Does a photograph tell a story? Is it more interesting or beautiful than a snapshot? Where does the light fall?

Professional photographers and educators Raimond de Weerdt (Lismore) and Nelly le Comte (Coorabell) took 11 locals through their paces at a recent Photography for the News workshop.

Heritage House Museum and Piccabeen Park proved perfect venues to practise negative space, the rule of thirds, leading lines, depth of field, perspective, angles — and light, always light.

Some brought sexy SLR cameras, others just mobile phones. It didn’t really matter. We learned about f-stops and lenses, how to push a camera to get an image that works, and how to use simple editing tools to lift a photo that’s too dark or a bit dull.

In the final hour, world-renowned portrait photographer Hugh Stewart Zoomed in from Sydney with a grand tour of his portraits of famous people. His advice? Choose your setting, get the light right, and co-produce the photos with your subject.

Funded as part of The Herald’s Regional Media Fund grant (Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development), the workshop aimed to upskill our Herald team and emerging local photographers. Everyone was happy: “I learned heaps”, “Thanks for such a great weekend”, and from Nelly: “It was a pleasure spending the day with all of you. Loved the energy of the participants.”

Hopefully, you’ll see the fruits of the workshop in the pages of The Herald, on our socials, and on our website.

Thanks to the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development for the Regional Media Fund Grant that is giving us the opportunity to expand our pool of photographers and writers and bring fresh diverse voices to our readers. Two additional writing scholarships are available through our Regional Media Fund Grant. If you are an emerging news/feature writer, or would like to be one, live in the Byron Shire, and think you could bring a diverse voice to the Herald contact info@bangalowherald.com.au to find out more.

Photo Happy snappers at The Herald workshop Photo Vanessa Reed