North Shore Hawaiian Sunset Production Image

www.funphotoworkshops.com

This image was taken at my workshop in Oahu, Hawaii off the north shore by my attendee Minori Inoue.  It was a beautiful sunset and she sent me this shot which I REALLY appreciated!  I did a little editing magic on it, but the shot is all hers from what she took in the camera and it shows you just how much you can learn at one of my workshops....:)

Next Workshop: Estes, Colorado- July 23-24, 2013

One Handed Lighting Studio with Rotolights

www.funphotoworkshops.com

Having a 1 handed lighting set up can be criticial to getting an amazing shot.  As you all know I LOVE my Rotolights and when paired with my MeFoto Tripods the combination is just perfect.  Many video lights are very heavy and as a result very hard to manage.  The Rotolights are perfect for creating an outdoor studio environment.  LOVE THESE LIGHTS!

Walking on Water...

As I'm working on the new workshops website, I came across this pic and wanted to share it again because it's still one of my all time favorites.  This was shot on the Bonneville Salt Flats right after a rain storm and we had about 3 miles of 2-inch deep water...just amazing!  Everything in this shot is real...just wanna set the record straight in case anyone thought otherwise....Thanks to the beautiful Jasmine Cardon for being a superb model...and later on became a Jason Lanier bride!

Next Workshops: www.funphotoworkshops.com

Camera settings: Nikon D3, 1/1600 sec at f/11, 22mm at ISO 400, flash did not fire.  Taken at 1:01pm on May 17, 2011 by Jason Lanier.

Night Shots at a Jason Lanier Workshop

www.funphotoworkshops.com

This is a production image from my workshop in Vegas last week that shows us during our last shoot of the night.  It was so awesome being able to be in the middle of the desert in the middle of the night, and by using 4 simple Rotolights we were able to completely light the model and get the shoot done...it was awesome!!!!

What you missed at today's meet up in Oceanside

Today's Meet Up in Oceanside was amazing, and here's the proof!  We had an absolutely awesome time shooting the sunset and using our tripods to slow down the shutter and do long exposure.  I showed the group how to use neutral density filters for awesome shots as I did in this one here.  We truly had beginners to pros and everyone had a blast. Next meet up is next Wednesday in Los Angeles for a model shoot!

www.funphotoworkshops.com

Camera settings: Nikon D800, 1 sec at f/4.0, 16mm at ISO 50, flash did not fire.  Taken at 5:52pm on February 23, 2013 by Jason Lanier.

Triplet Sons with Photographer Jason Lanier explain his 2013 Workshop Program

Click below to watch this video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd9_cQn2dBw&list=UUDy1DrgRSUN1C29fmBLJj5g&index=1

Visit www.funphotoworkshops.com to see all the places Jason Lanier will be conducting his workshops this year!

In this video Jason explains his new workshop program for 2013.  Jason will be doing the following programs:

• Online Webinars- $29.99 and up will be done to help viewers from anywhere in the world to be able to lern with Jason.  A variety of topics will be covered in series covering weddings, landscapes, pin ups, children, and more! Jason will also do editing webinars for Lightroom and Photoshop as well.
• Meet Ups with Jason- $25 and up will be done in Southern California and anywhere Jason has a destination shoot or workshop planned.  These will be for 2 hours and will cover specific lessons and just in general will be a blast.
• Workshop- $299 and up are 2 day workshops in some of the most awesome locations in the United States.  While these are traditionally 2 days of shooting there will be times where editing is done for 1 day of the workshop.
• International Workshops- Jason is planning on doing a workshop to Africa but it isn't discussed in this video. International workshops will typically be 7 days in length and will be from $1,700 and up. 

Las Vegas Photography Workshop, right after WPPI

Join me for an amazing workshop in Las Vegas, Nevada right after WPPI!  If you're already coming to WPPI spend two extra days there and really take your photography to the next level.  Dates are March 14th and 15th from noon to 7pm each day.  Transportation is provided and we will be meeting at the MGM grand both days to go and shoot in some AMAZING locations with models.  We will work on posing, composition, lighting, exposure, off camera flash and more! You can also save 35% off the registration price and come for just $300 for 2 days when you use the promo code: valentine

Click below to register now!

http://www.eventbrite.com/org/1864370877

Learn more about Jason Lanier Workshops:

http://workshops.jasonlanierproductions.com/

Bridal Portraits inside a hotel bathroom

This image was taken of my beautiful bride April Howell yesterday about 1 hour before she married her husband Delano. This was taken while she was finishing up her make up.  I used the light from the hotel bathroom to light her face and just asked her to turn and look to her left a little.  I shot this with my 85mm, and then in Photoshop I blackened the sides of the image a little to blend out some of the background from behind her.  It's like doing a portrait session in the middle of a lot of wedding day action!  You are beautiful April!

Next Workshop- Las Vegas, Nevada- right after WPPI

Camera settings: Nikon D700, 1/200 sec at f/2.2, 85mm at ISO 1250, flash did not fire.  Taken at 5:22pm on February 15, 2013 by Jason Lanier.

Landscape Photography Workshops by Jason Lanier

My workshops encompass so many different things because that's really who I am as a photographer.  I'll work on many different things like landscapes, weddings, fashion etc. on a workshop because I really believe they all tie in together. Many people say my wedding work is like landscapes with people in it...and I'm fine with that review...:)

This image was taken at my workshop in Tucson, Arizona.  It was a beautiful, clear, COLD night, but we found this spot and just had to take 45 minutes to capture the magic.  No lighting was used for this image, just using what Mother Nature gave us....thanks to all who came!

Next workshop: Las Vegas, Nevada- right after WPPI

Camera settings: Nikon D800, 1/100 sec at f/4.5, 16mm at ISO 1600, flash did not fire.  Taken at 7:27pm on February 12, 2013 by Jason Lanier.

Anchorage Sunset by Jason Lanier

This image was taken just outside of Anchorage Alaska on the road that leads down towards Whittier and Seward. During the summer you have to wait a LONG time to get a sunset because it stays light for so long, but when they come they are almost always worth it!

Next Workshop: Las Vegas, Nevada- right after WPPI!!!

Camera settings: Nikon D700, 1/160 sec at f/5.6, 105mm at ISO 100, flash did not fire.  Taken at 10:11pm on July 7, 2012 by Jason Lanier.

Never Give Up...Critiquing a Jason Lanier image by Jason Lanier

I wanted to send out a message today about never giving up and use my own work as evidence to illustrate my point.  I began my professional photography career in March of 2007.  The side by side image comparison you see here was shot 4 months later on July 17, 2007.  I am very fortunate that I kept my raw file of this image taken in New Bern, NC with my Nikon D2XS because just last night I re-edited the image to what you see on the right.

Everyone struggles.  Everyone sucks at something....EVERYONE.  Nobody on this planet who is great at what they do started that way straight out of the gate.  Yes, as people we have different talent levels.  Yes, some people will progress faster than others and achieve higher levels of profiency than others, and yes some people just have a higher ceiling than others.  But here's the key message....you don't know what your ceiling is until you hit it.  I've been doing photography for nearly 6 years now, and I still haven't hit my ceilng and you can believe that I'm gonna keep going until I do.

Critiquing my own image.  Here are the following problems with the image on the left that was edited 5 years ago.

1. Overprocessed- this is a BIG problem for nearly all new photographers.  We can't achieve the results we want so what do we do?  We overprocess the image to make it look cool.  Don't confuse artist preference with overprocessing.  There is a big difference!  While I make my images now look more like a painting, and some may love it and some may not, that is done out of a preference choice.  Not because I don't know better.  
2. Lack of detail- because I tried to make the sky look "cool" in the image I made the image darker, but because I didn't have a grasp on layers and masks in Photoshop, I didn't know how to only focus this effect on one part of the image.  BIG MISTAKE!  As a result you lose all the grass, corn fields, trees, etc.
3. Harsh light- the house is completely all wrong.  You can't see the left side of it, the contrast between the bright and dark parts is entirely too strong.  OVERPROCESSED!
4. Diffused glow filter- I used this on the sky to give it a cool look based on advice I received at a workshop.  BAD ADVICE!  Sometimes less is truly more.
5. Masking issues- look at the bright part between the sky and the cabin roof, you can tell that I didn't do proper masking......UGH!!!!

I could go on and on because the picture on the left was edited so poorly but leave it to say that you need to never give up, never stop pushing yourself to improve, and keep searching for your ceiling...may you never hit it!

PBS Interview with Jason Lanier

PBS Interview with Jason Lanier at the Moundsville State Penitentiary! In this interview I cover a lot of topics including differentiating yourself in a world of photographers, editing, how I became successful, how my workshops are conducted, landscapes, shooting in unique locations and more!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3URK7C18HJQ

Day at the Beach!

This image was taken at my workshop in South Carolina in November of last year.  This was the first time I did a child shoot at one of my workshops and it was a blast!  For this shot I had to work with Sullivan to get him to smile and fall back...and by the time I got him to do it he did it beautifully!

Next Workshops:

http://www.eventbrite.com/org/1864370877

Camera settings: Nikon D800, 1/1250 sec at f/7.1, 16mm at ISO 50, flash did not fire.  Taken at 1:57pm on November 7, 2012 by Jason Lanier in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Workshops that matter, teaching art at a photo workshop

This image was taken at my workshop in Tampa, Florida at the Don Vicente Inn in St. Ybor.  It is a beautiful place and we had the awesome opportunity to shoot in it completely uninterrupted.  For this shot our beautiful model Constance was standing on a table, we used my monopod attached to a video light to light her from up top.

One of the things that I value the most at my workshops is teaching people real shooting scenarios, not made up ones that are nothing like what I'd do on a real shoot.  There are so many times I've attended workshops where they pull the model out into the hallway and 100 photographers try to get a shot....that's pretty worthless in my opinion.  So try one of my workshops, you'll see and experience the difference!

Next Workshops:

http://www.eventbrite.com/org/1864370877

Camera settings: Nikon D800, 1/60 sec at f/4.0, 16mm at ISO 4000, flash fired.  Taken at 10:02pm on November 14, 2012 by Jason Lanier.

Angel in the Alley by Jason Lanier

This image was taken during my Chicago workshop in September 2012 with the beautiful Tyler Vines as our model.  We did this shoot at 1AM in an alleyway in Chicago....we were exhausted but definitely wanted to nail this shoot before we finished.  This was shot using a video light for front light and a triggered flash from behind.  Thanks again to my wonderful group for joining me on this adventure!

Next Workshops:

http://www.eventbrite.com/org/1864370877

Camera settings: Nikon D800, 1/80 sec at f/4.0, 16mm at ISO 4000, flash fired.  Taken at 1:11am on September 19, 2012 by Jason Lanier.

Inauguration Weekend Photography Workshop!

Join me on inauguration weekend in Washington DC, my only weekend workshop of the year.  We will be shooting Friday and Saturday in historic DC as the nation prepares for the inauguration.  Regardless of your political persuasion (I keep it neutral for both myself and my students) it will be an amazing time to document history, master the art of shooting gorgeous landscapes, and we just might throw some models into the equation as well!  Click below to register now!

http://washingtondcphotoworkshop.eventbrite.com/

Tampa, Florida Workshop November 13th and 14th

Tampa Florida....next week!!!  Next Workshop by Jason Lanier Photography!  Click below to register now!

http://tampaphotographyworkshops.eventbrite.com/

All Smiles at the Jason Lanier Workshop!

Production still from our workshop yesterday in Myrtle Beach, SC!  As you can see it's all smiles and also very COLD!  It's warmer today, but yesterday we were bundled up...next week is TAMPA!

Workshop Stills from South Carolina

This is a production still from my workshop yesterday in South Carolina.  We are having an amazing time and had to battle the COLD yesterday here in Myrtle Beach.  It was worth it though as we did a shoot at the Atalaya down in Murrels Inlet.  It's an awesome place!

New Orleans Two Day Photography and Editing Workshop by Jason Lanier

Come join ME in the incomparable New Orleans, Louisiana February 28th and 29th 2012! I am offering all of the sessions either individually or as package bundles. You will save significantly when you buy them as package bundles as I believe these allow you the best opportunity to enhance your photography knowledge and skills. Please see below to see everything that is available:

*Tuesday February 28, 2012 9am-11am: Mini Prep Session- this mini session is meant to help prepare newer photographers for our Group Session shoot. If you are uncomfortable or don't know how to shoot in manual mode, meaning you don't know how to set your own shutter, aperture, and ISO to get the shots you want. This mini session is 2 hours of training together where I will help you grow comfortable with setting the exposure on your camera which will help you kick some major butt on our group session later that day. Great photography is about consisent practice, so doing this session right before the group session will help you reinforce everything in the group session, meaning you are really going to learn. You can purchase this session individually for $199, or you can save $150 and come for only $50 when you purchase it as part of one of our package bundle deals. So if you are looking for that major kick start to get you understanding your camera like a professional photographer, this session is for you!!

*Tuesday February 28, 2012 11am-6pm: Group Shoot: if you've ever attended another workshop where they just go around and take shots, this isn't that workshop. We go to REAL LOCATIONS with REAL MODELS, which means you will get REAL RESULTS. We meet in the hotel lobby and where we will then carpool to our locations to shoot. Travel time can vary between 30-60 minutes which gives us plenty of time to get to know each other and discuss our various needs prior to us shooting. I always keep my workshops flexible but below is a rough outline of the items that we will cover:

• 11am- Meet as a group in the hotel lobby- don't be late as we will be leaving promptly at 11:15am.
• 11:15-noon- travel and set up time for our shoot.
• 12pm-2pm- Location #1: Posing using natural light and reflectors: start shooting where we will cover the following points of photography; quick review on shooting in manual mode. This will be a short review as we provide this training in the mini prep session prior to the group session. We will then review in depth the fundamentals of posing during this session using hands feet, creating space, posing with motion, etc. Posing is very difficult for many photographers and this first part of the group session will be completely dedicated to posing to really bring you up to speed on how to make your images with people look fantastic.
• 2pm-3pm- Lunch break with Q&A session. We will find a quick place to eat (nothing fancy) that allows us the time to speak about the sesion we just completed and discuss what we're going to do next. Bring around $15-$20 to be able to eat!
• 3pm-5:30pm- Location #2: Composition and Alternative Lighting- using what we learned in the session on posing, we will then incorporate our model and posing into creating great composition and will start using alternative lighting. This session we will work on how to compose the shot, what goes into making great compostion and the factors that are key to creating a killer shot. With the day starting to grow to a close, we will have the opportunity to shoot during the "magic hour" right before sunset which will be amazing. We will end the shoot at sunset which will allow us the chance to use external flashes, video lights, and some off camera flash to create some stunning results. Also make sure to bring your tripod as we will use it if the conditions are right.
• 5:30pm-6pm- Travel back to our original location where we met to take you back. This time will allow us to have another Q&A in the car and review our shooting from the day.

**Weather concerns: Should the weather turn bad we will have other indoor locations we can shoot in. Weather is a constant friend or foe to photographers so learning to adapt to it is critical for your learning curve. Regardless of the weather we will find a way to shoot and make it amazing. Some of my most amazing images have come during rain, snow, cold, or extreme heat when I had to find a way to get it done. Regardless we will find great places and create beautiful imagery. Please also note that we will always make sure everyone has the opportunity to stay comfortable.

*Wednesday February 29, 2012 9am-4pm: Classroom/Editing Session- get ready to make some magic! In the classroom session we will take the images you took from the group shoot session and help you understand how to improve your workflow, and edit them the way you want! Below is an outline of the items we will cover:

• 9am-9:15am: Review of the shooting session from the group shoot the day before. This will help you to cement some of your learnings from the day before, as well as answer any lingering questions.
• 9:15am-9:45am- Gear Review: I wil cover everything that I use and give you my recommendations for what works and doesn't work. This will help you to save the time and money that I wasted when I started my career. I will answer individual questions from the group that helps everyone understand what they need depending on their interests. I'm not sponsored by any gear providers so my recommendations will be completely unbiased, and I won't try and sell you anything either!
• 9:45am-10:30am- Business Tips: In this part of the session we will review the business tips that made me a success. Sometimes the best way to become successful is to find out how someone else did it and do what they did! We will cover how to make it in many different areas of photography built around my experience. Tips for pricing, finding customers, getting referrals, and making a great living will all be covered!
• 10:30am-12:30pm- Lightroom: During this part of the class we will cover importing images, using external hard drives, creating separate catalogs for each shoot, using presets, creating presets, using the fundamental tools available in Lightroom, using a rating system, editing in Photoshop through Lightroom, and exporting your final catalog.
• 12:30-1:30pm- Lunch: We will find a quick place to find a bite to eat as a group where we can discuss what we learned in the first part of the session. Make sure to bring $15-$20 for lunch.
• 1:30-3:45pm- Photoshop: This will be where we start creating some magic! The most fundamental thing for photographers to learn and use are layers and masks as it changes your ability and opens up all possibilities. This session will also cover using my favorite filters, cloning the right way, and dodging and burning. It's impossible to teach everything about Photoshop, especially in two hours...but we will get you headed in the right direction!
• 3:45-4pm- Final Q&A session: This will be your last chance to ask any and all questions you have before we have to say goodbye until next time.

*Please let us know if you will not have your own transportation so we can help you make carpool arrangements.

*Please make sure to wear comfortable clothing on all shoots and use your best judgment to make sure you bring appropriate clothing to factor in the time of day you will be shooting. You might want to bring an extra pair of sandles/shoes as I have been known to get feet wet quite frequently.

*Please bring snacks and bottled water as many of the places we go will not have any services available for food and beverage. We also highly recommend to use the restroom prior to our group shoot. We will always make sure to get to a restroom location during the middle of the shoot to give everyone a break when we go for lunch.

*Please bring all the gear you have including monopods, tripods, reflectors, flashes, etc. and plenty of batteries. Also make sure to charge all of your gear 100% prior to the shoot so you don't end up running out. Make sure to clear your memory cards and have at least 12gb available to shoot with. We personally recommend even more if you can. We will really encourage you to shoot in RAW so having the appropriate amount of memory is very important.

We can't wait to see you in New Orleans and look forward to an amazing time together!!!! For any questions please email us at info@jlpros.com, or give us a call at 213-494-7744 or 909-260-3332.

Thanks!

Jason Lanier Photography