Gregory Heisler, on Stripping with Derek Jeter

We pre-empt our regularly scheduled programming today, as we do pretty much any time Greg Heisler whiteboards one of his shoots.

(Ditto you too, Dan Winters, or Peter Yang. Seriously, whip up a good BTS and the joint is all yours for the day.)

For a little sense of chronological scale, this video lasts about as long as Heisler takes to shoot Jeter. For an SI Sportsman of the Year cover, no less.

Quick takeaway: Hiding a face light on-axis of a bigger strip light (sorry for that misleading headline, ladies) for "a little more oomph" on the face. "Oomph" being one of those light qualities Heisler learned about when studying with the Great Masters.

And on the Profoto strip lights -- if you have to ask, you can't afford them. They are not strip boxes. They are strip lights. Completely different animal. They are apparently made in Sweden by elves using pixie dust or something even more expensive.

I am working on a DIY version for speedlights, made out of polished, inside-out Diet Mtn. Dew cans.
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(More Heisler vids on the Profoto site.)

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Using ND Filters to Kill Depth of Field

UPDATE: Just answered many Q's in the comments. -DH
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It's simple math. If you are shooting outside in the sun and limited to 1/250th of a second sync (or worse) you are are going to be shooting through a tiny hole as your aperture. Even if you crank your ISO down as low as it will go, you'd better like that background. Because you are going to see it in pretty sharp focus.

Or maybe not. In addition to high-speed sync, there are a few ways to bleed some aperture from your exposure settings in full sun.

Three blurry choices, inside. Read more »

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Good TIMEs!

The entire staff here at Strobist International Headquarters are quite pleased (and more than a little surprised) to have been included in TIME Magazine's 25 Best Blogs of 2010.

If you are just stumbling in from that article, welcome! This is no ordinary photo blog -- you can see what we are all about, here.

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Hacking the Grid

Regular readers of this site will know I am a big fan of the Honl 1/8-inch grid. It is built like a tank, and designed to fit onto nearly any speedlight made.

The first day it arrived at my house (one of the first production samples in the country, as I would later find out) Dave Honl asked to me to test it out and see if it was tough enough.

So I ran over it with my car… Read more »

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Rise (and Fall) of The Machines: Understanding t.5/t.1 Times

We are gonna get our Lighting Geek on today, and take a moment to understand two measurements which are very important to know if you are shopping for flashes: t.5 and t.1.

When measuring the length of a flash pulse, the duo of t.5 and t.1 times are the industry standard metrics. Understanding those numbers -- and the difference between them -- can help you make better purchasing decisions on your lighting gear. Read more »

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Shoot the Bloggers: Sian Meades

While I was planning for last month's UK trip, I crowdsourced ideas for subjects for my Shoot the Bloggers* (Hey, it's a Start) project. Reader Nick Jones suggested Sian Meades, pictured above.

Who was I to object?

So that necessitated a little side trip to Greenwich, for a quickie Prime Meridian shoot… Read more »

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Mile-High Lighting Club: Denver Seminar Registration Opens for Sat., August 7th

I am assuming that's what the Mile-High Club means anyway -- I have heard the term bandied about with great affection.

Anyway, if you are near Denver and think you might be interested in a day of Light conversation, the details are here.

Oh, and speaking of workshops, McNally is reprising the Dobbs Ferry One-Day series this summer. Thinking I should book a seat and heckle him from the audience this time.

(*cough* USE MANUAL! *cough*)

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Pocket Wizard Compatible Remotes Are Invading from The East

UPDATED: Steve from Phottix (CEO) checks in with some answers to our questions, inside...
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With the announcement of the "Atlas," Hong Kong -based Phottix has just gone from an unremarkable, third-party accessory manufacturer to a company who is raising serious eyebrows.

This upcoming PW-compatible remote is getting lots of attention -- and with good reason.

Details inside. Read more »

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Annie-Tated: Keith Richards for Louis Vuitton

While we are on the subject of the Photek Softlighter, I thought it fitting to run a BTS video of Annie Leibovitz shooting Keith Richards in a hotel room for Louis Vuitton with that same light mod.

She uses the Softlighter a lot—along with a voice-activated light stand who damn-well better know what she is thinking before she says is out loud. (I'd put money on that last part.)

Fully annotated video—and the final photo—after the jump. Read more »

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On Assignment: The Soprano

No, not Tony -- a real soprano.

And not to be underestimated, as soprano Erin Holmes could probably stand in your front yard and let loose a note that'd break all of your front windows. I had heard her in concert the night before, and hers is a voice not to be trifled with.

So to play it safe, we shot in the garage… Read more »

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Lighting in Layers: Portland, Oregon, July 25th [Sold Out]

If you will be joining us in Portland, Oregon, for the seminar on Sunday July 25th, you can still access the info here.

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A Little Monday Morning Light Carnage

Being an old newspaper guy, I like to have my publishing schedule set a coupla weeks in advance. But when something cool, timely and/or viral comes along, you gotta rejigger on the fly.

For example, today was to feature an On Assignment of a soprano. But she can wait until tomorrow, because this is some epic light painting with an order of speedlights on the side, courtesy Freddie Wong.

We, of course, start with the BTS vid above. For the final product, hit the jump. Read more »

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Upgrade Your Rims

Rim lights and key lights might start out the same, but they end up behaving very differently.

That's because the key light hits your subject and bounces back in a scattered, diffuse way. Not so with a rim light, which typically caroms off of your subject at a very efficient angle. Which means a little bit of light, used as a rim, goes a very, very long way.

Have you every dropped your rim intensity down -- waaaay down -- to see what happens?

You might like the results. Read more »

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LumoPro LP160: Quad Sync v.2.0

UPDATE: NOVEMBER 2012 -- The entire production run of LP160s has been sold out. If you can wait a few (3-4) months, an LP180 is set to hit in early 2013. From what I am hearing it is improved over the LP160 in nearly every (if not every) respect.



Moishe Appelbaum and the folks at MPEX were never ones to leave well enough alone. Building on the sold-out LP120, the original quad-sync flash, LumoPro today announced the arrival of the more powerful LumoPro LP160 -- a second version borne of user feedback from the original model.

It's a lotta flash, for notta lotta cash. Details after the jump. Read more »

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