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Virgin Islands, Glamour, Beauty & the Nude #35


Date: April 10-15, 2014 (Early Bird Pricing!)
Venue: U.S. Virgin Islands
Details: We’ve changed it up, this workshop is limited to eight photographers. We’re also adding St. John to the workshop. Eight photographers, five models for this workshop. First-come, first-serve!

Photo of Amy from our April 2013 photography workshop.

Photo of Amy from our April 2013 photography workshop.

This is our 35th Virgin Islands photography model workshop since 2004 and our first for 2014. The dates are April 10-15th, 2014. Fly in on April 10th (Thurs.) into St. Thomas (Airport code STT) then we ferry you over to a smaller island where it’s a private, camp-style workshop–open to all levels of photography, from beginners to advanced–your departure day is April 15th, (Tuesday) unless you choose to stay longer in St. Thomas on your own. April 14th is our private shoot day. While not mandatory, on our private shoot day, we encourage it to work with your favorite models on a “one on one” hourly basis. April 13th we shoot in St. John, a new excursion we’ve added to these workshops!

These workshops promise more than the best workshops ever done–this is not a foreign country, this is the U.S. Virgin Islands! No currency conversions, no foreign language, no crazy inflated value-added taxes or worries about the food and water or your camera equipment held in customs till you pay the “bribe.” Currently, for U.S. citizens, a U.S. passport it not required, provided you present a government issued identification card, such as a driver’s license. Non-U.S. citizens require a passport.

We’ve got a place that rocks! The location was featured on HGTV and Brad Pitt even filmed parts for one of his movies on this secluded island. It’s not your “typical tourist hotel” trap found in other workshops–this is a private paradise 10-minutes from St. Thomas giving us great sunsets, sunrises, private infinity-pool shots with the ocean blue/green waters and golden sunsets in the background. I’ve created two book covers and one magazine cover at this location.

Complete with outdoor activities and a dinner on the beach after sunset, this workshop is better than the best workshops ever held! We even had one photographer sign-up for ten Virgin Islands workshops and another for five plus two Moab photography workshops, so all photography slots sell fast! We have a high return rate of previous attendees and now we’ve expanded it by adding a day trip to St. John.

Limited to EIGHT photographers only! That’s right, we’ll shoot five beautiful models in groups of two photographers per one model, the whole time you’re there–you will photograph every model. There is no room for more than eight photographers, period. Prices will eventually go up if not booked early! We’ll be staying on a private island off St. Thomas in a “camp-like” style environment (concrete cottages) as we enjoy the use of three residences with full facilities including internet connection DSL, refrigerator, stove, satellite TV, and phone plus we’ll serve breakfast and provide lunch options. Use the button below to reserve your “Early Bird” price at $1999 today, regular price resumes to $2499 before you know it! Save $500 now! Rates will go up after first four attendees sign-up, so save now Guarantee your slot!



This package includes lodging during the workshop and most drinks and food–there is two optional evening dinners at your expense as we provide some of the dinners. Your responsibility, get there! Fly into St. Thomas. From there you’ll have the greatest time photographing models without hotel distractions, tourist distractions, etc…total focus on what we’re there for, the glamour, beauty and the nude photography of beautiful women. This is outdoor photography in an exotic tropical setting!

Photo of Jenni from our April 2013 workshop.

Photo of Jenni from our April 2013 workshop.

This is a first-come, first-serve, non-refundable workshop. The workshop attendees will not be staying in a hotel, we’ll be staying in fully equipped houses that are cottage style, complete with satellite TV, DSL, refrigerator, stove, etc.–your house on a private island. Early-bird price is $1999, save $500 today before prices go up to $2499. Please use the button above to pay securely with PayPal. You may also use the “Bill Me Now, Pay Later Option.”

Lighting is provided for sun-overpowering shots with Hensel portable lighting gear, though you may bring your own lighting too. We’ll have some California Sunbounce scrims and reflectors, again, you may bring your own too. Make-up and hair provided for the models too.

Rolando will cover many topics, from basics, fundamentals and concepts that you can use in glamour photography and other genres of photography. Emphasis on lighting, posing, and the ability to see and feel the light. You’ll get hands on instruction and demonstrations. Overpowering the sun with flash will be a big focus along with beach and pool shoots.

Rolando will walk you through, step by step showing you the in’s and out’s of the image, at the same time, every photographer will have his or her time to photograph lovely, photogenic models from sunrise to sunset. The emphasis is to take photographs not pictures. Plus much, much more!

Three full-days of shooting and one optional day to book private shoots! Private shoots are optional and will be scheduled reasonably for a small additional charge–this money goes straight to the model–first come, first serve. Shooting will be from sunrise to sunset–just like if you’re on assignment for publication. Time is allocated to enjoy the hot tub and swimming pool during non workshop hours–yes, have fun in the sun, work hard, and capture great images!

All proceeds are non-refundable, but we will allow you to transfer your seat should you have to change your plans with at least a 90-day notice. You must do the transfer on your own as we will not refund anyone due to the small size of this workshop. We will do our best to assist you in finding a replacement, but there is no guarantee.

Over 6,000 students have attended Rolando’s workshops and speaking engagements in the past fourteen years–Rolando is the only current glamour workshop instructor with national speaking credentials, photo blogs, photography book author, photo magazine staff writer with national and international tearsheets. Rolando also discovered the April 2006 Playboy Playmate for Playboy–she attended the April 2006 VI workshop as an actual model too! This workshop is open to all levels of photographers, from beginners to advanced–Rolando will take time to work with new photographers and will answer your questions before, during and after the workshop. No one is leaving the island until it’s over!

The workshop is intense, but designed for everyone. Breakfast and lunch are available every day upon arrival. Evening supper will be furnished two of the five days. Lunch is available, but you’re free to take the 5-minute ferry ride into St. Thomas for lunch too. Refreshments will be provided.

Photo of Katy from our April 2013 workshop.

Photo of Katy from our April 2013 workshop.

The price is for workshop and lodging costs and some meals, you are responsible for all travel. The price includes three solid days of shooting with models. We break the eight photographers in teams of two, so you always work with a partner but never have to wait in line. Models are rotated twice daily to allow for major shoots with two models at a time per day–you will photograph all five models. We reserve the fourth shooting day for private shooting for a small additional fee, this is an optional day after your three solid days of shooting, for your favorite models. This system works so good we’ve had many repeat customers to the VI workshops. We’ve also added a one-day, photography excursion into St. John on the third day.

Make-up will be provided and images may be used in off-line, personal and web portfolios, and mandatory releases are provided that allow commercial use for an additional $100 per model, $500 total (paid to the model by the photographer, only once and covers all three days). This is an unrestricted release (except for adult pay-sites or membership sites), full use, including nudity. First Come, First Serve Basis–limited seating–Reserve Your Slot Now!

A minimum of five people must attend otherwise the workshop will be canceled/rescheduled and refunds will be immediately provided. Rolando has never canceled a Virgin Islands or exotic photography workshop in the past 14 years. Feel Free to email Rolando Gomez should you have any questions at rolando(at)rolandogomez.com with a CC copy to gophotog(at)gmail(dot)com and include your contact information and best time to call. Cancellations are not allowed due to the size and impact associated with maintaining these exotic workshops–we will however consider a case-by-case basis based on facts, but these types of workshops are non-cancel events.

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Chicago Glamour, Beauty & The Nude Photo Workshop


Date: July 27th, 2013 Saturday Only!
Time: 9:30 a.m. till 5 p.m.
Location: Extremely large private studio, near downtown.
Price: $299 Early-bird price initial sign-ups, save $100 now before it’s too late!

The March Chicago photography workshop went well so we’re going to do it one more time, this July! Besides a special VIP visit from a longtime Playboy staffer, the March workshop provided photographers five gorgeous models and everyone is ready to do it again.

Model Photo, Beauty

Beauty photo of Jenni from the March, Chicago photo workshop.

This special workshop is limited in size and featuring five gorgeous models again. This is one of the few locations still left on the photo workshop schedule–so don’t hesitate, this is your chance for a one-day glamour photography workshop and an editorial nude workshop with many models at a great price and location!

This workshop is open to photographers of all levels, beginners to advanced, though you must be over 18-years of age. We’ll have a small lecture, hands-on photography instruction, then we shoot, shoot, shoot, gorgeous, talented models. First-come, first serve! Limited in size! Once it sells out, it’s sold-out!

Here are the particulars:

1. You must pay for your own lodging and travel.

2. Bring your camera, preferably a DSLR. It must have a hot shoe (where you flash slides on top) or as a minimum, a pc connection for our studio flash–we provide all lighting and backdrop equipment.

3. You must have the passion to photograph up to five beautiful models. The type of photography is glamour, beauty and nude photography for most models plus editorial nudes. You will have almost an entire day to photograph them in all their beauty, from glamour to editorial/glamour nude.

4. While it’s intense, we’ll have fun in this educational experience. We’ll provide lunch, you provide the coffee if you need it, but surely bring some Red Bull for energy because this is an energized workshop. Sign-up for this workshop only if you have the passion for photographing gorgeous models.

5. Camera requirements are any type of camera, preferably 35mm DSLR or SLR, medium or large format is optional. Lens focal range, from 24mm to 200mm, though a typical 70-200mm lens is all you need. A back-up drive to download your images is highly recommended. If you have a Sony (Minolta) camera, please ensure you have a hot shoe adapter or PC connection.

6. Professionalism is required, we’re there to capture beautiful images of beautiful models. If you have Pocket Wizard remotes, bring them too, though not required as we’ll have our own radio triggers. We’ll work with octaboxes, softboxes, reflectors, grids and more, all provided by us!

If you can meet the requirements and you have the passion to create some beautiful, unique images of gorgeous models, this is the photography workshop for you. We accept payments securely through PayPal and have other options if you prefer. This is a first-come, first-serve event as class size is limited. Model releases are optional but encouraged. This is the early-bird price, prices will soon go up, so don’t delay, book now before it’s too late! Please use the PayPal button below. We’ve used PayPal securely for almost 14-years.

Use the PayPal button below for the early-bird price of $299, limited to the first few sign-ups. Save $100 before the price goes up to now! We’ve used PayPal securely for almost 14 years now, so don’t delay!

Model releases for the event are $60 per model at the end of the day. These are voluntary releases, but highly encouraged as these models will be working for you. These releases are provided by us and allow you to use the images for commercial use and the only restriction is prohibited use for adult related material—nudes are artistic, editorial and glamour nude only at this workshop when it comes to nudity.

You are required to arrive no later than 9:30 a.m. local time on the workshop day. We end at 5:00 p.m.

Cancellation rules apply as this is a first-come, first-serve event limited in size. Don’t get left behind, don’t miss out on a wonderful opportunity. We can’t allow too many people on the property, it’s very limited in size, so don’t delay, act now an save before prices go up!

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Virgin Islands, Semi-Private Special Instruction Event


Date: Nov. 7-12th, 2013
Location: U.S. Virgin Islands (Fly into St. Thomas), private, secluded location
Price: Photo Workshop Price $3999 (Save $1000 right now! No other discounts! Price will go up soon, this is early-bird pricing!)
Limited to Four Photographers Only! Six Models Total!

We’ve secured a special, brand-new, never used before location in the U.S. Virgin Islands. This location offers a swimming pool designed for photography along with beauty beaches and a tropical setting. Photo possibilities are vast.



Behind the scenes Virgin Islands photographer, model, workshop footage.

While some will call this a photography workshop, because we’ve limited the photographers to no more than four, plus six gorgeous models, we’re calling this a semi-private instruction, special event. Rolando will be there by your side, providing not only the correct camera settings, but the correct lighting, posing instruction, technical support, etc. This will be more of an all day shooting event for three continuous days, three rotations per day. Photographers are broken into teams of two, models the same. Each team gets three models per day to work with. After the third day of shooting, on our fourth shooting day, we provide an optional, first-come-first-serve, private shooting day by the hour for additional compensation to the model and make-up artist.

You arrive at St. Thomas, airport code STT, on Thursday, Nov. 7th, 2013 and depart on Tuesday Nov. 12th. You will shoot practically non-stop from Friday through Sunday, and we’ll allow Monday as the “private shoot time” day, so you may work with the models you prefer at the time of day you prefer. Monday is not mandatory and is negotiated between you and the model(s) on a first-come, first-serve basis. Most meals are provided, but we’ll also allow you to eat nearby. Most drinks are provided, but we encourage you to stop by the airport liquor store and purchase a few bottles to chip in for the “model/photographer” bar we enjoy on this tropical paradise on our evening off time.

This special event is open to photographers of all levels, beginners to advanced, though you must be over 18-years of age. First-come, first serve! Limited to four photographers maximum. Once it sells out, it’s sold-out! Lighting equipment is provided, just bring your cameras. This is a very unique and special event catered to those that want to take amazing photos of beautiful models in a tropical environment, while still finding time to relax as a group, enjoying features such as a swimming pool and the great outdoors.

Here are the particulars:

1. You must pay for your own travel. Please arrive in St. Thomas no later than 5 p.m. On departure, plan on leaving no earlier than 9:00 a.m., though we recommend mid-afternoon or later departures as on the last evening/night, we have a cocktail social hour.

2. Bring your camera, preferably a DSLR. It must have a hotshoe (where you flash slides on top) or as a minimum, a pc connection for our studio flash–we provide all lighting equipment, though you may bring your own. We’ll be mixing natural daylight with tungsten and flash too.

3. You must have the passion to photograph six beautiful models in a tropical paradise. The type of photography is glamour, beauty and nude photography. You will have almost an entire day to photograph them in all their beauty, from glamour to glamour nude. We’ll even toss in a little “editorial nude” in there too.

4. While it’s intense, we’ll have fun in this educational experience. Be prepared to bring your shorts, hats, t-shirts, and enjoy the relaxing environment.

5. Camera requirements are any type of camera, preferably 35mm DSLR or SLR, medium or large format is optional. Lens focal range, from 24mm to 300mm, though a typical 70-200mm lens is all you need. I prefer my prime 85mm, but anything in the 50-200mm range is best. A back-up drive to download your images and/or laptop computer is recommended. If you have a Sony (Minolta) camera, please ensure you have a hot shoe adapter or PC connection.

6. Professionalism is required with a fun attitude, we’re there to capture beautiful images of beautiful models. If you have Pocket Wizard remotes, bring them too, though not required as we’ll have our own radio triggers. We’ll work with beauty dishes, softboxes, California Sunbounce reflectors and more, all provided by us!

If you can meet the requirements and you have the passion to create some beautiful, unique images, this is for you. We accept payments securely through PayPal and have other options if you prefer. This is a first-come, first-serve event as class size is limited. Model releases are optional. This is the early-bird price, prices will go up soon, so don’t delay, book now before it’s too late! Please use the PayPal button below. We’ve used PayPal securely for almost 14 years.

Model releases for the event is $100 per model at the end of the third shooting day–this covers all three days and is only done once. The total is $600 and all monies go to the model directly, we provide the releases. Private shooting time is negotiable between you and the model on the fourth shooting day, though it’s normally $100 per hour and $20 to the make-up artist. These are mandatory releases as this is a very small group of photographers and models are paid by you only. The releases are provided and allow you to use the images for commercial use and the only restriction is prohibited use for adult related material—nudes are artistic and glamour nude only at this workshop when it comes to nudity. You must be 18-years of age or older to attend.

This is a very small event, so it’s a non-refundable policy once booked. We can’t afford to give up shooting spots due to all the costs involved, once booked, you’re booked, though we’ll allow you to sell your spot, and will do our best to help you with no guarantee, should the need arise.

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Las Vegas Glamour Photo Workshop & Birthday

Date: Aug. 10, 2013 Saturday Only, Glamour, Beauty & the Nude Workshop
Time: 9:30 a.m. till 5 p.m.
Location: Major Casino Penthouse (on the strip)
Price:$299

We’re doing it again! The Las Vegas Glamour, Beauty and The Nude photography workshop at a top, casino Penthouse, plus Playboy Playmate Holley Dorrough’s and Rolando’s birthday party. This is their fifth year in a row birthday/workshop  in Las Vegas. Come spend the day photographing up to five gorgeous models, then join us for an after party at a local establishment.

Model Photo, Glamour

One of our lovely glamour, beauty and the nude models!

The photo workshop is open to photographers of all levels, beginners to advanced, though you must be over 18-years of age for the workshop. We’ll have a small lecture, hands-on photography instruction, then we shoot, shoot, shoot, up to five talented models. Then we’ll regroup after dinner and you can help Holley and Rolando plus other Leo model and photographer friends party late evening. First-come, first serve! Limited in size! Once it sells out, it’s sold-out!

Here are the particulars:

Playboy Playmate Holley Dorrough Model Photo

Come help Playboy Playmate Holley Dorrough celebrate her birthday at this event!

1. You must pay for your own lodging and travel. Model releases are optional for this workshop, but encouraged. Only paid attendees will be given the casino location of the event.

2. Bring your camera, preferably a DSLR. It must have a hot shoe (where you flash slides on top) or as a minimum, a PC connection for our studio flash–we provide all equipment.

3. You must have the passion to photograph up to five beautiful models. The type of photography is glamour, beauty and nude photography for most models on Saturday. You will have almost a whole day to photograph them in all their beauty, from glamour to editorial/glamour nude.

4. While it’s intense, we’ll have fun in this educational experience. We’ll break for lunch, you provide the coffee if you need it, but surely bring some Red Bull for energy because this is an energized workshop.

5. Camera requirements are any type of camera, preferably 35mm DSLR or SLR, medium or large format is optional. Lens focal range, from 24mm to 200mm, though a typical 70-200mm lens is all you need. A back-up drive to download your images every evening and/or laptop computer is highly recommended. If you have a Sony (Minolta) camera, please ensure you have a hot shoe adapter or PC connection.

6. Professionalism is required, we’re there to capture beautiful images of beautiful models. If you have Pocket Wizard remotes, bring them too, though not required as we’ll have our own radio triggers. We’ll work with beauty dishes, softboxes, reflectors and more, all provided by us!

If you can meet the requirements and you have the passion to create some beautiful, unique images, these workshop are for you. We accept payments securely through PayPal and have other options if you prefer. This is a first-come, first-serve event as class size is limited. Model releases are optional but encouraged. This is an early-bird price, prices will go up soon, so don’t delay, book now before it’s too late! Please use the PayPal button below. We’ve used PayPal securely for 14-years.

The price is $299 for the Glamour, Beauty and the Nude workshop.

Model releases for the event is $60 per model at the end of the day. These are voluntary releases, but highly encouraged as these models will be working for you and the entire amount goes to the model. The releases are provided by us and allow you to use the images for commercial use and the only restriction is prohibited use for adult related material—nudes are artistic and glamour nude only at this workshop when it comes to nudity. No other releases will be allowed.

You are required to arrive no later than 9:30 a.m. local time on the workshop day. Please do not arrive before 9:00 a.m. We end at 5:00 p.m. Party info will be given out to the attendees only.

Cancellation rules apply as this is a first-come, first-serve event limited in size. Don’t get left behind, don’t miss out on a wonderful opportunity. We can’t allow too many people on the property, it’s very limited in size, so don’t delay, act now an save before prices go up!

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What Is An Editorial Nude?

As I transition more to authoring new books, blogging and participating more on GarageGlamour.com, many photographers have noticed that as part of my “Farewell Photo Workshop Tour,” that we’ve included our editorial nude photography workshops in some locations. This has brought a few emails asking for some clarification.

Simply put, there are various forms (genres) of nude photography, including fine-art nudes (which others fall into also), implied nudes, glamour nude, Playboy nudes, editorial nudes, and just about anything you can add the word “nude” to at the end of it.  You name it, someone is teaching it—the problem lies not in nude photography, but many so-called glamour and nude photography workshops are just gang-bang shooting of cheesecake nude photos—and you wonder why there are some photographers labeled GWC’s, guys with cameras?

Unfortunately nude photography is being diluted daily, so I decided that I’d add editorial nude photography years ago as a different workshop than my “Glamour, Beauty and the Nude” themed workshops—and after conducting almost 500 photography workshops, seminars and lectures around the world in the past 12-years, I think I’ve got a good hand on what is what when it comes to photography.

In the case of editorial nude photography, it’s basically nude images that help convey some meaning, not sex, not porn, but true meaning including sometimes the mood of the subject.  These types of images often tell a story, and sometimes have a great story behind them. It’s about mood, emotion, storytelling, lighting, shadows, and sometimes even controversial, though I tend to avoid the latter.

At my Editorial Nude photography workshops, we work with simple lighting modified normally with 7-inch metal reflectors and metal grids.  The concept is to use shadows in your favor, tell the story, and to get away from marking the treasure map “X” on the floor—in other words, we don’t want you just standing there, we want you moving around the subject so you can see how the “Angle of Incidence Equals the Angle of Reflection” physics law come to play in photography.  We also ask you to turn your camera, not just plain horizontal or vertical images.

These types of images you could sell in art galleries, these are not cheesecake glamour nudes, these photos help you create are artistic but more important, solid and worthy of hanging in art galleries.

Now when we do your “Glamour, Beauty and the Nude” themed workshops, we use larger light modifiers, like 7-foot Chimera Octaboxes, 4-foot by 6-foot softboxes, beauty dishes, ringflash, California Sunbounce Pro reflectors and the list goes on—normally lighting used for editorial nudes is not the type we’d use in glamour photography.  Still not sure, well please visit EditorialNudes.com, my editorial nude photoblog that I just launched—it’s expanding with more images, so please be patient.  For now, since we don’t want to upset Google advertising, we can’t post images here, but you can find them at EditorialNudes.com.  Thanks, Rolando

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Observing Model Leads to Photo

The Moab existing light, photographic experience continues as we discuss how observing models can sometimes lead to some great ideas or concepts in photography. In this particular image, the model, Jenni, decided to check her make-up while resting as I was off shooting model KT.



A photographer should always look around, sometimes you’ll even get ideas from an assistant toying around a photographic set or location, but in this case, what caught my eye was the reflected light on the model’s face. In fact, I even had KT hold the compact, make-up case mirror from a short distance out of camera view so it would reflect light back on Jenni. Ultimately the final image, shot in existing light with a Leica M8 digital rangefinder camera, was from what I originally observed, though I had the model standing instead of sitting on the ground.

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