On March 4 you will have a very special opportunity to see architectural lighting on a grand scale. The Irving is a large theater of several thousand square feet with high ceilings and a stage. I expect to use between six and twelve strobes to do the job, but who knows? I’ll be bringing about twenty lights with me. I’ll be using studio strobes, mono-lights and battery-powered strobes. So this will be an opportunity to see a lot of lights working together. Participants will be able to download a large version of the shot, after the class, so that they can examine the image when it’s finished. The shots will also be used by the Irving, and will probably show up on my blog. The project will take about four hours, because this work is complex.

I will demonstrate washing a wall with light, using parabolic umbrellas to throw a large spot and working with colored gels. We'll be working with several types of umbrellas, bare bulbs and metal bowl reflectors. I will be covering a large space with light, so we'll see how various tools control light in this situation. I hope participants will get a sense of how to use angle and light to help define space. The Irving is a very special place with unusual challenges, so we will learn a lot!

In order for people to be able to examine the equipment, and to photograph the set-up I need to limit the number of participants to just twenty-five. There will be very little introductory information, and the class will only be discussing interior architectural lighting. We will be using lights to shoot the space rather than HDR work. Since space is limited I hope that people who have a specific interest in this kind of photography will sign up. This kind of photography requires a high degree of craft and a considerable amount of equipment. We will be discussing the kind of equipment that works for this job in some detail.

John Siskin’s second book Photographing Architecture is available
It was published in December. His first book Understanding and Controlling Strobe Lighting: A Guide for Digital Photographers

Understanding and Controlling Strobe Lighting: A Guide for Digital Photographers is also available You can get a signed copy of the books at the workshop. You can see more of John’s work at siskinphoto.com. Please check out the magazines link as it will take you dozens of John’s articles for Photo Technique, Shutterbug, View Camera and more.

John also teaches on-line classes at BetterPhoto.com:
An Introduction to Photographic Lighting

Portrait Lighting on Location and in the Studio

Getting Started in Commercial Photography
Please check out the classes. John will offer a lighting workshop in Indianapolis in a couple of months. I hope you’ll consider that workshop as well.

Here is the Ticketing Link for the class at the Irving Theater.

Ps. Many of the shots on the other side of this page are from an airport shoot John did on February 6 for Chusid Associates.