Training aspiring photographers to become professionals since 2015.

This month, celebrity photographer, Russ Harrington visited us to teach and share his workflow and creativity. We are grateful for his workshop.

The day began with Russ fielding questions from the students before he bagan his demonstrations.

Russ Harrington teaching photography students at RGV Photography Workshops
Russ Harrington teaching photography students at RGV Photography Workshops.
Models looking at the work from the workshop photoshoot
Models looking at the work from the workshop photoshoot.
We all wore masks to make sure everyone was Covid safe indoors
We all wore masks to make sure everyone was Covid safe indoors.
Russ Harrington teaching in our natural light studio
Russ Harrington teaching in our natural light studio, photographing model Joanna Galindo.
A student looking at the work Russ produced while teaching
A student looking at the work Russ produced while teaching.

Then Russ showed the students how he uses his setups and how he works around creativity. The morning was spent in our air conditioned natural light studio that the photography school is very proud of.

Tori in the natural light studio. Photograph by Russ Harrington
Tori in the natural light studio. Photograph by Russ Harrington

Russ photographed at least one outfit for each model that was part of the photography workshop. Ana Perez styled the outfits, while Nora Cuevas did the makeup for the models.

Class portrait from the Russ Harrington workshop at the photography school, RGV Photography Workshops

Class portrait of the Russ Harrington workshop, hosted by RGV Photography Workshops in our natrual light studio.After lunch, we took a class portrait of all the photography students before we left to photograph around downtown McAllen.

Russ was impressed by all the color and vibrancy of downtown McAllen, here in Texas.

Russ photographing our model Joanna at a taco stand in downtown McAllen for our photography students who attended the workshop
Russ photographing our model Joanna at a taco stand in downtown McAllen for our photography students who attended the workshop.

We started off by going downtown to explore a bit, as Russ explained how to look at light and how he chooses the backdrop for his photoshoots.

While there, Russ found a taco stand/church service area in downtown McAllen that served as a perfect backdrop for our model Joanna to pose for him.

Joanna downtown Mcallen - photograph by Russ Harrington
Joanna downtown Mcallen – photograph by Russ Harrington

After that, we photographed on a side street because a car Russ had seen earlier was the perfect backdrop for one of our models, Ana Paulina, and her gorgeous brown dress.

Ana Paulina photographed in downtown McAllen by Russ Harrington, for the RGV Photography Workshops students
Ana Paulina photographed in downtown McAllen by Russ Harrington, for the photography students.

After photographing Ana Paulina, we walked on over to Rex Cafe. Rex Cafe is like walking back in time.

Russ photographed our resident school model, the lovely Karmen Adame, for the Rex Cafe set.

The theme was to look tired, like after clubbing in downtown McAllen. Our school’s in-house model, Karmen, did a great job of acting for Russ at the Rex Cafe.

Behind the scenes at Rex Cafe in downtown McAllen, as Russ Harrington photographs in front of the students for the photography workshop
Behind the scenes at Rex Cafe. Russ Harrington photographing Karmen Adame for the photography workshop.
Karmen at Rex Cafe - photograph by Russ Harrington
Karmen at Rex Cafe – photograph by Russ Harrington.

After photographing at the Rex Cafe, in dowtown McAllen, we walked across the street to The Yard.

The Yard is an outdoor setting with lots of cool shipping containers as the backgroup. That’s where Russ photographed, Ana Paulina and Tori for that session. It was really cool to see Russ in action as the students took notes on how he worked with the models, and motivated them.

Fellow models supporting Tori as Russ Harrington photographs her at The Yard, in downtown McAllen, Texas
Fellow models supporting Tori as Russ Harrington photographs her at The Yard, in downtown McAllen, Texas.
Tori at The Yard - Photograph byRuss Harrington
Tori in all her glory. Photograph by Russ Harrington

From The Yard, we headed over to the historic Cine El Rey.

There Russ photographed Joanna Galindo, Ana Paulina, and Karmen Adame in the theatre. Russ really delivered with some cool images from there.

Joanna being photographed for the photography workshop at Cine El Rey
Joanna Galindo being photographed for the photography workshop at Cine El Rey.
Behind the scenes at Cine El Rey for the Russ Harrington Workshop
Behind the scenes at Cine El Rey

At the end of the shoot, and day, RGV Photography Workshops held an awards ceremony. Two models, Joanna and Karmen, and former studio manager Ana Perez was recognized for their work.

Joanna recieving an award for being an OG model for the school.
Joanna recieving an award for being an OG model for the school. Joanna has been a Catrina for many graduates of RGV Photography Workshops.
Karmen recieving an award from the school for working as a model for the school, before, during, and after the Covid era of the school.
Karmen has been with the school many years and appears in a lot of the schoolwork and portfolios of many graduates from RGV Photography Workshops.
Former studio manager, Ana Perez, recieving The Patch for exemplary work as a photographer after graduation
Former studio manager, Ana Perez, recieving The Patch for exemplary work as a photographer after graduation.

Thank you Russ for coming down and teaching us your ways. RGV Photography Worshops and all it’s photography students are grateful that you shared your knowledge and experience with us. You are welcome anytime.

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