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Monday, 31 December 2012

My Visit With DigitalRev, or, What's Kai Wong Really Like?

Posted on 08:50 by Unknown

Earlier this month I traveled to Hong Kong to be a guest on DigitalRev's Pro Tog, Cheap Camera series. (Full video and final pic edits below.)

Which meant I also got to hang out with the DR team, including Lok, Alamby, Theo—and of course show frontman/international sex symbol/Man of Mystery Kai Wong.

And you are probably wondering right now: what's Kai really like? Read more »
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Tuesday, 25 December 2012

2012 Year-End Post-a-Palooza

Posted on 21:00 by Unknown

It's always a good idea to look back before heading forward. So as is tradition, we end 2012 with a rundown of your favorites (and mine) from the past year.

As is not tradition, and because of a special circumstance, this likely will not the last post of the year. Pics, posts and an explanation, below. Read more »
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Thursday, 20 December 2012

Don't Miss: Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters

Posted on 06:00 by Unknown
©Gregory Crewdson

I posted about filmmaker Ben Shapiro's documentary, Brief Encounters, when it was first released. I have finally gotten a chance to see it and wanted to make sure as many of you as possible did, too.

For those of you not familiar with photographer Gregory Crewdson's work, he meticulously creates his photographs on an epic scale. For instance, that photo above is completely staged—and lit. As in, they lit the whole freakin' street scene.

Below, the film's trailer, an extended clip, and how to catch this worthwhile documentary in its cross-country, limited-release tour.
Read more »
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Monday, 17 December 2012

AurumLight: Mixing Flash and Modeling Lights

Posted on 05:04 by Unknown

One of my New Year's resolutions is to learn to be more creative and adventurous with mixing color and light. UK-based photographer Jarek Wieczorkiewicz's photograph of Jay Jessop does just that—using daylight flash, gelled flash and tungsten modeling lamps.

I love this kind of thing, and would like to evolve my lighting to the point to where I can have the confidence to almost never use just white light. Below, a full BTS video on how Jarek lit this image. Read more »
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Saturday, 15 December 2012

Jay P. Morgan on Feathering Grids

Posted on 10:28 by Unknown


Using a KESSLER slider and a TAMRON lens and a DYNALITE flash and some NIK software, human Nascar* Jay P. Morgan will now give you some pretty darn good advice on grid spots.

But the real gem here is the feathering, which will almost always make your light more interesting.
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* I kid, Jay. Props to you. And also to LENS PRO TO GO. And GLIDECAM. And PHOTOFLEX. And VANGUARD. And AAZDEN. And ROSCO. And TRIPLE SCOOP MUSIC. And PHOTOGRAPHY TALK.

(Seriously, someone make this guy a jacket. This needs to happen.)

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Thursday, 13 December 2012

On Assignment: Light That Isn't There

Posted on 10:59 by Unknown

I'm as guilty as the next guy when it comes to over-the-top lighting. And why not? It's fun, it's cool and it can amp up an otherwise boring scene.

But that kinda stuff is not always necessarily the best choice. Often the best light is light that doesn't call attention to itself, but rather allows your camera to see a scene the way your eye would normally see it.

Take this biz portrait for example, which looks pretty natural but in fact is lit by three different sources. Read more »
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Monday, 10 December 2012

New Book, Doc from Joey L are Both Pretty Awesome

Posted on 13:44 by Unknown

I was just planning to write about Joey's new book today, when he and Cale Glendening up and dropped a free, high-def 43-minute documentary onto Vimeo. Both are inside.

Long story short, cancel any remaining cubicle productivity for the afternoon. Your work can wait. Read more »
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Wednesday, 5 December 2012

Call Me Crazy: LS Lens Adapter Tube Concept

Posted on 21:00 by Unknown

See this? This is an 80mm lens from my old Hasselblad film camera. It was built 50 years ago. The leaf shutter is built into the lens. It syncs at 1/500th of a second.

My current 80/2.8LS is a PhaseOne leaf-shutter lens. It syncs at 1/1600th. And it would be very possible—perhaps even simple—to manufacture an inexpensive tube to marry a PhaseOne LS lens to a Nikon or Canon DSLR.

Why, and how, inside. Read more »
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Sunday, 2 December 2012

Rock 'n Roll: Jaleel King

Posted on 21:00 by Unknown

Anything worth accomplishing is going to include hurdles and barriers to overcome. You can treat them as the reasons you can't do something, or you can simply refuse to acknowledge that the barriers exist and plow through them.

This is Jaleel King, and this is how he rolls. Read more »
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Brilliant DIY Underwater Strobe Triggering Rig

Posted on 14:45 by Unknown


Oh, this is just genius.

JP Danko of blurMEDIA photography has created a captive, optical syncing system for his Pelican-encased SB-800s using cheap, off the shelf TOSLink fiber-optic cabling.

More vids, pics, etc at DIYPhotography.net.

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Thursday, 29 November 2012

Q&A: "Why Does This Look Bad?"

Posted on 05:00 by Unknown

That's what reader Arjen P van de Merwe asks, from Malawi in southeast Africa.

My first thought: Arjen, you are being too hard on yourself. A lot of people would have been quite happy with that photo. It's easy to forget how far you have come—and how fast—with respect to lighting, etc.

You definitely made some good calls, and there are some additional opportunities you could taken advantage of if you wanted to. Let's talk about both, as many of your fellow readers have something to learn from each. Read more »
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Monday, 26 November 2012

Why is This Pepper Smoking?

Posted on 06:01 by Unknown

Because it's about to blow up.

Today, a glance into the explosive still life photography of Adam Voorhes. Read more »
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Cyber Monday: Strobist DVD sets on Sale for $49.99 each

Posted on 06:00 by Unknown
UPDATE: The Cyber Monday special for Lighting in Layers and Lighting Seminar ended at midnight EST. The Flash Bus Video deal is still live until DVD stock is gone. Thank you!


You snooze, you lose: All Strobist DVDs are on sale today for $49.99. (Depending on the version you choose, that's from 50% to 68% off!)

Deets inside. Read more »
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Sunday, 25 November 2012

Ambush Street Studio

Posted on 15:53 by Unknown


Cool street shooting video from French photographer Philippe Echaroux of his pop-up location studio and an array of impromptu subjects.

You pretty much need an entourage to do this, but I love the idea of a background-on-a-stick. Totally gonna steal that one, Philippe...
(Via ISO 1200)
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Wednesday, 21 November 2012

Turkey Prep

Posted on 23:00 by Unknown

Today is Thanksgiving in the US, a day in which we pause to give thanks and then watch football. And turkey, we eat lots of turkey, too. (Except for the vegetarians, who have to eat "tofurkey," adding yet another thing for us omnivores to be thankful for.)

So on that note, thank you very much for being a reader of this site. Without you, this whole 2,300-post journey would be … awkward.

Today's Thanksgiving Day post is off-topic in that it has nothing to do with flash and everything to do turkeys. And with being a thinking photographer.

More specifically, being a photographer who thinks like a turkey. Read more »
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Monday, 19 November 2012

On Assignment: M4. Like the Carbine, But With More Power

Posted on 12:13 by Unknown

About this time last Friday I was in head-scratching mode, trying to figure out my light. Here was the challenge:

Teeny-tiny stage. Twenty three insane performers. No room to change shooting positions. Complex, low-level and fast-changing ambient.

I had been looking forward to it for weeks. Because I was getting to photograph MarchFourth, my absolute favorite band in the world. Lighting, pics and video, inside… Read more »
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Thursday, 15 November 2012

Winter Reads: Winters Reads

Posted on 06:00 by Unknown

What's better than a new book from Dan Winters? Try two new books from Dan Winters.

Both are gorgeous; both are limited press runs. So if you delayed getting your copy of his Periodicals book before it went out of print, don't miss out this time.

Short version: Last Launch is a love letter to the recently closed space shuttle program; Dan Winters's America is like having a one-man exhibition on your coffee table.

More, and pics, inside. Read more »
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Monday, 12 November 2012

Mike Kelley's Leap of Faith

Posted on 07:00 by Unknown

It's a truism that creative growth is nonlinear.

Which is to say that, while we (hopefully) do improve steadily over time, meaningful growth happens in fits and starts. You have an experience of some sort, and after you come out of it you realize you will never be the same photographer again.

Now, while you certainly can wait for someone to hand you that experience on a platter, doing so is putting the ball in someone else's hands. Which is fine if you are both patient and lucky.

Or, you can do what architectural photographer Mike Kelley did, and decide to make it happen on your own. Read more »
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Monday, 5 November 2012

Self-Taught via Self-Portrait: How to Turn the Lens on Yourself

Posted on 03:00 by Unknown

Editor's Note: Need a willing victim for photos? Today, Sara Lando wraps up her series on portraiture, with an idea-filled look at how to turn the lens on the most available subject there is: yourself.

Also, be sure to check out the link to Sara's latest project at the end of the post.
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Wednesday, 31 October 2012

Winter Reads: Painting with Light

Posted on 21:42 by Unknown
Batting second in our lineup of fireside books is Eric Curry's wonderfully comprehensive Painting with Light.

If you have ever wanted to get into light painting but did not know where to start, Curry will take you gently by the hand and lead you into the world of creating beautifully complex pictures like the ones below…
Read more »
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Halloween Today, Super-Cheap Fog Machines Tomorrow

Posted on 15:31 by Unknown

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow your local pop-up Halloween stores will be deep-discounting seasonal fog machines and bottles o' fog juice. Which are, of course, lots of fun for all kinds of photos...

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Monday, 29 October 2012

Friday Night Lights Follow-Up: Don't Try This at Home. Or Away.

Posted on 05:00 by Unknown

Remember last month's post on lens-axis fill flashing high school football? I promised to get back with you after experimenting with lighting a game with off-camera flash—way off-camera.

I spent a decent amount of time figuring out how to approach it: what flash, what beam throw, light position, dealing with the coaches, remotes, fill light, ambient balance, yada yada.
Here's what happened. Read more »
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Thursday, 25 October 2012

Q&A: Server Room—With Speedlights?

Posted on 05:00 by Unknown
In the comments of last week's server room portrait, reader MeruWarrior (along with several others) asks:

I love the blow-by-blow account. Could this be achieved with just hotshoe flashes?

Short answer: Yes, sort of. But you're gonna have to be willing to "go with the flow" a little with regard to the ambient room light...Read more »
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Monday, 22 October 2012

Annie-Tated Video: Leibovitz Shoots Rihanna for Vogue

Posted on 05:00 by Unknown

Oh hey, it's time for another fully annotated Annie Leibovitz BTS video—this time featuring the lovely and talented Rihanna, shot for Vogue.

Hit the jump and follow the bouncing ball to see what we can learn with a little close examination. Annotations follow, below… Read more »
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Wednesday, 17 October 2012

On Assignment: Gone in 86 Seconds

Posted on 06:00 by Unknown

Two of my favorite admonitions from The Princess Bride are: "Never enter into a land war in southeast Asia," and, "Never go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line."

To that I can now add, "Never try to schedule a bunch of CEOs for photo shoots in August."

Because that's exactly what I was doing this past August. Which, in turn, led to this portrait being done in a grand total of 86 seconds. Read more »
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Monday, 15 October 2012

Dave Honl's BTS is Just What Your Monday Morning Needs

Posted on 06:51 by Unknown


Why can't Nikon's BTS product videos be more like this? (Just sayin'.)

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Thursday, 11 October 2012

Winter Reads: Secrets of Great Portrait Photography

Posted on 05:00 by Unknown
UPDATE: Brian Smith gave a *90-minute* talk on the book at B&H Photo in NYC. It's excellent and I have embedded the video at the bottom of the post. -DH


Looking for a good book to curl up with this winter? You're in luck. There is a stream of great choices hitting Amazon this season. I'll be highlighting a few of them as we head into the holidays.

Because, you know, you gotta put something reasonable on your wish list, right? It can't all be $30,000 Hasselblad/Ferrari limited edition cameras.

This week: Secrets of Great Portrait Photography, by Brian Smith.

Short version: Don't let the generic-sounding title put you off. This book is dynamite—chock full of valuable info and experience. Read more »
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Monday, 8 October 2012

Freezing Water on the Cheap: Einstein Answers Broncolor

Posted on 07:34 by Unknown

Remember that Broncolor-sponsored "shootout" video a little ways back, in which the high-end pack-and-heads systems competed to freeze water droplets in a concept shot?

A few of you were like, "Yeah, cool, but couldn't you also do that with an Einstein?"

Yeah, turns out you could. And who better to prove that than Jarek Wieczorkiewicz, who specializes in conceptual sculpted-liquid portraiture. His results, along with a (slightly NSFW-ish) vid, inside. Read more »
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Friday, 5 October 2012

BTS: Jonathan Snyder's So-Cool-It-Must-Be-Fake Night Portrait

Posted on 05:00 by Unknown

When this photo popped up on Gizmodo last week, several of the site's readers could not quite process how the image could have been made. I tweeted at the time that I hoped the guy who shot it was one of our old DINFOS lighting students.

As it turns out, Strobist reader and USAF SSgt. Jonathan Snyder attended the "one extra" Flash Bus day McNally and I did for the Defense Information School in 2011 at Fort Meade in Maryland.

Milphogs are taught to improvise in the field as a matter of course. And turns out, this image was made with neither a tripod nor a speedlight… Read more »
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Tuesday, 2 October 2012

On Assignment: Shooting what You Can't See

Posted on 15:06 by Unknown

As photographers we are always looking for tangible, photographable things to include as visual cues. But often we are called upon to make a photo that revolves around something invisible, or even intangible.

I tend to view those assignments not as limiting, but rather as assignments in which the physical limits have been removed. That's the case with this shot of Paul Capriolo, CEO of Social Growth Technologies. Read more »
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Sunday, 30 September 2012

Watch This: Jay P. Morgan's Corporate Portrait Primer

Posted on 17:09 by Unknown


Commercial photographer Jay P. Morgan's The Slanted Lens videos (which you may remember from this insane portrait) are consistently good stuff.

Today, he dials it back a notch or three to give a great walk-thru on corporate portraiture. Solid basic info, plus some tips that you may well not have known. Trust me, the flag-for-light-shirts thing alone will save you much needless Photoshopping…

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Thursday, 27 September 2012

Should You Consider an IR Remote?

Posted on 12:00 by Unknown

Most people sync with a cord, radio or some version of a proprietary system—i.e., CLS or E-TTL. But infrared (IR) remotes are another, if much less used, option.

They are compact, cheap and wireless so there's a lot to like. But they also have some weaknesses. Today we'll be taking a look at whether an IR remote may be a good choice for you. Read more »
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Tuesday, 25 September 2012

R.J. Kern, With the Assist from Rembrandt

Posted on 05:00 by Unknown

If you're going to steal from someone, you should have the class to steal from the very best. Which is why photographers so often return to Rembrandt when it comes to nicking someone's light.

Such was the case with Denver wedding photographer R.J. Kern, who we join today for a quick BTS of the portrait above… Read more »
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Friday, 21 September 2012

Sync-hole Opens at Photokina

Posted on 08:23 by Unknown

See that little hole? That's a ⅛" (3.5mm) sync on the just-announced Mitros flash from Phottix. It's starting to happen, people… Read more »
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Monday, 17 September 2012

On Being Photographed

Posted on 21:00 by Unknown
Sara Lando is back with two follow-up posts from her earlier series on photographing people. Today: What it's like being on the other end of the lens.

Photo © Charlie Chipman

By Sara Lando -- When I was living in Los Angeles working on my graphic novel project, I received an e-mail from some guy wanting to take my picture.

On a daily basis, I’d rather be covered in spiders while raccoons gnaw at my feet (just like everybody else), but Los Angeles based photographer Charlie Chipman really seemed a nice person. And after googling his work and making sure he actually wasn’t some GWC with a portfolio full of naked girls biting a finger, I agreed to meet him over cake. I like cake. Read more »
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Wednesday, 12 September 2012

Nikon D600: Think Twice Before You Jump

Posted on 22:17 by Unknown
UPDATE 9/25/12: Upon testing, the D600 appears to have a pretty sweet sensor -- if the issues noted below are not a concern for you.
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Nikon has just officially announced their long-awaited entry-level full-frame body. Full spec reports are everywhere, as Nikon seeds lots of sites with advance info and embargoes them until the hour of release. So I won't duplicate that content here.

But for lighting photographers, the camera has two issues that are of concern. One is minor and (sadly at this point) expected.

But the other is major and quite unexpected. Read more »
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Monday, 10 September 2012

Friday Night Lights

Posted on 03:00 by Unknown

Happily, I am shooting high school football again this fall. Meaning I have come full circle from where I started nearly thirty years ago, except this time I am not shooting on deadline for a newspaper.

Which means I am free to shoot some of the facets I normally would have had to pass up, and to experiment with different ways of using flash. This past weekend, that meant a single speedlight, an OCF cord and a grid spot… Read more »
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Friday, 7 September 2012

Well That was Fast.

Posted on 11:17 by Unknown

Too cheap to consider the Bounce-Wall, even before they announced the price? (UPDATE: They have since announced the price.)

A mere four days later, there is already a page up on how to roll your own version… Read more »
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Monday, 3 September 2012

Bounce-Wall: The Genius/Insanity Line Goes Commercial

Posted on 21:00 by Unknown

There is a fine line between genius and insanity, and it's a line the DIY readership of this site has proudly straddled at times.

But this time, the genius/insanity line is being straddled by a commercial product. Lemme 'splain… Read more »
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Thursday, 30 August 2012

On Assignment: Man on a Mission

Posted on 03:00 by Unknown

Not all stoppers are over-the-top lighting tours de force. Some stop you with quiet, elegant confidence. Or great composition. Or a strong connection. Such is the case with photographer Bret Hartman's portrait of human rights activist Chad Griffin for The Washington Post.

Honestly, as an online reader I barely even notice The Post's print edition anymore. But sitting on the kitchen table, Hartman's section-front portrait stopped me in my tracks.

As an LA-based freelancer for The Washington Post, Hartman is always auditioning for the next assignment while he is shooting the current one. Which is very different than being a staffer. Here's what that's like. Read more »
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Monday, 27 August 2012

On Assignment: ATM Man

Posted on 00:00 by Unknown

I am working on a series of portraits of businesspeople for my county's Economic Development Authority, and it almost feels like I am back at The Sun shooting dailies for the biz section.

It's been awhile since we have done a full 360-degree OA, and this is actually a good example of working on top of a fluorescent environment.

So what the heck, let's go. Follow the bouncing ball… Read more »
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Thursday, 23 August 2012

SBPD Booking Mug Booth is a Pretty Good Little Headshot Studio, Actually

Posted on 05:00 by Unknown

Live in Southern California, and can't afford a decent headshot? Maybe you should get yourself booked by the Santa Barbara Police Dept. Because their mugshots are actually … pretty decent.

And better yet, it's something that any home studio DIY'er could duplicate. Read more »
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Tuesday, 21 August 2012

On Assignment: Toufic Araman's Sunset Resort [Stoppers]

Posted on 03:00 by Unknown

To photograph the resort area of Sharm El Sheikh, in Sinai, Dubai-based photographer Toufic Araman spared no effort.

He lit the hills. He lit—individually—the area under the area under each of the dozens of umbrellas on the normally dark beach. With an ingenious hack, I might add. He even lit the boat.

And he did it all without a single strobe, as he all but apologized to me later. That's right, this is all done with continuous lights. And it wasn't easy … Read more »
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Thursday, 16 August 2012

On Photographing People: Pt. 3

Posted on 05:00 by Unknown
Editor's Note: This is the third in a three-part series by Italian photographer Sara Lando on photographing people. The series begins here. I asked her to select some of her favorite images to illustrate this piece.


By Sara Lando -- The model is gone, your studio is a mess, you’re tired but still a bit excited about the shooting and can’t wait to see your pictures on your big monitor.

Some might call it a day and go grab a beer. But there’s still a couple of things you might want to do before wrapping it up. Read more »
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Monday, 13 August 2012

On Photographing People: Pt. 2

Posted on 07:00 by Unknown
Editor's note: This is part two of Italian photographer Sara Lando's three-part series on photographing people. Part one is here.
__________



By Sara Lando -- So you got yourself a willing subject, everything is ready, you’re pumped up and ready to shoot. Your doorbell rings. Woo hoo!

Slowly put down that camera and breath: we don’t fire yet. Now we welcome. Read more »
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Thursday, 9 August 2012

On Photographing People: Pt. 1

Posted on 05:00 by Unknown
Sara Lando is an occasional contributor to Strobist, but is also a commercial photographer based in Milan, Italy. Today, I am very pleased to present the first in her three-part series on photographing people.

Let me back up. A few months ago, I met with all of the Strobist's correspondents in Los Angeles. We were brainstorming to fill the knowledge gaps in the site's content. Suddenly Sara started off on this tangent on all of the things that get lost in the shuffle when thinking about lighting and lenses and cameras, etc. Picture a tiny Italian woman gesturing continuously as she uncorks a full brain dump (from a very, very creative mind) on all of the little things that many people never think of when photographing others.

As I was listening I kept thinking, "Someone should be writing this stuff down RIGHT NOW."

English is Sara's second language, and I normally smooth it out a little when editing her pieces. Not today. I am sending this through largely untouched. Should you come across an unusual way to express something, just imagine the Italian accent behind it. Read more »
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Tuesday, 7 August 2012

This Remote Flash Power Control Hack is Genius

Posted on 20:00 by Unknown


Some ideas are as brilliant as they are obvious—in retrospect.

With some minimal soldering skills, Strobist reader Ilya Terentyev (originally from Moscow but currently in Beijing) is using a cheap, auxiliary remote to control the power levels of a manual flash remotely.

It should be noted that the hack is only possible on flashes with a simple, mechanical switch for increasing and/or decreasing the power level. The discussion thread is here.
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(Thanks to BudroWilson for the tip.)

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Art Streiber Lights Bear Grylls for Outside

Posted on 19:33 by Unknown

Literally.

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Monday, 6 August 2012

On Assignment: Smokin' Joe

Posted on 05:00 by Unknown

I am spending lots more time lately trying to recognize and understand color as a component of lighting. It's not easy for me, as I have never had a strong sense of color in design.

So my approach has been a mix of working harder at seeing light in the real world and occasionally just flailing around, throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks.

The photo above, of Irish dancer Joe Duffey, is a good example of both. Read more »
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Wednesday, 1 August 2012

Want. This. Light.

Posted on 21:10 by Unknown


So, here's a light source you don't see every day. Dunno know who makes it, or even if it is store-bought or DIY. But it's pretty freakin' cool.

The navel gazing in the Flickr group over what these giant light sticks might be has devolved into a discussion of blow-up lawn ornaments, natch. But Strobist reader Jonathan Camere of Miami, FL (and a bit of a car photographer himself) chimed in with a link to the video.

Lotsa cool stuff in here. The camera (PhaseOne back on a Contax body) is physically joined, offset, to the car to get perfect pans over time exposures. Thus the need for continuous lighting.

Anyone knows anything about those mods, hit us in the comments.

Oh, and let them be cheap please. Nope. Here they are.

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Monday, 30 July 2012

Build a DIY Portable North Light Photo Studio

Posted on 06:00 by Unknown

Six years ago, I wrote on Strobist about how to build a $10 macro studio. Since then over a million photographers have seen how they could easily take control of light—any light—to easily produce professional quality product photos.

Four years later while brainstorming with my friend Mohamed Somji about how to light an upcoming photo project, I started thinking about how to reproduce this type of studio on a human-sized scale.

Turns out, it's not so hard. Read more »
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Wednesday, 25 July 2012

Nadav Kander on Portraiture

Posted on 09:23 by Unknown


Settle in for an outstanding 13 mins on the philosophy of portraiture from one of the most interesting portraitists working today. (If you are not familiar with the work of Nadav Kander, you may want to take a look at his website [some NSFW] first.)

Produced by the National Portrait Gallery as a tie-in to the 2012 Olympics, this is by far the most detailed look I have yet seen into how Kander works. As a bonus, there are several still BTS shots showing his portrait sets.

(Via APE)

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Sunday, 22 July 2012

On Assignment: Mathieu Young - Harvest

Posted on 22:56 by Unknown

Often, photographers will learn a new lighting technique or other photographic trick and look for a subject on which to try it out. Generally, this is a misguided approach.

Lighting (or any photographic technique, really) is a specific form of expression. And in an ideal world, form follows function.

In the example above, photojournalist Mathieu Young's lighting is dictated by a need to both add texture to the scene and to protect the anonimity of the worker. Rather than a pre-conception, the lighting style is the last in a conscious series of steps and decisions.

Step one: Gain full access—with your cameras and lighting gear—to an illegal cannabis farm… Read more »
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Saturday, 21 July 2012

Two Worlds Collide: Zack Arias on Digital Rev

Posted on 10:45 by Unknown


Wasn't planning on doing a post today, but this "cheap camera challenge" from DigitalRev combines two things of which I am a very big fan:

1. DigitalRev's Kai Wong, and
2. Watching Zack Arias sweat.

Normally we have to wait until Gulf Photo Plus to watch Zack sweat out an improv shoot like this. And we still wouldn't get Kai and DigitalRev in the bargain.

The main problem (other than the POS P&S) is that Zack's Cantonese is about as good as his subjects' English. Which is to say, not very. (Dude, at least learn how to say please and thank you in the local language.) Fortunately, Alamby was there to pick up the linguistic pieces.

Fun to watch, but I am noticing a disturbing trend with DigitalRev and visiting photographers. Getting a little worried about my trip to Hong Kong next winter…

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Thursday, 19 July 2012

BTS: Martin Schoeller Photographs Ryan Lochte

Posted on 10:45 by Unknown
Photo ©Martin Schoeller

Martin Schoeller is one of my favorite photographers, and it so cool to see a BTS video of the Time cover above with a few nice layers of technical info included.

Video and links after the jump. Read more »
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Blogger Hangout: Building a Successful Photo Blog

Posted on 05:00 by Unknown

On Tuesday I did a G+ hangout on air with the community manager from Blogger at Google in Mountain View. At the last minute we were joined by photographer Patrick Smith, who brought the perspective of a more traditional photo blogger.

It's a wide-ranging discussion (video after the jump) and we answered a variety of viewer questions. If you have any related Q's of your own, feel free to drop them in the comments afterwards. Read more »
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Monday, 16 July 2012

On Assignment: Greg Funnell Photographs Joe Wright

Posted on 05:00 by Unknown

You have a typical hotel room, which you will gain access to an hour before the shoot. You will have a total of 20 minutes with your celebrity subject, who will arrive in God only knows what mood and/or disposition. Go.

That's pretty much the setup for London photographer Greg Funnell's shoot of movie director Joe Wright. Think about what you would do for a moment, and then continue reading to see how Greg handled this exact assignment for Time Out London. Read more »
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Friday, 13 July 2012

John Jackson Photographs his Love of Cars

Posted on 19:12 by Unknown


"Just when you think, you know, you should be jaded and everything, somebody builds something new and really cool."

Indeed.

You want a textbook case of how to use a camera and a few lights to channel your passion? Just watch this video.

Oh, and to John Jackson, if you are reading this, the beers are on me next time you swing down through the Baltimore/DC area.
__________

Check out John's portfolio, here.

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Begun, the Expensive Light Mod War has…

Posted on 09:21 by Unknown
BronImaging has introduced a $489.00 bracket that will allow you to mount your Profoto head on a $2,317.00 Para 88 reflector.

Meanwhile, on a remote planet all the way back into your price range, a $10 Home Depot lamp globe will mount directly onto your Einstein and/or AlienBees flash, right out of the box…

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Thursday, 12 July 2012

Deciding What to Photograph: Keeping an Idea List

Posted on 06:00 by Unknown
Pretty essential question, right? Nothing you do with lighting, shutter speed, lens choice, etc., will nave nearly so much impact on your photos as deciding what to shoot.

Right out of college I landed in the excellent Patuxent Publishing Co. photo department, which was run by a guy named Tenney Mason. One of his many mandates was to ensure each of us maintained an idea list, which was a 50,000-foot view of what we wanted to explore with our camera.

Nearly 25 years later, I am still doing it. Here is my current list as a window into how I develop subjects. I hope it encourages you to start and develop your own. Read more »
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Q&A Antonio Beverly: Light Direction, Freezing Motion and Duotones

Posted on 04:55 by Unknown
Lots of good discussion in the comments and on Twitter about the Antonio Beverly shoot from earlier this week.

In particular, three questions involving light, motion blur and post processing: Read more »
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Monday, 9 July 2012

On Assignment: Antonio Beverly

Posted on 05:00 by Unknown

I have posted a couple of the headshots from this job, but the main purpose of the shoot was to photograph Antonio in action as a dancer for the HCAC.

The combination shoot is appropriate, IMO, as what I have learned over the past few years shooting static portraits has really started to inform my more kinetic photos, too. Read more »
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