Over the past week, I had the privilege to experience one of the most unique photography workshops available in the United States. This year, After Dark Education was held in St. Louis, MO at the Union Station Hotel. What separates this workshop from most others is its overall design. Its neither a workshop or a conference. It's a hybrid of the two...with an extra kick.
Over the span of 3 days from approximately 1:00pm to 12:00am, attendees could choose among a smattering of sessions which were held in either "Pods" or "Bays." Pod sessions followed the more traditional lecture model where mentors would speak on their chosen topic and be available for questions. Sessions ranged from business models to photoshop creativity.
Though these sessions were valuable, I found myself gravitating toward the Bays, which were mini studios stocked with lights, modifiers, and models. Here, mentors took a more hands-on approach demonstrating their techniques and sharing their thoughts behind creating their image. With the event capped at around 500 attendees, the attendee to mentor ratio was kept low enough to maintain a high level of intimacy, which meant you were noticed!
After the first day, bay sessions took on another form. Instead of staying in the mini studio, mentors took their students on-location. These shoots introduced more variables into their creative process, such as ever changing weather conditions and balancing ambient light with strobe lighting. I found these to be the most valuable sessions. Instead of being in the studio where every element is in control, mentors had to analyze and solve problems in real time. Being that this event was being held in an old train station, we had plenty of places to go and be creative. What was normally a pretty vacant hotel during the week turned into a photographer's playground, swarming with small groups of mentors and AD attendees.
Snapshots of the Bay Session
One of the best aspects of this event was the freedom attendees had in regard to choosing the session that was the right fit for them. At any given time, attendees could choose among 10 different pods and 10 different bays. If you didn't like session you were in, you could easily step out and float into another. There was one afternoon where I hopped among 3 different on-location shoots and was able to pick up different techniques from each. And if the bays and pods were not enough, attendees could go to the check-out area, borrow studio strobes with light modifiers, grab a model and some friends, and go have a photo shoot of their own! Below are a couple of photos from location shoots.
Location shoot within Union Station
Once midnight rolled around, After Dark kicked into overdrive. The bays were now open for free-shooting. The music was turned up to 10 and models were ready for round 2. We were able to take control of EVERYTHING and play around with all the gear that was available. It was an unreal environment to be in.
fter midnight, I was finally able to play with a ring light and shot on a background, which I normally avoid because I find backgrounds to be cheesy, but I loved the look of this particular pattern/color. As a side note, I have to give a shout out to the models. They were all stretched to their limits. This particular model stayed with us until 3:00 am on the last day of the event when everyone had gone home.
My expectations of After Dark in St. Louis were surpassed. I learned a great deal and made new friendships along the way. But most importantly, I am more inspired than ever to break all my boundaries of comfort and create something new. This is just the beginning...
