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Simon Stafford’s Available Light Portraiture Workshop

Saturday, 17th September

2.00 p.m. – 5.30 p.m.

The workshop will be held in central London, at Fitzroy House, 37 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 6DX on Saturday, 17th September between 2.00 p.m. and 5.30 p.m.. The price of the workshop is £155 with the lower price of £95 for Nikon Owner subscribers and includes mid-afternoon tea and coffee.

To book a place on this course, please reply to me, Gillian Greenwood, by email only with your full name, Nikon Owner subscription number if available, postcode, daytime mobile and landline. Please note there are very limited places available, so do email as soon as you are able to, in order to ensure you have a place.

gillian.greenwood@graysofwestminster.co.uk

About the course:

Regardless of whether the subject is a family member, close friend, commercial client, or a stranger encountered while travelling, portrait photography is one of the most popular genres of the medium. This workshop has been prepared to help you make a dramatic improvement to the quality of your portrait pictures by producing creative results. The emphasis is focused very much on working with available light and the practical application of tools and techniques. Simon will share his in-depth knowledge and thirty years of photographic experience, so that you can achieve professional looking portraits easily and swiftly using a minimum of equipment. (Please note that attendance of one of Simon’s previous seminars/workshops is not a prerequisite to attending this event.)

Simon Stafford, Nikon Expert

Simon will lead you through a variety of lighting techniques with live demonstrations, both indoors and outside (weather permitting!), so you will be able to observe first-hand how to improve your results. He will show you how to set-up and position simple lighting accessories to control the available light to produce an immediate difference to the quality of your portrait photography, as well as discuss the selection and application of camera equipment for different styles of portrait shooting. Follow Simon as he offers tips on the ‘big five’: background, exposure, composition, pose and colour, and learn why it is so important to work to the adage: keep it simple!

Session 1

Whether you are shooting indoors or outdoors, light is the key ingredient to any portrait picture, understanding light and how to control it is essential. In this session you will learn how to:

• Assess light for its colour, direction and quality
• Modify the nature of the lighting quality to improve results by using both improvised and commercial lighting accessories
• Influence the colour of light to enhance and compliment your subject
• Use the TTL metering system of your camera to best advantage in different lighting conditions

Session 2

The camera tools you use will be determined by the style of picture you want to shoot. In this session you will learn how to:

• Work with lenses to achieve the “look” you require
• Use the lens aperture, and control perspective to best effect
• Adjust camera settings, such as Nikon Picture Controls and ISO sensitivity to produce creative results
• Use a supplementary artificial light source to add an extra quality to your portrait pictures

Session 3

Whether you photograph a close family member or a complete stranger, you must work with your subject to put them at ease and get the best out of them. In this session you will learn how to:

• Break down the barriers to put your subject at ease
• Pose your subject to inspire them with confidence and make them look good
• Compose your shots with the most effective camera angles and make use of available props to enhance your pictures
• Add depth and impact to your pictures by making the most of a location

About Simon Stafford

As well as being one of one of the world’s foremost Nikon experts, Simon Stafford is the technical editor of Nikon Owner magazine and best-selling author of numerous Magic Lantern Guides to the Nikon camera system.

If you are not already a Nikon Owner subscriber, you are welcome to join Nikon Owner at the same time to receive the benefit of booking the workshop at the lower price.

Standard Annual Subscription – special price: £59

• 1-year Subscription to Nikon Owner
• 3-year warranty on all new Nikon products from Grays of Westminster
• Nikon Owner magazine, a superb, glossy full-colour 60-page quarterly magazine that is 100% Nikon. Each issue delivers benchmark technical reviews of the very latest Nikon equipment, thought-provoking interviews and articles with world-class images
• Private user-name and password to subscribers-only website
• Simon Stafford’s Technical Helpline
• 18-month warranty on second-hand Nikon from Grays of Westminster
• 10% off Think Tank bags purchased at Grays of Westminster
• Special trips and events
• Discounts on events and training sessions
• 10% off any training courses run by Nikon UK

Silver Subscription – launch price: £129 (normal price: £179)

• 2-year Subscription to Nikon Owner
• 3-year warranty on all new Nikon products from Grays of Westminster
• A half-hour tutorial on the phone or face to face, by appointment
• Nikon Owner quarterly magazine as above
• Private user-name and password to subscribers-only website
• Simon Stafford’s Technical Helpline
• 18-month warranty on second-hand Nikon from Grays of Westminster
• 10% off Think Tank bags purchased at Grays of Westminster
• Special trips and events
• Discounts on events and training sessions
• 10% off any training courses run by Nikon UK

Gold subscription – launch price £349 (normal price £450)

• 5-year subscription to Nikon Owner
• 5-year warranty on all new Nikon products from Grays of Westminster
• 2-year warranty on second-hand Nikon from Grays of Westminster
• Gold Priority waiting list for all new Nikon releases (top of the waiting list)
• A half-hour tutorial on the phone or face to face, by appointment
• Special offers to Gold subscribers throughout the period of subscription
• A signed copy of Grays of Westminster – In the Company of Legends, or if you have one already, a Nikon Magic Lantern Guide of your choice
• A Grays of Westminster umbrella (in store only)
• Nikon Owner quarterly magazine as above
• Private user-name and password to subscribers-only website which includes forum, message board, technical equipment reviews, events’ page and use of a photo gallery
• Gold subscription card
• Simon Stafford’s Technical Helpline
• 10% off Think Tank bags purchased at Grays of Westminster
• Special trips and events
• Substantial discounts on training sessions organised by Grays of Westminster, including Mike Maloney’s Workshops , Heather Angel’s Wildlife & Natural History Workshops, Simon Stafford’s Definitive Flash, Portraiture and Macro Training Sessions, Michael Eleftheriades’ panoramic and colour-calibration seminars and Chris Weston’s Photographic Courses.
• 10% off any training courses run by Nikon UK