Blog

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