Wedding and Event at Pikto

Top Toronto Wedding photographer Tara Mcmullen shared her knowledge in another great  two day workshop last week. She guided her students through practical shooting techniques using models hair and make up. The participants learned how to shoot an engagement session, wedding set up as-well as the business and marking side.

To see more details and join Tara's next workshops click here

"Hello Johan and Tara.

I had a very productive and positive time at the workshop with Tara.  Tara shared so much with us.  It was so refreshing to have someone who is so open and willing to give of herself.

I think you guys are really onto something with Tara's workshop and I would def. be interested in attending another workshop with Tara especially.

I hope to have a blog post up about the workshop itself in the next week.

Thanks so much for hosting this putting it all together".

~William

Photography by Tara Mcmullen

Model: Barb

Make up by Hayley Cotterill

Hair: Fuss Hair Studio, Toronto

Capturing Babies, The First Year of Life.

Wendy Rombough took her students on an in-depth journey into successfully capturing the first year of life. Using studio and natural lighting set ups, that can be easily replicated at home , Wendy showed students her techniques at the Pikto Studio this past weekend in the full day workshop.  Three babies were the perfect models!  Look forward to your next workshops Wendy!

Photography Weekend in Montreal

Weekend of Photography in Montreal - Jean Heguy

Saturday July 17 and Sunday 18, 2010.

Join Montreal native photographer Jean Héguy for this unique photographic trip. Jean is a location photography specialist with 17 years experience and his stock imagery is represented by Corbis, Getty, Jupiter and First Light.

The weekend will be a fun hands on practical workshop exploring the ins and outs of Montreal, one of Canada's most beautiful and vibrant cities. We will walk the streets of Plateau Mt Royal, the Latin Quarter, Vieux Montreal and downtown in search of the best stock photography opportunities. Architecture, ambiance and people will be our topics to capture Montreal's essence on a summer weekend. Also we will explore night photography with the best spots to capture the city skyline. Two intensive days of shooting so bring lots of memory cards or film. During mealtimes we will enjoy a glass of wine and Jean will give lectures on shooting stock, working with agencies and technical advice on shoot problems encountered. Pack your camera bags and expect to come home with new ideas and a strong portfolio of images.

Pikto Workshops under way for the Summer months.

The Pikto Summer photography workshops are running. It is great to open my emails in the morning and read the strong feedback from students! We strive to push the boundaries in photographic learning. The Pikto teachers work hard to practically and theoretically demonstrate the ins and outs of photography, whether shooting a wedding, writing grants, or making a documentary in a foreign country. For more information on workshops check out here.

http://www.pikto.com/workshops/

PROFESSIONAL PHOTO ASSISTING  “An excellent workshop that I will highly recommend to others. Even as a professional photographer, I was amazed at how much I was able to pick-up from the wealth of information fed to me! Markian is an interesting and extremely knowledgeable instructor. It was worth every penny and more! I would highly recommend this workshop to others looking to break into the work of Professional Assisting!”

Christina

"Overall I think the quality of this workshop was excellent. Markian was a great instructor because he really made an effort to engage each of us individually, and relate what he was talking about to our own experience. He seemed genuinely interested in making sure that we understood what he was talking about. Also, I appreciated that the course was approached from an intermediate/advanced level, and there was no redundant information. This course has given me a great foundation for assisting, and now I am more aware of which areas I need to learn more about.

I look forward to more workshops at Pikto, I'm planning on attending the upcoming Technical Quality in Digital Captures, Phase One Capture One Pro Essentials, and Studio Lighting Workshop this summer. If you have a mailing list for workshops please add me."

John.

REPEAT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT
“Absolutely worthwhile, practical and informative. The teachers make the class funas well as educational. Learned more from the classes than I learned after 4 years in Art school. Highly recommended, A+.”

Rayhaan Traboulay

DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY
“Fantastic! I Learned more in these 16 hours than in the last six months. Don was so personable and encouraging and constructive. I’d jump at the chance to go to more workshops with him.”

Kate Wilhelm.

BODY IN MOTION
"Cylla’s workshops confirm that teaching is a profession that takes thoughtful consideration from someone who is effectively able to share their knowledge and growth with each student. Her workshops are fun and creative in a relaxed atmosphere. They have motivated me as a photographer and inspired me to continue my exploration of capturing movement. It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to work with such enthusiastic and expressive dancers while being taught by the talented and dynamic photographer, Cylla Von Tiedemann."

STUDIO PORTRAITURE
"With little knowledge about studio portraiture, I have since been able to work confidently with lighting equipment after attending Jean’s workshop. He not only teaches his students the fundamentals of studio lighting, but how to work safely with strobe. I would recommend this course for anybody interested in learning how to use studio lights."

ULTIMATE FASHION
"Josh’s Ultimate Fashion workshop is a window into what its like to work professionally. With keen models, creative hair and make-up artists, and the support of a professional fashion photographer, this workshop is truly a unique experience for those interested in the fashion photography industry."

"Overall I have learnt more in one day at Pikto than I have at any other course. Each workshop has been engaging, beneficial, and delightful. I have recommended these workshops to many other aspiring photographers, and will continue to attend them myself."

Cailin.

GRANT WRITING
"It's taken me a few months to process what I learned from Donald Weber's grant writing workshop. I didn't take it to learn how to apply for grants; I took it because I've been struggling to write about my photography, which is strange since I actually make my living from words right now.
Don's workshop definitely helped me. He broke down an approach to writing about your work, a structure. But more importantly, he gave me confidence to trust myself – to BE myself when writing about my work. For so long, I've been wishing someone smart would come and tell me what's going on in my pictures on a deeper level. (Don didn't do that.) I thought that to be successful in the art photography world you have use academic language and concepts, but Don emphasized straight honesty to the point of rawness.
Somehow during the workshop I gained insight into my work, and I was able to create a statement that feels true to me – and it helped me get into the 2010 Magnum Workshop in Toronto with my first-choice instructor."

Kate.

Dance at Pikto.

Cylla gears up students at the beginning of her Body in Motion beginners workshop.  After shooting in natural light, Cylla creates a simple lighting set up that the students can use at home to capture the beauty of the body in motion.

Cylla's Advanced Body in Motion class will run July 26th 2010. For full workshop listings go to http://pikto.com/workshops/

Ultimate Fashion Workshop at Pikto

Excellent day at Pikto (Saturday December 13th) with fashion photographer and teacher Josh Cornell.  As usual amazing images for the students enrolled, well done to everyone. Images taken by Aaron Goldman at The Pikto Studio 'Ultimate Fashion' Workshop.

Heather Morton coming to Pikto. “Portfolio Development Masterclass”

Happy to announce that Toronto Art buyer Heather Morton will run a workshop "Portfolio Development Masterclass" at Pikto January 31st and February 7th. If you are a photographer looking to expand your marketing and presentation skills you must not miss this workshop.  Heather is a leading Art Buyer with 10 years experience hiring and working with photographers. She has a huge following who discuss and promote photography on her blog,

http://www.heathermorton.ca/blog/

The course description:

Portfolio Development Masterclass

Heather Morton

Day1. Sunday January 31st 2010 10AM- 5PM

Day2. Sunday February 7th 2010 10AM - 5PM

Cost: $280 for two days

Requirements: Portfolio of work.

“During my 10 years in the commercial photography industry, I have seen thousands of portfolios, websites and promos from all over the globe. As a consultant, I work with photographers at different points in their careers to help them modify their promotion to ensure they are presenting their best possible work in the best possible way. This consultation can cover areas of specific interest to you- from website image selection to feedback on a specific creative project”.

Heather Morton. www.heathermorton.ca/blog

This 2 day workshop will give students the opportunity to improve their portfolio with individual instruction from an industry insider.

On the first day, you will have a one-on-one 45 minute session in which your work will be reviewed: images, portfolio, promotion…. whatever you think you will use to sell yourself as a photographer.

At the end of this session, you will get two things: feedback on your portfolio and an assignment for the week. This will be based on what you have presented and on your specific work. It will push you to go further with your vision, develop a promo piece, or flesh out a burgeoning idea or series; whatever seems most appropriate for you.

On the following weekend, your assignment will be critiqued in a small group. In this session, you will get more feedback on your work and you will be able to see the work of other students and how they have developed their vision and refined their portfolio based on their particular criticism.

You will come out of this session with some concrete, industry-relevant advice plus an idea of where to concentrate your efforts as you try and carve out a niche for yourself in a very competitive industry. This process of portfolio development will be invaluable as you continue to develop your style and articulate your vision.

Limited engagement at PIKTO.

DSLR Cinematography

DSLR Cinematography.

Click on Link below to find instructors Jean Heguy (Director of Photography) video shot with 5d2.

http://www.vimeo.com/6969748

Two Day Workshop

Sunday December 6th, 2009 10am - 5pm

Sunday December 13th, 2009 10am - 5pm

Cost $280 for Two Days

12 Places

Prerequisites: a DSLR with video capability such as Canon 5D mk2, Canon 500D, Nikon D90, Nikon D5000, Pentax K7, Olympus EP-1, Panasonic DMC-GH1 and many others that will come later.

As the photographic industry transitions, the idea of using moving image as a medium has become a reality, both for Amateur and Professionals alike. The camera world has changed and there is an established trend that the new breed of DSLR feature video with 720p and/or 1080p video shooting capability. Photographers have an opportunity to work in a new market, and be competitive with minimal equipment investment.

Join photographer Jean Héguy for a weekend to learn how to get the most out of your camera’s video capability. Participants will learn how to shoot for a video timeline, setting up for video, do interesting camera movements, how to light for it. Learning the formats and jargon related to video from a photographer’s perspective.

In this hands on 2 day workshop we will shoot a short narrative, learn how to shoot different angles to make interesting cuts, light it properly, make video more cinematographic. We will edit this footage on day 2, how to add music, color correct and export to dvd and web using different compressions. Jean will also show his director of photography reel, mostly done with DSLR.