In the beginning there was light, and the light was good....so we used it for photography...A lot of beginners in the photography world don't know how to discern the "must haves" from the "really should haves", but if you don't, try this. Alien Bees lights come in several ranges: 400, 800, and 1600. They are very affordable with an excellent customer service record, and are inexpensive strobes, which differ from constant lighting in that they are usually brighter, but because they're not on all of the time, produce less heat. The other dilemma of the Alien Bees are that the light isn't as consistent as some discerning photographers would like, but many (such as myself) use them and are happy with the results! They range in the $200-$400 RANGE, WHICH IS ACTUALLY INEXPENSIVE IN THE WORLD OF PHOTOGRAPHY. I own the 400 and a reflector, and so far they've done all that I've needed. I also own 3 light stands with 3 shoot through umbrellas and brackets that connect them all together, and 3 flashes. I can put a flash on a light stand with a shoot through umbrella and make an outside lighting set up that will accomplish a lot. I buy most of my equipment at B&H, and Alien Bees....including my remote flash triggers. It's not very interesting usuually to light everything evenly, as it tend to be less drama in the scene...shadows can be good...as long as they're controlled.

It's all in the details...

I have had the pleasure recently to work with several models of different skill levels, and thought I'd share some things I've learned the hard way.

- Take a moment before taking the first shot to scrutinize the model closely.

- Take a moment before taking the first shot to scrutinize the model closely.

It was so important I put it twice, that's NOT a typo or a mistake. Check the eye liner and mascara, does it need to be touched up? Is it smeared? Are there chips in the nail polish? Does he/ she look as though they've been awake for a week straight? Is his/her hair EXACTLY right? Does he/she need to brush it or comb it? Is it dirty?Are they wearing jewelry that doesn't appear to belong in the images you want to take? Are their clothes wrinkled or dirty?

All of these things are going to cost you hours of retouching in Photoshop and it only takes a minute or two to go over the model's appearance. Also, take a moment before you actually take the first shot to look around the edges of the frame to make sure there's nothing there that doesn't belong, as well as behind the subject for distractions.

Then you ready the first shot. Do they appear afraid or nervous? This will transpose to the images you take as well. Take some time to help them relax and put them at ease, after all, this is a joint effort, affecting both of your careers (possibly). Once they're relaxed and posed, take another minute to look closely. Is there lint on their clothes? Are there unnatural folds in their skin? Even thin people can have skin folds, after all. Once it's as close to perfect as you can get, THEN actuate the shutter. Trust me, you'll still find things to edit in the post processing, but this will save you valuable time (after all, time is money!) later, when you have the time to REALLY scrutinize the images, and you'll have a lot more "keepers".

Point of View and my site

First of all, let me say that after ordering Adobe Dreamweaver for Dummies, and registering a domain name as well as having someone host my site that I'm finally getting a web site going! It's not easy (at least for me), but if you'd like to check it out, click here.

Ok, on to the good stuff....point of view (hereafter I'll shorten this term to "POV") is literally what you're seeing, and from what angle. You may not realize it, but all of your life, you've seen things from a certain POV, whether you're sitting or standing or laying down. Why is this important, you may ask? As a photographer, images of animals or children especially look unflattering or boring if taken from a standing position. Get on your knees, or better yet, lay down! You'll find that this POV creates a much more dynamic (say interesting) image. It can also help the subject to interact in a way that wouldn't have been possible if you were standing.

Even if you're trying to capture a landscape, often a different POV can make all the difference!

Preparing for the eventuality that "STUFF" happens

As a photographer, you have to have redundant equipment so that when (notice I didn't say "if"?) something goes wrong, equipment fails, or you simply forgot to pack everything into your equipment bag, you won't have to run home and make the client/ subject wait. As well as seeming unprofessional, it wastes everyones time (and perhaps good light). The items that seem to have the most problems are flashes, and the accompanying cables, hot shoe adapters, etc...that go along with lighting the scene. I have known photographers who have forgotten to bring memory cards (me!) as well as the camera to a shoot. We're still human, after all...
So, having frightened you with the "what ifs", now to move on the what do I do to make sure this doesn't happen to ME! First of all, don't ever assume the batteries are charged, charge them every time. Have an extra set of batteries, in case the shoot is so magically delicious, you enter into a shooting frenzy, and use up a set. Have an extra COMPLETE set of cables, hotshoes, and recievers for wireless triggers, along with a 15 foot cable in case your wireless system goes on the fritz during a shoot. One light is still better off camera than having to use on camera flash.
Remember, it's not a question of "if", it's a question of "when".

Michelle

Michelle, originally uploaded by Artistic Endeavors.

Taken using an AlienBee800 and a small shoot through umbrella. Straining the battery at full power because I'm in a battle to achieve a balanced exposure over powering the sun. It was getting fairly bright in the sky, so this was closer to the end of the sunrise shoot that morning. The interesting thing about this was....I moved the light very little...as long as I always placed the model in the same spot (they can wander if you're not watching them closely). Put the light so I'm not shooting dead on, and made sure I got the proper exposure on her face, not allowing her to become a sillouhuette. I was fairly golden. The sunlight causing the highlight in her hair was just icing on the cake.

Sherita and the beach (or a tale of a light and a battery)

The idea for this pose was found in a magazine. The models name is Sherita and it was taken 9/05/2009 at the ocean.

To say she was a pleasure to work with would be an understatement.


I used a battery source similar to this



and a small shoot through umbrella with an Alien Bee 800, set at 1/2 power if I remember correctly. A small umbrella was used to modify the light, and she's backlit by good old Mr. Sun. I handheld the camera, as I'm prone to do on beach shoots, usually because I've almost always got enough light to be able to so. I've learned (Thank you Will King!) that before the sun is too far past the horizon, it takes less FLASH to overcome it. As the sun draws past the level of the horizon, it takes more and more FLASH to overcome it, until you lose the balance of light ratios and the Sun becomes brighter than your flash can compensate. Believe me, you don't want to be shooting at noon in the sun! That's unless you have a scrim, which if I needed more modifying I would have someone hold to softewn the suns rays shining on her. In hindsight, a scrim may have prevented the hot spot on her cheek. I do the do-it-yourself way with a frame made of PVC and elbows from the local hardware store, and a Wally World white cotton single flat sheet and some velcro tape. That scrim would also be a way to bounce light as a reflector, but since it's unyielding, you can't shape it, as you can do with a real reflector. In the modern day of Digital Photography, I have to agree with other photographers, that you can look at the LCD screen and tell if you "got it". Just make sure to zoom in to verify focal sharpness.

Sara

In photography, there is such a thing as Depth of Field, or DOF for short. It is controlled by your aperture or f/stop. If you have a large opening or low numbered f/stop (kind of confusing, I know), you'll have a more narrow DOF. A smaller opening in the iris of the lens (aperture) will yield a larger DOF. So, after having explained that, what does this mean to me?
It means that if you're not careful, to enable the amount of light to reach the sensor in your camera, you may open your iris (aperture) so much that your DOF is too small, making your subject "soft" or not sharp in focus, as I've done in the image above. In portraits, you want the eyes, as well as all of the face to be in focus. The aperture I've used made the DOF so small not all of the subject's face is in focus, but the image is properly exposed. What I should have done was to use either a slower shutter speed, or a higher ISO so that I could have used a smaller iris opening on my lens, creating a larger DOF, while maintaining a proper exposure.

Starting with Light

A lot of people are not sure what they should start with as far as flashes and studio lighting goes....so I thought I'd write this to help some of you get started. Buying lighting for photography is similar to buying a computer in that you need to ask yourself , "What do I want it to do"?
If you only plan to take indoor family portraits (of your own family, not professionally) then you could likely get along with a single light, whether you decide to go with an "on camera" type of flash, which can be used off camera, or a studio strobe, which is less portable, but recycles faster typically, and is usually more powerful. The studio strobe is also tied down to a power supply, but the cost can be about the same, depending on what tier of quality you buy.



So, having said that, if you'd like to get away with the least expensive set up that can still give great results, I recommend an "on camera" type of flash, and I'd really recommend springing for the one that goes along with your camera system. They cost a bit more than the off brand flashes, but as you grow with your camera, they'll grow with you. You don't want to buy two flashes, because the one you already own won't perform with your camera the way you'd like it to. Right now these flashes are in the $300-$500 range ( Canon and Nikon). If you decide you'd like to get a studio strobe, I recommend Alien Bees or White Lightning . You may notice these web sites look similar, and that's because they're both the same company, Alien Bees are the lower tier of White Lightning.





Next you need to decide if you're going to use cables or wireless. Cables come in varying lengths, and the ones I started with were 15 foot long...but they can be tripped over and then your expensive lighting setup crashes to the floor, which is not good. On the Alien Bees site they also offer remote setups, and these are fairly inexpensive, at the time of this post, $60 for the trigger, and $70 for the receiver. The better (more $$) would be to buy Pocket Wizards which run about $200 each, but each unit can be a trigger or a receiver.

Now straight flash or studio strobe on a person is not very nice looking, so you'll want a light modifier. I recommend for starters to get a shoot through umbrella, which can be purchased online for around $20. You may want to work your way up to softboxes, but chances are you'll still utilize an umbrella from time to time, so it won't go to waste.
Another small investment that you'll always use is a reflector, which can become a second light source in a pinch.
Along with all of this, I'd recommend a light stand, and they come in different qualities and heights...but I'd start with at least an 8 foot (most houses have 8 foot ceilings), and an adapter to hold the flash and umbrella.
There are a lot more that can be purchased or made (DIY), but this should get you started. I'd recommend playing around and seeing what you like, or consulting some textbooks as far as technique (also see my friend Will King's BLOG). He's very advanced, and as well as being talented he's quite knowledgeable about lighting techniques.

Portrait work

Today I'd like to discuss portrait work. There are many types, including but not limited to: individual, groups, indoor, natural lighting, flash or strobe, mixed lighting, as well as various poses. Posing is an art, it can be learned, but some come by it naturally. There are numerous books on the topic, so rather than try to list various posing techniques here, I'll simply encourage you to do a little research and a lot of experimentaion to see what works or doesn't work for you. One of the things I learned at the Joe McNally workshop I attended recently, is that catch lights in the eyes of your subject are paramount. His assistant checks every shot to see if there's a catch light in the eyes. You can enhance the catch light in post, but without them, your subject(s) simply look like Zombies, or lifeless.


This does not necessarily need to be done with a flash, as some of the best portraits I've seen were done with ambient light. As a beginning photographer, until you purchase a flash, try having your subject stand next to a window, and allow some soft light to illuminate them. Above is an example of this type of lighting scenario. I'm not saying ambient light will solve every lighting situation, but you have to work with what you've got. If I teach you to use 5 flashes, and you don't have 5 flashes, what good does that do you, really? The second point I'd like to make is that as photographers, our job is to flatter the subject(s). There is such a thing as unflattering light, and you should avoid it like the plaque! Noon outdoor lighting (without a scrim) is a perfect eample of this. If you don't have a choice (and why don't you?) and you find yourself trying to photograph someone outside on a sunny day (no clouds), try to get them in some shade, as that will be much softer light. Otherwise, tell them you'd be doing them a great disservice, and perhaps you should photograph them another time. An alternative is to use a scrim, which is a fairly large and light (in weight) diffusion device that will soften the light as it passes through it. For this I recommend an assistant. They hold the scrim, you shoot.


Last, but certainly not least, is that whether you're working with people or animals, they have feelings, and some people find being photographed a tense situation. Try to take 10-15 minutes (or longer) to break the ice and put them at ease. If you make it seem like it's difficult, they'll sense it (even animals) and be nervous. Make it fun, and that will transfer to the image. You'd be surprised at how many times I've thought I had gotten a set of great images, only to review them after the shoot and discover that the subject has an apprehensive look upon their face. A fake smile looks like a fake smile. The only other advice I'm going to give you at this time is, buy a reflector. It's a great way to help wrap light, and it's a lot cheaper than a flash. Once you do buy a flash, it becomes another light source, making one light into 2.

Landscape Photography

Had a class tonight, led by Will in our club...and I'd like to share this with an anyone who is interested in Landscape photography.
A tripod is a must for and decent landscapes, as it allows you to slow your shutter speed down, which you may not be able to do hand held. I usually use a wide lens, as it will enable me to capture a wider area of the scene. I can always crop later, in post processing (hereafter referred to as simply "post"). I use the Manual setting on my camera, but many use Aperture Priority, so adapt this to whatever you use (if you're using "Auto", that's a whole different ball of wax also.
So now you've got your camera on a tripod, with your widest lens on it, and you may ask, "what's next"?
Set your aperture to somewhere between f/8-f/16 (higher f-stops may result in fringing, even though you'll achieve a longer Depth of Field (hereafter referred to as "DOF"). I recommend setting your ISO as low as it will go, UNLESS for some reason you really like that noisy effect in your images...which many do not. These things will help you to determine the other third of the exposure triangle, which will be shutter speed. I recommend Evaluative metering, UNLESS you have a dark portion of the scene you'd like to expose for and perhaps lose the detail in your highlights, then you may want to use center weighted or spot exposure metering. Remember, I'm talking about exposure here...that's how bright or dark your image is. Now about what to focus on. A well composed landscape image will have a foreground as well as a background. I recommend focusing on the foreground, and although you could focus with your center focusing dot and recompose, I change the focusing point to be typically in the lower third of the image, which is typically also the foreground. Keep those horizons level, and don't center the horizon or the sun (also don't look through the lens directly at the sun), as this will create a "Bullseye" in your image, and typically remove some of the interest from it. There are lots of useful tools to use, such as Circular Polarizing filters, and Neutral Density Filters, which come at different prices and strengths. I suggest you research them, as they can do some great things!
Once you've composed your shot, got the exposure correct, you may want to utilize "mirror lock-up" on your camera. As you capture an image, the mirror flips up and out of the way to reveal your sensor to the light coming through the lens. This is to enable you to look through the viewfinder and see what your lens is actually seeing, as opposed to NON SLR cameras, which have a viewfinder that is seperate from what the lens is seeing. Single Lens Reflex (herafter referred to as "SLR") have an advantage in that the photographer can tell what the lens is actually seeing, but they are more costly. The other cameras we usually refer to as "Point and Shoots". Anyway, the mirror moving can introduce a tiny amount of vibration inside the camera, which believe it or not, may actually cause some "softness" in your images. That is to say, the focus isn't tack sharp, or slightly blurred. Another useful tool in this endeavor is a remote trigger. I recommend a corded type at first, as it's job is to actuate the shutter, and for a long exposure, you don't want to have to worry about the battery giving out! This also will reduce vibration in your camera, and prevent that "softness' we were talking about earlier. Starting to get the picture? If it's windy, hang something from the center pole of your tripod, that 10 pound equipment bag will finally have a use! Try different things and experiment. Remember the rule of thirds, then break the rules! Try to bracket your exposures, I usually try 1 stop increments, and either use HDR, or exposure blending to help acheive better results. Remember, the camera can't capture the dynamic range your eyes can! Happy Shooting!

Joe's Blog

If you go to Joe McNally's blog http://www.joemcnally.com/blog/ you'll see an image of a Nubian Princess looking model wrapped in some heavy rope. I and Will were privileged to witness both the creation as well as the process through execution of this image. To see the process was somewhat awe inspiring, but the finished image is wonderful! Also, the group shot of his assistants must have been taken on the date we attended, or they wore the same attire daily...If you have a chance to attend one of his lighting workshops, as we did...I highly recommend it!

Joe McNally's New York Workshop

My good friend Will and I went to the last day of the Joe McNally indoor lighting workshop he held in New York on the 1st of July, 2009. It was $350 for the workshop (they provided a sumptuous breakfast and lunch), and we paid hotel, gas and dinner. It stormed horribly on the way up, and pretty badly on the way back...but the knowledge I gained was so worth it! He said something I wish someone had told me much earlier in my photography " start with no lights (ambient light only), and then solve your lighting issues one light at a time. Starting with 6 lights/ flashes just means you start with 12 problems to solve". Sometimes the things that sound simple are the most inspiring! He showed us different lighting scenarios, solving issues as he went. I expected someone as famous and knowledgeable as Joe McNally to get it right the fist time, and his showing us that sometimes he has to try, try again and overcome obstacles the same as us really gave me hope and inspiration! I suspect I shot some of the best images in my life while there, and that's a good thing...