Here they are… a day late, but here nonetheless… Lighting Essentials Free Desktops. This time I will explain a little about the lighting so you can get some brain exercise as well as some fun desktops for your monitor.

NOTE:
Our schedule for the first half of next year is up. Some are carved in stone and others are tentative. We need hosts for some of these cities and if you would like us to bring a Lighting Essentials workshop to your town, let me know as soon as possible. Some changes can still be made.

First… this is the last month of the year 2008. It has been a good year and a challenging year. Limits have been pushed and defined, time has been both an asset and a liability and the world seems to be a little goofy on a lot of fronts.

But we keep on. This Friday’s Tech Sheet is quite extensive and you will get a real kick out of it. Nothing like what you expect.. and that is also changing here at LE. We are going to diversify a bit with our subjects and styles.

Take a look at all the recent posts below and it will become pretty clear that we here at LE want this site to be the best of its kind. We feel that way about the workshops as well… the best. Period.

Three lighting setups with Video. In the studio with big strobes and speedlights.
Here is a two light beach shot where we treat the lights a little differently than the expected front/rim light.
Cleveland was our last workshop, and you can find our tentative schedule for first half of next year here.
How about this quick little tech sheet on using two lights or this post on clamshell light for dramatic headshots? If you missed any of them, here’s a chance to catch up.

Well… off to the free desktops for December 2008.

Our first is a still life.

Shooting notes: A large soft box is over the top of the three pears. It is slightly angled forward and there are flags to keep the background dark behind it. I added a small fill card to give the fruit some edge and no fill from below so the contrast would be deep. There is significant post production to provide a more illustrative look.

Make sure you use “Save Link As” – If you click on it, it will open in Lightbox.
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This shot, our next desktop, is of Briana in the sand in Florida. We wanted a sunny morning for the shot but got some overcast instead. So, no problem, just use the wonderful diffuse natural light on the sand and tweak in a little “sunlight” from a speedlight behind her and angled low. She was on her best model behavior… heh.

Make sure you use “Save Link As” – If you click on it, it will open in Lightbox.
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Finally we have Erica in a.. a… uh… well, we have Erica. What does this have to do with December? Heck, I don’t know… just looks good on the desktop. This shot was with a large umbrella up front and a large umbrella over her aimed at the background to keep it bright and clean.

Make sure you use “Save Link As” – If you click on it, it will open in Lightbox.
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1600×1200
1680×1050
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Well, on with the festive month. Lots happening for you all… stay tuned.