Yes, you read the title of this entry correct.  Dean Zulich has changed my life.  And it was not just his fancy yellow shoes or his quick wit, either.  It was a combination of factors that played into the change in mindset and approach to photography which came gushing into my mind over this past weekend during his lighting workshop here south of Atlanta.

My first impressions of Dean were mixed and I really did not know what to think of him, actually.  However, I feel we met the true Dean during his lecture.  As he got into discussing his background the passion and drive behind his creative engine was the most evident.  It poured from him into the lecture hall.  With an interesting background and road traveled, Dean covered his entry into the realm of professional photography, his time on VH-1’s reality TV show “The Shot” to where he is now.  In my mind, it is a great journey because his is truly just beginning.  Knowing that he has traveled this far in this amount of time provides me with a new sense of hope and awe.

I lost focus of those around me and continually focused on Dean and the headline of his flyer: “Ever Wonder What Would Happen If You Followed Your Dream?”  When I first got the flyer I wrote that line off and cheesy marketing fluff meant to appeal to anyone other than me.  But there is power in that headline if you think about it.  That headline is Dean.  He found a passion, a drive, a dream, and went for it.  Why can’t I do the same thing?  Sure, with some reality shows the people enter to get their 15 minutes of fame, but Dean’s portfolio competed against thousands of other photographers just to get in.  Not only did he get in, but he made it to the finals.

What did I take away from that?  If he can do it, I can do it.

His lecture was eye-opening for me.  What is really odd is that I have heard some of what he has said before, but there are times when it helps to hear it again and from a different source.  In this case it carried with it a greater sense of importance.

1. Remove all rules & barriers: Rules are meant to be broken and there are times when taking risks pays off.  Try different ideas.  Explore. I have always tried to do this with my work and not worry about what others thought, but in reality, that can be tricky.  It is only natural to want positive feedback and adoration of what you put out to the world.  Yet, something clicked when Dean was speaking and it just felt as if he was able to allow me to remove all barriers between what I want to do and what I have been doing.
2. Education: Dean admits that as of a few years ago, he did not know what an f-stop was.  He applied to school and not only gained valuable knowledge about his field, but built an impressive portfolio along the way.  I want to build on my business/marketing undergraduate degree with a graduate degree next.  I am working on preparing an application to Savannah College of Art and Design with plans on obtaining a Masters in Digital Photography.
3. Equipment: I have historically purchased Sigma lenses, and while they are certainly not bad lenses, I realized that I need better equipment.  My general lens is a Sigma 18-200 f/3.5.  Great for just walking around and shooting, I felt hampered with it during the workshop.  I love the Sigma 10-20 but with this workshop I did not find it especially helpful, save for a few downtime shots where I got to play around with it.  My Nikon 50 f/1.4 is a great lens and I am so happy that I purchased it.  The Sigma 105mm was useless during this shoot.  I say all of that to say that I want to invest in a Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 or Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 (This is actually on order as I type this and will arrive next week!) as well as a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8.  Additionally, I need lighting, and I need my own lighting.  It has been great to associate with other photographers who bring their equipment, but I want my own.  So I will want to invest in that as well.
4. Command of the scene: Controlling the scene was not the focus of this workshop with Dean, however, it came up and he made several good comments regarding this.  During the challenge, he felt that one of the photographers took a little too long in between shots.  His critique was not to rush through shoots or take unplanned shots, but to control the scene and show the models you know what you are doing.  Bring not only your creativity to the scene, but your authority as well.  During the shoot, you are in command.  Be polite and professional, sure, but be in control.
5. Confidence: Have the confidence to do what you love to do.  Anyone can take a photograph and learn the technical aspects of the camera, lighting, etc.  That is not what people are hiring you for.  They are paying for your creativity and what you will do.  Have the confidence to do that.

The entire weekend was a big success in my eyes.  From the conversations I had, it seemed as if everyone was able to take away some new ideas and techniques that will prove useful.

What did I take, you ask?  Since trying to help out Allison & Jay, who did 98% of the work getting this workshop to happen, I wanted to make room for them as well as the other photogs who made lengthy drives to get there.

The first setup was an exercise with rim lighting.  Getting a quick test shot of Aglae, here is the result:

The one scene that I setup using Dean’s rim lighting technique was this one:

And since I am unable to stay completely out of Photoshop for post, here is a processed version:

A special thank you to the models Aglae & Edward Bryan, as well as Deena & Mi-Chanel for styling and Vanessa Carter as MUA.  Major thanks to Allison & Jay from Urban Photographix for floating the bill and risk for setting up the workshop and of course to Dean Zulich for flying in from Seattle to give us a great workshop.

More behind the scenes shots and images from the workshop can be seen on my Flickr page.