Every year I try to make sure I do at least a couple of training days and challenge myself to do new or different things in order to continually develop and improve my photography.  Earlier this month I spent a day with Richard P Walton at Hull All Saints Boxing Club.  The aim of the day was to get practice using off camera flash and get shots different from those we would normally be shooting.  I can't think it likely I would shoot a family portrait session in a boxing gym!

The weather was cold, in fact it was colder inside the gym than outside!  Richard started out by explaining how he works and how to use the off camera flash, something I have experience with but don't use very often as I prefer to work with natural light.  He then went through a variety of different shots with Ieva, our model for the day.

After lunch we all had the opportunity to take shots, and as it was a small group we were not rushed.  Then we had the chance to set up shots ourselves which was great as it made us think about what we could do in this environment.  The "trainer" shots with Richard as the trainer were the shots I set up.  The only problem was trying to get shots when Ieva wasn't laughing!  We finished with Richard going through some of his post processing techniques to get his look.

Because this is not my usual style of shoot I had the chance to experiment with a number of different post processing styles.  Let me know which you think work the best.

Huge thanks to Ieva who never complained all day, despite being freezing and having water thrown over her repeatedly by Richard!!  Thanks also to Richard for all his advice, tips and willingness to share his knowledge.  Here are just a few of the photos from the day

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