Click 2015!
Lisa & Tom Cuchara Present: How To Start A Portrait Business + Posing Your Subjects For Portraits + Applying Textures To Your Photographs
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Programs:
Textures. What is a texture? We know texture when we see it, but when we refer to a “Texture” as photographic tool we mean a photograph that is placed on top of another photograph and then “blended” or adjusted to affect how it is portrayed. “Textures” can be just that, photographs of rust, peeling paint, old paper, etc., but they can also be clouds, bokeh, bubbles, water drops, wallpaper, walls, words, old letters, grass, etc. The specific texture that you pick will affect how your photograph underneath looks, but you have additional choices by changing the blending mode (there are 20 blend mode, but a handful that are commonly used when blending textures) for that texture later. Changing the blending modes alters the way that particular texture interacts with the photograph underneath. Join Lisa Cuchara as she shows you how to edit some of your photographs to give them a different feel by applying textures to them. Textures can add a mood or a feel to an image; making the photograph softer, warmer, grungier, older, etc. In this intermediate workshop (assumes knowledge of layers and masks) Lisa will show you how to collect your own textures, how to use textures, how to remove textures from part of an image, how to remove color from a texture and change the color of the texture and how to prevent the texture from affecting of the photograph below while leaving the color. Program Time: Session 3- 2:30-3:15pm
“How to Start a Portrait Business.”
Becoming a photography business is more than just being able to take good photographs: you must also be a good business person and wear many hats, from marketing to accountant to therapist. Tom and Lisa will discuss the logistical aspects of becoming a photography business: paperwork, taxes (income and sales), protecting yourself (LLC), choosing a business name and logo, equipment insurance, liability insurance, malpractice insurance, contracts, model releases, copyright, the importance of education and continuing education, dealing with “Uncle Bob”, competing with people who buy a camera and get a Facebook page, meeting with clients, website, blog, social media, marketing, pricing, getting the right client (being a good match), joining professional associations (PPA, CTPPA, WPPI, ASMP, etc.), competition at the professional level, companies that cater to professional photographers, PPAs’ see the difference, PPA’s benchmark services, etc. We will also discuss studio location (home versus rental versus on solely location shoots), being a photographer part time versus full time, and choosing your specialty and/or niche. We will also touch upon lighting options (natural light, speedlights, Studio strobes) and equipment choices as they relate to your business being in a Studio versus on location. The importance of knowing your equipment and lighting and post-processing will also be discussed. Program Time: Session 1- 9:30-10:15am
“Posing Your Subjects for Portraits”
Tom and Lisa will provide tips for photographing people. When photographing people professionally various aspects come into play: clothing suggestions, accessory (jewelry, hats, scarves, fun stuff) choices, the comfort level of the person (making them comfortable and establishing rapport), posing hands, facial analysis, matching your pose to your subject, lighting, and most importantly expression (which is related to rapport, natural expression, and your particular model). We will concentrate on tips related to photographing a single person, but will also touch upon couples and families. We will talk about newborn photography as well.Program Time: Session 2- 10:45-11:30am
BIO:
Lisa Cuchara, PhD, MNEC, and Tom Cuchara MNEC are both very passionate about photography, and they enjoy both being behind the lens and in the digital darkroom. They love to photograph nature, but find many subjects equally intriguing. From birds and flowers to babies and HDR, they appreciate the world around them and embraces the challenge of interpreting what their eyes see and their hearts feel via the camera lens. Photography allows them to pay attention to the details, to be mindful, to slow down and appreciate all of the beauty, details and nuances of everyday life. Lisa and her husband Tom are both very active in many local, national, and international photography organizations. You may view some of their photographs here:http://www.breaphotosgalleries.com/). Lisa and Tom have been photographing people professionally for over 15 years and have their own Photography Studio in Hamden CT. Their portrait philosophy is based on “We do not remember days, we remember Moments”. They have had many successful gallery exhibitions and their photographs have appeared in Adirondack Life, Wild Bird, Birder’s World, in calendars, and on the cover of paperback novel. Lisa and Tom also teach photography a variety of camera and post-processing workshops, in the classroom and in the field (www.meetup.com/Image-Enhancement/).
