I’m always on the look out for development opportunities and ways to improve and grow my skill-set as a photographer, so when my friends over at The Trained Eye told me they were running an exclusive workshop on flash photography, I was really interested. Then I found out it was in a stunning villa in Ibiza! So I signed right up!!
Back in September we all jumped on a mini plane from City Airport to jet over to the White Island, to spend a few days in the sun learning, chatting and of course a bit of shooting! Despite a few teething problems (a Google maps fail, and the fact that the electric gates to the villa didn’t work!) we soon settled in and enjoyed a few beers and some table tennis.
Our first day began with some critique of past work (always a bit nerve wracking in the company of lots of other photographers!) followed by an afternoon of shooting featuring a beautiful model, some intermittent sunlight and unfortunately a little bit of drizzle. I learned loads and got to grips with some pretty epic flash systems, and when the sun was out talked about ways of working in bright natural light. After that it was time for a delicious meal at Bambuddha, followed by more wine and a few silly games on the veranda (if you’ve not played it, download ‘Heads Up’ on your phone – much hilarity will ensue).
Day two featured a stunning couple who posed for us for some staged wedding portraits. Our models were excellent and very happy to stand in the sun all day! The day was a lot clearer than the previous one, so we got some fantastic shots in and around the villa with no need to shelter from the rain, which was a bonus! After shooting for a while at the villa, we drove down to a cliff edge (there was a heart stopping moment trying to park the cars without driving them off the cliff at this point!) and got some fabulous shots of our lovely couple with the rugged Ibiza landscape as a backdrop. Stunning.
As it got dark, we jumped back in the hire cars and went down to Sant Antoni for a few cocktails at Cafe del Mar, before winding things up back at the villa with a few more beers and some more chat before getting up early the next morning to pack and catch our flight back. It was a brilliant few days with some fantastic people. It’s hard work, photography!!
