Last month I was invited to beta test a new video tutorial site called 5 Dollar Tutorials by the Bui Brothers. These guys have a passion for sharing their knowledge and doing so as openly as they can. I think this is why they adopted an ala carte model for selling their how-to videos. I think this concept is taking a page right out Apple’s old playbook. The iTunes marketplace made it easy to buy individual tracks rather than having to purchase whole albums and it changed the way music is sold. While it would be a stretch to think that the Bui brothers can change the current model for photography training, I think it is an option that bigger training vendors like Kelby and Lynda should give serious thought.
As for these tutorials, they hit all of the points to creating those surreal images. Without giving anything away, I will say that 90% of what makes the shot work is done in camera. About half of the magic comes from their lighting technique and the other half is pre-production skull sweat. By that I mean the photographer puts in a significant amount of previsualization into crafting the final image. Retouching in photoshop is enhancement rather than creative construction. I recommend that anyone who wants to create fine art photography should take a look at getting one of the free tutorials by signing up for their mailing list.