COURSE DESCRIPTION

Master artist Greg Gorman will be joining us in the Berkshires to teach an intensive workshop on portraiture as well as figure study. His class will focus on teaching students how to see and interpret light as well as how to best communicate with the talent in front of their lens. The class will begin with a personal but open-ended forum critiquing each student’s work to give not only each student a better understanding of their approach to their imagery but also to give the class an opportunity to view each other’s work in an open sharing environment. Greg will present his career work as well as his latest projects.

Workshop days will start with lectures and critiques. Every afternoon the class will photograph models at different locations in the beautiful Berkshires. Greg will demonstrate his lighting techniques on location utilizing natural light in conjunction with LEDS/light modifiers and silks. Each day’s locations will vary and provide a myriad of different opportunities to offer the most varied possibilities. The class will be broken up into 2-3 small groups with a model assigned to each group. The models will rotate through the day and the workshop so each student has the opportunity to work with various models. One student will shoot at a time and the other members of the group will assist the person shooting. At the close of each day, Greg would like each student to produce 10-12 images of their choice from the day’s work to be critiqued the following morning in class prior to the day’s shoot. Greg is not looking for retouched images but more for content, tone and cropping that the students best feels represents their image. Greg will show how to best enhance the image in Lightroom. He is interested not only in the images you feel are most successful but also those that gave you trouble and that you feel you need help with.

Portraiture and figure study will both be focused on, but on different days.  At the close of the last day, Greg will hold a final discussion and review of the workshop answering any questions and sharing any additional information that you wish to discuss. The class will have an informal rather than overly structured atmosphere to allow all of you to provide input to Greg as to where you wish your week to go in case you want to push more in any specific direction. The week should prove to not only enhance your work ethic and skills but drive your passion. Greg is open to speaking with any of you personally should you have any questions prior to signing up for his class.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Greg’s work documents that peculiar obsession with the 21st century celebrity. His photography is timeless and not confined to has-beens, hot properties and wannabes.  Each shot gives a picture of human nature in its infinite range.  Each picture is also a testament to the individual character.  ‘For me, a photograph is most successful when it doesn’t answer all of the questions,” says Gorman, “but leaves something to the imagination.” Known for his stark, honest portraits of the most famous and infamous faces from the worlds of entertainment, art, sport and music, Greg Gorman’s images have intrigued the viewer from the onset of his career.

Over the years Greg has been acknowledged for his contribution to the world of photography, from the prestigious Lucie Award for Portraiture and more recently, by The Professional Photographers of America (Lifetime Achievement Award in Portraiture). His charitable works by such organizations as The Elton John Aids Foundation, The Oscar de La Hoya Foundation and Paws LA to name but a few have also been critically recognized.

Besides traveling the world for specialized photographic projects, Greg continues to work on compilations of his imagery and exhibits his work in galleries and museums around the globe. It's Not About Me-A Retrospective marks Mr. Gorman’s twelfth monograph published in 2019.  He has just completed a 13th work, ‘Homage’ which focusses on the influence of African Tribal Art on European and American Cultures, representing his first foray into the fine art world with collaborator and longtime friend, Gary Johns. As well, Gorman is one of the most sought-after speakers in the photographic community and shares his expertise in hands-on photographic workshops worldwide. In addition to his photography career, in collaboration with Dave Phinney of Orin Swift Cellars of the Napa Valley, Greg made wine under his own label, GKG Cellars, from 2006-2018, receiving high scores from both Robert Parker and the Wine Spectator.

Born in 1949 in Kansas City, Missouri, Greg attended the University of Kansas with a major in Photojournalism and completed his studies at the University of Southern California, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Cinematography. Greg resides with his French Bulldog Cyrill, in Los Angeles, California and spends most of his spare time fishing.

www.gormanphotography.com