"Improve Your Travely Photos".... basic photo workshop

10 June 2012
Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Ideas Workshops announces its first basic photo workshop! Our cameras have given us the power to perform miracles; to capture precious moments forever. But a camera is nothing if the knowledge isn't there to back it up. We all take photos of our families, as they are the most important part of our life. And a large part of those photos come during our travels ("Travel"+"Family = "Travely" photos! :)). We can't recreate those moments; we can't say our photos weren't good enough; so, lets do the tour again! Thus, the only way is to know how to best utilise the camera in hand! This particular workshop, "Improve Your Travely Photos" concentrates on two points: 1. to know the basics of photography, and 2. to understand how to translate that knowledge into great family photographs while on travel! This workshop differs from other basic workshops in that it always talk about how you can utilise the camera to take better photos of your family.

The workshop would cover the following generic topics:
a) Theory
-Understanding the camera & photography in general
-Photos are too dark or too bright? (Understand exposure)
-Background blur? What is that? (Focal length, aperture, depth of field)
-Too many functions in your camera? (Understand camera controls)
-How do I get classy looking frames? (Basics of composition)
-When do I click the shutter? (Understand moment)
-Lost a lotta photos in the past? (Photo storage & management.)
b) Practice (optional)
-Photo assignment
-Critic session on assignment photos

The workshop is spread into two sessions. The first session (Theory) would cover most of the learning, and the second session (Practice) would be a critic session based on photos taken on a given assignment.

-The first session (Theory) of the workshop was on 16 June 2012 (Saturday).
-The venue of the workshop was Idea House. For more details, call us at +880-1711055524.
-The time of the first session workshop was about 4 to 5 (five) hours.
-The fee for the first session (Theory) was BDT 1,500/-
-Make sure to bring your camera to understand camera controls.
-Possession of a DSLR isn't a necessity, but having a camera with manual controls would be more helpful for understanding.
-The second session (Practice) was optional. And it was on 23 June (Saturday)(same venue), one week after the first session. Participants in this session were be given an assignment at the end of the first session, which they had one week to complete. During the second session, participants brought their images for a critic session.
-The second session was of 2 to 3 hours.
-The fee for the second session (Practice) was BDT 500/-
-A maximum of 6 (six) participants was allowed for this workshop. The first six persons booking were the participants in this workshop. In case you missed this session, please do inform us; we would be happy to conduct more such sessions.
- Stay tuned for updates. Please do keep an eye on our updates on Twitter or Facebook.
- For booking and payment instructions, please call: +880-1711055524
- Fees are non-refundable.
- A participant can give a replacement participant in case a last minute inconvenience puts him/her out of the session. No additional fees for the replacement participant would be charged.
-Participants are requested to be on time, keeping respect for others' time. 

"Know Your Umbrella"... advanced lighting workshop

02 June 2012
Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Ideas Workshops announces its first advanced workshop on photography! Advanced light modifiers are not always very easy to get in Bangladesh, which made it imperative for most photographers to know the basics right. The right knowledge can bring a photographer out of any situation with less-than-ideal conditions. This particular workshop, "Know Your Umbrella" concentrates on the dynamic nature of the simplest light modifier available - umbrellas. We will stretch umbrellas to their limit and show what it possible with this cheap lighting instrument. After this workshop, your knowledge and attitude towards lighting will change forever!

We kept an eye on recent photography workshops in this sector and decided to concentrate on something very practical. Rather than theoretical seminar-style presentations, we made it hands-on with practical demos. We are not in favour of a lesson that gets lost with time.  So, we are approaching the session from an explorer's perspective; making mistakes and learning from it until the desired objectives are achieved. Only showing ideal scenarios will never help solve practical problems. We would be using speedlites for this session, as these are the most available lights in any photographer's gear bag. The concentration of this lighting workshop would be on 'portraiture'.

The workshop would cover the following generic topics:
-Understand umbrellas in general
-Modifying a shoot-through umbrella for dramatic lighting
-Utilising a reflective umbrella
-Using two umbrellas for complex lighting
-Using GoBos to control light spill
-Utilising the stretch of reflective umbrellas to control light
-Modifying a reflective umbrella for dynamic lighting


To have a look at some of the desired outputs from this session, have a look at this link.


The workshop would also require participants to have knowledge on lighting basics. E.g. manual control of camera and flash, relationship between exposure elements and flash power, size of light source, light fall-off with distance (inverse-square law), flash triggers, etc. Attending basic lighting workshops of Idea Workshops would be an added benefit.

Additional knowledge on lighting is not necessary. But it would be appreciated if participants have their queries (if any) listed out for discussion during the session. It is not mandatory for participants to bring their camera or flash. But it would not be discouraged, as this would help to clear confusion (if any).

-The first workshop was planned on 09 June 2012 (Saturday) at 10:30AM BST. But it was cancelled due to lack of participants.
-The venue of the workshop would be Idea House. For more details, call use at +880-1711055524.
-The time of the workshop should be about 5 (five) hours.
-The fee for this session would be BDT 3,500/-
-There would be a BDT 500/- discount for anyone participating in any of our previous workshops.
-A maximum of 4 (four) participants would be allowed for the first session. The first four persons booking would be the participants in this session. In case you miss this session, please do inform us; we would be happy to conduct more such sessions.
- Stay tuned for announcement of next session. Please do keep an eye on our updates on Twitter or Facebook.
- For payment instructions, please call: +880-1711055524
- Fees are non-refundable.
- A participant can give a replacement participant in case a last minute inconvenience puts him/her out of the session. No additional fees for the replacement participant would be charged.
-Participants are requested to be on time, keeping respect for others' time. 

put some light on your life.....

19 May 2012
Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

it was the first ever Idea Workshop at Idea House.... it was the first "Step into the Light" workshop; a basic workshop on lighting.... we had some great guys there as participants.... we did a lot of experiments and learned all the way.... and more importantly, we had a lotta fun.... it wasn't possible if we didn't have the kind of participatory environment there.... it was important to make mistakes and learn from those.... starting from a perfect world never gives us the feeling of improvement.... and the rationale behind a good lighting setup would've remained hidden.... as such, the learning would've remained incomplete....

we picked the only available flash in our camera bag and took it off camera.... we stared with hard light and tried to erase the misconception that only soft light could produce good images.... we had some great volunteers from our audience.... Hasib, Sunny, Sabbir and Tushar, all were great participants and were ready to feature in front of the camera for the sake of learning... this also showed one very important thingg, and that is, you don't need professional models to produce good pictures.... remember that not all of your subjects have a model look.... and its important that the portrait shows some traits of the subject....

we changed position of light to demonstrate how it changes picture.... we worked on manual settings all the way to show what can be achieved with a little bit of manual control.... we didn't touch the shutter speed and ISO for the whole session.... we only played with aperture and flash power... we even changed our camera and switched to Hasib's D90 to show that cameras didn't matter at all.... then it was the turn of softening the light.... we used a reflector with the flash and then replaced the reflector with a Lastolite 24" Ezybox Hotshoe softbox.... we practiced controlling the light without sacrificing soft light....

it was then the turn of controlling the light even further.... we introduced a grid spot and changed the whole context.... we also played with the shadows as well, not forgetting that shadows can give mood to a picture....

before we switched to the last part, we also experimented with a reflector as a second light source.... we tried to soften the light by eliminating some of the shadows... the last part of the experimentation was with gels... we created a colourful backdrop and only worked with silhouette.... we wish we had more time with gels to play with... but at least we had some time with it.... all the while, we didn't switch from our basic theme of sticking to one speedlite, and also keeping it practical for most kind of shoots.... we didn't want to indulge in learning things that would never 'see the light'....

during the whole session, our setup was a D700 + Nikkor 85mm f1.8 lens and a D90 + Nikkor 50mm f1.4 lens.... flash was a single YN-560; trigger was an Elinchrom Skyport radio trigger.... we had great assistants among our participants who acted as voice-activated-lightstands (VALs).... that also gave the participants an understanding of light placements.... we used different grip equipment to help with light placement....

depending of the feedback of the participants, we may consider lengthening the workshop time by some hours to have more time behind some more setups and also to introduce some practice shots from the participants.... we may also have another session like this in the near future depending on our reader feedback.... lets see where it goes....

stay tuned for a lot more.... :)

Idea Workshop: "Step into the Light"

13 May 2012
Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Idea Workshop
"Step into the Light"

Ideas_R_Bulletproof wishes to announce its first ever workshop on photography! Due to growing interest in artificial lighting among the young photographers of Bangladesh, we had been keeping a close watch on the numerous requests from your end. We made it a priority and finally came up with the idea of the first ever "Idea Workshop". This particular workshop, "Step into the Light" concentrates on the power of one small speedlite in your camera bag that can change your photography forever!

We kept an eye on recent photography workshops in this sector and decided to concentrate on the most essential parts of it. Cutting short the theoretical part of it, we bolstered practical demonstration. We are not in favour of a lesson that gets lost with time. So, maximum effort would be made to learn things that are 'actually' possible to practice on a day-to-day basis. Complex theories with little chance of implementation under most practical conditions would take a back seat. The concentration of this lighting workshop would be on 'portraiture'.

The workshop would cover the following generic topics:
-Understand light
-Utilise lights available in your camera bag
-Take your flash off camera
-Where do I put my light?
-Control the quality of light
-Control the spread of light
-Balance flash with ambient light
-Add colour to your photos

The workshop would also require participants to have knowledge on basics of photography. E.g. exposure (aperture/shutter speed/ISO), basic camera controls, etc. It would be highly recommended to watch the video podcasts from Ideas_R_Bulletproof on basics of lighting (links are given below). This would help quicker understanding and also save time to concentrate on more practical demonstrations.
Speedlite basics: TTL or Manual Flash?
How speedlites can change your photography
Four ways to trigger your flash off camera
Optical triggers for off-camera flashes
Built-in flash as trigger for off-camera flashes
Control light with a snoot

Additional knowledge on lighting is not necessary. But it would be appreciated if participants have their queries (if any) listed out for discussion during the session. It is not mandatory for participants to bring their camera or flash. But it would not be discouraged, as this would help to clear confusion (if any).

-The first session of this workshop was on 19 May 2012 (Saturday) at 3:30PM BST. Stay tuned for the second session of the same workshop.
-The venue of the workshop would be Idea House. For more details, call use at +880-1711055524.
-The time of the workshop should be about 6 (six) hours.
-The fee for this session would be BDT 3,500/-
-A maximum of 4 (four) participants would be allowed for the first session. The first four persons booking would be the participants in this session. In case you miss this session, please do inform us; we would be happy to conduct more such sessions.
- To book participation in the upcoming sessions, please keep an eye on our updates on Twitter or Facebook.
- For payment instructions, please call: +880-1711055524
- Fees are non-refundable.
- A participant can give a replacement participant in case a last minute inconvenience puts him/her out of the session. No additional fees for the replacement participant would be charged.
-Participants are requested to be on time, keeping respect for others' time.