STC Exposed in Playboy – Four Pages
We are proud to announce that Playboy Intl. Has picked up our seminar series and written a four-page story on their December issue, about Shoot The Centerfold Oct 13-14, 2012 seminar / workshop. Be sure to get your copy at newsstands right now!
On October 13th and 14th Miami was sizzling with hot Playmates, gorgeous fashion and glamour models, all under the expert mentorship of top Playboy photographers. Five photography masters shared their knowledge with mere mortals at the largest, boldest and most anticipated workshop of the year called Shoot The Centerfold. For the first time in the workshops history, five photographers from United States, Slovenia and Great Britain gathered under one roof to talk about the industry, lighting and their best kept secrets on how to succeed in the tough world of glamour photography.
Stephen Wayda, Byron Newman, Jarmo Pohjaniemi, Aleš Bravničar and Ric Moore have a grand total of nearly 100 combined years of experience in the field of erotic photography, with regular side trips to the frantic world of fashion. The sheer breadth of knowledge present was evident by the participation of long time Playboy photography legend Steve Wayda, who has the most centerfolds and pictorials in the history of the magazine.
The idea for Shoot The Centerfold came from Jarmo Pohjaniemi, an ex-model from Finland turned photographer, who shoots girls for Playboy as well as fashion and commercial work all over the world. One day Jarmo woke up in his spectacular Miami villa and said “Hey, knowledge is power. Let’s share all the photography secrets we know with the entire photography world.” Thus, Shoot The Centerfold was born.
The Shoot The Centerfold workshop is an amazing experience where attendees get to learn and participate in the ultimate dream – to shoot with and put themselves in the shoes of real Playboy photographers on set, finding out all the lighting secrets from the masters themselves and hearing their stories about memorable shoots, production caveats, tricks of the trade and also have their portfolios reviewed by Playboy’s longtime director of photography Gary Cole and editor Jeff Cohen. The tipping of the cake is the actual chance for attendees to shoot the amazingly hot models and see if they have what it takes to be the real deal.
Playmate Beth Williams – Miss August 2012, was onset to pose for the attendees, all lit up with beautifully detailed lighting as seen in Playboy magazine. Attendees benefited from a light by light explanation by the masters themselves on how to get the most out of their photography and equipment. All lighting equipment at the seminar was provided by German studio lighting equipment manufacturer Hensel.
The best thing about Shoot The Centerfold is that it’s not about showing off. Everyone there felt like a big family for two action-packed seminar-workshop days. STC’s sole purpose is to provide attendees with the benefit of knowledge from the masters who created the look and the feel as seen in the glossy pages of Playboy and numerous other top publications. Where they can push the envelope, while guided with expertise and support, to the level expected by premier agencies and editors who are constantly demanding more from photographers worldwide.
STC’s approach is unique – the philosophy is to make everything perfect IN CAMERA and to use as little Photoshop as possible to enhance an already great image. As Jarmo puts it, “you will not only learn how to take a photograph, but how to create a photograph”. For those not able to attend, get the next best thing by choosing from a variety of Shoot The Centerfold lighting diagrams and posing guides to head on rest of the road of knowledge, made exclusively for STC by Steve, Byron, Jarmo, Aleš and Ric. Each of the guides represents the author’s favorite modeling poses and lighting scenarios, containing both natural light as well as complex strobe setups in studio situations.
The Sixth Shoot The Centerfold workshop was held at Miami’s Dezer Car Collection, one of the largest privately owned car museums in the United States. Michael Dezer proudly owns more than 1200 specimens of beautiful and unique vehicles, from American classics to European designed masterpieces, motorcycle memorabilia and not to forget the legends from the movies such as the original James Bond Aston Martin, multiple Batmobiles, a Cadillac from the Ghostbusters movie and the silver DeLorean which Michael J. Fox took Back to the Future.
On the first day each of the mentors explained their preferred lighting scenario by demonstrating how to light a scene with the help of assistants along with explaining the purpose of light, equipment and how emphasize elements of their scene while also accentuating the beauty and curves of the model. The second day was all about shooting for those in attendance. Each participant was given the opportunity to put their knowledge to work. The models struck poses and the masters did a one-on-one session with every attendee, helping with posing, camera settings and choosing the best angle and framing to get the shot.
Many observers have claimed that they have never seen so many happy people in one place. The October Shoot The Centerfold workshop, currently unequaled in the world, was a 100% success. More than 75 attendees, professionals, emerging photographers and hobbyists alike from every corner the world, walked away with a wealth of knowledge to apply to their craft. The challenge now for organizers is how to make the next seminar even bigger and better.
