Back in early July, I went on an amazing photography training course ran by Brett Harkness. The course was aimed at teaching us different techniques and ideas of how best to use speedlights and other flashes to create imaginative and stunning images when shooting weddings. Particularly helpful for the winter months, but also for creating those ‘wow’ shots all year round.
The day started off at Brett’s house in Bury with coffee and biscuits – always a good start. Brett talked us through the way he works, showing example photos of his and explaining how he achieved them, as well as explaining basic lighting theory so when we got onto the practical part we were ready for it.
Brett’s house was incredible and gave us some great places to start seeing these techniques in practise with Ed and Emily as our models. Following on from this, we travelled in to the centre of Manchester to start shooting on location. It was great to see how easy it was for Brett to turn anywhere into a great location to shoot – places I wouldn’t have even considered beforehand!
The course covered all sorts of different lighting techniques using, almost exclusively, one flash and the available ambient light to show what can be achieved by keeping it simple. We used bright colourful backgrounds for bride portraits, industrial backgrounds for groom portraits, back lighting smoke, walking shots, and a creative way to think about capturing first dance photos full of life and movement.
A big thank you to all involved on the day – Brett Harkness Photography Training, Zan Make-up, Novaks Exclusive Bridal Lounge & Nemesis Model Agency.
Here are selection of my photos taken on the day.
