Lara Jade workshop 14 & 15 april

Here's my second attempt on writing this blog. I wrote the best post I ever one, but... Oh well. Lets start all over again, shall we?

As some of you may know, I already attended a workshop by Lara in December 2010. That workshop was an amazing experience. I learnt so much during that day that I had no hesitation about joining this two-day workshop when I heard about it. If one day would already give me so much inspiration and teach me so much, then a two-day workshop would be double heaven (and it was indeed!).
I got even more excited about the workshop when the amazing Claudia (who also attended a workshop before) and the talented Bianca decided to join on this inspirational journey to London.

We decided to take off to London on Friday so we would be fit, fresh and fruity on Saturday, the first day of the workshop. And despite that some of us had not the best sleep ever that night and perhaps too much tea the night before, we were all ready to go to the workshop on Saturdaymorning.

I'd hereby like to say thank god for London taxi drivers. Without them, we wouldn't be able to find the studio. Hasselblad Studio is a hidden gem in an I-don't-even-know-how-to-describe-it area. As soon as you step inside the studio though, you'd instantly forget about the area. The studio is jaw-dropping, absolutely gorgeous. It even has a mezzanine! (I am a huge sucker for mezzanines. Mind Studio from the first workshop, had one as well).
We got welcomed by the team and Lara herself and were requested to wait for the actual workshop to start while the other attendees would arrive. It didn't take long until everybody arrived and we could start. I was fascinated by the variety of photographers in the group. From wedding photographers to experienced fashion photographers and people who just started out. It was really inspiring.

We first started off with coffee with a portfolio review. It would be a rather quick one as a get to know eachother and on the second day we initially would get an more in-depth review. In the end the intensive retouching course on the second day ate up the time for the in-depth review. But that was actually okay, Lara took her time on the first day to go through our portfolios and give feedback. I was glad to hear that she liked the progress I made since the first workshop.
Then after Lara's review, we were able to get another review by Melissa, who got introduced to us as "the lady from Elle Russia". Her advice was great and with not a lot of words did she manage to hit the nail when it came down to what I had to improve. (And she liked my photos! Yay!)
Both review were of great use for me personally and it was a great start of a fantastic weekend.

Then it was time to start photographing! The group (of 11 attendees total) got divided in two. There were two settings with two stunning models. We were able to shoot both models several times as they would do an outfit change a few times that day as well.
Lara and her assistants Steve Read and Oscar May were walking around to answer every single question we had (and we had quite a lot!) and give tips and tricks.

Busy busy!

Lara had a big suprise for us (well, maybe not so big after knowing that we were in a Hasselblad Studio after all). We were allowed to photograph with digital Hasselblads. 

I have to be honest and say that I used to avoid these mysterious devices (not that I ever got near them anyway...). They're big, bulky and expensive cameras and I wouldn't know how to handle it. However, how often do you get the oppertunity to use a H4D-40 and be in a studio with models who were fully styled from head to toe by a professional team? Yea. I couldn't miss out on this oppertunity. So after Natasha (the owner of the studio and a fantastic beauty photographer herself!) gave a brief instruction on how to use it, it was playtime. I was amazed by how easy they are to use. Sure I was struggeling a bit the first 5 minutes (who wouldn't with a new toy?), but after that I was unstoppable and in love with the camera. It wasn't as heavy as I expected and click-sound it made sounded... Luxurious in some way.

Seeing the photos on the computer showed that these cameras worth thousands of euros/dollars/pounds truely are worth their money. The quality is mesmerizing.

Groupshot! Me (with fancy Hasselblad) - Lara - Bianca (also with fancy Hasselblad) - Claudia

[Photo by Oscar May]

Time flew by and before we realized it, we were required to stop. Lara told us we would have to pick only 5 photos and take those with us the next day, as we would need them for the retouching course. I was afraid this was going to be a difficult task.
So as soon Bianca, Claudia and I arrived back out our hotel we started going through our photos.

After that it was time to stretch our legs and do a quick walk around the hotel and grab some food. Apparantly Tower Bridge was only a 5 minute walk from our hotel!

Woahhhhh!

After a good night of sleep and a typical British breakfast we headed back to the studio (including big clumsy purple suitcase, since we would head straight to the airport after the workshop). This time studio was transformed into a classroom.

 

 I'm on the last row on the far right.

[Photo by Oscar May] 

We first started off again with coffee with a presentation about all kinds of practical things regarding photography, marketing and 'your business'. I'm not really a 'sit down, shut up and listen' kind of person. But I have to say that I really found every single bit Lara told us interesting. Not only that, but the way she was presenting her lecture was very pleasant. It was straightfoward and very clear. Tips and tricks which you could use on a longer term, but also start doing rightaway. Again an inspiring start of the day

Listening carefully

Something else which was really inspiring and took the rest of the day was the retouching course. I already know a few things regarding retouching and was curious to see Lara's workflow. What I found fascinating about what I learnt that day, was that each and every individual step Lara did was nothing new or weird to me; I knew it all. However, putting it all together in this order was something new to me and would've never crossed my mind. It gave a great result.

While Lara was explaining everything she, Oscar and Felix Kunze were walking around to answer our questions and give comments. I'm glad they were because I had a billion of questions.

Still selecting...
[Photo taken with Instagram and posted during the workshop itself on Twitter]

The photo below is the one I decided to retouch during the workshop. It was my second favorite photo I took. I decided not to retouch my favorite photo during the workshop itself as I thought that the course would be rather hectic and I wanted to take my time to retouch my favorite photo at home.
However, I am glad with how this photo turned out. Sure, I see some flaws here and there. But I'm very pleased with it.

And like the first day, time flew by again. Soon we were all packing up and saying goodbye to eachother and heading to the airport.
One other goal during this trip was to get back home with at least one magazine. Eventually I bought i-D magazine and AnOther magazine at Heathrow.

As I said before, I retouched my favorite photo the next morning at home (photo below). I know Lara really liked this photo as well. This photo was taken with the Hasselblad, by the way.

You can find more photos from the workshop on my website and on my Facebook page.
I have more photos left to retouch, but alles op z'n tijd, as we would say in Dutch. I wanted to do something different with the photo below in Photoshop. I like it.

It was a fantastic weekend which I wouldn't want to miss. I met great inspiring people and I'm not only talking about the attendees themselves. The assistants, Steve, Oscar and Felix, but also the complete styling team and everybody else walking around (there were so many people at a certain point that I couldn't remember everybody's name!) were fabulous.

I'd like to thank all of these people for this fantastic and flawless workshop and of course Lara Jade herself for holding it, sharing her knowledge and being such a great source of inspiration.

And I want to thank Bianca and Claudia for coming along to London, I really enjoyed their company!


Also, if there's anyone that would like to give me a belated birthday present or are already thinking of Christmas or *insert a reason/holiday to give a present here* then here's a vague hint.

Viorella