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PSNZ Workshop Series - Reviews
PSNZ Workshop Series
A report from Karen Moffatt-McLeod APSNZ, Councillor
As we are now at the end of the 2022 PSNZ Workshop Series, I would like to say, ‘He mihinui ki taku kapa’ ̶ a big thank you to my team of Jayne Parker and Nicole Tai. Without their hard work, arranging the workshops would be an impossible task. Nga mihi to Toya Heatley for her support on the banners and to the photographers who joined up for the journey. Nga mihinui to the facilitators for sharing their knowledge, passion and aroha ̶ and inspiring us all: Toya Heatley FPSNZ AFIAP, Meghan Maloney, Greg Stevens
FPSNZ, Joseph Pooley, Helen Westerbeke FPSNZ, Karolina Ferbei, Judy Stokes APSNZ, Steve Attwood and Graham Dainty FPSNZ for the work he put into organising the Novice Landscape workshop which had to be cancelled.
On a personal note, having joined the PSNZ Council and taken over this portfolio in late 2021, I feel that as a team we did a good job in pulling together the series as we did. Yes, we had some challenges with weather, timing etc, but it seems that most of you enjoyed your experiences.
Looking ahead to 2023, we are still working on some more workshops, and hope to have a plan ready in December, or at the latest early January. We are continuing to include some new topics along with tried and true interests. Our first 2023 workshop, Event Photography (which we had our fingers crossed you would be interested in) was booked up in a couple of days ̶ fantastic! Due to some personal matters that took my focus away for a time, Jayne took the lead in the organisation of this one and has done a fabulous job, and those attending will get to meet her in person as the PSNZ host. 2023 Workshops locked in include
• Night Photography (not astro) with Kevin Clarke ANZIPP in Christchurch City, the weekend of 4-6 February
• Event Photography with Leanne Silver LPSNZ at WOMAD, Taranaki, 17-19 March
• Mono Landscape with James Gibson APSNZ EFIAP/b near Castle Hill, South Island, the weekend of 5-7 May
• How to Shoot a Wedding with Paul Whitham APSNZ in Wellington, 27 May
• Astro Photography with Joseph Pooley at Tekapo, May or June TBC
• Landscape Photography with Meghan Maloney in Rotorua, June or July TBC
We are working on Flower or Macro, Portrait Photography and Urban/Street/Cellphone Photography
We will also be bookending the PSNZ Convention with workshops – more on that soon.
If you are keen to run a workshop, particularly on one of the above topics, please contact me. Similarly, if you have design experience, some time available and would like to help with producing our workshop banners, please contact me at workshops@photography.org.nz.
To register for workshops, you need to be an individual PSNZ member. If you are not, sign up now so you don’t miss out! Clubs, you need to encourage your members so they also have the opportunity to attend the workshops. This is just one of the benefits of being an individual PSNZ member.
Have an enjoyable festive season, stay safe and be kind to one another ̶ from the PSNZ Workshop Series Team,
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PSNZ Workshop Series Report by Anna Heasley
I’d like to share some photos from Steve Attwood’s bird photography workshop at Little River. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole weekend. I was inspired by Steve’s enthusiasm for conservation and his bird knowledge. He shared some really useful tips and I learned a lot.
We spent time spotting birds on Lake Ellesmere and this involved some serious mud-plugging. We saw wrybill plovers, herons, spoonbills and pied oystercatchers amongst others. Steve encouraged us to keep together as a group to get closer to the birds without disturbing them.
Little River is a beautiful spot to visit for the weekend. The bird song in the mornings was incredible. I’m keen to get back here to find the morepork and get some better photos of the tui.
There were a few personal highlights – seeing a tui in Canterbury (a first time for me), the swan eggs, getting landed on by a kahu (swamp harrier) and of course hanging out with a bunch of very talented PSNZ photographers.
I chose these photos because they express the beauty of the bird world. I love the texture of the eggs, strong but also delicate, the kahu feather colours and the crazy pattern of the quail plumage.
PSNZ Workshop Series Report by Kelvin Aird
I was honoured, as one of those attending the PSNZ workshop on bird photography in October, to be asked to write about my experience.
The story began last year when a close friend and fellow member of the Christchurch Photographic Society encouraged me to attend a field trip to the white heron colony at Whataroa on the South Island’s west coast. Despite specialising in portrait photography, I decided to attend. Even though the weather wasn’t the best, with constant rain, it was a great experience and well worth the trip.
A few months passed and Steve Attwood was the guest speaker at our club. This spurred my interest in doing one of Steve’s tours to learn more about photographing birds. The opportunity arose when I saw the PSNZ Workshop advertised so I registered.
It was a great workshop. Steve’s talk, his knowledge of our native birds and their habits, along with his local knowledge of Little River and Lake Ellesmere (Te Waihora) area ̶ excellent! As well as fieldwork with Steve, we had a presentation from Ron Lindsay who is involved with the New Zealand Raptor Trust. Ron and his wife travelled up from Timaru for the day, sharing their story and providing the chance to meet two kahu or swamp harriers. This too was excellent.
The team from PSNZ did a great job in organising and running this workshop. Despite the mud, it was a worthwhile experience. Thanks to Jayne Parker, Nicole Tai and Karen MoffattMcLeod APSNZ for all your hard work.
Creative Portraiture with Karolina Ferbei
by Julia Rae APSNZ
Photographers from as far north as Waiheke Island and from the depths of Southland made their way, in atrocious weather, to arrive in Karolina’s hometown of Tauranga for the Creative Portraiture Workshop. There was a strong contingent from Whitianga as well as Thames, Auckland, Gisborne, Waikato and Christchurch.
As eleven participants arrived at our schoolroom venue in Tauranga’s Historic Village, one of the highlights was meeting members who until now had only been familiar names.
With incessant rain, we had to move to an indoor venue and Karolina had to contend with her booked model’s lastminute cancellation. Fortunately, Karolina’s makeup artist’s daughter’s friend, Elisharose, who had never modelled before, agreed to step in. Yay!
After catching her breath, while we did a round of introductions, Karolina started the workshop with a description of what inspires her to create an image. Colour and careful consideration regarding the use of complementary colours is often a starting point. Karolina has a fairytale style and considers how the model poses, the fabric and elements that support the fairytale vision. Her third component for inspiration is the location, and Karolina talked in detail about her preparation when considering an outdoor location. Many tips were imparted throughout the afternoon, covering topics such as preparation, posing and lighting. Already enthused, we spent time photographing Elisharose in different dresses and colour combinations, with props that included oversized paper roses to streams of tulle fabric thrown into the air.
At 8.00 pm we dodged the rain to meet at a restaurant in town, with great food and company. The hard task overnight was to choose three images, from the hundreds taken, to edit on Sunday.
Karolina took us step by step through her editing process, starting in Lightroom with general adjustments such as light, hue/saturation and the use of radial filters. We were spoiled with a lunchtime banquet at a local Chinese restaurant before returning to finish the workshop with some Photoshop techniques. Karolina led us through her “clean-up” and the more technical frequency separation among other editing tips. I am grateful for Karolina’s wonderfully easy-to-follow notes so that I can continue to practise and play. And, did I mention her calm patience? A necessity when teaching eleven photographers, all talking and at various skill levels in Photoshop!
I am an ardent follower of Karolina's beautiful dreamlike portraits, so it was a real treat to be able to meet her, learn from her and have insight into her creative process. A huge thank you to Karolina and Elisharose, and of course Karen and PSNZ for making the workshop a reality. I learnt lots, loved the company ̶ and have been inspired!
Karolina’s website: www.karolinaferbeiphoto.nz
Photography with Karolina Ferbei
Bob Scott LPSNZ reports on the PSNZ Creative Portraiture Workshop
I decided to attend as a positive stepping out of my photographic comfort zone, a bold move on my part because it would mean working with actual living people – scary stuff! I hoped to pick up some tips and methods to make it easier to poke a camera into someone’s personal space.
I also hoped to overcome my FOF (Fear OF Flash) and along the way pick up a few new tips on Photoshop. Did it work? Well, yes and no.
No, I did not lose my FOF, but I did learn to ignore it ̶ because Karolina showed just how well LED panel lights work. So, no need to contemplate flash units anymore.
Yes, I learned heaps about working with a model and I picked up lots of new Photoshop editing techniques.
Our planned outdoor shoot was abandoned due to constant rain, so we set up in a lovely old building with high ceilings and lots of floor space. Karolina’s regular model cried off at the last minute but Karolina did exceedingly well to find a ”friend of a friend” ̶ an attractive young woman with stunning red hair. Elisharose was just sixteen and doing her first-ever modelling assignment. She was great and her inexperience, in itself, was a good learning point for us. Everything was set up and we were let loose. Poor Elisharose! It must have been a little disconcerting to have ten enthusiastic photographers jockeying for position to get the best shot! However, we soon had it sorted and managed not to disrupt each other too much.
After a short time, a re-posing led to a discussion about Karolina’s style and how she uses fabrics and props to create volume and fantasy in the image. And so the afternoon carried on, and we all had time to work one-on-one with Elisharose if we wished.
Karolina set up a backdrop and lights, posed Elisharose in a fabulous red dress and showed us how the positioning of the lights and the angle of the model’s face affects the shadows and modelling of the face. She talked about colour harmony, lens choices and camera settings. We were also treated to a little discourse on having a plan, with benefits for both the model and the photographer. As a first-time participant in a group portrait shoot, I initially found it a little intimidating. But when I realised the purpose of the shoot, to create images to work on in the next day’s editing session, I relaxed more. there was also an opportunity to try different methods and learn from observing other photographers’ actions and ideas.
The next day was also spent indoors, as it needed to be, with a full day of editing with a detailed demonstration of, and practice of, Karolina’s workflow and editing techniques. It was amazing how much I learned about the power of buttons and menus that I had previously ignored, and the features I never knew existed, in Photoshop!
So, what did I learn? Have a plan, study the location, know where the natural light is coming from, choose a colour palette that suits the location, use a colour wheel, dress the model to suit the plan, have a bag full of props, especially for the model to hold and occupy the hands.
Pose, pose and re-pose. Pose the model to fit the background and study the background for distractions and visual intrusions and re-pose the model to eliminate them. Pose the model in the most advantageous way, be aware if the body stance detracts from the face, be aware of bulk and find a stance that minimises it (or enhances it). Note how shadows and highlights change as the model is moved.
The most important point I learned was to communicate with and work with the model to bring out the best in them. It is all well and good having a plan for the shot you want, but it is a lot easier to achieve that if the model understands what you want and it is within their abilities and boundaries to achieve it.
One technique I discovered came about by chatting with Elisharose while re-posing. I showed her one of the photos I was pleased with and asked her what she was studying at school. During a brief chat, she said her most important topic of study was to get her driver’s licence. A little later, when I was trying to have her smile for a shot, I asked her to imagine the moment when she learns she has passed her driving test. Her face lit up and I saw the genuine smile I wanted!
Hands are important and can be a real challenge. They can intrude and detract from the face by catching the viewer’s attention. It is hard to have the model relax their hands when you have brought their attention to them. Giving them something to do by holding props often helps. Arranging the hands so the smaller edge is facing the camera is a good way of minimising the visual impact.
Be aware, when working with a model, of physical closeness when rearranging costumes and hair. The most important rule is to ask first. Making people uncomfortable is not socially a good thing, and working with a tense model makes the job of the photographer far more difficult.
Confidence works. Projecting confidence through clear communication and sharing your plan with the model will help the progress of the shoot no end. Showing results as the shoot progresses brings the model into the process. Compliments go a long way.
Last, but not least ̶ practice, practice, practice!
