Photography Workshops with Mark Robert Halper - Los Angeles and national

Photographing People for Publication
Three Day Intensive Hands-On Workshop
at Mark's Los Angeles Studio

February 29 - March 2, 2008 Full - Waiting List Only
Waiting List - Please send us an email with your phone number and the dates you are interested in to be put on the waiting list. Participants signed up for a later workshop have first priority to transfer to an eariler workshop if a space opens up.

April 18 - 20, 2008 Full - Waiting List Only
Waiting List - Please send us an email with your phone number and the dates you are interested in to be put on the waiting list. Participants signed up for a later workshop have first priority to transfer to an eariler workshop if a space opens up.

July 4 - 6, 2008 Full - Waiting List Only
Waiting List - Please send us an email with your phone number and the dates you are interested in to be put on the waiting list. Participants signed up for a later workshop have first priority to transfer to an eariler workshop if a space opens up.

November 7 - 9, 2008 Recently announced and only 5 spaces left!

Friday 9am-10pm, Saturday 8:30am-10pm and Sunday 9:30am-5pm.

Tuition is $895
Please also plan on a fixed meal cost of $150 for the entire workshop (two dinners, three lunches, and three light breakfasts), as well as a $175 model and location fee, both due on the first day of the workshop.

Class size is strictly limited to twelve participants.
Early Registration is encouraged for all Photography Workshops. The previous ten of these photography workshops were complete sellouts, filing up weeks and months in advance. Sign up now to guarantee your spot.

This workshop will focus on creating portraits for publication. We will cover how to handle lighting, locations, studio, getting good poses and expressions, and the general area of creating publication quality portraiture appropriate to the paid, professional market.

At the heart of the process is creating with intent - which is a specific and teachable process of making images based on both client needs and your personal vision. This is not an esoteric concept, but one at the heart of every good photograph (even if it exists by chance).

Mark's approach to lighting is about using uncomplicated setups and minimal equipment to get good results without having to make a large investment or load yourself down with gear. Good lighting can be surprisingly simple. The real work is done with your eyes and your mind; setting up a stand or two is easy once you know what you want to do. In this workshop you will learn to visualize, manipulate, and create light on location. We will cover will emphasize using single sources and combining them with existing lighting, as well as how to handle more complicated setups. The experience will be intense and highly challenging; please be prepared to be pushed past your normal comfort level. Past students have accurately described the experience as being very much like a Photo Boot Camp.

Topics include Credible, Interesting, and Flattering light; the four traditional lighting patterns; light as a function of size, direction and distance; fill light, scouting and composing a location portrait; exposure and the histogram; a great technique for getting great poses out of your subject; the basic tenants of running a successful photography business; the tight portrait; the environmental portrait; working with natural light; tungsten lighting; strobe lighting; and creating outstanding portraits with just one light.

This workshop is for photographers using digital SLR cameras (any camera where you can actually see through the lens, rather than a monitor, is appropriate). You should also have access to a computer between classes to access your images (laptops are preferable, but not necessary). Using a digital workflow will enable us to quickly and easily adjust and perfect our set-ups, shoot without film costs, and see our work almost instantly. Students should know how to use their cameras and have a good basic knowledge of photography (that means you know the difference between f/2 and f/22, why you would choose one over the other, and how to use your camera in manual mode). Previous lighting experience is useful, but not necessary. Participants will be asked to submit images to be admitted to the class.

It is no difficult task to put together a collection of strong student work for nearly any workshop. It is a different matter entirely to showcase the work of an entire class. To help illustrate the transation that is possible in only three days, please visit the April 2008 Participant Gallery to see all three assignments from all twelve participants.

Admission by instructor approval only, please contact us to be approved the workshop before using the links below. Payment does not require a PayPal account.

If you have having any issues using the PayPal links, please contact us to make alternate arrangements. Payment is not refundable unless the class is cancelled. Should the class be cancelled for any reason, our liability is limited to a full refund of all fees paid to us.

The Exceptional Portrait
from Concept to Execution

Monday, March 3, 2008
Anthony Nex Photography Studio
Helms Bakery Building
3221 Hutchinson Ave, Los Angeles 90034
(Note: The Helms Bakery Building strides both L.A. and Culver City)
We request that you do not park in the Helms Bakery parking lot as a courtesy to Mr. Nex and his neighbors. There is plenty of parking on Venice Blvd. and in the general area.

9:00am - 6:00pm

Tuition is only $195, which includes lunch.

This group is limited to 50 participants.
Filling quickly - sign up now to guarantee your spot!

For another perspective on this workshop, you can visit this blog to read about one participant's experience the last time this class was offered.

For this one day workshop, Mark will open up his process for getting to know and understand his subjects, share his thought processes, and conceptualize and execute a photo session while taking you through it all on a step by step basis.

We begin the morning by examining the process of intent - a specific and teachable process of making images based on both client needs and your personal vision. This is not an esoteric concept, but one at the heart of every good photograph (even if it exists by chance).

As we progress, you'll get to see Mark actually problem solve the shoot from arrival to finished portrait. Mark will interview his subject and you'll get to see how he gets into their head to understand who they are. Mark will do a series of demonstrations using a range of techniques and styles. You'll also participate in an exercise designed to guide you towards talking with your subjects to get a deeper understanding of who they are, and learn to apply that understanding to your portraits.

The emphasis is on understanding, and using that insight to realize your vision. This isn't a few "tips and tricks" that are good for a few weeks until you tire of them, but a way of understanding and working with light and photography that you can build on in virtually any direction you want to go.

This is an excellent companion workshop to "Photographing People for Publication".

No matter what level you shoot at, you'll find that there's plenty here for you to learn. In our experience, most working professionals often find great value in re-evaluating their approach based on this new perspective.

There are no requirements to register for this class, but a working knowledge of photography is highly suggested to get the full benefit of the experience.

The Exceptional Portrait
Two Day Extreme on the Road

Cities and dates are still TBD for mid and late 2008. If you'd like to see us in your city, please let us know. We are a looking for locations to host us, and groups of photographers who are interested in the experience.

Saturday, 9am - 11pm, and Sunday 8:30am to 5pm

Regular tuition is $885
APA, ASMP, EP, and PPA members, Students, Assistants, and Lightsource listeners all pay $785

This group is limited to 14 participants.

Mark has created a new workshop to take on the road. Planned as an intense two day weekend, we've stuffed it with more than two days worth of material and still left time for hands-on shooting. We've taken the one day Exceptional Portrait Workshop and expanded it to include much of what we cover in Photographing People for Publication to provide you with an unforgettable experience.

You won't need expensive strobe equipment, or even an on camera flash, you'll be able to do an amazing amount with a simple continuous light source (think $15 home depot work light). Strobes and other professional equipment are welcome, but not at all necessary - great light isn't about the cost of the equipment and in this workshop we'll really focus on expending brain power instead of money on our images.

Day One Highlights

After a quick introductions, we'll jump right into the process of intent - a step-by-step approach to making an image that based in your personal vision that reflects what you find beautiful, interesting, and/or compelling about the subject of your photograph. The Process of Intent empowers you to consistently create outstanding images, without having to rely on chance and luck.

Following that will be a lighting demonstration designed to bring you back to the heart of working with light. All good light has some consistent qualities, which we will discuss, and then we'll move into thinking about light as a function of direction, distance and size (not a function of soft boxes and other accessories you really don't need and often don't even want to own). We'll also look at the use of a fill light, and how to do a surprisingly simple beauty light with just a white surface. The presentation will culminate with Mark doing a professional level shoot of our model, putting to practical use the process of intent within the confines of actual client needs.

Now it's your turn to shoot! Bring your camera and anything else you like, but you'll find you don't need much to do an outstanding tight portrait when you take the time to think about why you are creating the photo, who your client is, and know something about your subject.

You'll probably want dinner about now, so we'll bring it in for you. During that time, Mark will make the rounds to give you feedback on what you've done.

You aren't finished yet! This is where we get that extra bit in, and the feedback you get during dinner is what you'll need to make the jump we want you to make by tomorrow. It's time for the evening shoot.

Day Two Highlights

Coffee and Breakfast. Ready to go? Good!

Now is when you really get to see intent at work. Working with a new subject, Mark will go through his intensive and deeply personal interview process in front of the class.

Taking what he learns from it, he will conceive and execute from scratch two to three different portraits using different lighting techniques, and he'll do it all using only what's at hand. We can't tell you what to expect, because there's no way to tell where the interview will go, and that's the point.

That's right, it's your turn again. You do your interview. You plan your image. You take your photo, and Mark's right there to help you through it.

At the end of the day we'll wrap up with some of Mark's thoughts on photography and running a successful business as a creative professional.

In the course of the class we'll also cover some of the basics of digital photography, including using your histogram for exposure, we'll talk about background choices, we'll look at bounced light, we'll talk about and demonstrate both professional strobe and tungsten lighting, and we'll keep the general focus on working with a single light source.

(Breakfast and lunch will be served both days, and dinner will be served on the first day. Vegetarian options will be available, and we always work to only serve you food that we'd also like to eat. Please plan on an additional $80-$90 for catering costs. As you might have guessed, we'll be shooting each other to keep costs down and make it practical to hold the class. What you may not realize is that you can learn just as much from being on the other side of the camera, even if you find it less comfortable than looking through the viewfinder. Most of your subjects will feel the same way and the insight is very valuable. The details are subject to improvement, if we find a better way to structure the class.)

You don't need to submit work to register for this class, but you are responsible for knowing how to use you digital camera in manual mode and for understanding the basics of photography, such as f-stop and shutter speed. You will need a DLSR, a tripod (even if you don't normally use them), and a laptop is very highly suggested.

(Please send us a email letting us know which workshop dates to apply your payment to, or indicate it in the PayPal notes.)

Regular cost:

Professional Organization and Student Discounted cost:

Los Angeles Photographer Mark Robert Halper also works as a photographer in Orange County and throughout California. Find out more about Mark's Fine Art Photography, corporate headshots, music photography, annual report photography, photography workshops, and Mark's Innovative Family Portraits and other photography business. Mark now also offers hotel and corporate art photography, and other resources. There is also a photography internship available from Los Angeles Photographer Mark Robert Halper.