It’s All About Light

I am really drawn to portraits that are lit in such a way that the light doesn’t draw a whole lot of attention to itself.  In other words, I like photos that are well lit but not over-lit.  In the photo above, the quality of the light is nice but you have to look around for a moment to really “see” how it was lit.  There was a good balance between ambient and flash and they blended together well.

Once you learn some of the basics of lighting and you have a good handle on the technical side of it, you should challenge yourself to step up your game a bit.  Learn to light a photo so that it looks naturally lit.  The old “key light with two kickers at a 45 on either side of the subject” has been played out.

When you put a little thought into how you’re going to light a photo so that it looks like something you just walked upon you will be amazed at the results you can achieve.  After all, it is all about the light.

Style and Photographic Simplicity

Alright, today’s post is completely a rant but I think it’s a very relevant one.  Lately there has been lots of talk about vision and style on the interwebs, both of which are excellent subjects that are very important to photography.  But what’s bothering me is that I think there are a lot of folks (especially newer photographers) that get caught up in what they think is style, but actually isn’t.

Photoshop and Actions
Photographic style is so much more than a way that you process a photo in Photoshop or run a particular Action.  Those two have nothing to do with style.  As my fellow photographer Don Giannatti said, “If you’re buying [Photoshop] Actions, you’re buying a ‘look’ in a box.”  He couldn’t be more right.

People go on Flickr and they chase around the latest trend or current lighting technique or processing style and then set out to emulate it.  While that’s a good way to learn how to do something, it’s not something you want to put in your book.  In the technical age that we live in, there are plenty of smart folks out there who can pick up technique quickly.  Again, it’s a very good ability to have in order to learn.

There are even particular photographers whose work has been aped more than I care to talk about.  Everyone wanted to make their work look like his or hers because it was what was really hot at the moment.  (The operative word there being ‘moment’.)

There is so much work out there that is so heavily processed (and often by someone else other than the photographer) that by the time the image is finished, they can barely call the work their own.  Some commercial photographers take the shot and then don’t touch the image again.  Some don’t set up their own lighting.  Hmmm….

Getting Back to Basics
So whatever happened to the simple, well-lit portrait?  You know, with the kind of soft light you would find from a North-facing window.  It’s the kind of light that people crave and a lot of photographers covet.  It’s soft, pleasing, and really makes your subject look their best.  Where are the portraits that draw out emotion in the viewer?  And I’m not talking about the “hey that lighting looks badass” kind of emotion either.  If you look at some of the work of photographic masters like Richard Avedon or Annie Leibovitz you’ll see those kind of portraits.  If you have no idea who I’m talking about, you need to head to the library and do some studying!

My Own Style
I’m really drawn to portraits – it’s a large part of why I love to photograph people.  I like to shoot other subjects for fun, but people are it for me.  I enjoy the interaction and bringing out personality in my subject.  It’s what makes me tick as a photographer.

As far as my own lighting, you will typically find me putting one light into a 60″ shoot through (sometimes reflective) umbrella.  I will also use a 24″x24″ softbox, but it’s almost always one light on my subject.  One of the reasons that I think I prefer to shoot this way is because I don’t really pay attention to the gear.  I really just need a camera, a subject, and good light.  I love light.

Is my own style complete?  Ha!  Hardly.  I’m still working on it every. single. day.  My goal is cohesiveness and consistency in my work and it can become awfully hard to repeat something perfectly every time you press the shutter release.  Nonetheless, that’s what I’m after.

Rant Over

Thanks for joining me on my little rant, and please feel free to leave comments and thoughts below.  Constructive comments are always welcome.  SPAM and other BS won’t be tolerated.

Also, don’t forget that The DSLR Workshop kicks off on October 1st and you can follow the show on Facebook and Twitter, as well as subscribe to the podcast in iTunes as well.  It’s a free photography show to teach folks how to use DSLR cameras and make better pictures.  Join us, won’t you?

I hope you’re week is going well!  Get out and shoot!

Wanna Learn Lighting? Take This Workshop!

Light.  It’s the language of photography.  It’s how we speak through our images.  It adds drama and emotion to pictures.  It creates mood.

So, you wanna learn lighting for photography?  Then I highly recommend that you take one of the workshops available from Don Giannatti at Lighting Essentials.  Don is a great photographer and teacher and you will learn a ton about light and photography.

I had the pleasure of being a local host for Don’s workshop in San Diego back in February of this year.  I had heard a lot of great things about his workshops and I am a regular reader of his blog – Lighting Essentials.  I also sat in on both days and assisted some of the students who had questions or who were working on some of the techniques that Don was teaching.

It was immediately obvious to his students that Don loves photography and loves teaching about both light and photography.  Even at the mixer the night before the workshop started, he was already diving into photography and gauging what the students knew (and didn’t know) in order to prepare for the next day.  The mixers aren’t required, but are very helpful because everyone gets to know each other prior to ramping up on Day 1.

All types of light were covered – ambient, studio strobe, speedlights and flash.  He covered modifiers like umbrellas, softboxes, snoots, grids, gobos, beauty dishes, and pretty much the entire gamut of objects that can shape or modify light.

The students got to work through each of these and find out for themselves how they worked while shooting images both in the studio and outside.  The “See and Do” approach is far more effective than the “Show and Tell” approach which is one of the reasons that the Lighting Essentials workshops are so successful at teaching photographers how to light.  At the end of each day, he also talks about business and going pro with your photography.  He’s got a lot of great insight that he willingly shares with his students.

Don now has several workshops available for all skill levels from beginning amateurs to emerging and professional photographers.  His advanced workshop is geared more toward the working photographer and he even offers a one-on-one workshop for emerging pros.  All of them are excellent.

The standard 2-day workshop is priced very affordably at $450.00 for two days of instruction and shooting, a DVD packed with lots of great information, and a workbook.  At that price, you can’t go wrong when you see what other workshops cost.

 

The Ground Truth

Some of you are probably wondering why I am talking about someone else’s workshop here on the blog.  I’ll try and answer most of the questions that will likely come up in an effort to clear any doubt about my motive for this post.

Q: Is Don paying you to write this?
A: No.

Q: Are you getting any sort of kickbacks?
A: No.

Q: Then why bother with writing about his workshops?
A: Because I believe in spreading the word about products and services that I believe in and know to be worthwhile.

Q: Don’t you teach workshops?
A: Yes.

Q: Then why are you promoting this workshop and not your own?
A: Even though I teach an occasional workshop, I teach something completely different.  In my workshop, I teach about portrait photography workflow and Don teaches about light.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about this workshop over other lighting workshops? 
A: In Don’s workshops, it’s all about “See and Do”. You see it, then you do it.  Other workshops are “Show and Tell”.  The photographer gets up in front of a large audience and shows and tells about the setup and techniques and all you get to do is watch and listen.

If you want to take a workshop on lighting, THIS is the one to take.  Not only will you see and hear, you will set up and shoot.  You’ll take away a lot of knowledge that you can apply to your photography.  It’s an excellent tool to help you take your work to the next level.

For more information, be sure to check out Lighting Essentials and the Lighting Essentials Workshops.  You can also follow Don on Twitter.

Tools of the Trade: A Test Shoot

While I was out at sea for the past three weeks, I had several projects that I was working on for the ship.  One of which is a cruise book for their upcoming deployment.  Cruise books are typically filled with lots of photojournalistic-style shots and traditional portraits of each member of the crew.  For this book, I want to create some incredible photography that will help the book sell and also display the impressiveness of the entire crew for their friends and families.

I had an idea to create very cool environmental portraits for each division on the ship.  In order to do this, I would want to capture each division in their element – with the tools of their trades.  To test my idea I decided to do a test shoot on our recent trip to sea.  The shot above is a little rough, but it will project the idea of what I want to try and do for each division.

As you can see from the diagram above, I didn’t have a whole lot of room to work with.  I had about 10 feet from the bench I was up against to the curtain, which would be our backdrop.  I set up the 24″ x 24″ Lastolite Ezybox at camera right with an SB800 at 1/2 power.  This was my key light.  I then set up an SB80DX at 1/16th power with a 43″ Westcott shoot-through umbrella for some on-axis fill.  As steep as the angle was between my key light and my subjects, there was no doubt that I would need some fill to pull it off.  I set up a third flash (another SB80DX) at 1/16th power hanging from pipe hangar with a Justin Clamp.  I gelled it blue to give some separation from the curtain and add some color.

I ran into a few problems that I will need to work out for the final version.  There is a bad reflection from the Ezybox in the safety glasses of the gentleman at far camera right.  There are also reflections of both my key and fill in the firefighter’s helmet.  The reflection in the SCBA mask needs to be taken care of as well.  The good news is that they will be fairly simple to fix with some small adjustments to their position and the position of the lights.  Could I fix them in Photoshop?  Sure I could.  But I would rather get it right in the camera.

The guys in the photo are Hull Technicians – responsible for things like the ship’s plumbing, firefighting, hull repair, damage control, welding and manufacturing.  You can think of them as the “handymen” of the ship because of their diversity in work.  What made it even more fun is that they were more than willing to get all dressed up in their gear in order for me to do a test shoot.

As you can see, there are often many challenges that must be faced when shooting on location.  Space constraints, time constraints, and general photographic problems are bound to rear their ugly head at some point or another.  It’s our job to combat them with patience, technique, and vision in order to make a great picture.  This test shoot was another learning experience for me and I look forward to getting the final frame for the book.

Lumodi Review: Speedlight Beauty Dishes and Reflector

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Brandon Cruz, the owner of Lumodi while I was hosting the Lighting Essentials Workshop here in San Diego. I was really attracted to the very lightweight Model 14 (14″ beauty dish) and Brandon was kind enough to offer a dish up to use and review. After a few emails, Brandon also sent a Model 11 (11″ beauty dish) with a custom logo and a prototype Speedlight Reflector. I put them all through their paces and I have to say that these are some of the lightest, durable, and most efficient speedlight modifiers available. Keep reading for the full review.

The Model 14 (see photo above) is a 14″ beauty dish and comes in one of two interior finishes – white and titanium silver. In fact, all three of their products are available with both interior finishes. The Model 14 gives off very soft, gorgeous light that falls off quickly, giving you a lot of control over spill. The silver finish is slightly more efficient and the center is just a tad hotter than the edges. The white finish produces a more even light from center to edge. The silver finish would work better in outdoor settings where you need as much out of your speedlight as you can get. Speaking of light, these beauty dishes reduce the output of your flash by approximately 2 stops so you’ll need to keep that in mind. Price: $69.95

The Model 11 is an 11″ beauty dish which is not as deep as the Model 14, making it a little easier to put into your camera bag or backpack. It works well for a key light if you get it in really close, but I like to use it for a little on-axis fill in combination with the Model 14. If you’re working in a tight space, the Model 11 might work better due to size and control of your light. You can also easily hand-hold a flash with the Model 11 and get great off-camera light without the need for a stand or an assistant. Just remember to get in close. Pricing information isn’t available at this time, but I will update this post as soon as I have it.

Back of the Lumodi Model 11 mounted on an SB80DX speedlight.

The Lumodi Speedlight Reflector (SLR) is a prototype modifier, but it’s got some serious potential! With the beauty dishes, the only light that comes out of them is reflected light. The Speedlight Reflector gives direct light that is diffused as well as reflected light, much like a studio strobe would with a reflector mounted on it. This makes the modifier very efficient while still producing a soft and controllable light. One thing that I noticed with this modifier is that I was able to control the softness of the shadows based on how much or little I zoomed my flash head. This gives you even more control over the output of your light. Very cool. I currently don’t have pricing information on this unit, but I will update this post as soon as it’s available.

Back of the Lumodi Speedlight Reflector on an SB80DX speedlight.

Now that I’ve given you a good description of each of the products and what they can do, lets get to the images!

Model 14, camera left of the subject and a little higher, pointing down.

Model 14, camera left (same as above); Model 11 used as on-axis fill.

Model 11, camera left of the subject and a little higher, pointing down. In nice and close too.

Speedlight Reflector, camera left, SB800 zoomed to 24mm, producing soft shadows.

Speedlight Reflector, camera left, SB800 zoomed to 105mm, producing harder shadows.

Speedlight Reflector with SB800 zoomed to 24mm – you can see the soft falloff on the background.

Speedlight Reflector with SB800 zoomed to 105mm – hot spot in the center and fast falloff.

Model 14, directly above and feathered in front of the subject to give a very dramatic feel to the light. Think “back room mafia poker game”.

Why Use A Beauty Dish?
A beauty dish gives you a lot of control over light spill and they produce a very pleasing light when they are in close. That’s why you want to have your beauty dish no further away from your subject than twice the distance of the diameter of the dish. In other words, with the Model 14 which is 14″ in diameter, you would have it no further than 28″ away from your subject. Further than that, it is just a light and it’s not anywhere near as pleasing as it is in close. Beauty dishes work great in small spaces because of the control over spill and size. Try using a big octabox in a 3′ x 5′ office… not gonna happen folks. A Model 14 or Model 11 will work great.

Build Quality
The Lumodi products are handmade, just as they say on the back of each of the units and they are fairly durable. They are subject to warping/melting under high heat conditions, so if you live in the desert I wouldn’t recommend leaving them in your car where they are exposed directly to the sun. If you step on them they will certainly bend or crease and most likely crack. But, this isn’t the type of product that’s designed to fold up and go in your shoulder bag either. Since Lumodi products are made of light plastic, they are extremely light and you don’t have to worry that they will dent or break if one falls or is dropped. Overall these modifiers are well-designed and well-built.

Overall
I really don’t have a bad thing to say about these awesome little light modifiers. The fact that they are lightweight means that I don’t have to worry about them putting stress on my flash heads and I love that. They are universal, so they will fit most flashes on the market today and you don’t have to worry about having a specific model for a specific flash. So if you have an SB900 and some SB800s, all three products will fit on both flashes without any trouble. If I needed to travel with them, I would either mail them or pack clothes in and around the dish to prevent pressure and cracking. They are so lightweight that you could mail them for next to nothing and not worry about them being packed away in an airline suitcase.

So if you’ve been looking for a great beauty dish to use with your speedlights, the products from Lumodi are definitely the way to go. There are some other really great options out there, but they aren’t as lightweight as these babies. I’ve been very impressed with the Model 14, Model 11, and Speedlight Reflector and I know they will continue to get a lot of use since I mainly light with small flash.

Currently, the Model 14 is sold online in Lumodi’s eBay Store so you can pick them up there or contact them directly to purchase.

Don’t forget to check out Lumodi’s website and be sure to tell Brandon that I sent you!

DIY Video Lights

I created this video based off of Larry Becker’s “Cheap Shots” segment on D-Town TV. He showed this setup as being a simple modeling light when using small flash. I figured it could also be used in situations where you would like to add some light to your videos.

Enjoy!

Stephen

Inspiration and Passion

Inspiration and passion… two words that drive us to do what we love. We can be inspired by many things, yet passion is what makes us excited about that certain thing. This past weekend, I was the host photographer for a really great workshop, and I was inspired. Not only by the incredible information that was being disseminated, but also by the desire of others to learn more about a shared passion.

During most of the weekend, I spent my time helping attendees with understanding some of the concepts that were taught and discussed. Although it was always with me, I didn’t have my camera in my hands most of the time. Did I mind? Not at all. I was thrilled to see the spark in someone’s eye when a teaching point or concept made sense to them.

By chance, I ran into a dancer from the California Ballet Company, whom I’d worked with only a few weeks prior with Joe McNally. It’s an incredibly small world. And although our days were fairly long, I never got tired of sharing information with others or carrying around gear to help set up some of the shots. I am truly passionate about photography… I only wish I had realized it sooner.

When I was a kid, I remember taking pictures all the time. I remember buying lots of disposable Kodak cameras, putting Kodak Gold in a cheap little point and shoot 35mm camera that my parents bought for me, and even convincing my Dad to let me use his Minolta 35mm SLR a time or two. When I was 12, I took a trip to Huntington Beach, CA to see my Great Aunt and Uncle (who still live there today) to spend two weeks out of my Summer visiting them. I shot roll after roll of film. It just never seemed to get old and I couldn’t wait to see the prints after they came back from the lab.

When Kelie and I got married, her older sister let me use an a Nikon N60 SLR that she had turned in to Lost and Found where she worked, and got it back after 3 months where no one claimed it. I shot a lot with that camera too. In fact, I still have a picture of my wife on our wall in front of the USS Barry (DDG 52) in Norfolk, VA. I’ve even got some prints of sunsets, flowers, and other odds and ends that I shot with that camera.

My first digital camera was a point and shoot that my parents bought for us as an anniversary gift. We used it to take pictures of Benjamin, our oldest son. I shot like crazy with that camera too. I have all the photos saved to this day, since we got that camera. I still don’t really understand why it didn’t click in my head that photography was my passion.

The day it did finally come together for me, I was at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. I was out with a friend seeing the sights. I had a Nikon point and shoot with me and I was taking shot after shot, caring about nothing else but the picture. That’s what really mattered. D.C. has some incredible history and I wanted to have great photographs to remember it by. I took one particular shot of the memorial and looked at the image on the tiny little LCD and all of a sudden, the light came on. I had realized what I was truly passionate about. Shortly after, I won a Nikon D40 in a raffle and I haven’t looked back since.

Be passionate about what you enjoy. Love your family and go after whatever it is that ignites the fire deep inside of you. I had the pleasure of meeting some great people this weekend who helped fuel my passion. I hope you have the opportunity to do the same.

Lighting Essentials Workshop in San Diego

I’ve got some pretty cool news for all the photographers in the Southern California area! Don Giannatti is bringing his Lighting Essentials workshop to town on February 6th and 7th, 2010! If you have always wanted to learn about lighting, are just starting out, or even if you have a good bit of experience working with lighting you will benefit greatly by attending!

The workshop is two days long, with the first day shooting in the studio and the second day working on location. And when I say, “shooting” I really mean it. There is not a lot of show and tell to be had, it’s more like shoot and shoot!

The lighting topics will range from reflectors to studio flashes, and not to worry… there will be plenty of gear to go around. Even if you’ve never put your hands on an actual studio flash before, you will feel pretty well-versed by the time you finish with the workshop.

On the second day, you will be out shooting on location. Here’s where small flash really comes into play. They are so easy and portable that they are a go-to light for lots of location shooters. This part of the workshop will bring you out of the dark, and into the light (pun completely intended).

I’ve spent all this time talking about shooting and by now you’re probably wondering who you’re going to be shooting? Models. Real, live, models. The other benefit of this workshop is learning how to interact with your subjects and provide direction in order to achieve your vision.

As great as I’ve made this workshop sound, it’s got to be expensive right? Wrong. The price tag is $450.00 and that’s less than half of what some other people charge for a workshop of this caliber. I’m here to tell you that this is a small investment for what you will gain. There are only a few spots left, so be sure to head on over and sign up! I’ll be there myself, so I hope to see you there!

Screenshot above courtesy of Lighting Essentials Workshops.

Studio Quality Portraits Just About Anywhere

A few days back I wrote this post about a few ways photographers can save money. Today I kind of touch on the subject again, but I’m also adding flexibility to the mix. In today’s economy most photographers don’t have the luxury to sit back and wait for clients to walk into our studio for portrait sessions. The big box stores like Sears and Picture People can do this because they have a recognizable name and corporate funding that gives them really great retail space in a ‘walk-in’ market. So what do the REST of us do?

One of the reasons that I love location portraiture is because of the variety and flexibility it offers. I can shoot at someone’s house, the park, the beach, the mountains, the desert, and just about any other place I can think of. Not to mention that my background is almost never the same.

But what if a client wants a studio-type setting for their portraits and you don’t have a studio? Well, you can rent studio space as I mentioned last week or you can bring a studio to their location. For about a $150.00 (give or take) you can get a really nice background support setup with a roll of seamless paper. The one I use I picked up from Calumet for $120 and a 53″ roll of paper is $28. It breaks down completely and fits in a convenient bag that I can take with me wherever I go.

I took the shot above in my garage (of all places) using nothing more than my background support, some white seamless paper, and two flashes. My lighting setup was an SB800 fired into a Lastolite Ezybox softbox and then an SB80DX with a homemade straw grid fired at the background on a stand behind my subject. I placed a white reflector camera right to provide just a little fill on the shadow side of my subject’s face.

Here’s the setup shot:

Very simple, yet very effective. That’s what I’m all about. So if your client is looking for studio shots, this is another way that you can bring the studio to them. Before you head over, make sure they’ve got plenty of space for you to shoot in. Minimum would be around 10×15 feet, larger if you’re shooting more than 1 or 2 people at a time.

Hope you enjoyed the tip, tell all your friends, and don’t forget to back up your photos!

Simple Product Shots

Photographers often buy and sell goods online. No matter whether it’s eBay, Craigslist, or any other type of online auction or sales site you want to have good images to represent the product that you’re selling. I can’t tell you how many times that I have been searching either of the sites I mentioned above and found photographers (amateur or pro isn’t relevant) and the images associated with their item are well… less than what you would expect from a photographer.

It comes down to one of two things: laziness or lack of knowledge. The first one I can’t do anything about.

Setting Up
Getting great product shots in your living room, garage, dining room, bedroom, or wherever isn’t all that hard. You really don’t need anything fancy either.

If you’re shooting something really small, you can use white copy paper if you need to. I recommend that you use white foam core boards that you can pick up from your favorite office supply store. They are sometimes referred to as ‘presentation board’. If you’ve only got one flash or strobe, then you’ll need a minimum of three pieces. One to put your subject on, one to use as a background, and the third to use as a reflector for fill light.

If you’re shooting something that is very reflective, like the perfume bottle above, then you’re going to want to get your lights in nice and close. If you don’t have an umbrella or a softbox, you can use a white bed sheet to give yourself a bigger and softer light source. Remember to take into account the angle of incidence/angle of reflection because you don’t want to reflect light directly into your lens, causing lens flare. It also puts a really nasty specular highlight on your product. In most product shots, side light works really well.

Lola
In the shot above, I used two lights. I used an SB800 through a 45″ shoot through umbrella on camera left at 1/4 power and then a Lastolight TriGrip 1-Stop Diffuser on camera right with an SB80DX set to 1/32nd power. Most of the perfume bottle was lit with my umbrella light and the fill came from the Lastolite panel which also provided the pop for the logo.

So for about $20.00 or so you can have a pretty cool product shooting setup. There’s no real need to buy an expensive product table or anything extravagant in order to get professional looking results for products you’re selling online, or even if it’s just for fun.