This got me thinking, knowledge, too much, is it still good?

Majority of the accessible information are very technical, but photography even now in the digital era, is still art, and no matter how technical it has become, aesthetics still is the key factor to getting a good picture. A bad picture, no matter how well focused, lit or exposed it is, still is a bad picture.

(Here is a classic example of a picture that is well focused, well lit, well exposed, and even in fact a very technical set-up, but yet yields a crappy photo. A model with a dead expression, too much distracting elements in the background, lighting that doesn’t match the model and etc.)

Nowadays, people are becoming more and more impatient, they want to become great photographers overnight. A great photographer must not just know things, but needs to master them for it to become second nature. Mastering something takes time. As these new photographer learn something new, they don’t give themselves enough time to actually master what they learn, and in some cases have not been employed in practical use, yet move on to learning something new. So when push come to shove and they are tasked to put these knowledge to an actual shoot, they tend to do it half baked. In doing so, they usually end up with outputs that is not to their expectations, so they keep tinkering with their gadgets and technical aspects so ending up forgeting the most important part of the shoot, the SUBJECT.

I was then thrown back a question, if too much knowledge is not good, why do I keep teaching?

I don’t teach everything there is about lighting, but instead teach you the parts of lighting that you need, fundamentals. This is to make sure further learning about the subject becomes easier. Not everything out there, even if its printed on a book or posted on a website, are knowledge needed. I also beleive that learning with a live instructor is so much better than learning from inanimate sources that lack validation. As an instructor, I can put empahsis on things that matter most, and make sure its understood before moving forward. My style of a hands-on class, means that these knowledge are put to a test. Participants will be taught of how to set-up and forget, and instead concentrate on the subject in front of them.

As a final word, just like when you construct a building, you can’t go up with out first building a good foundation. Learn and master the basic fundamentals, and trust me the rest will come easily.

This class will help you discover your own style, and not the style of the one conducting the seminar.

Seminar covers everything from basic to advance, the only lighting class you will ever need to take.

This seminar boast one of the best student to teacher ratio of 1:10, so sign up early for one of the limited 10 slots.

Feedbacks from past participants:

“Hi Ken, thank you for sharing with us your knowledge and expertise in the field of lighting. I truly learned so much from you and enjoyed the seminar a lot. Overall, i would rate the seminar 5 stars . Keeping the atmosphere light and fun helped us absorb the topics easier. Valuable knowledge was learned without information overload. The actual shoot was the highlight of it all. Being able to apply the topics hands on was the best training anyone could have. I would highly recommend your classes to my friends who are getting into photography like myself.”

“Once again, many thanks for the workshop. Honestly, I really did enjoy it. You explained the concepts clearly and you were also willing to answer all of our questions. Furthermore, I also liked the fact that you also talked about your experience as a professional photographer and the great sense of humor you have.”

“Thanks very much for the lighting class. Great class! In comparison to another lighting class that I took previously you are much more thorough. I have a much better understanding to setting up the lights, using the light meter, and ratios. I can honestly say I have much more confidence now than I did before.”

Where: Unit 602 Cityland 10 Tower 2, H.V. Dela Costa St. Salcedo Village, Makati City, behind RCBC Tower. Map to the studio.

Batch 43 (April 2010)

Day 1 April 20, 2010 Tuesday 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Day 2 April 22, 2010 Thursday 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Day 3 April 24, 2010 Saturday 10 a.m. or 3 p.m. (choose a timeslot)
Day 4 April 26, 2010 Monday 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

1st day topics:
Basic Photography refresher
Studio Equipment
Light modifiers
Triggering lights
Basic Portrait Lighting

2nd day topics:
Lighting ratios
Learning how to dissect the light set-up of a photo
Using a flash meter (hands on)

3rd day Actual Shoot with live models and professional make-up artist.

Class will be broken into 2 groups, 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., Participants should only come on their time slot, to avoid over crowding. During the shoot, each participant will be asked to conceptualize a lighting set-up to be done with their model, other participants on the same group will be assisting. After the participant finishes the shoot, other participant on the group will do the same, so the previous participant will now be acting as the assistant. (round robin system) this guarantees a hands- on set-up, thus learning from actually doing it rather than just listening. This will also make sure that the participants will the only one shooting at the time of his/her set-up, so he/she gets all the needed angles to complete the shoot, no more wrestling for a spot just to get the photo.

4th day topics:
Portable lighting equipment (strobist)
Critique session

For the critique session, participants will be asked to bring 1 to 2 of their favorite photo from the photo session printed on 5R, ink jet prints on photo paper are acceptable. All photos will be posted together on the wall for viewing.
Seminar Price is P. 4,000.00 – inclusive of handouts and certificates

* A non-refundable deposit of P. 1,000.00 will be required to reserve a slot

If you want to sign-up kindly send me the following info:
Name:
Email:
Cel. No.:
Preferred time slot for Saturday (10 a.m. or 3 p.m.):
Which batch:

seminars@photosbykengo.com

Lighting Set-up, concept and photography by the participants.

Participants:

Gonzalo Bunag, Jen Corpus, Serafin T. Ramirez, Jr., Armand Hernandez, Jeremy Sandel, Alex Tan, Mark Wong and Cyrus Oliver Sanoy

Behind the scenes:

Day 1 February 16, 2010 Tuesday 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Day 2 February 18, 2010 Thursday 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Day 3 February 20, 2010 Saturday 10 a.m. or 3 p.m. (choose a timeslot)
Day 4 February 22, 2010 Monday 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Batch 42 (March 2010)

Day 1 March 16, 2010 Tuesday 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Day 2 March 18, 2010 Thursday 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Day 3 March 20, 2010 Saturday 10 a.m. or 3 p.m. (choose a timeslot)
Day 4 March 22, 2010 Monday 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

More days!

More fun!

Coming soon this February 2010!

_______________________________

Lighting (Studio and Strobist) Seminar w/ Basic Photography BATCH # 40: When: November 14 Saturday (1:00pm to 6:00pm), November 15, Sunday (scheduled shoot) and Portable wireless lighting and Critique session on November 16, Monday (6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

_______________________________

Where: Unit 602 Cityland 10 Tower 2, H.V. Dela Costa St. Salcedo Village, Makati City, behind RCBC Tower. Map to the studio.

Maximum of 10 Participants
Topics:
1. Types of commonly used studio lights
2. Light modifiers
3. Trigerring lights
4. Measuring light
5. Light positions
6. Types of portrait lighting
7. Dealing with models
8. Portable wireless lighting (Strobist)

1st day of seminar will be on discussion of the topics, there will be no shooting to be done. Though there will be a hands-on practice in measuring lights using a flash meter. You will not be required to bring anything during the 1st day.

2nd day, scheduled shoots for the group (9am, 1pm and 4pm), models will be provided. Participants should only come on their time slot, to avoid over crowding. During the shoot, each participant will be asked to conceptualize a lighting set-up to be done with their model, other participants on the same group will be assisting. After the participant finishes the shoot, other participant on the group will do the same, so the previous participant will now be acting as the assistant. (round robin system) this guarantees a hands-on set-up, thus learning from actually doing it rather than just listening. This will also make sure that the participant will the only one shooting at the time of his/her set-up, so he/she gets all the needed angles to complete the shoot, no more wrestling for a spot just to get the photo.

3rd day, Portable wireless lighting discussion, includes gear needed and how to apply basic lighting techniques to this type of set-up. For the Critique session we will allow fellow students and me to critique ones work, as they say getting better needs one to realize its faults as to make sure to correct it the next possible time.

Kindly bring 1 to 2 of your favorite photo from the photo session printed on 5R, ink jet prints on photo paper are acceptable. All photos will be posted together on the wall for viewing. I usually also discuss some questions regarding post processing during these critique sessions.

Seminar Price is P. 3,000.00 – inclusive of handouts.

If you want to sign-up kindly send me the following info:
Name:
Email:
Cel. No.:
Preferred time slot for Sunday (9am, 1pm or 4pm):
Which Seminar:

seminars@photosbykengo.com

Lighting Set-up, concept and photography by the participants.

Participants:

Johannes Bernardo, Mark Angelo Reyes, Aljen Chu, Anna Patricia Acosta, Nolan Esteban Espenilla, Lei Viterbo, Dexter Columna, Tj Torrano, Oliver Te, Mark Jefferson Lao, Albert James Chu, Marley Manongtong, Dennis Choi, Sherwin Tsai, Catherine Tan-Afuan, Benjie Reyes Jr. and Jeffrey Tagunicar

Behind the scenes:

Where: Unit 602 Cityland 10 Tower 2, H.V. Dela Costa St. Salcedo Village, Makati City, behind RCBC Tower. Map to the studio.

Maximum of 10 Participants
Topics:
1. Types of commonly used studio lights
2. Light modifiers
3. Trigerring lights
4. Measuring light
5. Light positions
6. Types of portrait lighting
7. Dealing with models
8. Portable wireless lighting (Strobist)

1st day of seminar will be on discussion of the topics, there will be no shooting to be done. Though there will be a hands-on practice in measuring lights using a flash meter. You will not be required to bring anything during the 1st day.

2nd day, scheduled shoots for the group (9am, 1pm and 4pm), models will be provided. Participants should only come on their time slot, to avoid over crowding. During the shoot, each participant will be asked to conceptualize a lighting set-up to be done with their model, other participants on the same group will be assisting. After the participant finishes the shoot, other participant on the group will do the same, so the previous participant will now be acting as the assistant. (round robin system) this guarantees a hands-on set-up, thus learning from actually doing it rather than just listening. This will also make sure that the participant will the only one shooting at the time of his/her set-up, so he/she gets all the needed angles to complete the shoot, no more wrestling for a spot just to get the photo.

3rd day, Portable wireless lighting discussion, includes gear needed and how to apply basic lighting techniques to this type of set-up. For the Critique session we will allow fellow students and me to critique ones work, as they say getting better needs one to realize its faults as to make sure to correct it the next possible time.

Kindly bring 1 to 2 of your favorite photo from the photo session printed on 5R, ink jet prints on photo paper are acceptable. All photos will be posted together on the wall for viewing. I usually also discuss some questions regarding post processing during these critique sessions.

Seminar Price is P. 3,000.00 – inclusive of handouts.

If you want to sign-up kindly send me the following info:
Name:
Email:
Cel. No.:
Preferred time slot for Sunday (9am, 1pm or 4pm):
Which Seminar:

seminars@photosbykengo.com

Lighting Set-up, concept and photography by the participants.

Participants:

Sarah Peralta, Geraldine Parong, Erwin D Altares , Nette Mittelstaedt, Peachy Tan, Sheila Co, Noah Asanias, Jonathan Humol, Vic Fabe, Charlothe Saplad and Nataniel Santos

Behind the scenes:

Lighting Set-up, concept and photography by the participants.

Participants:

Felipe Mathew Sanchez Jr., John Bondoc, Keena Paula Llamado, Dale Sta Rosa, Arnold Cruz, Sam Santiago, Reumir Paliza, Mary Rose de Villa, Pert Ilagan and Jayvee Mataro

Behind the scenes: