ft x 20 ft, and all white. I will be bringing both a white and black cloth background as well as the lights; it will be an excellent studio! I sent out a photo of the area in my latest email to my mailing list.

A reminder: this is a 4 hour workshop, starting at 2 PM on Sunday, July 11th, and we would be photographing Kelly for 3 hours - 2:30 to 5:30 PM; the cost is reduced to $100 due to the shorter time. Location: 12276 Wilkins Ave, Rockville, same building as the previous studio. Any questions, email me or call/text me at 240-883-2256. You would need to sign up using the PayPal widget on my website at www.donbeckerphotography.com. Since you are already on my website, you can sign up using the PayPal widget located just below this writeup. And, if for some reason that should fail, just send me an email and I will forward a personalized PayPal invoice that you can use with your credit card to sign up for the workshop. 
 

Best regards,

Don

Past Workshop: Outdoor Ballet - June 6th, 2021

The last photography workshop was on Sunday afternoon, June 6th, 2021, and the topic was "Outdoor Ballet". Instead of photographing the ballet dancers in the studio, we photographing them outside, using natural lighting, and using the backgrounds available to us in the area surrounding our usual studio for the dancers to pose in. 

We started out in the parking area to the rear of the studio building at 12276 Wilkins Ave, Rockville, MD. There are many nearby buildings and areas where we can get some very interesting backgrounds, including walls, porches, railings, steps, vegetation,  etc. We have done this once before, and I sent examples of these types of photos to everybody on my mailing list from my previous Outdoor Ballet workshop. (Note: if you do not already receive emails from me, send me an email if you would like to be added to my mail list...don@donbeckerphotography.com).

 In addition to the email examples I mentioned above, people attending the workshop received several pages of examples of outside ballet photographs, taken from the internet.

Some examples of the photographs I obtained during this workshop are below. If you attended, I hope that you did even better than I did! We did have a full complement of participants, and everybody seemed to have a great time...although I do admit that it was a little warmed than I would have liked!

Don

Past Workshop: Fashion Variations - April 18th, 2021

My next workshop is entitled "Fashion: Variations", and will be held on Sunday afternoon, April 18th, from 2-7 PM. It will be held at the Studio 76 studio, and the location and information about the studio (including directions) are on the studio website at www.mystudio76.com. The cost is $125 for the 5 hour workshop. 

The variations will include studio fashion, plus "hallway fashion" (fashion photos taken outside the studio but still inside the building, including hallways, nooks and crannies, the upstairs lobby area, and a number of other inside locations. In addition, we will be doing some location photography outside the building (but close by), using natural lighting with possibly some auxiliary lighting as well. The inside studio photographs will include use of color gels, as well as variations on the white balance to get special effects. Note that the third photo of ModelKelly in her set below was taken at a previous workshop using tungsten white balance with studio flash, giving a very interesting color effect the I like a lot.

Immediate Past Workshop - Photography of the Ballet: Special Lighting Techniquies - 2

Past Workshop - Photography of the Ballet - Sunday afternoon, February 28, 2021

          On February 28th I held a "Photography of the Ballet: Special lighting Techniques - 1 Workshop, held at the Studio 76 location in Rockville, MD. More informatrion about the studio including the address and a map showing it's location can be found at www.mystudio76.com. The workshop will start promptly at 2:00 PM and end at 7:00 PM. This workshop will use two new dancers, Aliya and Allison, which I have never before used for a workshop. Three photos of each of them are below. They are wonderful dancers and I am sure we will be able to get many excellent images of them.

          For this workshop, in addition to some of the ballet poses and jumps that these dancers are really good at, we will be designing some artistic ballet poses, using accessories and props, to create what I call "ballet art". I have sent out some examples of these kinds of images with my emails to my mailing list so will not include them here; if you might be interested in seeing what I sent out and wish to be added to my mailing list, just send me a request at don@donbeckerphotography.com.

          Another type of artistic ballet image we will be doing at this workshop is what I call "ballet line art". This is special lighting which defines the edges of the ballet dancers with a very thin line of edge lighting, against a black background. This is somewhat similar to the "hatchet lighting" that I have used in the past, but the edge lines are much thinner. There are several ways that this can be done, and we will be experimenting with them to see which works best.

          Finally, I am having the dancers overlap for 1/2 hour, so we have the opportunity to photograph both of them at the same time, in the same image. We did this once before, and got some really nice images from it. However, since this will shorten the overall time we will be photographing the dancers, I will be bringing my laptop to the workshop, and any extra time we have I will demonstrate some of the Photoshop techniques I use to process my ballet images. I have had multiple workshop participants request that.

          So, that is a summary of what will happen in this Feb 28 workshop. There are only two spaces left, so if you want to attend be sure to sign up right away. If the workshop fills and there are enough people still interested in attending, I will consider repeating the workshop perhaps two weeks later, depending on dancer availability. If you want to be added to the list, be sure to email me.

          As usual during this pandemic, the following will be mandated:  the workshop is limited to a maximum of 6 participants; a forehead temperature will be required upon arrival; the studio will have been sanitized before starting; and 70% alcohol sanitizer will be available for use by participants. You can sign up on my "upcoming Workshops" page on my website at www.donbeckerphotography.com (below), and the cost of the workshop is $125 as usual. Once 6 people have signed up, the workshop will be closed. If you wish to sign up, please use the PayPal widget below with your credit card. Or, if you prefer, send me an email and I will send you a personal PayPal invoice.

           I hope to see you on the 28th!

          Don

                            Past Workshop - Sunday afternoon, January 10th, 2021 -

                                       "Silhouettes, Semi-Silhouettes, and Darkness"

Merry Christmas, and a very Happy New Year to all of you! My primary New Year's wish is for this pandemic and lockdown to come to an end!

I hope you are planning to gift YOURSELF for this Christmas and for the New Year! And, I have just the thing for you. On January 10th, Sunday afternoon, starting at 2:00 PM and lasting until 7:00 PM, I will hold my first workshop of the New Year. The topic is: "Silhouettes, Semi-Silhouettes, and Darkness".  This will be a study in low key fashion and beauty photography. 

The models I have reserved for this workshop include Kat, a new model that I have only used for a test shoot so far. She is a 5'10" beauty that has a long resume and was fantastic in our test shoot in Studio 76 about two weeks ago. Below are three photos from that test shoot, photos of which have already been accepted for publication in two different online fashion and beauty magazines! During that test shoot I came up with several new lighting systems, some of which you see in the three photos of Kat below.

The second model is ModelKelly, a favorite of mine and I know of yours as well. I have a test shoot set up with Kelly for next week in which I will be trying out several additional new lighting techniques. Three of my favorite images for ModelKelly are below also.

I am excited to bring this new workshop to you on the 10th, a Sunday afternoon, starting at 2:00 PM in the new Studio 76 on Wilkins Ave. There are several outstanding aspects of this studio that allow some new techniques, and some that just make old techniques simpler. Please join us for this workshop, you won't be sorry!

As usual during this pandemic, the following will be mandated:  the workshop is limited to a maximum of 6 participants; a forehead temperature will be required upon arrival; the studio will have been sanitized before starting; and alcohol sanitizer will be available for use by participants. You can sign up on my "upcoming Workshops" page on my website at www.donbeckerphotography.com", and the cost of the workshop is $125 as usual. Once 6 people have signed up, the workshop will be closed. If you wish to sign up, please use the PayPal widget below with your credit card. Or, if you prefer, send me an email and I will send you a personal PayPal invoice.

May you all have a very happy Holidays!

Don

Past Workshop: Outdoor Ballet - Sunday afternoon, October 18th, 2020 - from 2 to 5 PM

         This workshop with be a variation from my normal, in-studio workshops. We will be working with Ballet Dancer Kelsey and posing her with local architectural structures to create interesting views and looks. This workshop is shorter than most, lasting 3 hours, from 2-5 PM. The cost is also reduced, and is $75 for the workshop. Kelsey is one of our favorite ballet models, and we look forward to exploring this new venue with her. The participation will be limited to 5 photographers, so if this sounds interesting to you don't hesitate! We will likely drive to a number of nearby areas to take advantage of interesting structures, and will use my 8 passenger minivan for transportation.

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Past Workshop: Studio Fashion Photography - Sunday, November 15th, 2020 - from 2-7 PM

          This fashion photography workshop will revert to my usual type of workshop, i.e., 5 hours in length, and with two different models. One of the things we will be trying is working with a clothes designer. I am in contact with a clothes designer that will bring some new and different types of outfits for our models to wear. We will also be able to explore all of the facets of our new studio, and see what new and different lighting techniques we can use to highlight the special characteristics of the fashion items. I have one new fashion model lined up for this workshop so far, and am now looking for just the right second model for our shoot. One of the things we will be trying is to incorporate movement into our fashion looks...both from multiple exposures as well as with slow shutter speeds and actual blurred movement. This can also be done with color gels on the lights to add a three-dimensional effect. This workshop will be 5 hours in length, and the cost is $125. You can sign up using the PayPal widget below for registration and payment. (Note: Just below the Immediate Past Workshop writeup.)

Past Workshop: Ballet Beauty - Sunday afternoon, Sept.27, 2020

from 2:00 pm to 7 pm, at the Studio 76 (12276 Wilkins Ave., Rockville, MD)

          My first "Post-Pandemic" workshop was “Ballet Beauty”, and we had two of our most beautiful ballet dancers for this workshop. They were Kelly and Brenda, and 3 phots of each are below. I think you will agree that this was a very successful workshop!

          For this first workshop, we limited the number of photographers to a maximun of 6 (we actually had 5, because one had to drop out at the last minute), in order to facilitate social distancing in the studio and improved photographer access to shooting. I also have a forehead temperature device to monitor all participants, and they may be required to wear masks (if mandated by the state or county). The models of course will not wear a mask. It is my understanding that groups of 10 people or less are currently allowed in meetings, so including models and me we will stay inside that 10 person limit.

          The new photography studio is now completed from it's remodeling, so you are seeing photos that were taken in the completed studio. We have decided that the name of the studio will be "Studio 76", incorporating the last two digits of the address. It is located in the lower level of the building, and can be accessed primarily through the door from the large parking lot in the rear of the building. More information will be given to people who sign up for workshops. Studio 76 will also be available for rental at a very reasonable cost, in case you have a personal photographic project you are interested working on. Contact me for more information about that, and/or visit the studio website at www.mystudio76.com.

Other Workshops 

          I also have implemented something I call "Workshops on Demand", where an individual or small

group may prefer to have a workshop or instruction in a limited situation. These can be tailor-made to

take place at any location or at any time.

          Below is a listing of workshops that I have taught at various times.  Most of my workshops will be 5 hours in length and taught on a Sunday afternoon, from 2 PM to 7 PM, although I am available on most days and at most times for "Workshops on Demand" or personal instruction.  I have a substantial knowledge of both Lightroom CC and (especially) Photoshop CC for use in my photography, in order to make my images the very best that they can be, and I am available to teach most aspects of digital image modification as well.

          I am also available for talks, short workshops or judging for photography organizations in the Metro DC area (including NoVA and Baltimore), including camera clubs and photography competitions. (And elsewhere with travel and accommodations paid.)

          Please contact me directly at don(at)donbeckerphotography.com or by phone at 301-949-0473 (home) to obtain more information. Registration for workshops or other payment is above using your credit card and the PayPal link. Or, if preferred, upon request I can send you a PayPal invoice, which you can then use with your credit or debit card to register for any workshop or other instruction.

     Workshops Available

High Key and Low Key Photography: Portraiture, Beauty and Glamour

Photography of the Ballet 

Macro, Copy and Closeup Photography

Studio Fashion Photography 

Dynamic Studio Lighting Techniques

Thank you and I hope to see you in one of my future workshops!