Last weekend I gave a Sin City Photo Workshop. It is the first one I have done. I am not used to speaking in public, so had to go beyond my comfort zone, but it was such a productive experience for me and the attendees, and the response has been so overwhelming, I am considering doing more of these. I am getting messages from people around the world telling me they will fly to attend my next workshop, and have been contacted by an organization in Peru that is inviting me to do my workshop in Lima.
The workshop centered around my movie poster work, which has been highly influenced by working on the Sin City movie.
There is a before and after, in my style, since working on Sin City. It was a visual challenge to not only recreate the iconic aesthetic imparted by Robert Rodriguez in his film, but also to be faithful to the high contrast, black and white images of Frank Miller's graphic novel.
In my workshop I explained the step by step process of recreating the Sin City visual style: from conceptualization, lighting set-up, tricks I use during photo session, and post production.
I broke down the workshop into 4 parts:
1. INTRODUCTION: How I started as a photographer, the influences that have made an impact on my work, and how my visual style has evolved in time.
2. CONCEPT/PRE-PRODUCTION: The creative process behind the creation of a poster. The relationship between the photographer and the creative agency/client, in charge of creating the concept. Organizing and preparation of all the details necessary to execute the photo shoot.
3. PHOTO SESSION: I explain, in detail, what lighting accessories I use, and why I use them, showing what each light does, individually. I also discuss the camera gear I use. I use a live model to demonstrate how I execute the photo shoot. During the photo shoot, for a movie poster, there are many people involved in the process and generally are present during the shoot, so I explain the relationship between me and the actor/model, the client, wardrobe, make-up and hair, props, etc.
4. POST PRODUCTION: Workflow; software I use to edit the images; RAW to TIFF processing and the aesthetic I impart during this processing; retouches I do in Photoshop, and tricks I do to give the images the final Sin City aesthetic.
I am looking forward to the next chance I have to give another Workshop, but hard to plan ahead, because of work commitments.
Model Svet Von Bathory: shot during the workshop.