Articles – Gavtrain.com

Water Reversal Backgrounds

If you’re looking for a simple stay at home photo project then this is for you. All you need is a glass filled with water and one of my free backgrounds.

The water filled glass acts as a simple lens and reverses the image seen through it. The upshot of which is, if you place the glass in front of a bold but simple background it becomes something photographically fascinating.

I’ve made three types of background, two tone, diagonal stripes and fine lines. Each has two variations and all are sized at A4, ready to be printed at home.

Usage rules
The images are copyright Gavin Hoey 2020. Use is limited to any personal but non-commercial purposes. Only share by linking back to this page. Do not redistribute the original image without my permission.

Download instructions
1. Click on the download link below
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aUvI6y8m-kor4WdoEB2aOyT8Zq-6E8uj?usp=sharing

Click the Download button (top right of screen)
The download should start automatically
No support is provided. If you need help Google or YouTube the question and you’ll almost certainly find the answer

Creative ideas at home

With the current restrictions on getting out and about, I reckon it was a good time to share some of Gavin’s creative video’s. Some of the items you may have at home, some things may make you think outside the box to create! Hopefully there’s will give you some hints and a prod to get up and try something new!

If you use any of the tips and ideas, we’d love to see the results! Tag Gavin in on any of his social media pages. Most importantly stay home, stay safe 🙂

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GxRwBxc8-8[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AkeFMzn_u8[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mXg7-Juvrc[/youtube]

Dark Potions Workshop – Wrap Up

Our Halloween workshop has been in the planning for the past few months. During that time Sam has been busy working hard to create spooky props and dark outfits.

We were joined by 12 photographers for each date and two amazing models, Sophie Daly and Charlotte Croucher. In order to keep the groups small and the shooting time high, I once again roped in the help of Tommy Reynolds as a group leader who did a brilliant job passing on his ideas and passion.

For the morning sessions Sophie took on the roll of a Alchemist. Sam created a table piled high with old bottles, books and other props she’d mostly found at boot sales. A bit of careful lighting, some coloured gels and plenty of smoke gave the final touch.

Charlotte took on the role of a Victorian vampire, complete with blood red contact lenses and her fangs she made herself. (Both Charlotte and Sophie are professional make-up artists as well as models)

After lunch it was all change as Sophie became a woodland witch. the weather varied across the two days so we made use of the inside locations when it was wet and used the grounds of Ravenswood when it was dry.

Charlottes second look was a “Miss Havisham” bride for which Tommy created a stunning lit scene on the stairs of the Baronial Hall at Ravenswood. He combined back light, smoke and an amazing optical snoot from Pixapro to create what was probably the best look of the workshop.

There’s nothing more frustrating to me than seeing a workshop organiser shooting photos for themselves at the expense of the attendees. As a result I took relatively few shots. Fortunately, the photographers who joined us took thousands of photos and below are just a few that I’ve been sent so far.

Making A Rustic High Key Background

When Gavin decided he wanted to shoot high key portraits in a very small space he wanted to a background that was a little different for the usual pure white seamless look. So I was tasked with creating a more rustic looking light background and I do love a challenge!

To keep cost down the plan was to re-use Gavin’s favourite grey paper background that had seen better days. I took a sample of the long roll of grey paper and tried out a few methods. Originally I was convinced a chalk coating would be perfect. Well, it looked pretty good but took quite a bit of elbow grease and loads of chalk. But the huge downside was that it smudged and dusted everything in a layer of chalk dust! Not ideal, so back to the drawing board (literally).

I have loads of white paint (most walls are white in the house) so thought a rough coating of paint would be worth a try out. Now, paper and wet paint would not be a great combination, the paper would change shape and be difficult to work with, so I used a dry brushing technique. This is where you dip the paint brush in the paint and then wipe off the excess on kitchen paper towels and then paint what’s left onto the background. This means that it goes on practically dry and doesn’t cause the paper to buckle. Perfecto!

We shot a time lapse, I think it makes me look like I work really quickly and efficiently!! The camera never lies…………
[youtube] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9OBWOy_Eng [/youtube]

The shoot day was brilliant. We worked with Gracie for the first time, she totally got the idea and it all worked like a charm with the background.

Bonnie & Clyde Styled Secret Shoot

This has to be one of my favourite shoots to date!

I arranged this as a secret portrait shoot, so Gavin was only told the date in advance.

It started when Mike, the fantastic car owner, mentioned he had a Ford V8, the same model as Bonnie and Clyde stole and used frequently.

The models were my next priority. Brian is always amazing, he gets totally in character when we do themed shoots, so he had to be booked for this! I thought Sophie had the right look but wasn’t sure whether character modelling was her thing. Luckily she totally went for it as soon as I asked. The two know each other from previous workshops, so the chemistry was spot on and they both got totally absorbed in their characters!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jny93xzVOIQ[/youtube]

Although I didn’t want to make guns a big part of this shoot, I felt they needed to be present to add the mood. We were very lucky to be able to use replica guns on loan by Ash, who collects all sorts of amazing military props and costumes. He stayed on hand to ensure we stayed safe at all times.

The location was a source of head scratching for me. I felt we needed a choice of backdrops and plenty of space. We’ve used The Gatwick Aviation Museum for many shoots and workshops over the years, they were more than happy to accommodate us for this, tick location booked!

I styled this on a budget, boot sale bargains and charity shop buys for the most part. I splurged on a new hat for Brian and a vintage Kodak No. 2 folding Brownie camera (it’s beautiful).

Luckily the day stayed dry, despite the threatened rain in the forecast. In fact it got very sunny and warm. Gavin was thoroughly surprised and recovered enough to capture some awesome photo’s!

Watch out for some extra footage and BTS to come……

GEAR LIST

Olympus E-M1 Mark ii
Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro
Glow ParaPop 28″ Softbox
Flashpoint Xplor600 Flash
CHAUVET Hurricane 1200 Fog Machine

My schedule for The Photography Show 2019

There’s just one week to go until The Photography Show 2019 opens its doors at the N.E.C. in Birmingham, UK. Running from the 16th – 19th March, it’s the UK’s biggest and busiest photography show around 30,000 photographers, both professional and amateur, will be attending and I’ll be there for all four days.

It’s a great mix of booths from photographic businesses big and small but this isn’t just another trade show, there’s also loads of things to see and do. There’s a constant stream of free demos and talks on various live stages and that’s on top of all the smaller demos on many of the booths dotted around the show.

I’ll be there giving various free talks and demos on portrait lighting (with Meg Biffin as my model) and my consistent colour workflow, so if you’re coming along it would be great to meet you.

Saturday 16th March

10.30 am	PiXAPRO E91	Lighting kit that won’t quit ( Live Demo)
12.15 pm	Color Confidence C91	Consistent colour in three easy steps (Talk)
2.00 pm	Wedding & Portrait Stage	Small is beautiful (Live Demo)
3.30 pm	PiXAPRO E91	Portraits with character (Demo)

Sunday 17th March

10.30 am	PiXAPRO E91	Lighting kit that won’t quit ( Live Demo)
12.00 pm	Photo Live Stage	Concept portrait on a tiny budget (Live Demo
1.45 pm	Color Confidence C91	Consistent colour in three easy steps (Talk)
3.30 pm	PiXAPRO E91	Portraits with character (Demo)

Monday 18th March

10.30 am	PiXAPRO E91	Lighting kit that won’t quit ( Live Demo)
1.45 pm	Color Confidence C91	Consistent colour in three easy steps (Talk)
3.30 pm	PiXAPRO E91	Portraits with character (Demo)

Tuesday 19th March

10.30 am	PiXAPRO E91	Lighting kit that won’t quit ( Live Demo)
1.45 pm	Color Confidence C91	Consistent colour in three easy steps (Talk)
3.00 pm	PiXAPRO E91	Portraits with character (Demo)

All my demos are free and available on a first come first served basis.

Show tickets are free for professional photographers and the trade, £14.95 for enthusiasts (if booked in advance)
Ticket discount code: SPKTPS19
Gives 20% off standard adult tickets. This can’t be used in conjunction with any other offer, including concession, multi-day and group discounts. Applies to new bookings only and expires on 13 March 2019.[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH021yRQmXY[/youtube]

Secret Portrait Shoot Picture Palace

Sam here and we’re back with another Secret shoot!!! If you don’t know what that is let me explain. I arrange a shoot that Gavin knows nothing about, he will just turn up to shoot. No planning, no research, a real challenge, as he is someone who is organised and likes to plan as much as possible beforehand.

I booked a unique cinema in a shepherds hut in Chichester called The Picture Palace

The venue had been recommended to me by one of our photographer workshop attendees Andrew. In fact he helped out on the day, just so happens we both managed to stay mostly out of shot!

I booked Fern as our model, I knew she would be perfect for a sassy vintage screen goddess look. She totally got it straight away. I thoroughly enjoyed getting the outfit together, it’s the little touches that can really matter. By the way that dress is amazing, perks of the job as I wore it Christmas day! (didn’t look quite the same with a pinny on too….)

Gavin had to get his creative mind working fast to bag some awesome shots before our booked time slot was up. The space was very limited and with gear (remember we also have all the video gear too) and the seats in place the challenge was very real. I loved the shots, they were what I had imagined and more.

Check out the video here.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUJvQ54v2z4[/youtube]

A 2018 Photo Shoot Round Up

As well as a load of video tutorial photo shoots we’ve also had some great location workshops this year. I have everything crossed that we have some more amazing places to see next year as well as working with the most fantastic bunch of people both sides of the camera!

Here’s just a few highlights of 2018.

Shooting in Gloucester prison was cold but fascinating. Thanks to Olympus UK we got to spend a few hours there with some very willing inmates!

Check out the blog here. https://www.gavtrain.com/?p=6085

We packed up the Faded Circus workshop for the last time in September. It’s been great fun working with our brilliant team on this the last 2 years. I’m sure the props and costumes with be repurposed and upcycled for future shoots as we have rather a lot now!

Take a look at a few images taken on the day by the attendees. https://www.gavtrain.com/?p=5956

Gods Own Junkyard in Walthamstow was a eclectic neon palace! We had a great time here with Olympus and a select bunch of people who were quick enough to bag a place. Working for the first time with the most awesome Meg Biffin who brought her unique look and wicked sense of style to this shoot.

Farewell 2018. Roll on 2019!

2018 Video round up.

This year has sped past at a rapid rate. It’s been an awesome year for photography. We’ve been to some amazing places and worked and met with some fantastic people.
Here’s just a few highlights.

We shot 3 video’s in this series. A from start to finish step by step. The weather was ‘interesting’ on the day, the crew were made of stern stuff and we all enjoyed a proper Italian hot chocolate in the studio after we finished shooting!

This was a fun shoot with Liam, who we have known forever! Great shots as he got totally in character (and added some comic clips too).

It’s always a blast when If-E comes to visit. We put the world to rights with copious amounts of tea and shoot some wicked photos!

Honestly had the hardest job to narrow down the choice to just a few, each video shoot has been a pleasure. Catch all of this years Adorama shoots here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL821B7D720DEA39FA

Thanks to everyone that’s been with us and watched and commented. Here’s to an amazing 2019!

The Making Of My Festive, Fine Art Background

Check out the video below where Gavin shares how he made this festive background. If you’re short on time use the one he already created here

We hope you enjoy the video and get the chance to try out the technique with your own spin on it!

If you missed it, here’s the video of the shoot we created this template for.