Glyn Dewis

by Glyn

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May 13 2013

New Pictures and Sneak Peek Behind the Scenes: The Magician / Illusionist

Hey Folks,

Hope you had a great weekend.

I thought I’d kick the week off showing you a couple of pictures from the Magician promo photo shoot I mentioned last week PLUS show a little of the studio set up.

First off though, I just want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who sent emails, texts and messaged on Facebook, Google+ sending messages of Congratulations to Anne and myself on our 14th Wedding Anniversary yesterday; you made a very special day even more so.

So, the Magician Photo Shoot…

On the day in the studio we worked on four different looks; namely portrait, levitation, card throwing and escapology.

I was really looking forward to the shoot as I’ve always been fascinated by Magic so even when it came to the shoot I kept out of the studio and stayed in the office whilst Michael set everything up.

I tell you, even when I came out to photograph the Levitation trick I was still like…”How the?!?!” Of course now I’m kind of aware how it’s done but am sworn to secrecy

As for the lighting you can see in this short video that I used 3 lights but this time having the strip lights to the side positioned high up and angled down and there were a couple of reasons for this:

Michael’s arms were going to be outstretched and it prevented his hands becoming hot or overexposed ands also meant his arms would be lit evenly.
As Michael was wearing a shirt with high collars, having the lights high up and angled down prevented that hard shadow going across his neck.

Because this was a promotional photo for Michael Otton, we also shot some images for simple a simple portrait like the one below.

As for the lighting it was pretty much the same as for the levitation shot above all except for the strip lights weren’t high and angled down but rather in the normal position either side and behind Michael and pointing towards each other (i.e. vertical)

I’m just finishing off the card throwing and escapology images but to give you an idea of the starting point here’s the out of camera shot of card throwing and also a work in progress of the escapology; I’ll be sure to post the final versions later this week.

Right that’s all from me for today so as always if you have any questions or comments then please feel free to make use of the comments section below.

Have a great day and I’ll catch you back here tomorrow.
Enjoy,
Glyn

by Glyn

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May 13, 2013 - 5:39 am

Thomas Churchwell - What do you think of my image of Millionaire Magician Steve Cohen from the TV show “Lost Magic:Decoded?” we shot it at the Waldorf Astoria in NYC where he has his nightly show called “Chamber Magic” which you can read more about on “ChamberMagic.com”
Check out my image
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151274992253459&set=a.10151274954638459.498710.708768458&type=3&theater

May 10 2013

NEWSFLASH: 3 New Spaces Available for my Dynamic Duo Workshop

Hey Everyone,

How’s things?

Much planned for the weekend?

Sunday will be our 14th Wedding Anniversary so we’ve a few things planned; can’t wait

Today though I have some news for you…

I now have 3 spaces available for my Dynamic Duo Photography & Photoshop Workshop on Saturday 18th May 2013

Originally planned for the 11th May circumstances beyond my control meant the workshop had to be put back by 1 week which has resulted in making alternative arrangements for 3 attendees who are unable to make it.

Tickets will be available at the original Early Bird price of just £99 and sold on a first come first served basis.

Location: Wokingham, Berkshire
Time: 10am – 6pm (followed by the obligatory curry)

For more details and to BOOK your place at the discounted price CLICK HERE

Look forward to seeing you there!

Right must dash…places to go, people to see so have a fabulous weekend and I’ll see you back here in a few days.

Enjoy,
Glyn

by Glyn

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May 10, 2013 - 11:33 am

Bob Bell - Happy anniversary mate, have a good un

May 09 2013

Work in Progress: I’m a Magic Man (Magician Promotional Photo Shoot)

Hey Everyone,

How’s your week going?

Today I thought I’d give you a sneak peek at a recent photo shoot with Magician Michael Otton. Regular readers may recognise the name as I photographed Michael last year for his D.J. promotional material too:

This particular shoot was for Michael’s new promotional material and one that we’d be planning for some time. Having always enjoyed magic as a kid I was really looking forward to seeing some of the props and maybe, just maybe being shown a few tricks during the day too.

As is common practice for me, in the time leading up to the shoot I’d asked Michael to send over or Pin (using Pinterest) any pictures he saw across the internet that he liked the feeling of; not so we could copy but just to give me an idea for what he liked when it came to poses and ‘feel’. It was also a good way to see what he didn’t like as this is sometimes easier to say as opposed to defining a specific look…if you know what I mean.

Anyway, here’s some of the images I got through from Michael arranged in one of my favourite iPad Apps: Moodboard

As for the photo shoot we worked on four specific sets / looks namely: 3/4 length portrait, levitation, escapologist and card throwing and with a brief to produce one image from each.

Aiming for one shot from each set is something I find helps me to focus and so produce a much better result. Instead of ending up with lots of average photos I prefer to spend time getting one exactly how we both want it and once we have the ‘one’ we can go for more but not too many as the priority then is to move onto the next set.

Here’s a screen grab from my Lightroom Catalog to give you an idea of some of the out of camera shots we came up with; of course now it’s time for the retouching so I’ll be sure to post a few of the finished images once they’re ready.

Have a great day whatever you’re up to and I’ll catch you back here tomorrow.

Enjoy,
Glyn

by Glyn

7 comments

May 12, 2013 - 9:16 pm

Jason Joseph - Hi Glyn,

I do the very same thing with Pinterest. I also ask clients to feel free to create a separate board of photos that they absolutely hate…I learn a ton that way.. and sometimes even more than what I learn from what they like.

Cheers,
~j.j.
http://www.JasonJosephStudio.com

PS you should check out Disqus commenting system for blogs.. its top level kit.

May 9, 2013 - 9:11 pm

Glyn - Thanks so much Jose

May 9, 2013 - 9:11 pm

Glyn - Hi jlua…I’ll be releasing tutorials covering exactly that very soon.
Thanks

May 9, 2013 - 9:10 pm

Glyn - Thanks DaveT

May 9, 2013 - 4:16 pm

José Parcerisa V - Glyn I like very much the shot and treatment you have made to the DJ. As usual an excellent work. congratulations. Your friend José.

May 9, 2013 - 9:00 am

jlua - Glyn, I would love to see a tutorial from you describing the retouch process that you use to get that rendering of faces and skin that looks so graphic.

May 9, 2013 - 7:07 am

DaveT - Hi Glyn,
I appreciate these posts, it’s good to get the background to the shoot and how it all unfolds. Looking forward to seeing the end results.

Dave

May 08 2013

Successful Photo Shoots…Guaranteed!!!

Hey Folks,

Thanks for stopping by.

Today I want to touch on something that I actually taught a class on at Photoshop World in Orlando recently; Successful Photo Shoots…Guaranteed!!!

Now this may seem like a bit of a sales pitch because I’m going to recommend you take a look at a class I’ve recorded but I make no apologies for saying it because I really do believe in the overall message…Planning!

Everyone wants to get the very best results from each and every photo shoot right? But not everyone has their own studio so that means maybe having to part with some £££ for a few hours to hire a space, and then on top of that there’s maybe paying for the model and of course…there’s the time.

We’re all busy people so if you can only get to shoot every now and again you want to make sure you end up with the photos / pictures you set out for.

Sounds all well and good but how?
Well anyone who knows me, knows that I’m a BIG believer in planning photo shoots; treating each and every photo shoot the same regardless of it being for a client or a personal project…I plan it all; theme, location, model, props…the lot.

Since doing this I can hand on heart say that from each and every shoot I’ve had I’ve come away with exactly the results I was after. This was the topic of one of my classes at the recent Photoshop World Conference and Expo in Orlando, Florida where I talked through the whole process including pictures, videos, examples and so on…

So if you didn’t manage to get to Photoshop World and my class I wanted to let you you know that you can also check out my Character Composite Class over on Kelby Training where I cover exactly that; planning everything. the shooting and the retouching all in class just over 1 hour in length.

Check out the promotional video below:

And if you’re not a member of Kelby Training, there’s also the option to rent classes too for just $9.99 which gives you 72 hours to watch the course as many times as you want:

Here’s some viewer comments posted over on the Kelby Training website:

Just watched this video—it was AWESOME! Literally the best time I have ever spent learning on this site. This course changed my editing and processing on the spot, and the few pics I have processed since then…can’t even believe they are mine. Love Glyn’s style, both as a photographer and as an instructor. Going through the whole process from concept to post production made it such a powerful learning experience. Cannot wait to see more of Glyn’s stuff on the site!!!! ~ T.Simon
Glyn, you mention that it is important to keep fun doing it. You know? watching the video was fun too! I like the fact that you cover the entire process: from getting the inspiration, to building the moodboard, shooting the backgrounds (and some extra shots), to finally putting it all together. I will be watching this one a few times more! ~ R. Van Leeuwen
Brilliant class. Straight talking, easy to understand and full of great information. ~ J. Wolfisz
Fantastic Class! Covered everything from how to plan out your photo shoot, what to use in the planning phase like apps, and tech tools. Shooting on location what to look out for, and then shooting the model in studio and the studio lighting. I thought his Photoshop work was brilliant and very insightful. Will definitely be reviewing this class again and again and again!!!!! ~ K. Holmes
One of the best courses on KelbyTraining.com. Great instructor. Inspirational! ~ P. Lanigan

Oh one more thing, since recording this class I’ve also started using the IMPAwards website for ideas / inspiration too…it ROCKS! [Link]

So here’s to Planning and making sure that EVERY photo shoot is successful!

Have a great Wednesday and I’ll catch you back here tomorrow.
Enjoy,
Glyn

Check out my Character Composite Class here [Link]

by Glyn

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