Archive for Controlling Ambient Light
Mapping The Cartographer – Part Two
Tweet There are a lot of photographers who say sincerely, “I don’t need to use flash, I just turn the ISO up.” To these legions, I say “crappy light at ISO one million is still crappy light.” My second location shoot with cartographer David Yun is a good example of where I’m coming from.
Read moreMapping The Cartographer – Part One
Tweet My assignment yesterday, for the soon-to-be-launched San Louie Magazine, was to do an full-page portrait of David Yun, the head of Geographic Information Services for the city of San Luis Obispo. David supervises a team of mapmakers who plot everything from bicycle traffic and storm runoff to creating three-dimensional maps of all the buildings [...]
Read moreMoving The Light
Tweet In my view, a good portrait should express persona. I’ve come to accept that light and, as importantly, shadow are the keys to expressing persona. (OK…light, shadow, and the subtleties of expression and gesture. OK, well…light, shadow, subtleties of expression and gesture, and environment.) I did four shoots yesterday for the Speedliter’s Handbook. The shot above [...]
Read moreIt’s Where You Put The ONE Speedlite You Have That Matters
TweetIt’s not how many Speedlites you have, it’s where you put the one you have that matters. One Speedlite in the right place is far better than several in poor locations. The Dutch painter Rembrandt (1606-1669) was celebrated for the dramatic merger of beautiful skin tones into deep shadow. His influence continues today as many [...]
Read moreCamera Dojo Interview – LIDLIPS, Off-Camera Flash, High-Speed Sync
Tweet I recently spent an hour with Kerry Garrison, host of the Camera Dojo podcast, talking about my collection of micro-essays ‘Lessons I Didn’t Learn In Photo School‘ and about my thoughts on Speedliting. After comparing our favorite LIDLIPS, Kerry and I then moved on to discuss a variety of my thoughts on: • learning [...]
Read moreCardellini – The Grab-Anything-Clamp
TweetOriginally published as ‘Cardellini To The Rescue‘ on our sister site, PixSylated. I carry a bunch of seldom-used gadgets that rumble around the bottom of my gear bags. Some have been around for years. I can’t find the courage to remove them because they might come in handy one day. Last week, it was the [...]
Read moreTurning Noon To Night
TweetOriginally published as ‘I Shot Ben Willmore‘ on our sister site, PixSylated. GANG LIGHT – Part 1: Shooter with crazy red hair, plays with 12 Canon 580 EX II Speedlites and 8-feet of red oak to build a high-powered “ring” light, then fires it with a dozen RadioPoppers in high-speed sync mode at a best-selling [...]
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