In this video tutorial Drew Gardner talks about his conceptual photograph, The Queen’s Grounds, from his Alice in Wonderland photography series. This video will show you the importance of choreographing your location photo shoot. When a sense of movement is needed in a photograph the best way to achieve this is to make the subject move! Sometimes you have limited time to capture the shot you need. With careful choreography you can shorten your shoot time and maximize the quality of expressive movement shown by your model.

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In this video tutorial Drew Gardner talks about his conceptual photograph, On the Wall, from his Alice in Wonderland photography series. This is tutorial 2 of 15 from the series, you will learn that sometimes the most magical and successful photographs not only come from careful planning but also adapting so you can take advantage of an unforeseen opportunity. Drew discusses how he happened upon the most picturesque perfect spot during a 2 day shoot and adapted to incorporate the location into the schedule.

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In this video tutorial Drew Gardner talks about his conceptual photograph, The Pig, from his Alice in Wonderland photography series. This is tutorial 3 of 15 from the series, developing your own personal style is more important than technical perfection. Drew discusses how he adapted for an unforeseen problem while shooting for the Alice in Wonderland series and still the final product ended in what could be seen as a technical imperfection. What you will see is that imperfections lead to experimentation and experimentation leads to your personal style. Adapting to change during a photo shoot is something that happens often and for any number of reasons. Check out On The Wall how-to for another example of how to adapt on the job and the beautiful results you can achieve.

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In this video tutorial Drew Gardner talks about his conceptual photograph, Mini Village Dove, from his Alice in Wonderland photography series. This is tutorial 4 of 15 from the series, you will learn that often the most magical and successful photographs not only come from careful planning but also adapting to unforeseen circumstances and a willingness to get your hands dirty. While planning your location shoot is important in getting the perfect shot, being prepared to get a little dirty is sometimes key in capturing the winning frame.

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In this video tutorial Drew Gardner talks about his conceptual photograph, Sea of Tears, from his Alice in Wonderland photography series. This is tutorial 5 of 15 from the series, on location in England the crew adapts to the changing weather and finds the perfect spot to achieve the amazing reflection that you see in Sea of Tears. Drew uses a low camera angle and low iso to achieve this brilliant shot, it is the angle of his camera that creates the beautiful reflection in the Sea of Tears. The Alice in Wonderland series has a strong narrative that engages the viewer and ties each image together. One other common attribute to the series is a wonderful sense of depth and perspective. Creating depth and perspective looks easy in this photograph and the Mini Village Dove how-to while the Pig how-to is another great example of shooting at a low angle.

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In this video tutorial Drew Gardner talks about his portrait of Olympic ski jumper Lindsey Vonn. This is tutorial 6 of 15 from the series, tips and tricks for shooting solo on location. This portrait was shot with out a crew in a remote location under strict time limits. Drew shares his expertise on how to make a portrait photograph successful when shooting under such extreme conditions. Choosing the perfect location is a key element in the perfect portrait, even if the location is hard to reach!

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In this video tutorial Drew Gardner talks about his portrait photograph of Lily Allen. This is tutorial 7 of 15 from the series, sometimes you have to be thrifty and clever to pull off a low budget portrait shoot. Drew shares his tips and tricks on creating the perfect backdrop while working with a tight budget, the magic that happens when you put your best foot forward in preparation and the results pulling it all together. … More

In this video tutorial Drew Gardner talks about his portrait of Vinnie Jones.  This is tutorial 8 of 15 from the series, engaging your model or subject is important to capture the expression and movement that you desire for your photograph. When it comes to portraiture asking your model how they would like to be portrayed will often yield some wonderful ideas and create a portrait that is more than just a pretty picture. … More

In this video tutorial Drew Gardner talks about his portrait of the gentleman of the Handlebar Moustache Club. This is tutorial 9 of 15 from the series, shooting a portrait can be tricky but shooting a multiple person portrait is even more tricky! Working as a personal project can give you the freedom that otherwise would be lacking in a commissioned work. … More

In this video tutorial Drew Gardner talks about his photograph, Nelson Falls. This is tutorial 10 of 15 from the series, recreating an historical scene is complicated and takes plenty of preparation. Drew explains the logistics of such a complex shoot and also shares tips and tricks he learned along the way. Want to find out how he managed to capture this amazing shot in just 30 minutes, then have a look at this tutorial. … More

In this video tutorial Drew Gardner talks about his conceptual photograph, Bridge of Doom. This is tutorial 11 of 15 from the series, finding that perfect remote location takes lots of preparation. Drew shares how he found his extreme location for the Bridge of Doom photograph and how he pulled together the final image.

Do you ever wonder about the story behind the photo? Which came first, the idea or the location? Where was that taken?! What lighting was used for the shot? The Bridge of Doom from Drew’s Bridge of Doom series are perfect examples of all of these questions and Drew will take you through his process step by step. … More

In this video tutorial Drew Gardner talks about his conceptual photograph, Parachute from his Bridge of Doom Series. This is tutorial 12 of 15 from the series, if you want  your photograph to convey action then you have to be in action! Drew shares how he did this tracking shot and other tips and tricks he used along the way.

The Bridge of Doom series required a lot of planning, a large crew that often had to problem solve on the run. To get the model to look like she was running she had to actually run! This was a challenge for the photographer and the crew, find out how they pulled it off by watching the tutorial. … More

In this video tutorial Drew Gardner talks about his photograph, Elizabethan Inn. This is tutorial 13 of 15 from the series, using your flash to freeze your subjects can be paired with a slow shutter speed to also capture low ambient light. Find out how Drew does this and other tips and tricks for lighting such a large complex scene.

If you love this photograph and would like to see more tutorials on historically recreated scenes you can check out The Banquet. The Banquet how-to gives more knowledge and alternate ways to fill your frame as well as it is another great example of a slow shutter speed shot. … More

In this video tutorial Drew Gardner talks about his historical recreation photograph, The banquet, from a commissioned series about Queen Elizabeth I. This is tutorial 14 of 15 from the series, a long focal length compacts the foreground and background of this portrait. While planning your location shoot is important in getting the perfect shot, being prepared to get a little dirty is sometimes key in capturing the winning frame. … More

In this video tutorial Drew Gardner talks about his commissioned recreation, The Queen’s Speech. This is tutorial 15 of 15 from the series, shooting a group portrait with a long focal length flattens the composition to give a lovely painterly feeling. The Queen’s Speech was done as part of a commissioned series and took lots of planning to bring together. Drew was able to pull it off and get an amazing realism in “the Queen’s” expression by engaging her to actually shout, the best way to convey action is to be active! … More