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".