San Francisco Photographer – Bay Area Portrait Photography

Zack Arias‘ OneLight Workshop was 15.5 hours of discussing, learning, playing, shaping and creating light all packed into one day.  Yes, it was a long day but it flew by (well, except for the ‘I’m freezing’ part – it was 20 degrees colder than forecasted and I was not prepared)!  What I really appreciated about this workshop was that it was very hands-on.  But hands-on in a way that really made you think, pre-visualize and make your own settings so you really ‘get it’ and have those ‘a-ha’ moments.   Zack was around to help you think through it if you got stuck but essentially, after the lecture part, let you play with all the equipment and most importantly learn to KNOW the limitations of the equipment.  That part of it was super huge for me.  I’ve tried some cool lighting set-ups before and sometimes getting some cool results but not fully understanding why or confident that I could reproduce it.  This workshop helped me feel confident about the how and why so I can concentrate more on being creative and having fun.

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Below are some of my favorite shots.  These first 2 shots were taken in the back parking lot within minutes of each other but with very different approaches and outcomes.  This first shot I call my ‘rock star’ shot.  Love the flare on the glasses and the blue sky with Emily rocking the pose.

Taken minutes later at a different part of the parking lot.  Doesn’t Kati look like a super hero contemplating the world?  🙂  I love how the clouds frame her too.

The models were so great.  It was literally freezing with crazy wind and snowing at times.  You can’t tell but Kati’s shivering to the bone.  We had to get our photos in quick!  This was taken on the roof top of ZumaPhoto, owned and operated by the very talented Mitch Burt & Pepper Nix, our gracious hosts for the workshop.

Pepper was super great and gave me permission to use the guitar as a prop.  Little did I know that Nate was a musician and just started playing.  Can anyone name the cord he’s playing?  I love this ‘moody musician’ shot I took of him.

Oh, and we had some fun with grids too.  This was shot at night in a dark little alley.  We went off in small groups and photographed each other.  This is Aubrey, one of the participants.  Funny, I didn’t even realize the wall was red until we lit it!

Same set up as above but taken from a different angle.  She looks like she’s just about to go on stage.  It is sooo amazing what you can find by asking yourself, ‘I wonder what it looks like from here?’ and playing!  🙂

I highly recommend attending this workshop if you can get in.  Zack is an open book and gives you everything he’s got.  He literally will not leave until everyone has every single question they have answered.  The earliest he’s had a workshop end was 11am and the latest was 5am.  For us it ended at 1:30am.  Even when we thought we had it, he made us go out and practice some more and that of course raised more questions.  It was super cool.  One last thing I’ll say is that even if you buy the OneLight DVD, which I did, the workshop is still worth it.  The DVD for me was was like learning that E = mc(squared) and the workshop was the practical application of that equation.  And just like physics, there is always something to learn about lighting – the practical applications are limitless.  I’m super excited to continue to explore the possibilities!  Thank you Zack and thank you Meghan (Zack’s wife) for sharing Zack with us.