Private Night Photography Workshops by Royce Bair

Private Night Photography Lessons in the Field. For years I've done up to 10 group workshops a year. These 5-day group workshops typically cost about $1,995 (or about $400 a day). In 2019, I went into semi-retirement, doing only one group workshop a year (my group workshops often fill up in 48 hours or less). For the rest of the year, I only do private workshops. Private instruction allows greater flexibility for teaching and offers many additional opportunities for my clients! We can sometimes do as much photography in two or three nights than you can do in a group situation during four or five nights. Of course, we can also do as much daytime photography as you want (depending on how much sleep you require).

One of the biggest advantage of a private workshop is that my time is shared only with you and the friend(s) you choose to attend with you (I cannot tell you how many times I have seen one "bad apple" in a group workshop try to monopolize my time at the expense of others in the group).

Private instruction is only a little more expensive than a group workshop, but it can actually be equal to or less expensive, when you invite a friend or two to share the costs. A maximum of three photographers are allowed in a private group (you and up to two of your friends). Let me illustrate...

Day rate: I charge $1,200 for the first day of instruction and $950 for each additional day (some photographers book just one day). "Weather" days are $500. Here's a typical fee cost EXAMPLE for two or three photographers:

 1st Day/night .......... $1,200.00
 2nd Day/night ..........    950.00
 3rd Day/night ..........    950.00

                          ---------

   Total fee cost ....... $3,100.00

   Cost/photog (when 2).. $1,550.00

   Cost/photog (when 3).. $1,033.33

   (This is less than $345/day!)       

Definitions: A "Day/night" of photography includes up to 8 hours of my time in guiding and teaching. At least two (2) of those hours will be doing starry night photography. The daytime instruction can be in the field or in the classroom (i.e. image post processing). A tag-along spouse or friend, without a camera, is not considered a "photographer".

Weather Days: In many of the workshop I've ever conducted, there are nights where we have so much cloud cover that few stars can be seen or photographed. Although we always try to make good use of the night with "Blue Hour" photography and demonstrating light painting (or Low Level Lighting) techniques, this is probably not what you signed up for. When this happens in my private workshops, we just call it a night and rest up for better nights. If I cannot give you at least 30 minutes of starry night photography, I will charge you a flat $500 fee to cover my expenses for that day. Note: This "weather day" discount does not apply to the first day. The "weather day" discount is also NOT something I offer in my group workshops.

Travel Expenses: You will cover your own travel expenses for transportation, lodging and meals.

Locations for private workshop lessons can be any place in the world! Any workshop location within 350 miles of my residence includes my travel expenses in the first day rate fee. Examples of workshops that are within this 350-mile radius: Arches National Park, Grand Teton N.P., Yellowstone N.P., Zion N.P., Bryce Canyon N.P., Capitol Reef N.P., Canyonlands N.P. and Grand Staircase-Escalante N.M.

You will also cover my travel expenses for any workshop that is greater than 350 miles from my residence in Salt Lake City, Utah. I will cover my own lodging and meals. For distances greater than 350 miles, you will be charged the following travel expenses, in addition to my day rates:

 351-800 miles (car travel one 

    way): $0.95 per mile*
 Over 800 miles: Actual airfare

    charges + actual car rental

    fees (we can share this

    vehicle).
   

*Example: One of my favorite places in eastern California are the Alabama Hills, near Lone Pine. From this area, you can also visit Mono Lake and the ancient Bristlecone Pines. Google says it's 582 miles from Salt Lake City to Lone Pine —that's 232 miles over my free base distance of 350 miles. At 95 cents per mile, that would be a travel expense of $220. As for your own travel expenses, you would want to fly into Las Vegas and rent a car for driving to Lone Pine (232 miles).

Reserving your date: I charge a $300 deposit to reserve a date. You can reserve up to a six days at a time. There is a deposit fee of $300 for each day you wish to reserve. This one deposit covers all the photographers in your group. I am happy to help you with your travel arrangements and hotel recommendations.

CALL: 801-558-2701 to make your reservations, or EMAIL me at royce.bair[AT]gmail[DOT]com (to prevent spam email, I ask you to substitute the "[AT]" with the "@" symbol and the "[DOT]" with the "." character).

Final payment: I request the balance of my fees (and any travel expenses) 90 days prior to the starting day of your private workshop.

Cancellations and Refunds: You can cancel and receive a full refund (less credit card fees), up to 90 days prior to the event. If you cancel between 60 and 89 days prior to the event, I will refund all but $100.00 of the fees you have paid. If you cancel between 30 and 59 days prior to the event, I will refund 50% of your fees, unless we can find a replacement attendee to take your place. If you cancel less than 30 days prior to the event, none of your fees will refunded, unless we can find a replacement attendee to take your place. The workshop participant acknowledges that if Royce Bair cancels this event, all fees paid will be refunded. Other than this refund, no guarantee or warranty is given or implied.

Eliminating days from your scheduled event: If, after completing at least two of your reserved workshop days, it is decided that you no longer need one or more of your additional reserved days, you will be refunded up to $450.00 for each of those unused days (less credit card processing fees). Travel expenses cannot be refunded.

Extending your workshop: If we are less than two weeks away from your workshop, and you wish to extend the length of the workshop (and I can make arrangements to do so), you will pay my first day rate ($1,200/day) for each additional day. You may also be required to pay my lodging expenses for any extra days (as last-minute lodging costs are often at a higher rate).

Recommendations: Read what others have said about my workshops.


PRIVATE INSTRUCTION: In addition to private workshops, I also offer:

This is currently priced at $75.00/hour. Please text me at 801-558-2701 or email me at royce.bairATgmailDOTcom for details.

My photography expertise goes beyond astrophotography: three decades of full-time magazine and commercial photography.

NightScape Photo Recipe

Milky Way over String Lake, Grand Teton NP. Canon 5DM2 • 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye • 30" @ f/2.8 • ISO 6400 ~ © Royce Bair

I am constantly asked to supply a simplified, step-by-step list of "ingredients" necessary to create my style of astro-landscapes (NightScapes), so here goes:

Your best photos of the Milky Way are taken without the moon present, and between 2 hours after sunset and 2 hours before sunrise.

1. Set your camera on a tripod.
2. If you have a remote release, use it. Otherwise, you can use your self-timer to set off the shutter (set it for the 2 seconds delay instead of the normal 10 seconds).
3. Turn your lens to manual focus, or shut auto focus off (otherwise the camera goes crazy trying to focus in the dark).
4. Set your focus manually to infinity. Check the accuracy by auto focusing on an infinity subject in the daytime, marking the position on the lens barrel, and returning the lens to manual focus (you can tape the position down as a precaution). You can also use your camera's "live view" function to manually focus at night on the brightest stars (enlarge the image on the LCD monitor for accuracy). Note: your camera has a one to two seconds video feedback delay (depending on the brand and model), so fine-tune the focus slowly.
5. Set your camera mode to manual (usually "M" on most cameras).
6. Select the highest ISO you have (but no higher than 6400).
7. If you have a prime wide-angle lens with a fast aperture, use it. Otherwise, zoom to the widest angle of view.
8. Set your shutter speed to 30 seconds. This is the longest exposure most cameras will give you without going to "B" for "bulb" ("B" does require a remote release).
9. Set your lens aperture ("F" stop) to the widest aperture (smallest number), which is usually f/3.5 (f/2.8 is better, but f/4 is acceptable). Here are good starting point combinations:

          f/2.8 - 30" - ISO 6400

          f/2.0 - 30" - ISO 3200

          f/1.4 - 30" - ISO 1600

          f/3.5 - 30" - ISO 6400 (-0.5 EV)*

          f/4.0 - 30" - ISO 6400 (-1.0 EV)*

          f/3.5 - 30" - ISO 3200 (-1.5 EV)*

          f/3.5 - 30" - ISO 1600 (-2.5 EV)*

*These underexposures are not optimum, but are usable by compensating in post production.

10. Set your White Balance (WB) to Tungsten or Incandescent (on most cameras this is the symbol of a light bulb, also called "indoor"). If you prefer a numeric Kelvin setting, use 3500K, 3200K or 3000K (the lower numbers will give your sky a cooler or bluer color). My favorite numeric Kelvin setting is 4000K. I believe this produces a more natural sky that is still cool, but not quite as blue. This also works well when mixed with 3200K light painted foregrounds. Some people prefer an Auto or Average (AWB) white balance setting if they have a lot of post processing experience. Auto or Average will give you a dark gray colored sky (you can change this to a more colorful sky in post production using Photoshop, Adobe Elements, or Lightroom).
11. Frame the Milky Way or several interesting star constellations, (try to silhouette an interesting foreground subject) and take your shot. Light painting the foreground can add even more interest to the composition.
12. Composing in the dark can be difficult. If you have an ISO higher than 6400, use it to shorten your exposure times so you can review your composition on the LCD monitor much quicker. Be sure to return to the lower ISOs (6400 or lower) for your final exposures.
13. Fine tuning your exposure: The more light pollution (from artificial lights or the moon), the more you can reduce your exposure by lowering the ISO (one stop or more).
14. Fine tuning your image: You'll notice that 30-second exposures will have some star trailing (blurring) when the images are enlarged, unless you are using an ultra-wide angle lens (i.e. 114º or wider). You can eliminate this slight blurring by reducing your exposure time to 15 seconds (and compensate with wider apertures or higher ISOs). This technique is a simplified version of the "600" or "450" rule.

For hands-on instruction, visit my workshop page on Meetup.com.

Featured Post: Shooting Stars eBook Review — How to Photograph the Stars and the Moon

Adding Ballast to Stabilize Your Tripod

My tripod stabilized with a heavy bag of rocks during a time-lapse series.

Use the heaviest tripod you can stand to carry: Many wildlife photographers recommend that if a person wants sharp photos when using a long telephoto lens, one should buy the heaviest tripod that he or she can stand to carry into the field. Although nightscape photographers typically use wide angle rather than telephoto lenses to capture the night skies, the need for a stable tripod is still there, especially when multiple exposures are required.

Or, add the extra weight once you're on location: One way to get the stability of a heavy tripod is the add the weight or ballast after you get to your location. Ballast is often defined as the heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship to enhance stability. In my night photography, this ballast comes in the form of a canvas shopping bag that is partially filled with rocks (gathered on location) and hung from the bottom center of the tripod.

The day or night solution to sharp images: I often use this same technique for my daytime photography. The new light-weight carbon fiber tripods are very sturdy, but I've discovered that even a medium breeze can sometimes shake my camera and blur my images. Adding ballast in the field offers a win-win solution!

In the night scene below I captured the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River bathed by the light of a quarter moon. Six hours later, after the moon had set, I was able to capture the glory of the Milky Way. Because the weighted tripod remain perfectly stable between the two exposures, combining these two images was fairly easy in post production.

Grand Canyon and the Colorado River bathed by moonlight ~ © Royce Bair

6 hours later, with the moon gone, I can now capture the glory of the Milky Way ~ © Royce Bair

In post production, I easily combined the two exposures because of perfect alignment, due to a stable tripod.

Equipment Used: For the above photos, I used the Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera body with a Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens. The 5D Mark III provides excellent low-noise control at the high ISOs I need for this type of starry night photography, and the ultra-wide (114º) Rokinon lens provides excellent coma aberration correction. The camera was mounted to a Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head, attached to a light-weight Manfrotto 190CXPRO3 3-Section Carbon Fiber Tripod (weighted down with my canvas bag of rocks). You can read about the benefits of using a geared head here.

When I am on unstable soil, i.e. sand, I also take the precaution of placing flat rock supports under my tripod legs so there is less chance of shifting between exposures. (During the night, wind gusts reached over 40 mph, so I was glad that the tripod had been weighted with the bag of rocks!)

Flat rocks under the tripod legs provide added support when on unstable soil, i.e. sand.

Improving Your Outdoor Night Flash Photography

Using off-camera or bounce flash can improve your outdoor night photos ~ © Royce Bair (click for  specs)

Portable Flashes vs. Built-in Camera Flashes: Although built-in camera flashes are convenient, they are not only limited in power, but more importantly in movement. Unlike a separate flash unit, their output cannot be redirected or aimed somewhere else, or moved away from the camera! Being able to make adjustments to your portable, camera-mounted flash can greatly improve the quality of your outdoor night photographs.

Canon Speedlite 430EX II

What I use: For under $300, I have the Canon Speedlite 430EX II. It's fully compatible with Canon's E-TTL automated flash exposure system, as well as offering adjustable manual power output down to 1/64 power. The flash head can be moved up and to the right 90º, and to the left 180º. On the Nikon side, I recommend the Nikon SB-700 AF Speedlight, or their more versatile, Nikon SB-910 AF Speedlight.

Getting the light source away from the camera: The unnatural part about most flash photography is that the light source is typically coming from the same direction as the camera's lens! Moving the light source away from your camera will improve almost any photo.

Bounce or extension: The moveable flash head allows me to bounce the flash off of ceilings and walls when I'm indoor, or off rocks, cliffs, and trees when I'm outdoors (see last the paragraph for an explanation). If the right object for bouncing is not available, I often hold the flash at arm's length (or have someone else hold it) using Canon's OC-E3 Off Camera Shoe Cord. That two or three feet extension can make a huge difference in the look of your flash photos.

For greater distances, I use another Canon flash (i.e. the more versatile Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT) to trigger the one doing the main lighting (you can set lighting ratios with the Canon Speedlites), or I can use the PocketWizard Plus X Transceiver to trigger a more distant flash. The key is get the light source away from the camera and at an angle that lights the subject in a more natural and pleasant way.

Dining under a red granite cliff

Compare the difference: This was the scene at an early evening meal, under a red granite cliff in the Grand Canyon. After dinner we had a campfire, and I made this on-camera flash exposure (below) with the Canon Speedlite 430EX). I programmed the shutter speed and f-stop so they would mix and balance correctly with the light output of the fire. The problem with this system is that the direction of light is unnatural, as it is always coming from the camera, and the fall-off is very fast (especially when using a wide angle lens—causing the foregrounds to always be over lighted and washed out).

Straight-on flash with Speedlite 430EX

The difference between this photo and the one at the top is the direction and quality of the light. The light in the top photo is no longer coming from the same direction as the camera. In the top photo, the adjustable flash head has been rotated and turned so that its light is bouncing off the granite cliff behind me (the bounced light is coming from above and from my left, helping to match the direction of fire's light). Normally, I would also cover the flash head with a warming gel to match the warm color of the fire, but in this case the red color of the granite has already done that for me! Bouncing off a dark granite wall greatly reduces the flash's output to the scene, so most of my shots had to have an ISO boost to 1600 or 3200. Although this is abnormally high ISO for flash photography, the excellent noise control of the Canon 5D Mark III is well-equipped to handle it!

The gels I use are made by Rosco, and the Rosco Strobist 55-Piece Filter Kit is an easy way to change the color of the light or match the ambient light, such as in the campfire situation. When I bounce my strobe off of an overhanging tree that has green leaves, I can put a complimentary shade of magenta over the flash to bring the white balance back to normal.

These 1.5"x3.25" sheets work perfectly to cover most portable flash heads, but for my larger lights (or where I need to cover several lights with the same color), I use the larger 20"x24" Rosco sheets.

Delicate Arch - lighted with two filtered lights, one w/o ~ © Royce Bair (click for more info)

Purpose and Scope of this Night Photography Blog

This blog was created for three reasons:

1. To show the wonders and beauty of the night sky.
2. To share as many varieties of night photography as possible.
3. To share techniques and equipment for nocturnal photography.

Many of my posts will be how-to tutorials on the art of night photography, and I plan to provide many links and references.

To accomplish this goal, I will share not only my images and knowledge of nocturnal photography, but I will bring to this blog the vision and skills of scores of other photographers.

My definition of night photography is fairly broad. They are dusk to twilight photos that require a long exposure, or that require high ISO's for short exposures. They are photos of the the stars, planets, and/or the moon lit sky, with a land feature (i.e. "nightscapes"). They include light-painted objects and cityscapes at night.

I hope you will join me and share this blog with your friends. You can see additional night images on my Flickr group with the same name as this blog: Into the Night Photography.

"Milky Way Dawn over Grand Teton Range" ~ © Royce Bair MMXII

This photo was taken about two hours and 45 minutes before sunrise, from the Elk Ranch Flats Turnout, in Grand Teton National Park. I had several things happening in my favor this night: prismatic colors due to recent wildfire smoke and a considerable amount of airglow in the sky above the smoke. The photo was taken with a Canon 5D Mark III • EF 24mm f1.4L II lens • 15 seconds @ f2.8 • ISO 8,000. This image is part of my NightScape series. You can also watch a video tour of my NightScapes, set to music.

Royce Bair is the editor of this blog and the photographer of the above image. Here is my gallery of NightScape images. My schedule of workshops, tutorials, and other events is available here. 

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