PLANNING A PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP

PLANNING A PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP

 BY Loftus Viljoen*

[Loftus is a retired attorney, professional photographer, safari operator, business man, columnist, writer and freelance photo journalist]

Although I am using a photography workshop or course as example the comments herein can just as well be applicable to any workshop or course or event.

Tsonga Traditional Drummers & Dancers

Just the other day a would-be-photography-course-presenter gave the following advice to an aspiring wildlife photographer after that would-be-presenter attended a studio workshop: “You always shoot in M-mode set at F8, 1/80^th sec, ISO 100. Do not change that!”  The result: a totally over-exposed set of wildlife images. Fortunately I was there to give the correct settings for wildlife photography and fortunately for the aspiring wildlife photographer his initial images was only a test run. But imagine this, you as expert photographer, give advice to someone who on your advice uses the wrong settings messes up a once in a lifetime shot and thereby spoils a very expensive trip for example to the Serengeti. The consequences of giving wrong advice is that apart from having your reputation tarnished you may find yourself in Court for damages to pay the cost of that Serengeti trip, especially if the recipient of your advice is a novice to photography. You will know that the EXIF data on those images will expose your advice. Or just imagine that you have given the wrong advice on the settings of the “money shot” at a wedding ceremony and you spoil the image and the couple sue the photographer [and consequently you for giving the wrong advice]. You don’t think this will happen? In Australia a couple recently sued their photographer for not taking the “kiss shot” and had their whole ceremony re-enacted and sued the photographer for those costs and in another case in the U.S.A.  a photographer was sued for $300,000 [USD] for "bad images" as the couple had to do their whole marriage ceremony all over again. There are currently a number of these type of court cases all over the world and they may each have their own merits and defences, the point that I am making is that you as presenter or organiser should be very careful of what expectations you evoke or what advice you give. The bottom line is you do not want to be a co-defendant in Court.

The essence of a workshop or course is the transfer of knowledge and/or skills on a specific subject matter or giving advice relating to it – in most of the courses or workshops I  attended  or presented the frequently asked question is “what was your camera setting for that shot?”  Different cameras and different lenses will give its own qualities to an image so the best is to learn what your camera and lens can do is normally my advice to fellow photographers. Most times at courses you will find that settings they give you are only "guidelines" and not a rigid set of rules.

I have presented several courses myself for the Ngonyama Safari Club since 2004 ranging from GPS to Bush Mechanics to Safari planning to “Introduction to Wildlife Photography” courses/workshops. A number of my articles on these subjects which were published in well-known outdoor lifestyle magazines through the years.  Planning workshops or courses differs not much from planning safaris into Africa – you have to do it properly or you will be the loser. Having all this experience gives me a reasonable platform to make the comments herein.



Steam Train shoot - FOTR 2012

Being a top photographer or a skilled presenter/narrator unfortunately does not make you a successful event or workshop organiser – I have seen Event Organisers planning and executing, for example, a huge music concert, however they did not have any music skills or being a public speakers, but the event was a huge success, because they knew all the peripherals and legalities involving events. On the other hand I have also seen courses where the organisers had to pay in, either as a result of ignorance or failing to calculate all the costs and risks involved.

Planning a photography event or workshop not only takes a lot of time and a lot of money, but the organisers [or organising committee] also takes on a huge legal responsibility and duty. These include a number of contracts like venue, employment, accommodation, transportation, rentals and indemnities etc. and this brings in legal issues like safety, employment, insurance, building and model and other releases, copyrights and more, including Acts like the Bill of Rights, the Consumer Protection Act and other legislation. All these issues do have a cost implication and these costs must be built in in your course fees.

Costing is a very difficult thing to do as you can easily cost yourself out of the market. Working with sponsors does help, but my experience is that you need to contact possible sponsors months in advance. When I want Canon [and I am talking of Canon just by way of example] to loan me equipment for a wildlife photography workshop/course I need quite a lot of time in advance and I must be specific of what equipment I need and this involves a business plan  and proposal. Then I had to insure their equipment which put my “profit” at risk – an insurance company recently charged me R3000.00 to insure the equipment I had on loan plus my public indemnity just for the weekend. So even when you get a sponsorship it comes with a price.  The best option is to work with whatever equipment or resources you have. It is always a good idea to draft a business plan for your courses whether you need a sponsorship or not.

 

Let us say, [by way of example] that you want to give a course in Photoshop or any photo editing programme, but let us use Photoshop as an example:

·         the pictures for free.
As this is a closed group implied/nude pictures may be posted as long as they are classy.
If a member feels uncomfortable with a picture that is posted, please let admin know so that we can handle the concern in a professional manner. Please always respect the model, and most of all.... 'Have fun'

Enjoy the group.
P.s. No adverts on this group please unless it is directly aimed at photographers like handy tips, reviews or accessories..all the legal duties and responsibilities I touched on above are still applicable

·         Are you a qualified or certified Photoshop instructor/tutor [by Adobe,]?

·         Or do you have a duly and properly authorized presenter to present your Photoshop course?

·         Are you going to create the impression to your course attendees that you are legally entitled to present a “Photoshop” course?

·         Do you have all the copyright permissions or authorizations for the material you are going to use?

·         What expectations have you evoked from your audience? I have attended a couple of photography courses offered by magazines,  shows, expos, camera manufacturers and the like for purposes of learning more and reporting on it and found that a couple of them had the same course material content of an earlier course I attended or that I know more about the course subject than the presenter, because the course was only of a basic nature. I have even been threatened/bullied by Big Event organizers/manufacturers to prevent me of writing anything negative about the course/event/product until they found out exactly who I am whereafter they quickly changed their tunes. You do not know who will be attending your course/workshops and what negative comments they can say about your course so you need to be prepared for that as well.

·         [TIP: Why don’t you rather have Adobe or an Adobe accredited presenter to do your course or the part where you need them in your course – isn’t that a nice and legal way of doing it]

Once you have the above in place let us consider the following:

Your venue:

§   Is it a safe environment for a course/workshop?

§  Does it have the proper facilities for the course? For example does it have enough electricity points for laptops, computers and charging systems and lecture rooms with tables and chairs?

§  What about privacy? Assuming that photos are going to be taken you need to sort out privacy issues before the commencement of the workshop - [I once attended a course where there were models posing for the attendees on a specific defined contractual basis , but the venue owner was all under our noses taking photos himself left, right and centre and there by infringing the privacy rights of his guests]

§  Security: What provisions were taken for the safety of your attendees’ cars, equipment and possessions?

§  Are you providing meals & drinks? What happens when your guests/attendees get food poisoning? Did you put your public liability insurance in place?

o   Releases: do you have all the releases necessary like buildings, models, art and other copyrighted, branded or trademarked objects, especially if you are going to take pictures during the course or workshop? (I attended a workshop where  we were presented with model releases and afterwards found out that one of the models was under age and signed a model release without the assistance of her parents – this may have legal consequences). There are workshops  which will allow and enable the attendees to take photos of models and props with  the purpose of building their photography portfolios - now just imagine one of your attendees posting such photo of a minor.

The point I want to make is that if you want to do a workshop or course or event – make sure you comply with all the legalities. On Facebook and social media I have seen comments to the effect “bugger the Law, let’s do what we want to do!” – to me that person is unprofessional, will in all probability infringe copyrights [and pirate copyrighted images and software], will fail to observe human rights or privacy matters or the rights of others and for that remark I will not refer any customers or attendees to him for a photography brief or if he would present a course to avoid his courses.

On my example above I work on the assumption that the course/workshop will involve the taking of photos. One should give careful consideration as to the type of workshop or course you want to plan and execute.  Tip: always have new material or examples in your course and as much of your own work as possible.

One of the failures of a workshop or course is the lack of marketing or insufficient marketing and not having enough attendees to cover the costs. Unfortunately there is not a thing like a “free lunch” and unless you are a philanthropist you need to be remunerated for your efforts. Nobody will crucify you for making a R1000 or more from a course, but that if there are not enough attendees you must take the brave decision to cancel your workshop or event.

The mere fact that you know how to drive a car does not mean it is legal – you need a valid driving license and the same applies to presenting workshops you may know how a lot about "Photoshop" [as per my example] but to do it you still need to do it legal. So if you want to use a branded name like Photoshop to market your course you will have to get a license or authorization from Adobe or the legal copyright/brand owner – but nothing prevents you to advertise your course as a “Photo editing” course without referring to any branded or copyrighted names, but you still need to be careful that you do not invoke the “expectation” of your attendees that they are attending a “Photoshop” workshop.

I hope I have given an insight and food for thought for both potential presenters as well as attendees that there is more to presenting a workshop or course that meets the eye.

I do not want to put a damper on enthusiasm to organize or present a course or workshop but there are many pitfalls and dangers lurking for the would-be-organizer of a course but if you are aware of it you can work your way around them.

Loftus ©2013

 

 

 

 

 

TRADITIONAL TSONGA WEDDING

Traditional Tsonga Wedding

Story and photos by Loftus Viljoen



Regal pose for a traditional Tsonga Wedding



 Malamulele is small township near Giyani in the far north of the Limpopo Province. It is 40 odd kilometres away from the Punda Maria gate of the Kruger National Park.

My partner, Naomi Myburgh, and I had the opportunity and privilege to cover a traditional Tsonga wedding ceremony at this village. We were approached by Masana Maluleke, a pharmacist from Brakpan in Gauteng where she works and resides, to photograph and document her wedding with Thabo Motsoai.  The bride is a Tsonga and the groom is a Sotho.

In Africa it is an age-old tradition and custom  that a traditional wedding is preceded by “lobola” negotiations.  Lobola is said to be a system whereby a groom pays the father of the bride or her relatives  a “bride’s price” of a certain number of cattle [or in modern times an amount of cash] and hence the misconception that the bride becomes the “property” of her husband.   Traditionally cattle was a sign of wealth in Africa culture and by paying in the paying of cattle to the bride’s father meant or symbolizes  that the groom was financially able to set up home and provide for his wife.

On the surface “lobola” seems to be a purchase and sale agreement but it is a far more complex and intricate process with  many symbolic gestures. The custom is based on a process to bring the families of both the bride and the groom together. This process involves formal and strict protocols to be adhered to, for example two families could have stayed next to each other for years but when it comes to the “lobola” exchange they might not know each other on the seriousness and sanctity of marriage. The process and meetings with the families, especially the groom, is normally not done by the groom himself but it is done through the elders in the family and involves endless formalities.  In traditional African weddings the bride and groom is also “marrying” into extended families  and takes on an extra responsibility to support them as and when the need arise.  The negotiations can be very tense and great ceremony  and dignity is bestowed on these meetings and in some of these negotiations an opened bottle of brandy is placed on the table is a symbolic gesture of  “the mouth opener”  to break the tension and acceptance of the representatives.  These negotiations can last a couple of days and can continue on the day of the ceremony. In the modern day cattle are symbolic and once the “lobola” or “bride’s price” is established the negotiations are formally over.

Traditionally the wedding ceremony can only take place after the lobola is paid. Lobola is also a sign of gratitude on the part of the groom’s family toward the family of the bride for the taking care and upbringing of her. There is no personal enrichment by the father of the bride in lobola as it is used in many cases to help the young bride to set up house. It is like trousseau or dowry in the European countries.

There are strict rules to be followed until the wedding ceremony, for instance the couple are forbidden to meet each other before the ceremony.

The purpose of the meetings between the families is to create a bond between the families of mutual trust  and understanding and a feeling that they “belong” to each other.  When the dignitaries speak of “She is marrying you, but belong to us…or she is our property” they are talking symbolic to say that they value the bride very high and that she is now part of a bigger harmonious family union.

Lobola is still very popular as a custom because the essence is that it promotes dignity and support of each other and the family community.

A traditional wedding differs from a formal “white wedding” – a white wedding meaning a Western- or European type of wedding, with a white wedding dress,  as there are much more formalities to be concluded and the ceremonial proceedings as described below. African couples often opt after two years or so to enter into a “white wedding”.

  

Having done our research and trying to understand the customs we arrived at the wedding on Saturday the 2^nd March 2013 at 12:00. A huge white tented marquee was set up on the lawn of the bride’s parent’s house decorated with the “combined” celebration colours of the two families involved – yellow/orange from the bride’s side and earthy brown from the groom’s side.   The celebration colours of the bride’s family consisted mainly of yellow and blue and the celebration colours of the groom was mainly white/beige and earthy brown. On our arrival we found the two families beautifully dressed in ceremonial attire separated – the groom’s family to the left and the bride’s family to the right. As we entered the groom’s side was singing praise songs about the groom and his family.

The bride arrived at her parent’s house three days earlier while the groom arrived at his families’ house with his entourage only on the morning of the wedding.

 

The custom and tradition is that the bride dresses in the wedding gown  in her family colours and then she is introduced to the groom and his family [and the guests at the wedding]  by her family and entourage with song and dance. Naomi rushed to photograph the nervous bride [just like any bride] during the process of getting dressed and prepared.

In the meantime a solemn, serious and dignified meeting was taking place between the representatives of both families in the lounge for the formal conclusion of the lobola negotiations. We were only allowed to photograph them after the conclusion.

 

In the meantime  the caterers were busy preparing feast meals at the back of the property as there were about 200 guests attending.  The food included traditional foods like pap, spinach, meats, stew, afval and even the traditional mopane worms [high in protein].  In the backyard the goat “the-be-slaughtered” was waiting.

At last the bride and her entourage appeared singing and dancing and was met in the “isle” by a serious and nervous looking, but proud groom.  A stage was set on an ethnic pattern cover with two majestic white leather chairs facing the audience.   As the couple took their seats they looked regal, dignified and proud as they knew the families’ representatives have successfully concluded the lobola negotiations.

The ceremony was officially opened after a prayer by Pastor Maakane by  one of the family representatives  followed by song. After script reading and further prayers  more song and dance followed.

Then it was time for the first of the traditional dancers and drummers to perform where-after it was the bride’s father to address the guests and made the public declaration the groom’s lo bola was paid in full. This announcement was greeted enthusiastically by the bride’s family and friends who started a circle dance around the couple singing and clapping hands followed by the groom’s family and friends.

After another sermon by the Pastor the exchange of the rings took place and the couple was toasted by friends and more song and dance followed.  No sooner or later it was time for the guests to indulge themselves into the meal. It was halfway through lunch and dinner so it is difficult to describe it as a lunch or a dinner.

The ceremony was long from over as more traditional dances followed and then it was time for the bride to change into the clothes and colours of the groom’s family. This process involved the new couple to appear “as husband and wife” as they moved into the streets of the village dancing and singing.  They were followed by friends and combined families all joining in song and dance. The bride [despite being so hot] wore the traditional blanket around her shoulders symbolizing the warmth and comfort of her new family.

 

I have seen many traditional dance performances before and the Tsonga traditional dances seems to be an infusion of local with Zulu dances, but what was unique for me was a move where the dancers kicks with both legs to the skies and then fall on their backs – there is some great skills involved as the dancers uses their arms and hands to break their fall and prevent injury.

   

As the couple and dignitaries prepared for the usual formal photo shoot  the youngsters, the elders and other all gathered in small circled groups to discuss various matters – men one the one side and the women somewhere else. 

By  18:00 it was time for us to leave after a long and interesting day and by this time the goat was still happily alive in the backyard as someone forgot the slaughter it.



2nd Wedding dress - the traditional colours of the groom

    

As the last rays of the sun was casting long shadows over the village the party was still continuing, but we were on our way to our lodge behind the Soutpansberg with the lasting memory that old African customs and traditions is still a reminder of the preservation of human  rights.

©2013 Loftus Viljoen