Category: Uncategorized

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 »

Strobist

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 »

Strobist

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' 4×5, 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 »

Strobist

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 »

Strobist

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 »

Strobist

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 »

Strobist

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 »

Strobist

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 »

Strobist

Ever notice that the on-camera flash shots from your point-and-shoot camera can actually look … kinda good?

That's because those cameras are so small that an onboard flash acts more like a ring light than a DSLR-style on-camera flash. Here is how to get that look with your DSLR, some gaff and an OCF cord. Read more »

Strobist

This summer I am trying to get a better grip on just who visits this site, and how you use it.

So I will drop in the occasional two-click, one-question poll. I am using Google “Plus 1’s” because you can’t game The Google.

This week, an update of an earlier survey which revealed us to be, depressingly, 94% male. Please, let it be more balanced this time. (UPDATE: It’s not looking good.)

Click here to stand up and be counted for your gender.

Many thanks,
DH

Strobist