Once in Mexico

एक बार मेक्सिको में

I’ve been looking forward to a workshop in Mexico, as it was about new meetings and impressions, delicious food and tequila, and, of course, interaction with local photographers and models.

I love sharing my experience and knowledge with other photographers, as 10 years ago I myself was a beginner photographer. I remember how excited I was to visit various photography workshops.

Each workshop of mine starts with a theoretical part, which is always followed by a practical session where I film the model together with other photographers. Every workshop participant can work with the model individually strengthening and practicing new knowledge.

The workshop organizer and I spent a couple of hours travelling around sunny Guadalajara in search of a quiet desert place for the photoshoot. Once we saw a big twiggy tree in one of the parks, I immediately imagined the model on the swings in the shadow of that tree. I really liked this idea…

Then we went to a big DIY store where we bought a couple of boards and a rope. An hour later, I was making the swings in my hotel room. Still a couple of hours later, these swings were hanging from that very tree.

The model for this photoshoot was charming – short, very slim and having a golden smile. A slightly see-through blue dress and a bonnet suited her very well. Speaking about the bonnet, I was very surprised that both “bonnet” and “sombrero” are translated into Spanish with one word – sombrero.

The weather was quite complicated for the photoshoot: as the very bright sun was penetrating the twigs, it created bright light spots. It took me a while to choose shooting angles and swings location to avoid unnecessary backlight bleeds.

During the workshop, I was filming the model, sharing the details of the photoshoot, helping the participants to choose the best angle, poses and camera settings. I was very excited to watch certain beginner photographers working with the lady. They were awkward and unconfident, afraid to ask her to change the pose or look at the camera. Pretty much like me some time ago…

The practical session was great, and everyone was happy. The lady received a lot of cool pictures, and the photographers gained invaluable experience and knowledge they will be using in their further photoshoots.