The Work In Progress Photography Seminars are finally here!
The first two one-day workshops were held on Saturdays: July 11 and August 22, 2009. We focused on creating great lighting, composition, working with art directors, hair and makeup artists, models, etc.
I didn’t want this thing to get too boring, so we’ll be working in the amazing Metropolitan Building in NY, where the likes of Steven Meisel, Paolo Roversi, Diego Uchitel, Patrick Demarchelier, Annie Leibovitz, and Me have all worked 
We’ll be shooting on one of these two floors:
Second Floor
Third Floor
Here are a few of the tear sheets from the Met Bldg’s promo materials:
http://www.metropolitanbuilding.com/tearsheets/index.html
And here are a few of my advertising images from the Metropolitan Bldg:
So here’s the plan:
There will be a maximim of 5 participants. The format will be fairly loose. I want you to get as much out of it as possible – and to that extent we will be doing what you all want to do the most. The space is huge so we will have plenty of space to spread out. I’ll be concentrating on using daylight and mixing it with strobes, bounce cards, gels, etc. Also discussed will be the pluses and minuses of front lighting, back lighting, side lighting, strobe, tungsten, modeling lights, and such.
So bring your cameras, tripods for sure because it can be a little dark in there, laptops if you want, small reflectors, and whatever else you like to work with.
And since we’ll be in New York, I will also have guest Art Directors/Makeup artists/Stylists who have worked on assignments for Vogue Italia, Kate Spade, Prada, Bergdorf Goodman, Victoria’s Secret, Surface, Allure, New York Times, etc. So part of the day will feel like a real assignment, because it sort of will be
We will also be using models from Ford Models, New York Models, and elsewhere.
[In case you are wondering if I know what I am doing, well...er...sort of
Actually, I do have a lot of teaching experience, including teaching photography at Parsons School of Design in New York as well as in Paris. I was also the Assistant Chair of the Photo department there for a number of years.]
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Cost of this workshop is $495 per person for the way, which covers: the space, lighting, models, make-up artists, breakfast and lunch. Not included are lodging and transportation.
PayPal e-check is the preferred method of Payment. If you want to pay by regular PayPal or PayPal Credit Card, please add in $14.85 (3%) to help cover the PayPal processing fee. When sending payment, please specify the date of the workshop which you would like to attend. Cancellation must be made 15 days prior to the workshop day in order to receive a refund. Payment should be sent to ron at ron purdy dot com. Also, any questions you may have can be sent to the above e-mail address, or posted in the comments section of this post and I will reply.
~AFS
May 15th, 2009 on 9:57 am
Count me in for July 11….will send an email with more info.
May 15th, 2009 on 10:02 am
will this be all day? if not when is he start and end time?
May 15th, 2009 on 10:06 am
Yes, we’ll be busy all day. We’ll meet at 9:00 AM and go till you all have had enough. I imagine we’ll finish around 5:00 or maybe a little earlier. Then we can go have a beer someplace. (by the way, did you guys who registered here get an e-mail when this was posted?)
May 15th, 2009 on 1:00 pm
This will be fantastic. Count me in for July 11. BTW, the location looks awesome. Third floor looks very promising.
May 15th, 2009 on 3:46 pm
I am pretty sure that the third floor is where we will be…it’s my favorite floor to work on, and strangely the easiest one to book.
May 15th, 2009 on 7:13 pm
Ron, can you give me an idea of what the Metropolitan charges? It looks like a terrific site.
May 15th, 2009 on 7:24 pm
Hey Rich, that depends on many factors, like what you are shooting, and for whom. I’ll give you the contact info off-line if you want, and you can call them. They “don’t do e-mail.”
May 15th, 2009 on 9:06 pm
Ron, count me in for 7/11. please email me the instruction. thanks, Will
May 15th, 2009 on 9:10 pm
Great Will, just follow the PayPal instructions above and you will be sent further info shortly.
May 16th, 2009 on 9:35 am
Am interested. One question. I shoot stock. Would it be possible to have the models sign releases and use the images as RF stock?
Thanks
May 16th, 2009 on 9:57 am
Hi WD, I’ll look into it.
May 16th, 2009 on 10:01 am
FYI: The July session is starting to fill up, so if you plan to come in July, I encourage you to register soon.
May 16th, 2009 on 6:41 pm
Hi, Ron,
I didn’t receive your email notification regarding the workshop !
I have a wedding to shoot on July 11, so I will attend the August 22 one.
Cheers.
Peter
May 17th, 2009 on 7:41 am
Hi Ron,
Thanks! Looking forward to the workshop!!
Erwin
May 17th, 2009 on 8:13 am
Hi Ron -
I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I’m out of the country in July, planning to sign-up for the August session. Before I do,
however, here’s a quick question:
I’m a photographer transitioning from photojournalism and documentary onto fashion and commercial. I have very very strong and solid natural light skills and have done dedicated flash mount over camera work. However, I have ZERO skills when it comes to studio lights. I know light theories and light schemes, etc – but I’m really looking for HANDS ON STROBES workshop – how to work with strobes, set them up, heck – what switch to flip, what screw to tighten, what gear to choose, how to do wireless, etc. etc. — I want my hands to get dirty!
So, is THIS the workshop for me??? I want to be able to play with the light, set it up, learn how it PHYSICALLY work – less so the effect on the image. Does that make sense? If this is NOT the workshop for me, can you suggest what is? I don’t mind even hiring someone for a one-on-one workshop, like a lighting mentor lesson!
Thoughts????
Thanks VERY much
I LOVE this site –
Shivi Isman
May 17th, 2009 on 7:43 pm
Shivi, this may not be the right one for you. We’ll be working with lights (strobe, maybe hot lights,…) but the main thrust will be what all goes into a location photo shoot with an art director, stylist, etc. And the lighting of such a shoot.
For an intensive strobe lesson, let’s talk off-line about some options. Are you here in NY? (send me an e-mail…)
May 18th, 2009 on 12:55 pm
Hi Ron,
Is there any minimum level in lighting/photography required?
How many models will there be? How many MUAs?
Will each photographer assign one model?
Thanks!
Sam
May 18th, 2009 on 10:27 pm
Count me in for the August 22nd class. Just send me the info to lock down the spot.
May 19th, 2009 on 11:48 am
Sam, probably one or two models, one or two ADs. There is no minimum level really, just a desire to checkout the process of commercial photography and lighting in a cool space.
David, you can use paypal as described above at the end of the announcement…looking forward to it!
May 21st, 2009 on 6:49 am
Ron,
Have you had a chance to find out whether the model’s would sign releases for RF stock?
Thanks
WD
May 22nd, 2009 on 8:59 am
Hi WD, that depends on which modeling agencies we use. It’s still TBA.