Hell Freezes Over, Gary Fong on Strobist

$65 cheeseburgers all around! Step up to the bar. I'm buyin'.

Normally I am not a huge fan of $65 cheeseburgers. Don't get me wrong, I luuurve cheeseburgers. Just not $65 cheeseburgers.

Similarly, I love plastic diffusers. Just not $65 plastic diffusers. So normally, I am not a huge fan of, say, Gary Fong products.

But today, for the first time in the 2,000+ post history of this blog, we are running a video from the Fongster himself. And we are not even doing it ironically.

Because today, Gary has a great tip for you … Read more »

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Project: Taryn Simon's Secret Sites

As much time as we spend on lighting around here, it is easy to forget that flash and other technical aspects comprise only a small part of what photography is really about. To grow as a photographer it helps to be mindful of the whole process.

Photographer Taryn Simon sums the balance up pretty well in the first line of her TED Talk, on photographing secret sites in the US:

"Ninety percent of my photographic process is, in fact, not photographic. It involves a campaign of letter writing, research and phone calls to access my subjects which can range from Hamas leaders in Gaza to a hibernating black bear in its cave in West Virginia."

Sounds boring, right? Until you see where the phone calls and letters lead her... Read more »

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On Assignment: Tenor Luke Grooms

We talked a few weeks ago about maintaining a file of good public shooting locations. But the longer you have been shooting/living in an area, the more likely you are to have built up a stash of good private locations, too.

One of my local favorites is this courtyard, which can pretty easily pass for Europe. Not surprising, as it was modeled after a courtyard in Assisi, Italy.

That's the benefit of having a collection of good private shooting spaces, which is usually a combination of active searching, luck and serendipity. Read more »

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Ebay Beauty Dish: More Mods

Just a quick update on my ongoing efforts to mod a cheap 16" eBay beauty dish into an ideal close-range key light.

Today, softening the beam with a little spray paint. Read more »

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On Assignment: Samantha McEwen

Spring for me usually means two things: allergies and photographing HCAC Rising Stars. The allergies suck, but the HCAC shoots pretty much equalize things.

I sneeze and sniffle (actually not so much this year since I ditched antihistamines for lots of antioxidant-ladened fruit.) But I also get to work with a bunch of creative people. As with the allergies, I experiment and try new things.

This shot of Samantha is done with just one, huge on-axis light. That giant specular is playing all over her skin and the background wall.

Which, believe it or not, is actually flat black. Read more »

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On Assignment: Hiding Your Flash in Windows

When shooting interiors, we often use flash to bring the inside light level up to that of the outside scene. But that solution can also cause a bright reflection of your strobes (or mods) in the windows, a nonstarter for an interior shot.

Today, three quick tips for solving that problem. Read more »

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Annotated BTS: Dan Winters Shoots Jack Nicklaus

I remember seeing this Golf Digest cover in the grocery store two years ago. It jumped out at me from across the aisle as having Dan Winters' name written all over it.

The lighting, the moment, the quietness—the unmistakeable look of his Winters' 4x5, shot on film—a portrait of a master, by a master.

Now, two years later, the Golf Digest BTS pops up on Vimeo. And as it is our policy to pre-empt regular programming whenever an good Annie/Greg/Dan BTS surfaces, the fully annotated video follows below. Read more »

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Let's Talk About Knockoffs in the Photo Industry.

The "borrowing of designs" has always been a part of the photo gear industry. But lately, it has spread to the point where it is much more ubiquitous—including by companies who previously would not have been caught dead knocking off another company's gear.

The imitations are usually cheaper. (Otherwise why bother, right?) But for for photographers who are presumably sensitive to intellectual property rights, this gets a little more complex.

And ethics notwithstanding, there is another long-term downside to the copycats… Read more »

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With Apologies to Zack Arias…

So, you remember when we talked last week about making the small, black portrait flat? This was the real reason I wanted to experiment with it.

The goal was to see if I could accomplish a particular look with just one light. And note I didn't say OneLight®, 'cause I'm assuming that is patented or something. Zack's black choppers would find me, rendition me to the ATL and throw me in a cell long enough to grow a ZZ Top beard.

But not having a 60" umbrella on me, I could hardly do the Zack thing anyway. Besides, I wanted to approach this headshot of Antonio Beverly as if he were a chunk of glassware… Read more »

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How and Why to Keep a Location Catalog

I have never been much of a studio shooter. It'll do in a pinch (my garage, usually) but I much prefer the variety of shooting on location.

If you don't have a location scout on the payroll, good spaces and backdrops don't magically appear by themselves. You need to always be on the lookout, filing your ideas away for future use.

Fortunately, that's fun, free and easy. Here's how I approach it. Read more »

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