We are thrilled to have Yellowknife photographer Dave Brosha coming to the Calgary, Alberta area on January 28th to give a talk for photographers entitled Mastering  Environmental Light. The talk will be held in Cochrane (just west of Calgary) from 2-4 pm on Jan. 28, 2012. We think it is much better to have the talk in small-town Cochrane rather than downtown Calgary because this way you get free parking (and when was the last time you had cheap parking in downtown Calgary!) Plus we’re just a short jaunt out of Calgary and we are minutes away from Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park for those wanting to do an outing before or after Dave’s talk.

Dave will discuss how he gets his signature location portraits. Anyone who is interested should sign up soon; we only have room for 40 people. In advance of his talk we asked Dave a few questions:

©Dave Brosha

oopoomoo – You have the rare ability to capture both story and technical perfection in your location portraits. Many professional photographers are good at technique but few capture story and mood. Any tips on how you get those great moments in your work?

Dave – I think the key is not to get so hung up on the technical that you fail to make a connection with your subject, work with them, and really… just let your creativity bubble.  Ultimately, your subject doesn’t really care if your light is diffused by a softbox, double-diffused, camera right or left, table-topped, or from a planet far, far away.  They are there to work with you, and if you’re fumbling with light and settings too long, you’ll lose them.  Aside from that, you mention “story and mood”.  That’s very important to me; once I have my technical figured out (and this is where practice makes perfect, and makes you quick), it’s “play” time.  Shoot and shoot and shoot.  Try different angles, different expressions.  Don’t be afraid to work with your subject; to ask them for suggestions.  Some of my best images have been out of suggestions from my talent/subject.

©Dave Brosha

oopoomoo - When we see any image you made we immediately know it to be a Dave Brosha photo; you have a signature style. Any advice for photographers on developing their own voice?

Dave - First of all, wow, thank you.  It’s funny, I think my style developed out of my love of landscape photography (which I considered myself first and foremost for years).  I always had a love of “The Environment”, whether that be windswept tundra or dramatic lines of a building with great architecture.  Either way, it was stuff I wanted to incorporate into my images of people.  Although I have a studio, my passion is photographing people in other natural and man-made environments.  So that’s a big part of my style, I think.  The other would be when I took it upon myself to learn and then introducing lighting to the mix.  People may not know this, but I would say 90% of my studio or small flash-lit portraits are made with one light source, and very simple techniques that I use again and again.

©Dave Brosha

oopoomoo - Living in the north gives you access to many unique opportunities but it can also be a struggle because the number of clients are small. How have you grown your business in a city (Yellowknife) with a relatively small population?

Dave -  I had a fear for a long time of plunging into the full-time world for just that reason (the relative smallness of Yellowknife).  Before I opened my studio I can remember two or three of the other photographers in town telling me that I was nuts:  that there would never be enough business to support a studio.  Luckily I had a gut that told me that it could happen, and a fantastic, supportive wife who basically forced me to follow my dream.  I think the business reason why it’s “worked” is that I haven’t been afraid to try, well, everything.  Portraiture, studio work, wedding, underground mining, aerials, headshots, various corporate shoots, advertising, magazine, creative, newborn, maternity, fashion, model, and so on.  This place is too small to really specialize, so I had the unique opportunity to photograph basically everything and everything.  And what a way to test and grow your skillset in a short time:  shoot lots and shoot very diverse.

©Dave Brosha

Aside from that, word-of-mouth is gold.  Each and every person I photograph is more than just a client that pays your bills.  This is very important for all photographers to understand.  I  subscribe 100% to the belief that if you are good to people, they will be good to you.  Care about what you do. Care about doing a good job for the people who have put their trust in you.  When people have criticism, accept it and work with the client to make it right, rather than getting defensive and potentially ruining a relationship.   While this is true everywhere, it’s especially true in a small market.

©Dave Brosha

oopoomoo - Most working commercial photographers have little opportunity to leave their local community, yet you seem to be able to make several major travel photography trips a year. What is the secret to affordable travel photography?

Dave -  Honestly, I have no idea how these things happen (the continued work/travel), but they just keep happening.  I’m looking for a major piece of wood to knock upon right now.  Last year I found photography work in five countries and all across Canada and I would say, again, that word-of-mouth was key. Don’t under-estimate the power of your local clients and contacts to lead to jobs beyond your immediate vicinity.  That, and putting yourself out there as a photographer that is willing to travel through your website and the work that you show.  I picked up a great three-day job in Alaska last year because a company had Googled “underground mining photography” and I think some of my stuff came up in the results.  They liked it, picked up the phone, 10 days later I was on Prince of Wales Island.  If I had been afraid of marketing myself online, that wouldn’t have happened.

©Dave Brosha

oopoomoo - You are coming to give a seminar here in Cochrane on January 28, 2012. What can we expect to learn during your session?

Dave - Our afternoon will be a fun, fast, and furious look at the world of assessing your surroundings and choosing the right approach for lighting and photographing your subject within these surroundings.   While we’ll cover some of the technical essentials (i.e. camera settings) and gear (i.e. different light-shaping modifiers), this will more be about how we can balance ambient and artificial lighting while – most importantly – working with your subject to make a memorable image.  We’ll look at some of the differences between “small” (i.e. flash) and “big” (studio) lighting, look at the differences of quality and shape of light using different pieces of gear, and demonstrate on a (hopefully willing) model.

Bottom line, it will be about making environmental portraits that “pop”.

oopoomoo – Thanks for bringing your expertise to Cochrane, Dave! We look forward to your talk.

For those photographers interested in learning how Dave makes these great images just click here to sing up.

©Dave Brosha