Fstoppers Reviews SLRLounge's Natural Light Couples Photography Workshop DVD

I'm a strobist by heart. When I first got into photography, I didn't even begin shooting portrait work until after I had gotten at least a flash. That purchase, quickly turned into studio strobe after studio strobe until I found that I was completely controlling all light sources during my shoots. So who better to review SLRLounge's latest DVD, 'Natural Light Couples Photography Workshop', right?

https://www.youtube.com/embed/lt8dXq0rinY

The DVD itself is over 8 hours of information broken down into 20 different chapters highlighting the following information –

DVD 1 | The Workshop DVD -
Chapter 1 – Introduction and Preparation
Chapter 2 - Gear, Camera Settings and Advice
Chapter 3 - Lighting Techniques
Chapter 4 - Posing and Communication
Chapter 5 - Foundation Posing
Chapter 6 - 9 - The Shoots

DVD 2 | The Post Production DVD
Chapters 1-11 – Culling, Post Production and Editing Techniques

While the length seems a bit overwhelming at first, the DVD makes the system enjoyable to watch and incredibly easy to understand. So good in fact, that the only thing that rivals the host Pye Jirsa teaching ability, is his shooting ability. The images he produces are elegant, timeless and quite frankly just gorgeous. Pye takes us through every step in achieving the perfect natural light engagement session while with working with actual couples. From setting up styleboards for your clients, to posing guides that explain the 4 foundation poses, to couples photography to the post production done after the session is completed and everything that happens in between.

The menu of each session is easy to navigate, with titles for each video highlighting their purpose. I've watched many photography DVDs in the past, and SLRLounge has easily produced the best menu system that I've ever seen before. While working in your browser, you're able to quickly jump around from session to session with ease, or watch it all in its entirety.

Most importantly, lets talk about the information provided. I'm happy to say the SLRLounge has provided a complete guide for how to attack engagement photos with confidence. While providing the viewer with great useful information, they also encourage you to experiment, and develop your own techniques. The posing guide for example, shows you 4 different starting spots to create interesting images, and shows you how slight shifts in positioning can provide hundreds of different styles to fit the image of virtually every client.

Being someone who has shot dozens of weddings in my career, and just as many engagement sessions, I was concerned that this system may not be tailored to the seasoned professional. Nothing could be farther from the truth. While some segments are slower than others (No one likes to watch another photographer cull through his photos in Lightroom), they manage to encompass information for both the newbie getting into the game, and the person who has been doing this for years. This is the comprehensive guide to natural light couples photography.

Perhaps the most impressive feature of this series is its price. Many photography DVD Workshops are priced well over $300, as they contain valuable information that exceeds that price point. SLRLounge has priced this set for merely $79. With that $79 dollars, you're getting both DVDs as well as 190 Full Resolution RAW exercise files to practice your post processing techniques to develop a truly unique style with your photography.

What I Liked:

Easy to Understand Information
Extremely Comprehensive
Excellent Posing Guide
Easy to Navigate Menu System
Low Price Point ($79)

What Could Improve:

Digital Download only (12GB filesize)

Final Thoughts:

I am a firm believer that this workshop is a must have for those who are looking to branch into couples photography or simply looking to improve their knowledge of natural light. This will easily pay for itself within your first session, and if you follow the easy to understand information from this, you'll have plenty more clients to come. The price point to useful information beats just about every other DVD marketed to photographers out there. Aside from the price point, this has given this strobist enough confidence to put away his strobes for his next few engagement sessions. I can personally promise that this DVD will help you improve your skills as a portrait photographer.

You can purchase this DVD Workshop for $79 by clicking this link.

Disclaimer - I was not paid any money by SLRLounge for the review of this product. All information here is from personal experiences from watching the DVD, and I am not endorsed in any way whatsoever by the producers of this project.