Trevon Baker
Fresh from His Trip to Korea
Trevon
Baker has recently returned from a trip to Korea where he had a number
of speaking engagements and seminars. As this month's featured
photographer, we share with you Trevon's journal of this fabulous trip.
More of Trevon's work with Virtual Backgrounds can be seen on his
website at www.trevonbaker.com.
Through the sponsorship of Virtual Backgrounds and Tony Oh of Bonmatch Albums,
it was arranged for me to speak to two different professional
trade associations while there, the Korean Photographers
Association (KPA) and the Professional Photographers of Korea
(PPK).
The KPA was my first speaking
engagement and it was held in Seoul . There were
approximately 80 photographers there. I gave my "Four Dimensions
of Portraiture" presentation and shared with them lighting
patterns, differences in quality of light, using the appropriate
type of lighting for certain subjects, classic posing techniques,
drawing out a variety of expressions from the subjects and
incorporating unique backgrounds into the portrait to add to
the impact, variety and customer satisfaction in a session.
This association is best compared to our own PPA in the states.
They are older, established photographers that abide by certain
rules in photography technique and lean toward the conservative,
classic styles. At the end, they presented me with a wonderful
crystal "Appreciation Plaque" that I will always treasure.
The next day, I spoke to the PPK in Daejeon, a city a couple
hours south from Seoul. Again, about 75-80 photographers
were present. This group reminded me of the WPPI photographers
that are in general younger, much more contemporary in their style
and bend all the rules in photography. Through the translator, I
fielded many questions about lighting equipment, workflow and the
how the Virtual Backgrounds system works. Some time was given at
the end of the program so that they could create shots themselves
using the system.
The two presentations generated a lot of interest and the next
couple days were spent visiting photographers studios in Seoul and
the outlying areas. We did a couple of private demonstrations of
the equipment, setting it up in their studios and showing them how
easy it can be set up and then packed up for transporting again.
The style of Korean portrait photographers currently involves many
different "sets" in the studio. In order to provide their clients
with variety, they invest heavily in props, and the construction
of these sets...only to change them every six months. Many sets cost
thousands of dollars to create, and a studio may have 8-10
different sets. Some operations also had as many as 20 locations, so
imagine the amount invested in temporary backgrounds. Many of them
could see the immediate value of a Virtual Background system.
Working through a translator was challenging. It seemed that I
would say two or three sentences and the translator would speak
for 5 minutes! I would look at him and say, "I said all that?"
Though it was obvious that the styles of Korean portraiture and
western societies may differ, the goal of every photographer I met
was to provide top quality portraits with lots of variety,
boosting their gross sales. Their clients respond well by spending
more and returning more often whenever an occasion arises. The
Korean economy is doing very well.
Very little time was available for seeing the sights. Tony did
take me to an ancient palace that the king and family lived in
starting in 1352. It was destroyed twice over the centuries in
wars, but rebuilt to preserve the countries traditions. That was
what I noticed most about the Korean culture. Everyone is very
proud and respectful of their traditions handed down over the
generations. Very polite, courteous and helpful people. I'm
anxious to go back.
24 Shots, 11 Contemporary Backgrounds,20 Minutes in Front of an Audience
Linda Kangara and Trevon Baker
Montana
photographer Trevon Baker was the guest speaker for the May 2008
Virtual Backgrounds workshop. Linda Kangara flew all the way from
Kenya
to attend the
workshop. When Trevon needed a subject to demonstrate how he uses
the Scene Machine as a primary tool to enhance his work, he chose Linda
to be his model.
Trevon wanted to demonstrate to the
class how quickly and efficiently he could integrate lighting, posing,
expression and background to create a wide variety of images for a
subject to choose from. In just 20 minutes, while working in
front of the entire class, Trevon captured 24 exposures and used 11
different backgrounds to create a variety of images a subject would
have a very difficult time refusing to purchase.
Trevon says, “When I work with a subject, I want them to have a unique
experience. I create as much variety as possible for them without
taking a lot of their time. That’s what works for me today!”
The images, both the original thumb nails as well as those selected for
enlargement, speak for themselves. Without the use of the Scene
Machine Virtual Backgrounds system, this just simply could not be
possible.
Trevon Baker is scheduled to teach a 2 day class, June 16 - 17, 2008 at the Virtual Backgrounds Learn and
Earn
Center
. The class is titled Portrait Dimensions and covers the methods he uses on a regular basis in his studio. For further information on this class contact a consultant at Virtual Backgrounds.
Click here to see all of Trevon's shots in this photo shoot.
Click here to view Trevon’s Web site
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