Today I present an excerpt from my book, “Lighting Essentials: A Subject-Centric Approach for Photographers” now available from Amazon and fine book retailers all over the world! Whew!

It is really interesting that yesterday I got a knock on the door and was handed the ‘galleys’ to book number two, while I furiously finish writing/shooting book number 3.

To those of you in America, Happy Thanksgiving. I am taking some family time this weekend and I wanted to have something on the blog that would be fun for you all to read. I am including a chapter from my book, and then heading out for some holiday adventure.

Before we jump over to that chapter, I would like to remind you all of ongoing things and contests and other ideas coming your way.

As many of you know, I will not be teaching as many workshops next year as I have done previously. Lots of reasons, but mostly it has become quite difficult to fill the classes without people on the ground doing the booking. I know that may change next year… especially after the first weekend in April (heh), but for now I am planning some very special, quite interesting new workshops – one for beginners, and a few for more advanced shooters.

The website that is currently housing the workshop scheduling will continue to do so, but it will also become a resource for learning to light (the name of it is “LearnToLight” so that is what I am working on. Loosely based on the Project 52 idea, it will have weekly teaching, weekly assignments and more.

Project 52 starts again fresh on January 1, and we will have two tiers to it… the current free model and a premium that will only be available to a few students. Keeping the number down will ensure more one-on-one work.

I hope you are thinking about entering the “Wacky, Winner Gets ME” contest. I will fly to you or fly you here for a one-on-one workshop tailored especially to what you want to learn. You can even bring three buds (sorry, I only pay for you) to my studio, or you can have them join you in your town. See this page for more details.

If you have ever attended a Lighting Essentials workshop, or are participating in the current Project 52, you are invited to Phoenix for the Lighting Essentials Appreciation Weekend and BBQ. It is the last weekend of January. We have some small workshops, a few local trips to do and photograph, but mostly it is a social event here in my studio. More information here.

So Happy Thanksgiving to my American followers, and have a great weekend to those of you not in the states. Enjoy the excerpt of the book after the jump. I will have dinner and then start proofing book two.

Take the jump for the article.

Designing The Image You Want.

Previsualizing an image that conveys the intended message about your subject is the beginning. This process, and its fundamental importance, was covered in chapters 1 and 2. Knowing what type of lighting tools you are going to need is the next step; this was covered in chapters 3 through 7. With these concepts in mind, we can now move forward and see how everything comes together in actually designing a shot.

SKETCHING

Many variables come into play as we transform our three-dimensional world into two-dimensional images. In and of itself, the process will change the apparent relationships between the space, the light, and the subject. If natural light is being used, this can change from minute to minute. In the days of film, we could only preview these relationships using Polaroid film. Today, we can capture test images for review. I call this process “sketching.”

Sketching reveals the subject and scene as they will appear in your final photograph. More importantly, it allows you to make sure that the tonalities, relationships, and values you saw in your head are all represented in that final image. You can shoot from different angles and with different lenses. Add a light, then add another—or maybe a fill board or a shiny reflector. As you adjust the highlights and shadows, you’ll be creating a “road map” to the actual exposure.

I often work with the sketching to find an angle that I want to explore or to evaluate how the foreground works in relationship to the background. When shooting outdoors, I will also see where my exposure choices will place the sky within the limits of the capture.

SAMPLE SHOOT: Portrait of Katlyn. For this shot, I found a cool place to work and knew I wanted to shoot Katlyn here with her gray wardrobe. Although it was a sunny day, I knew the light would be around f/4 on the shady side of this building. That meant I started at f/4 and ISO 100 at 1/100 second. I shot an initial “sketch” image to see the ambient exposure.

This is the first shot I did of Katelyn: Exposure is right on - and it is boring.

I decided to place the ambient light at a stop under, so the light I was adding would be more interesting. I used the shutter speed (rather than the aperture) to make this adjustment so I would still have plenty of flash power and recycle time if I needed it. If I had decided to lower the aperture to f/5.6, I could have accomplished the same one-stop-under look, but I would have had to increase the flash power (maintaining the distance I wanted) to bring the flash up to f/5.6.

Underexposing by one stop made the background more dramatic—and would provide better contrast with the light I planned to add on the model.

I placed Katlyn in the position I liked and added the strobes. In front of her, I placed a small softbox with a speedlight. One bare speedlight was added behind her. Because the ambient was not very bright, the power of the lights was very low for this shot. I matched the back and the front speedlights to f/4 and did the next sketch. I noticed the reflection in the window behind her caused by the back speedlight. The easiest way to hide that was to put her in front of it. I also noticed that the light was very gradient in its presentation and quite bright in front. I moved the light away from the building and angled it away from the wall to get less light spill on it.

By underexposing the ambient by a stop, I ended up with a much more grittier looking scene. I now had the exposure for my image.

After adding the speedlights, my text sketch revealed a reflection of the backlight in the window. The easiest way to correct this was by repositioning the model.

For the final image, you can see that I chose to do a horizontal composition instead of a vertical shot. This allowed me to include more of the wall and the texture. You can also see that I got down a bit lower to add some height to the subject.

You can see that the exposure of the strobe was set to reveal the subject in a brighter light than the ambient exposure had rendered.

The final image was achieved after shooting several sketch images.

SAMPLE SHOOT: Portrait of Stephanie.

I found this cool little place where they use chainsaws to cut artistic things out of palm tree trunks. I wanted to put Stephanie in the mix of it, so I began to sketch the scene. I don’t worry about exposure on the subject at this point in the sketching. I want to simply see the shapes and items as they play out through the lens. I already knew that I wanted her near the tall sculpture, so I played with the foreground approaches.

The light was fairly flat and uninteresting on this overcast day in Florida - I knew we had to do something cool with the set, so lighting was the way to go.

I knew I wanted to place Stephanie near the tall sculpture, so I began the sketching process by experimenting with this relationship.

I had my friend Bill step into the shot to get an idea of the lighting and decided to underexpose the ambient light by one stop. Adding the speedlight in a small softbox gave me a good idea of the exposure and how Stephanie would look when the flash lit her.

The shot with the added lighting was much more interesting.

The sketching process helped me to determine how I wanted to record the ambient light and how much light was needed on my subject.

For the final shot, I added a bare strobe from camera right aimed at her midsection and set to expose at 1/2 stop over the ambient. This light, a 1/2 stop under the main light, added a little fill and highlight on her camera-right side. The sunlight added backlight and kept the foreground interesting.

SAMPLE SHOOT: Desean in the Lobby.

Every time I come into the lobby of my studio, I admire the lighting from the clear skylight and bright white ceiling. For this portrait of Desean, I sketched the image out with my camera to find the ambient level that made sense to me. The ambient was very important; I didn’t want to change the ambiance in the lobby, I wanted to capture it.

You can see the placement of the light for this shot of Dasaun. A single shoot thru umbrella flooded the hallway with light.

Once I had the ambient setting, I knew what I needed to add to the subject. I placed a single head into a shoot-through umbrella and set the power 2/3 stop brighter than the ambient. I shot at the ambient exposure, letting the light from the hallway glow brighter than the lobby.

The resulting image precisely captured what I saw in my head, with light from the hallway flooding in subtly to provide some depth.

The final shot of Dasaun matched exactly what I had seen in my mind's eye - visualizing the shot makes the process go much easier

This is the final image of Desean. You can see the feeling of the light from the hallway, which was a little brighter than the light from the skylight.

START WITH ONE LIGHT

I have a method that has served me very well for over thirty years: I build each shot one light at a time. In the studio, I get the main light ready, and then add the secondary. If I’m working outdoors or in a daylight studio, I find the placement of the ambient light and decide what I want to do with it. Perhaps the image calls for the background to be a bit overexposed. Or maybe dropping the ambient light down a couple of stops will add a dramatic flair to the image.

When making these fundamental decisions about ambient light, there are some important settings that must be taken into consideration, of course. If you are going to use only the ambient light and fill cards, you must remember that there is no way to overcome the ambient light—no way to make any kind of light that will be stronger than the direct sun. You also have choices to make about your aperture and shutter speed. Why? Because they can be whatever you want. With natural light, you are not limited by anything other than your lens’s widest aperture and your camera’s fastest shutter speed.

If you will be augmenting the ambient light with strobes, you’ll need to have an idea of what you want to do before you begin to sketch. For example, if I know that I am going to be bringing in my large strobes, I will set my camera to aperture priority (Av on my Canons) and choose the aperture I want to work with. My first consideration is aperture, but there is a real concern about the shutter speed, as well; I know that I cannot sync at shutter speeds faster than 1/200 second. If I chose f/8, then saw that the shutter speed dropped to 1/400 second, I would need to rethink my aperture—so the exposure might be made at f/11 at 1/200 second. Most of the time I will walk the scene with my meter (set within the required parameters of the camera and sync speed) and make notes of the highlights, shadows, and midtones in the scene.

SAMPLE SHOOT: Stephanie on the Docks.

I saw this image as I walked up onto the covered dock. I loved the incredible sky, the boats, the way the light was playing off the water, and the different shapes of the buildings around the background. I wanted to do something dramatic, so I sketched in a shot while we were setting up the boomed softbox.

This shot in ambient light shows where the lights were being placed to create the shot of Stephanie on the docks.

I started by considering the ambient light. This seemed to be sufficient for the background feel I wanted. However, I needed more light on Stephanie, so I added a softbox on a boom to illuminate her face and jacket. With the ambient light on the background and the main light on Stephanie in place, I determined that the light from camera left was a little lacking. Adding some light from that side would create a more dramatic, three-dimensional feel in the shot. Therefore, I placed a bare strobe at a low angle to camera left. I wanted the light to seem like a reflection on her, not a “full light” as from an instrument.

The final shot shows how the ambient was blended with the strobe for a much more interesting photograph.

The direct strobe from the left adds some nice highlights and the softbox from the right gives her face the soft light I wanted. The sun gave me some wonderful shadows coming in from behind, and the look was what I saw in my head when I walked up to the scene.

SAMPLE SHOOT: Jazmin and Column.

Jazmin was posed on a column at a beach house we used during a workshop in Mexico. The sun was on her face and I knew the light would be a perfect “Sunny 16″ on her. But that also meant that the shadows would be too dark for what I saw in my head.

Knowing this about the ambient light, I added a speedlight at f/11. This was aimed it at the shadow side of her. I immediately saw that I needed another light to add something to the ceiling; it was going far too dark. I aimed this speedlight at the ceiling but away from the camera. I wanted it to produce an “open shadow” feel, not look lit, so I settled on getting an f/8 on the ceiling—two stops away from the f/16 ambient level. The resulting image has a nice feeling of light to it, with just a little drama. Jazmin added the wonderful pose and I got the shot in only a few exposures.

Adding some pop to this image of Jazmin in Mexico was achieved with speedlights

Building one light at a time allowed me to design the image of Jazmin I envisioned when I saw this location.

The point is this: Don’t try to get it all at one time. Building the image one light at a time lets you see the possibilities—and alerts you to places to improve. After you do this for a while, it becomes second nature; while you may be building the setup one light at a time, you are thinking so far ahead that it feels seamless to those around you.

“KNOWING” THE EXPOSURE IN AMBIENT LIGHT

I have a method that works pretty well for me. It is based on the Sunny 16 Rule that we looked at in chapter 5. These values are based on shooting at ISO 100 (and, accordingly, a shutter speed of 1/100 second). (Note: What is in the scene all around can make a difference as well. Lots of bright buildings and a bright sky can open up the shadow exposures by 2/3 to 1 stop in some conditions, but these values offer a pretty darn good starting point in most situations.)

in direct sun: f/16
side light in direct sun: f/11
backlight in direct sun: f/8
on the shadow line (within 2 feet of edge): f/5.6
5 to 7 feet into the shadow: f/4
8 to 12 feet into the shadow: f/2.8

From here, it is a process of elimination. Looking into a shadow scene you know that at ISO 100 and a 1/100 second shutter speed, the exposure will be somewhere around f/4 or f/2.8. You know for sure it isn’t going to be f/11. If you are in the sun, you also know for sure it isn’t going to be f/4 or f/5.6. You know not to even start there as you’re sketching the image. It helps to know that stuff. You can achieve your vision so much more quickly when you know where to start.

A FINAL NOTE ABOUT SERENDIPITY

When asked why I chose a specific light modifier for a shot, I can answer with all kinds of technical and artistic reasons about 70 percent of the time. The other 30 percent of the time, the selection was the result of me playing—mixing up the vision I have in my head with newer visions that pop in while I am working. (That “what if?” voice can be a true pest or incredible muse depending on how you hear it.)

Lynne with the Graffiti behind my studio in Phoenix. I love the light and the colors.

Shooting in the alley behind my studio, the sun was very low on the horizon. While it was not directly on this little nook in the wall, it was plenty to bring in soft lighting for the shoot. I used a long lens and a shallow depth of field to allow for the fastest shutter speed I could get. Handholding a long lens is something that I was able to do with complete confidence for a long time. Lately, though, I am more often seeking the control of a tripod.

Sometimes I grab a beauty dish just to see what it will do. Sure I can imagine it, but occasionally I want to see it—I want to play and let the fun lead me to new things. What would it look like to have the beauty dish as a bright sphere in the background? Let’s try it. What about a grid spot on the hair? Sounds cool. Do one.

Certainly I want you to be able to visualize the image in your head before you go to create it, but at the same time I encourage you to take advantage of serendipitous moments and whimsical fun. The results can be pure magic.

© Don Giannatti

I hope you enjoyed that little bit of the book. There is, as they say, a lot more where that came from.

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Getting an assistant gig is top of mind for a lot of commercial shooters starting out. It can mean exciting photo shoots, learning the ropes they didn’t learn in photo school (and them’s a lot of ropes), and an opportunity to work in their chosen industry while earning a bit of money as well. It also means long hours, boring down time, and a lot of stuff that wasn’t expected… like sweeping floors and cleaning windows. An assistant can be called on to do some of the most exciting and menial things you can imagine… sometimes right next to each other.

When I started out in LA back in the latter part of the 20th century, it was a tough town. Yes, I know, still is. I was a pretty big fish in the small pond of Phoenix, but upon landing in LA I found I was a pretty small, insignificant, amoeba in that pond. I knew immediately that I didn’t even know what I didn’t know.

So I got a pager, an answering service and I started assisting on every day I wasn’t shooting. I worked with big names and small names, architecture and lingerie, celebrities and construction workers. It was a total blur. And I loved it and I learned so much it was like a crash course in what I needed.

These days it is a bit harder to get those gigs, but it certainly is not something that cannot be done. On the contrary, I think a really GOOD assistant would be very much in demand in today’s environment. And the reason I say that is simple… and it may offend some… I rarely find anyone who wants to work as hard as I do. That sentiment was was expressed to me recently at a lunch with a very well known editorial shooter. It isn’t that they don’t want to work, it is that they don’t understand the concept as we do who came from that world. No cell phones, no twitter, long days, long nights, tough work, boring shit, demeaning shit that you are well over qualified for… but has to be done.

It is rare that I meet someone wanting to assist that can put themselves out there and ‘show up’ for the gig without having to check in with the BF/GF or significant other. “When will we be through” is something my wife doesn’t even ask… she knows. Most of the time we have no idea… when we are through, I guess.

Recent posts you should be aware of:
27 From 27: Recent Photographs from the LE FLickr Pool
A Chat with Steve of “Standbagger” Fame. Cool Gear for Photographers.
In Praise of Natural Light: Examples and Discussion.
“So You’re a Photographer, Quick… Tell Me What You Do”
Pricing Issues: One Big Monster of a Problem

I am sometimes asked what kind of images to show the photographer to get an assistant’s job. I will speak as to myself here, I don’t care what you have. I am not being mean, I already have a photographer. Of course I will look at your work at some point, and I am one of those photographers who would teach and help, but honestly I don’t really care if you rock or suck… can you get the parabolic umbrella on my Profoto without crushing the edge? Do you know how to get the images off of the cards fast and get them processing? Can you make a killer PB&J? Are you fun to have around when there is absolutely NOTHING to do? Sell me on that, not how you shoot hot chicks wrapped in caution tape standing on railroad tracks in stripper heels… seriously.

I have openings in the Greenville, SC workshop. I won’t be getting back to that area in the near future, so up your game and get involved with one of the most informative and affordable workshops around.

Now, on to the 10 things you can use to get an assistants job… and I hope to get the comment area alive with more!

1. Be Persistent / Not Annoying.
Call and make contact. Voicemail isn’t contact. An EMail isn’t contact. Contact is one-to-one. Keep the call brief, but make your case for being hired. If there is no work at that specific time, ask how often you should check back, and by what means. If an email every Monday would be agreeable do it. The job may not be one that happens overnight, but if you stay focused, things change and you are up. Sending an email and whining that you didn’t get a return email is not a good sign for this business. (BTW… you think getting in front of a photographer is a pain in the ass… wait till you start trying to get in front of AD’s and Editors.)

Keep your followups brief and respect the photographer, or his first assistant’s time. That will go a long way in establishing yourself as someone who understands how busy it can get, and someone that would be cool to have around.

2. Know Your Stuff – and More
This is so important. As you read above, I don’t care what you shoot, or how you shoot. I want you to know how to work a new Profoto pack when I am busy with the talent. I want you to be able to setup and be familiar with the more common strobe systems out there. And hot lights. And natural light modifiers.

If you are not familiar with the Quadra Rangers, rent a set for the weekend and get real familiar with them. You have done your homework and know that I shoot with Profoto, so get to know Profoto if you want to work with me. And don’t whine about cost to learn how to work a couple of systems… it is still a thousand times cheaper than Refrigeration Repair School.

Some photographers will take the time to show you, but you better catch on real fast. Brands to learn… Dynalite, Norman, Speedotron, Profoto, Elinchrome, Broncolor, and Alien Bees. There are a few other brands, but most will work like one of these.

And know your metering. Taking meter settings is something a lot of photographers need their assistants to do. Know how to use an ambient light meter, and a reflected light meter… and the difference between them.

3. Hone Your People Skills
So important. Look, the photographer and the assistant may have to spend a lot of down time together. Know how to converse, know what not to talk about, and when it is fine to not talk at all. Have a sense of humor, and have a sense of timing. Timing referring to those times when the photographer just needs to chill… not a good time to start drilling her on what lens she used for the shot and why she didn’t use that other thing. Just don’t.

You will also have to be ‘present’ when clients are there. Know how and when to have a conversation with them. Know what to discuss and what not do discuss. NEVER discuss the photographer, or the shot, or other clients. I like to have my assistants keep the client occupied while I work on the setup, and that is one of the things I look for in an assistant.

Be caught up on what is happening in the industry. Know stuff. Be informative. Be helpful. Be attentive.

4. Be a Self Starter
I love it when we would get to a shoot and Kevin would have all the lights on stands and the umbrellas out and the softboxes setup and the cameras on a table ready to go… and I was still chatting up the AD and looking over the layouts. You don’t need the photographer to tell you what to do… you know we need the lights and the tripod and such. Do it. Don’t ask.

When shooting, be aware of the progression. About time for a card change? All the lenses ready to go? Tethered cord is taped to the tripod and the floor. You know where I left my meter last?

Whatever needs to be done, do it. Don’t ask if it needs to be done, do it. Conversely, if there is something you don’t know how to do, ask. Ask. Do not barrel ahead and create a bigger problem than the one we had when it wasn’t set up. Follow the chain of command on the shoot, but get done what needs to be done.

If you are a freelance assistant, have a great set of tools at your disposal. Nothing wastes time like looking for my scissors. I have no idea in hell where they are when I am shooting. Have your own. See this post for a good idea for a grip kit, and then this post here at LE for some other tools that come in handy.

5. Be Familiar with the Photographers Style
This is very important if you want to be considered, and it will help you with the above. If the photographer is a natural light shooter, that may require different skills. Travel photographers mean you best know how to pack the most in the least, keep your head about you, have a passport, travel well and not complain about rainy days, bad food, less than stellar rooms and all the things that can befall a travel photographer.

A studio shooter could require a lot of knowledge in studio lighting, shooting tethered, Mac AND PC, Photoshop, getting lunch for 12, understanding how to connect the clients laptop to the network, sweeping and mopping, and a very organized approach to keeping the studio workable.

And if you don’t love the kind of work that the photographer does, it may make you a bit less interested. Don’t let that happen. Be interested in the work, or be interested in being the best photographers assistant, regardless of the style.

If you are wanting to get started in the business it is considered a good thing to work with someone who you can learn from. Even if the style doesn’t interest you, a people shooter is someone you should consider assisting with if you want to shoot people. And where this doesn’t always play out to be perfect, consider it a suggested guideline.

6. Know Your Place and Be There
Now that has two meanings, doesn’t it. Know your place can mean understanding you are an assistant, not the creative. It also means being on time at the location. Let’s look at both of these meanings.

An assistant is not there to proselytize or discuss the brand. We already love the brand. What we are shooting that day, we love that. If you don’t understand that, you are not cut out for this whole freelance thing. Assistants are not there to offer suggestions for the shoot… loudly. If you see the photographer struggling and have an idea, figure out how to get him/her alone and let them know. It then becomes THEIR idea… got it!

Get a GPS. Know how to read a map. Carry an iPhone/Android with the location already punched in. There is only one person who is allowed to be late to the shot… the client. The rest of us need to be on time, ready to go, and with a great and smiling persona. I hate being lost or late. I have a GPS, you should have one as well.

7. Leave Personal Problems at the Door
I think we all know what it is like being around some ‘Mr Grumpy’ or “Whining Jane” and we don’t like it. I don’t want to hear about your breakup, who said what to who on FaceBook, or who you slept with last night. I don’t care. I don’t want to deal with anything but the job at hand. Sure, we’ll chat later if we are friends, but this is a job. There is a client involved and lots and lots of money at stake. Treat it as such.

8. Assist First, Learn Second
An assistant is there to assist. That is why it is called ‘assistant’. Not ‘student’.

If the photographer is one of those who is also willing to teach, let them do it at their pace. Not at the shoot, not at the edit, not at the wrap up… and possibly all three. It has to do with the style of the person, not the ‘implied promise’ of a photographic education. I worked with guys who were all about teaching and helping, and I worked with guys who never even asked me if I actually was a photographer them… they wanted an assistant to help them, not to teach on the job.

If you are looking to be educated, make sure that is the kind of photographer you end up working with long term.

9. Become Proficient in Photoshop / LightRoom
I think that speaks for itself. It is more than a plus these days, it is necessary. Even simple things like Importing into LightRoom or Photoshop, exporting JPG’s, understanding color and more are basic tools assistants must know. Get real familiar with the tools that the photographers are using… and yeah, if they are using some strange free thing they downloaded 5 years ago, do your best and ask… sheesh.

10. Don’t Ring, Buzz or Tweet, Thanks.
I understand you are a freelancer. I understand you need to make plans for the next day. But you have to understand that a constantly ringing cellphone or buzzing ‘texting’ alerts suck in the atmosphere of most shoots. It keeps the focus distracted, and things get missed. Or screwed up. I don’t have an answer for you in most cases, but in my studio, I don’t want to see/hear the assistant making too many calls. I definitely am not happy with personal calls. Gigs I get, GF/BF’s I don’t. Tell your wife you will call at lunch, or tell the husband you will reach him on the way home. This is a business, it isn’t screwing around on a weekend MM shoot.

And unless you are specifically asked to, don’t tweet anything about the shoot. It is not your place. There may be situations where that is most inappropriate. If, however, the photographer asks you to… tweet away!

I am sure there are a lot of other things we can add to this list. Being an assistant is a noble thing to do, and I really have little respect for photographers who treat them less than people. If you are working for an asshat like that, quit. Life is too short for that. I once showed up on a 2 day shoot and was told to get coffee for everyone… as I turned to the photographer he exploded all over me telling me to NEVER speak directly to him… everything must go through his first assistant. And then he questioned my mother’s marriage status upon my delivery and I told him that I didn’t give a crap about him and if he ever called me that again I would kick his skinny little 5’5″ ass all over the friggin east side of LA. I walked off and let everyone I knew know what an asshat he was. Life is way too short to be treated like that from a friggin photographer. Jeeezusss.

IMPORTANT RESOURCES:

Here is a great set of guidelines on being a great photo assistant.
A Photo Assistant: Offers real world, fact based information on being a great Photo Assistant.
A Photo Editor: keep up to date with what is happening in the photo business. Great for discussions and information.
What’s the Jackanory: Travel is a bitch if you aren’t prepared. Andrew travels a lot, and you can get some ideas from keeping up with this editorial photographer.
John Harrington’s terrific blog on the business of commercial photography. Keep up with that legal stuff.
Chase Jarvis’ blog has occasional tips and some great behind the scenes stuff that shows assistants, assisting.
An interesting take from Dan Heller. I think the title of the post is a little off, as he does suggest that assisting is something that is important to do.
At Heather Mortons blog, there is a category entitled “The Whole Nine Yards” which is directed toward assistants and working as an assistant.

Thanks for coming along. I would love to hear some comments from assistants, and photographers. Let’s try to keep it upbeat and positive, without bashing and such. What are your experiences as an assistant and photographers, what to do you look for specifically in hiring an assistant. As always, take a look at the workshop page for more information on them, and follow along with me on twitter if you are so inclined.

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I made some gear changes recently. One is a well-known, very popular company and the other is a small startup company with one employee. Standbagger is the the small company I refer to, and of course you cn see from the cover shot that I have gone with Profoto Compact lights. After the jump we have some videos for you to see the Standbaggers, and a chat with Steve and I about the business.

The Profotos were the end of a process of elimination through various systems. I love the Dynalite pack and heads and the Elinchrome Ranger kits held particular interest. I used several different iterations of each lighting kit before settling on the Profoto Compacts. MPEX, a sponsor of Lighting Essentials, has a great set of kits at prices that are amazing. In addition, if you use the link to the right of this article, you can save 10% off the entire order – courtesy LE.

The reason I chose them came down to three important considerations.
One: I am traveling more and more and the ability to rent and add to the Profoto line is nearly ubiquitous.
Two: If one of the units goes out, the others are fine. Hoping that more than one goes out on any given shoot, but then… see above.
Three: Power. Lots and lots of power. The Profotos rock for the type of work that I do. Rapid recycle, stable color, multi-use reflector system… I simply love the way they work for me.

I got two 600WS Compacts and two 300WS Compacts. Together they are a formidable combination. The power from the 300′s is simply amazing. I can get f-22 with a medium white umbrella at about 6feet… full length outside in desert sun at a stop over ambient. Sweet. The 600′s are even more powerful of course. (But seriously, the 300′s are so amazingly powerful that I was simply, and happily, surprised.)

I have used older Norman strobes in the studio for nearly 30 years, and they still rock for me. The Profoto’s give me some things I haven’t had, like faster durations, dialed up/down power, and optical slaves. The quality of the light, even in an umbrella, is quite amazing. The four heads provide plenty of options if needed.

Profoto Compact 300 Kits at MPEX.
Profoto Compact 600 Kits at MPEX.

Before we head over to the Steve and his Standbaggers, a few items to review.

One of the questions I get at the workshops concerns how to price when getting started. Rob at APhotoEditor has a great post that may help explain the way magazines work. It is well worth the time to read. “Real World Estimates: Day Rate vs. Space Explained.” And for those ready to make the break, take a moment to read APE’s “How Do Assistants Take It To The Next Level.”

Heather Morton continues with her “Year in the Life” series, and this weeks post by the guys is kinda fun. “A Year in the Life: In Which Jaime Considers Promotion and Grant Shoots for Yoga”

Posts of Note:
Nick Onken Shoptalk.
Permission to Suck.
Seth, Seth and Seth.

Workshops are really fun, and I am doing something kinda interesting in Flagstaff this August. If you are looking for a portfolio building experience in the mountains, desert and very interesting, rustic area, check out this workshop. Learn to Light has all the details.

This is something kinda new for me. A set of videos of Steve and I chatting and showing the gear. These are Flip videos, so if you are looking for high quality video, these may not be your cup of tea. I know what they are, so sending me notes ’bout stepping up the production will fall on deaf ears. It is for fun and info.

Steve and I chat about the business.

Steve shows his line of “Standbaggers”, a cool tool for carrying your gear – stands, umbrellas and more. I use the small grab and go and two of the medium roll-ups. I love them. They travel well, they work well, and they keep me organized under some difficult situations. For those times I don’t have an assistant, they are simply invaluable. My new small “Grab and Go” has been packed and sitting next to my camera bag for a couple of weeks now. I don’t leave home without it.

You will have to go to the site to see the roll-ups. Standbagger.com – and you can order them right there. I think you will be surprised by the pricing. Very affordable.

Steve shows off the “Big Daddy” bag with three speed light pockets and enough room for three tall stands and umbrellas.

So those are the two gear additions to my photographic life. I hope that this post was of value to you. Great gear can be a delight when working on tough assignments.

If you are interested in a workshop, check out Learn to Light, and if you wanna stalk me, Twitter can help you there.

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Well this was a fun gig. Once per year my friend Troy asks me to photograph his choir kids for a year of marketing for them. We spend about 4 hours and shoot a gazillion images. Neat part… he lets me do what I want. I can be as ‘creative’ as I want – as long as we get it done in 4-5 hours.

This time Troy wanted to do a poster of the kids to introduce the choir program to the school. He wanted to make it fun and exciting – not the normal ‘choir robes’ type of static shot. In this, as in many other inner-city schools, getting kids interested in choir takes a commitment to marketing. We started by sketching up a grid poster idea, then looked in the room for a place to shoot it. In Troy’s classroom, there are very few blank walls… it is a haven for music lovers. Posters, charts and more on every square foot.

We found a spot, took down a few posters and set it for our shoot space. This would be a place I would return to every moment I wasn’t shooting the choirs and the seniors. (I told you we shoot about a gazillion images, didn’t I?) To do that, I had to keep my ‘MOJO’ in play. That little thing inside us that keeps us centered or crazy (depending on need) for extended time. Mojo is an old, out of date term… I’m old and out of date… seems apropos. More after the jump below.

Before we take that jump, let’s take a quick look at some very cool posts from the web.

ProFotoResource.com has an article about the single portraits I did of the seniors. Check it out.
Hamburger Eyes from Chase Jarvis. You just gotta watch it.
Kirk Tuck stirs thing up with this post on the Flickr-ization of Photography. Leave a comment!
Bruce DeBoer has an interesting interview with Dominek Rella, Creative Director, at Permission to Suck.
Workin’ hard to get those Social Media numbers up? Seth Godin has some insight.
Good advice from Gary Vaynerchuk… as always.

And some popular posts here as well.
8 Essential Sites for Photographers.
Branding Your Photography Business: A Practical Approach.
10 Nifty, Excellent Excuses for Failing at Photography

If you are looking for a workshop, take a look at Learn to Light for our schedule and sign-up pages.

Jan 16, 17 : Phoenix (first one of the year… woohoo!)
Jan 30, 31 : Seattle (This workshop rocks… great studio and incredible talent)
Feb 6, 7 : San Diego (Last years San Diego workshop was amazing.)
Feb 27, 28 : Houston (Three-peat for Houston. Great town for us)
March 13, 14 : Santa Cruz (First time in Santa Cruz. Excited about that.)
March 27, 28 : New Orleans (Never even been to NO… very cool!)
April 17, 18 : Philadelphia (Philly is one of my favorite towns.)
April 24, 25 : Omaha (We had a ball in Omaha last time… probably have one again this time!)

Look for an announcement about Austin coming soon. we hope. Heh.

We have had some pretty interesting discussions at the LE FLickr Forum lately. Marketing, introducing your work to potential clients, lighting information and more. Join us, it’s free and fun.

And if you are looking for gear… MPEX has a little icon on the upper right of this page. Clicking on that will take you to the Lighting Essentials page (stuff I like) and you can save 10% on your first order. As long as you enter through this link, you can then go anywhere on the site and the 10% will be in effect. Save $180-$200 on Dynalite and Profoto Lighting kits… That’s cool. Thanks MPEX.

You can also save 50% ($100) on Selina Maitreya’s incredible audio program “The View From Here”… Just use the code FOSLE at checkout. I bought a little iPod shuffle and loaded this on it. Walking, flying, relaxing in the yard… that little iPod is clipped to my shirt.

Now let’s take a look at how to keep the shoot moving, under pressure, without losing the enthusiasm of the subjects.

I arrived before dawn to get the gear unloaded. I had an assistant for carrying stuff, but not a true ‘photographic’ assistant for this gig. I was going to be moving too fast and without an assistant who knows how I work (LOL… seriously… my assistants simply have to hang on for a few months before they totally understand the manic and furious way I think and work), I would spend more time telling them what to do than doing what I had to do. A sherpa was all I needed.

Kit:
Lenses: 20-35MM 2.8 L, 80-200MM 2.8 L
Lighting:
Speedlights: 580 EX, 430 EZ, Lumo Pro.
Studio lighting: 2 600WS ProFoto mono’s in a travel kit.
Modifiers:
2 43″ Bounce Umbrellas Satin
2 33″ Shoot Thru Umbrellas
1 60″ Bounce Umbella (Satin)
1 36″ Zebra Umbrella
1 SuperBounce with Stand
Honl Kit (snoot, flag, grids)
Speedlight ProKit: 1 Small Box, Beauty Dish, Accessories
Shower Curtain (goes everywhere with me)
Gels for Color Correction
Additonal Gear:
Elinchrome Wireless Triggers
Cybercync Kit
4 12′ stands
Tripod
Small Boom
Clamp Kit
Shoot Kit
Stand Bagger for carrying gear.

After locating and cleaning the wall, I set up the Canon 430EX in a shoot thru umbrella and did my lighting tests. We both liked the shadows as it added dimension. I like shadows… just do, so we placed the umbrella to give us a nice dramatic shadow on the wall to camera right. The shoot-thru umbrella worked well with all the white walls and the SuperBounce was brought into the shot in front of the subjects and just out of camera view. This kept some fill on them without filling in the shadows.

Against the white wall, skin tones and colors really pop!

I like the gritty look to the images. We could have blown out the background and had them floating on white… but the shadows and the texture just felt right. These kids love this room… it is a safe haven for them. Music and friends and memories abound. I didn’t want to remove all of that and make it so sterile that it could be anywhere. I wanted the reality of the room and the light. I think a lot about this stuff when I am preparing and shooting. The choices we make as photographers are based in contextual thought.

I placed a piece of tape under the center part of the stand to keep it in the same place for each student.

EDIT: I was asked about a setup shot. I forgot that I did one, so I am adding it here. I took this setup shot just before I added the fill card so I added it in with photoshop.

I had to add the fill card in with photoshop. It is in front of the subject about 20 inches... I wanted no fill on the shadow, but a little wrap back on the face.

That was the easy part.

We had over 200 kids to shoot if possible. I was also shooting the full group shots of the different choirs. so we would return to this shoot whenever time permitted. I would have nearly no time to work with each of the kids… a few shots – 3-6 and next kid.

These kids are sometimes into it and sometimes not. The key for me is to engage them in the shoot. Make them get out of their comfort zone and lose the inhibitions of ‘people are looking at me’ and they will really perform for you. It is really fun to see what they will do.

In order to do that, I have to be a little more crazy than they are.

Keeping the kids relaxed in a hectic shoot means not letting them see you going crazy.

Just not crazy with stress.

Of course things are moving fast and furious. A battery change means that the kids start to line up and more stress is introduced to the shoot. I handle those things with mock fury and real smiles. The kids get the sense of urgency, but also a sense of fun and the knowledge that it is OK to be in a hurry… we make it part of the process. If the kids get the sense that you are rushing them, uninterested in each one of them… they become uninterested in the project. Drifting off to chat instead of being excited to be photographed. I photographed every kid who was in line at lunch. If they were willing to stand there, I shot them.

I talk with the kid in front of me, and the kids around me. Joking and being somewhat irreverent to the situation brings them to my side. You have to be careful and know the limits of irreverence though. No ‘dissing’, no making fun or even sounding like you are making fun, and no off-color humor at all. Safe and fun.

I do it by making myself the point of the ‘joke’ not the subject in front of me.

I can't tell you how hard it can be to get a teenage kid to smile. I get them to laugh by bringing them into the experience and making it safe.

Getting kids to smile, let alone get goofy, is a challenge. I let their friends laugh at them with the knowledge that they would get to laugh back at their buds when it was their turn. I make them part of the experience. I chimp and share. I laugh and exclaim loudly that it was great… do it again… again… more. Always upbeat and always ‘with’ them, not aloof from them. I see that aloofness so often with photographers who are not able to identify with the subjects. Aloofness may be cool for hanging at the Starbucks, but it doesn’t cut it when shooting people in stressful situations.

I love working with kids. Getting these big, fun smiles makes the shoot successful. And the kids love the images.

We shot 136 kids against the wall. I didn’t have to choose, the choir director did that. He narrowed it down to the 24 on the poster and sent me the image numbers. Are there ones that I would have picked in the set he didn’t choose? Of course. But I am not the client, that is their job… mine was to give them as many to choose from as possible. I think we could have made at least 70 of them… but, that would be a different type of poster and require a lot more computer time. Which also isn’t free.

In the end I designed the poster with four different type treatments. He can choose the one he wants and we will wait for next year’s call and another chance to work with great kids, listen to great music (the A Cappella Choir sings all the time… beautiful), and explore portraiture… something I love to do.

Here is one of the type treatments for the poster.

I think the colors and the 'realistic' approach to lighting makes the poster accessible to the students. It let's them shine

Just gotta keep smilin’ and workin’ and never, ever let the Mojo go. You stay on top of all that is around you. It is YOUR shoot and you OWN the space. Bringing people into it and letting them have fun is one way to extend the power of your portraiture.

Please share this post if you found it interesting. Follow me on Twitter, and visit my website at dongiannatti.com to find out what is going on with me. My 365 Photoblog is at Posterous (I love those guys) and I hope you take a moment to see what is there from time to time. See you soon.

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At least they strike me as being lit with the ‘feeling’ or ‘mood’ of the photograph foremost in mind. I have made some notes on what intrigued me about each of the images. They will get the ol’ juices goin’ for thinking about light before we think about the gear.

Each of these images seem to hold a bit of a cinematic view… shadows that are un-mitigated, soft light contrasted with contrasty light, a ‘natural’ feel that may not be natural light, but with the warmth and subtleties that draw one in. (BTW… take a look at the pool at LE Flickr… there are a lot of great images there, and this choice in no way is meant to slight the other images there.) This post comes right after the post on “Emotional Lighting”, a recent Rant.

You know, I do workshops all over the country, and some selected dates out of the country. I meet so many great photographers and beginning shooters and models and just great people where ever I go. One of the reasons I am so optimistic about the future of photography are the people I meet at the workshops. Dedicated, interested, invested, committed, and creative, there are some terrific people pursuing this wonderful art of imaging.

I also hope to see some of you at the workshops this year. We are keeping them very reasonably priced, and very exciting. New curriculum, challenges and examples to work through. More media, more notes, more hands-on. If you are thinking about a workshop this year, I hope you consider mine. Checkout Learn to Light for more information. We will be coming more into line with a lot of other workshops next year, but for now my goal is to meet and work with as many small groups as I can.

There is a lot to think about this year. Some people are saying the recession is over. I am not so sure, but I don’t feel it tanking as fast as it was. We have to be nimble and able to create more channels of income into our pockets as professional photographers. Does that mean that commercial guys start doing weddings or wedding photographers branch out into industrial? Maybe. Does it mean we all have to start shooting video? No, of course not. Should we be investigating the new tools including video? Oh… yeah, we most definitely should.

If you think things changed fast last decade, hold on to your butts. Change will come more rapidly and on more fronts than in the oughts, and that is certain. We need to be nimble and we need to adapt to the changes. Are you dabbling in social media? You better be… or it will change so fast and the learning curve / ‘buy-in’ capital will be so high that it could be ten times as daunting as it is now. Read TechCrunch for some ideas of what is coming. Social media for the enterprise and filtered for content delivery by Google and Yahoo? Yeah. If you don’t know what that means, you need to find out. It affects us all in small business.

I hope you join in and become active in taking the idea of photography by the horns. Tackle the Ideas of lighting, the nuances of lighting, and how they all tie in to posing and gesture. Both grand and small, gesture is what makes the image speak to the viewer. Even the lack of gesture is a gesture in its own right.

The 24 images you are about to see come from the Flickr Lighting Essentials Pool. I hope you join us there for more discussions, a picture sharing forum, and a chance to meet and talk to some incredible peers. We aren’t about any one kind of light, we have no mantra other than to make great photographs, and for the most part we’re pretty darned nice.

Be sure to check out the Going Pro category and if you are looking for the shorter, one page posts, hit Rants & Raves. In the recent post on “Emotional Lighting” -the one that proceeded this one, there are some links to photographers that will inspire you. Also see the “8 Essential Sites for Emerging Professional Photographers” for some places to bookmark.

Now let’s go see the images and be sure to visit the photographer’s Flickr sites after the jump.

As with all the Lighting Essentials posts, clicking on the image will take you to the photographer’s Flickr stream – and I hope you take some time to leave a comment or two.

The flare in this image takes it up a level and helps connect me to her eyes.

Bringing the face forward with the spotlight is so theatrical. Spotlights have great impact on the viewer.

While we are talking about the focused light , check how the light makes something we all see (as parents) into something more evocative.

Keeping the shadow adds drama to the shot… even the blank wall takes on part of the composition.

I love the way the face emerges from the shadow. Very shallow DOF and the wonderful, soft lighting invite us in to the image.

A pool of light surrounds her, while a key keeps her lit in front. The rim light on her leg gives the image a cinematic look. In total keeping with her outfit.

She gazes off toward the light. The light becomes a part of the shot as it lights the area behind her and then falls off in the direction that she is looking. Classic cinematic approach.

Simply exquisite crop, and light makes this image so strong and revealing. I love how the sides of the face fall off leaving a very nice, clean light on her center face. Light is part of the emotion of the image.

Such beautiful backlight, and the way the tree limbs are in and out of the light makes you feel like you are there. Love this kind of light.

Letting the background burn in so hot sets the mood of this glamour shot. Front lighting is just contrasty enough to make it believable while still well lit.

The sidelight sculpts the masculinity so well. And with the subtle light on the background (shadow of the subject side) it really draws the viewer in. The very judicious use of the rim light sets the image off from the background.

The DOF and bright lights behind her add to the overall feeling of flare to the image. Her slightly bottom lit face also lets us know that she is engaged in the event at hand.

Everything works so well here. Pose, attitude, gesture and light. The emotion of emerging or ‘new’ (hope) is heavily felt.

Soft light and colors let the subject be a part of the environment while keeping her well lit. Careful placement kept the subject from ‘melding’ into the white gate.

The soft, but directional light adds dimension to this shot. I particularly love the shadow of the cigarette and under her chin. Pose and lighting working so well together.

Can’t you just feel the warmth in this shot? Exceptional use of flare and gesture.

Color, pose and light working together to provide a wonderful sense of place for the subject.

Sculpting the face from all angles and then adding a slight vignette, this portrait really draws in the viewer. Cinematic and powerful.

It’s all about the light in this exceptional edge/form headshot.

Using the light to enhance the pose and the environment. The light behind her brings some mystery to the image.

The softness of the light on her with the contrasty light behind makes this shot seem like a frame from a story. Intrigue and beauty.

The feeling of an off camera light source, bringing the shadow in front, is so cinematic. You can almost hear the light here.

Subtle back light and a soft ambient foreground give this image a spark that adds drama. it doesn’t have to be a big gesture of back light, sometimes just a hint will do.

The light wraps the ballerina almost like a mist. The background seems to lift her off of it and ‘present’ her to the viewer.

Thanks for visiting Lighting Essentials. I hope this post entertained you and gave you something to think about before you pull out the gear. Lighting for effect, emotional effect, is quite a powerful tool.

RECENT LONG FORM ARTICLES YOU MAY ENJOY:

Spend a Day Shooting Portraits
“Why Did You Light It That Way?”
Natural Light for Natural, Subtle Beauty
Thinking About Portraits: 6 Studies in Beauty
And don’t forget the Going Pro Series for emerging photographers.

For the “Rants and Raves” section, click here.

See you next time. Follow me on Twitter, or visit my Learn to Light site for information on my

lighting workshops.

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Well, this was the second to last workshop for 2009 and it had its own challenges. The weather wanted to be a problem, and we were unsure of out talent pool. Talent was wonderful and the weather… while being a little stubborn on Sunday, finally opened up and gave us a beautiful bright, clear afternoon. We had photgraphers from all over the area. Buffalo, Ohio, Connecticut… a great cross section of shooters meeting and shooting at the place where three mighty rivers converge.

Wet weather nearly derailed the first outdoor shooting we did on Saturday, but the gray skies and mist eventually gave way to good lighting and innovative photographers. I want to show you a few shots from Pittsburgh, along with some behind the scene shots of the workshop.

Next year is shaping up to be a fun one as well. We have changed up the curriculum and added some AV items to it. Lighting on a bigscreen as well as the studio work we are doing. Laptops will display talking points as well as the AV and the “live” shooting. Lots of hands on, and structured lighting on day one. Day two will be involved heavily with location work… lighting, composition, logistics and working with live subjects.

Before we start, some news from Lighting Essentials.

We will begin to utilize our Flickr forum as an extension of the workshops. Thoughts are to create a private discussion area for the students of LE only, and to invite some industry professionals to interact with the students. Stay tuned for more information. Students check your LE Member’s Area for access information.

Recent Posts Around the Internet:
The Future of Photobooks: Lively and important discussion.
Photographers and Social Media: A Report.
Got an iPhone? Got an overwhelming desire to make lighting diagrams? Combine the two passions here.
Bill Vaccaro’s “Roadside Attractions” is pretty cool, as is the work of James Knight Smith.
Thomas Friedman’s idiotic ramblings in the NYT caught the attention of Austin Photographer, Kirk Tuck who had some things to say.
Here on LE we had a couple of posts that are pretty applicable to this time of year… “Twenty + Non-Photographic Essentials for Photographers” – think about gifts – and “Using the Lightmeter and ‘Placing’ the Light”.

And now we are off to Pittsburgh to sample a few of the images the photographers sent me. And, BTW, if you have attended a workshop and have a shot or three you would like to share, send it over with your name as part of the file name and we’ll get it up soon.

This shot was with one speedlight, and the photographer, Jessica Cornwall, wanted to add some snap to this shot, and bring Matt into the exposure with at least a matching light. Backlight was immense at this point and there was a bit of glare. Jessica knew exactly what she wanted the image to say, and set the light to beat the ambient sun about 2/3 stop. Not enough to darken the surroundings too much and have the shot seem un-natural, but enough to get Matt to pop off the page, and keep his face lit within that mighty backlight.

One speedlight at full power was used to light Matt. Jessica placed it so a little of the light ‘sprayed’ on the concrete buttress, which added a bit of whimsy to the shot and also gave it some depth. We stayed close to the light because of the breezes coming up the valley. Notice how the dramatic shadows of the railing cast back toward the camera, and Matt’s face seems well lit.

Dawn Weyman wanted to beat the sun a little more to provide a more dramatic look to her model. Using a VAL (Voice Activated Lightstand) she brought the light in from the top and created a small pool of light for the model to work with. Dawn’s VAL carefully watched the model and made sure the light wouldn’t cause unattractive shadowing across the face. The power of the strobe was dialed to be a stop and a half over the ambient, and Dawn let the shadows fall where they did. The effect is pretty cool. This is an easy to reproduce light, and can be quite effective in all sorts of ambient situations.

Here is the resulting shot from the above image. Little Photoshop needed when the image is exposed and lit correctly.

In our next shot, Jessica wanted the model to look like she was in the same light as the city. As you can see, we were in the late, late afternoon shadow, and the city was in the late afternoon light. Jessica placed the speedlight to give her a bit of sidelight to separate the model from the background, and then shot from a very low position to eliminate the foreground as much as possible, and place her model in front of the city background. Setting the strobe to match the sunlight, she created a fun and natural looking shot of her model playing on the little structure.

As you can see below, the resulting image was one of pretty, effective lighting. The background is not too bright nor does the shot have a ‘Flash’ look to it.

In the shot below by Dawn, we had some bigger lights outside. Alien Bees and a Vagabond gave us plenty of power to make this shot with soft, elegant light. Dawn placed the model where she wanted to get the composition just right, then we lit around her. A bounce umbrella for the key is opposite the sun. This would lend some drama to the shot as the background is clearly lit from the opposite side. A 42″ translucent diffuser was added to block some direct sun on the models face, and a third speedlight was added as a near to camera axis fill. We put a Stofen on it to soften the effect a bit, and dialed it down to a mere ‘pop’ of light to fill the transition (light to dark) across the front of the model.

Dawn’s shot shows a sophisticated light and a beautiful model in an exotic location (actually it is the little park in front of the Steelers Stadium). You can see how well she blended the light and diffusers to present the model in soft, flattering light. I love how the light across her shoulders is gradient, and how the model just seems to pop!

We wanted to do a big shot with all the models and some big lights. As the sky grew darker, and it threatened to rain, we got started. We knew the background needed light as it was very, very dark and in the soft, but definite backlight. The sun was setting to camera right. We also wanted to do a more modern shot with rim/side light from both sides, while preserving the ‘key’ from the front.

We set up an Alien bee 1600 for the background and anchored it with its own Vagabond (Battery). Turning it on full power gave us a nice amount of light for the background and to keep the models separated from the darkness.

Two matching AB’s were mounted with matching silver umbrellas and placed slightly behind and to the side of the trio. A fourth AB was fitted with a beauty dish and mounted to a boom to allow the photographers to keep the key light on axis and lighting up the transition on the models.

The resulting image shows how the lower camera position eliminates a lot of the parking lot and brings the eye to the models. The backlight was aimed down to provide a bright to dark gradient across the background which plays well with the ‘evenly spaced’ light of the models.

Another of Dawn’s shots from this set:

This is our intrepid Pittsburgh talent and photographers: As you can see, we take ourselves very seriously.

Thanks for visiting. If you enjoyed this article, pass it on to your friends by using our social network tools at the top right of this post. Follow me on Twitter for photography related posts and an occasional rant. Workshop information can be found at Learn to Light.

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Hey… it’s been a while. Sorry ’bout that. I have been traveling so dang much that it has been a little hard to get to the site… but I have really got a lot of stuff ready to go.

The last few weeks included Boise, Toronto and this weekend it is Pittsburgh. If you are ready to get your lighting up a notch or two, we will have our schedule for next year ready for signup on December 1. I am taking most of December off to work on the book and DVD. We should have some great stuff for next year. I am revamping the workshop to include more demos/handouts/video and some other cool things to be announced.

Toronto was a blast… a real blast! We had some incredible light on Saturday, and some – uh – fog on Sunday. No matter… the thing rocked. Shooting in Adam Belnap’s beautiful studio (more coming on that) and the cool area all around it.

I got to see some of the beautiful Canadian countryside on the way back (getting lost facilitated a trip through the back roads of Ontario… lucky I had time). It was beautiful and cold.

I got to the airport in Buffalo and found this email from one of my attendees…

“I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your workshop. I am in tears right now and that is not an exaggerating. I have been struggling for awhile (for a long time) with figuring out a career path for myself. I have always had a passion for photography, but was always unsure if I could do it. I got home last night and was anxious to look at my photos that I took from Sunday’s session, but had to force myself to sleep. (I can’t lie I was exhausted, but a good exhaustion.)

This morning I woke up got the kids off to school, and sat down to look at my pictures. There were some not so good pictures, some really good images, and some photographs that I never thought I could’ve taken in a million years! They literally took my breath away. If it weren’t for you putting on this workshop, and making it affordable to someone like myself, I would still be sitting here today, wondering if I could do it. I now know I can do it, and more importantly I want to do it so bad I can taste it. Thank you a million times over.”

I love this. I really do. You are welcome!

Some recent posts from around the net:

A Photo Editor had this interesting post on “Perception”.
Heather Morton: “A Year in the Life” project.
David Hobby has a few beers with Vermeer… heh.
David Eustace and his daughter take a trip.. and the result is stunning.
My friend Chris Valites got a nice post on Conscientious.
Liz Cockrum knocks us out with an amazing set of portraits.

IMPORTANT NEWS! Selina Maitreya’s incredible, wonderful, informative and entertaining audio series is now available to the readers of this site for half off. That’s right! 50% off her regular price. Simply visit her site and order the audio. When you get to the purchase page, put in the code FOSLE and you will get $100 off the price at checkout. This audio package will change how you think about your work and working in this great business.

Let’s go on now and check out these amazing 33 images from the Flickr LE Pool.

From the amazing Lighting Essentials Flickr Pool. And remember that you should click on the images you like and visit the photographers. Leave a comment or two… they love it

Thanks for taking a look and be sure to click on the images to see more work by these wonderful photographers. If you liked it, be sure to Tweet it or share… see upper right of each page for a series of sharing tools.

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Meters. Some people hate ‘em. Some people love ‘em. But a lot of people don’t know what they do or why they should have one. Well the gloves come off on this one. At Lighting Essentials, we LOVE light meters… they give us control that no chimpin’ can… and we can use the knowledge they give us to tame even the most difficult lighting challenge.

We will have a lot to say about meters in this post, so grab a cold one (or for my Toronto, Detroit, Boise and Pittsburgh friends… a warm one) and get ready. We are gonna talk about meters and how to use them for repeatable and perfect exposures. More after the jump… lots more.

I received a note from one of the workshop folks from earlier in the year. He was employed when he took the workshop, but a few weeks later found himself able to ‘pursue other interests…” Beng laid off suddenly can be a real wakeup for most people. “Without taking your workshop, I wouldn’t have known where to start. But having the information you taught me made me confident enough to go out on my own. It isn’t easy… but we are doing better than we thought we would have a year ago. I will match my old salary within a year if things keep going as they are. Thanks for the information and encouragement to just go for what I wanted to do all along.”

OK… that really made my day… hell, it made a lot of my days.

Be sure to catch the “Going Pro” section for more information on making that jump. Check out Briana’s “Model Behavior” for insights into the world of being on the other end of the lens, and be sure you hit the “Archives” as there are tons of articles on this site. Maybe enough for a book… ya know.

Anyway… let’s hit the road with this meter thing. I love my beat-up old Minolta Meter and wouldn’t leave home without it. Here’s why…

Meters have been the subject of many discussions pro and con recently. I offer my assistance whenever I can, but lately the noise about not needing them seems to be quite loud. OK… I can tell you seriously that if you really don’t need one, then by all means don’t bother. If it is working for you, then fine. (However, I will say that 9 out of 10 people who tell me they don’t need them don’t know what they are missing… they never had the power and control a meter can give. Sorry, but there is a hell of a lot a chimp and a histogram wont tell you.)

I like using a meter. I have had many. My current one is a meter I bought a long time ago. The Minolta Flashmeter IV has been with me for nearly three decades now. New juice and a nice place for naps and it is a trusty friend and I-got-that-light-for-you assistant. It has been dropped, left behind, lost, found and sat upon. Spilled drinks nearly killed it one night in LA, and the sands of the Mojave left it with less luster and shine.

But I push the button and it tells me the exposure. Or at least the exposure as it sees it. I determine the final settings based on what it tells me is the ‘mean’.

Someday I will write about how much the Zone System study that I did helps me today, but for now I will only say that understanding what the meters see is so damn important. They see a middle gray – 18% gray to be precise. They have to have something to ‘base’ their exposure on so they choose the middle tone to do it.

Reflective meters DEPEND on something in the scene being middle gray, and they DEPEND on you to know what that middle gray thing is. Wedding dresses become middle gray when exposed ‘to the meter’ with a reflected meter. The meter sees the dress and calculates the correct exposure for it to be middle gray. Guys in black tuxes? No problem says the reflected light meter… shabam… middle gray. That is the job of the reflected light meter… to tell the photographer what exposure to use to render the subject ‘middle gray’.

If you know what to point your meter at, you can then use it to determine your exposure exactly. Let’s look at a scene with middle gray in it… and exposed for that luminance.

This photo of the “George Patton Museum” in California was taken in direct sun. I metered the exposure with the built in meter (reflective) and chose the medium toned rocks as my center-weighted target. They were what I deemed to be middle gray, so I exposed at the camera’s suggested exposure. If I had chosen the lighter band above them, then the image would have that band placed at middle gray and all of the tones below it would move down one… taking the dark grays into black and lowering the light grays into the mid-gray tone.

If I had conversely chosen the dark gray part of the wall to make my exposure, that area would have been moved to the luminance of the middle gray rock and everything above it would move up… overexposing the highest lights into white and creating a dark gray bottom where black should have been. One stop can do that.

I use a reflective light meter when I am physically in a different light than my subject. For instance… If I am on the Golden Gate bridge and it is currently in the fog, and I look East toward San Francisco – currently bathed in beautiful sun – I use a reflected light meter reading. I look for something in the scene that I want to be middle gray, place my center-weighted meter on that and get my exposure… moving the camera to get my composition. Reflective light meters are subject sensitive… they move all over as you move along the scene so you must choose wisely.

All of a sudden the fog clears and I am standing in the same light as the city. Now, I pull out my trusty Minolta meter and using the ambient setting, I aim the ball at the direction of the camera and take a reading. That’s because the same light that is falling on the city is now falling on me. So I can get a reading of the city by simply getting a reading of the light that is prevailing on both me and the city.

Incident light meters (with the little ball on them – or with the ball in the main position are ambient light meters) measure the light falling on the subject and tell you what the middle gray exposure is even if there is no middle gray in the picture. It is subject neutral. The meter doesn’t vary as you move it around, as long as it is receiving the same light as the subject… it doesn’t care what is in your frame. It is giving you the correct exposure for the scene as it is being rendered by the light. Subject centric photography… I have mentioned that before. How the subject receives the light is the most important aspect of it.

How do you decide where to point the ball of the ambient light meter? It points to the camera for taking the overall exposure. You can use it toward the specific light/shadow when determining the ratio or fall-off of the light. Subjects are three dimensional. The ball is three dimensional. It should receive the light just as the subject receives the light. The angle of incidence will alter the exposure from camera, so keeping the angle of incidence on the ball the same as the subject renders the correct exposure. Or at least the meter’s base line of ‘correctness’.

Notice the placement and angle of the meter for gathering correct information.

Notice the upper right image. The meter was aimed at the shadow side, receiving no light from the window. So it gives us an exposure to make the shadow side middle gray. That renders the soft window light too bright. But if we meter the window light only, without taking into effect the way the light falls and angles to the camera, then the exposure is to render the window light as middle gray and the entire image is underexposed.

We take the reading from the middle of the face – the ‘transition’ spot of light to dark – and we make sure the ball is aiming right at the camera. (Look… I get really focused here… Right at means RIGHT AT… not a little off or a little down or high… be precise. PRECISE.) This exposure then is right on and renders the image in a pleasing, wide tonality that speaks to the lit and shadow side of the image.

Now you can choose what to do with that information… You can choose to shoot the image dark – ‘placing’ the exposure to the darker side if that is your taste. Or, if you want to expose the image a little lighter – or a lot lighter – you can. That is called placing the exposure.

(A word about exposure. In film days we exposed for the shadows, and developed for the highlights. These days I do something we call “Shoot to the right”. It means I like to shoot a bit brighter with the histogram, not going to the darker. I can pull more from the lighter capture than I can from the darker, muddier version. There is a lot more on this here, and here.)

Let’s look at a few case studies here for some ways the meter has been used to give the information to make the decisions on what to set the exposure.

I chose to let the bright highlights blowout for this shot in Bermuda

In the image above, taken in Bermuda, you can see the different snips of exposures. I started at what the meter said, but quickly decided that was too dark. I wanted the FEELING of the light I was experiencing in that little roadway. I chose the bright exposure to make the set of images, and used Photoshop to bring a little more detail out of the dress. At this amount of backlight, it becomes a source in itself and I am simply shooting into a ‘flare’ situation. And flare I got. However, it is that flare and bright light that makes it feel so powerful.

A simple photograph of our MUA with late afternoon sun. A simple ambient meter solution.

I simply love this late afternoon light. The subject is sitting in the warmth of the sun and wanted to get a nice, simple portrait. By holding the ambient meter with the ball facing the camera, I nailed the exposure with a click. The highlights are still with texture and the shadow side is still delicately lit from the bounce of the pure white gorgeous sand of Anna Maria Island.

I could have chimped it you say? Really? On a bright, white sandy beach in the sun? OK… maybe, but I have found that it is damn difficult for my eyes to adjust to that screen in the middle of what seems like a light source. I didn’t have to chimp it with my trusty Minolta…

Adding a flash to the mix is easy with a meter that gives you the exact information you need... when you need it.

The metering of the shot of Christina was easy. I took a reading of the sunlight falling on the side of her face just as it fell… with the meter turned to the side and receiving the light from that angle. I then moved the meter to the front of her face and took a reading with the Ranger in a beauty dish. We simply moved the dish in to where we wanted it and dialed the power down till we got to the point where the Elinchrome’s reading was the same as the sun.

You will notice that the light seems brighter from the backlight sun. That is because the angle of the sun presents the light as a specular (angle of incidence – angle of reflection) and as a specular it seems brighter. The reflected light source is pretty cool when you control how it works.

By placing the exposure at 1/3 over the ambient, we can mute the world around our subject just a bit

I loved this guy! I decided I wanted the ambient world to be a bit muted, so I took a meter reading of the light falling on the beach. I placed it at a point to be 1/3 under-exposed. Then I moved the light into the scene to provide the exposure. It is 1/3 over the ambient, but that is what I used to place the exposure for the image.

Placing the exposure lets me determine where I can put the ambient in regard to the subject. Flash adds the ability to create a source that is not related to the ambient, so it gives the photographer another creative ability to make the image look the they want it to look. Shutter speed is used to control the ambient and the power/distance of the flash is used to determine the exposure for the subject.

Placing the exposure at the middle tones of the shot allowed the face to actually be a little over... and that 'sells' the idea of the light.

This is a really fun shot. The sun is coming in from behind her, and I wanted the feeling of a second light source catching her attention. I metered the shot and got the basic exposure by seeing how much light was coming in from the window and falling on her legs. I checked it with a ‘chimp’ at that exposure and that confirmed that I liked the way it looked.

I added my key light with a speedlight in a bounced 43″ satin white umbrella dialed down to give me f-2.8 at the mid point of her reclining figure. That made the face closer to the light a bit brighter, and that made the shot look real and accessible. If I had placed the exposure to the darker exposure it would have looked more ‘flash-lit’ and not as natural. Placing the exposure to render the tonalities where YOU want them is one of the creative ways you can control your image and make your shots yours.

On the left is a simple natural light exposure and on the right is a more complex three shot reading.

A simple headshot of Briana in Chicago with ambient, back lit sun is very easy with a meter. I moved in close and placed the meter under her chin for the reading. I stood way to the side so that there would be no reflection – positive or negative – from me. I wanted the ambient light on her face to be all that the camera would see and of course, kept the ball aimed at the camera position. The extreme backlight blew out some of the hair, but I don’t care. I love the look.

With the shot on the right, I used two shoot-thru umbrellas on each side of Lynn and a medium umbrella to the front of her. I used the meter and one light at a time to make sure the side lights were 1/2 over the front light and even. Simply turning the other lights off let me make each side light perfect, then add the front light. You may have to adjust a little after all three are on, but that is made easier because of the precision of the light settings possible with the meter. Honestly don’t know how precise you can get without a meter, but I sure do know how you can with one. Fast.

I chose to make the exposure based on the main – key light – and let the side lights be brighter by 1/2 stop. Placing the exposure at the key to ‘bring up’ the side lights gives the shot its expressive look.

I hope that I shed a little light on how to use the meter (heh, sorry) and that it gives you some ideas on how to use your meter a bit more, or why you should have one anyway. See you next time, and as always… please let your friends know about this article and site by using the sharing buttons on the top of the right column.

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We have another inspirational post from the Lighting Essentials Flickr Pool. 44 terrific images that hopefully will inspire you. I love looking through that pool whenever I have a few minutes. Take your time, and as always, the images link to the photographers Flickr page so take a look at the other wonderful imagery you can find there.

Our cover shot was done a few days ago at the amazing Boston workshop. It rained steady the second day and we had to punt a bit, but we got some amazing imagery. Fantastic models and talent and some really talented photographers there in Boston.

Off to Boise – and we have an opening or two. Sure it’s last minute notice… but hey, throw caution to the wind and join us in Idaho for a workshop that will change the way you think about, and use, light.

A few of our previous collections of images live here:

40 Pictures from the Forum
44 Cool Images From the Forum
24 Photographs That Rock
Lighting Essentials Forum Rocks Another 40 Images

And…
Create an Antique Camera Look for Your Images
Adding Texture to a Portrait for Added Drama
Style: It’s Not What You Shoot, It’s How You Shoot It

I hope you enjoy this post as much as I enjoyed looking through the pool. Grab a cold one (or a warm one if you back in New England) and spend some time looking at the amazing work.

Here are 44 of the most amazing Lighting Essentials Flickr Images. Thanks for sharing the great images with the world, folks. PLEASE click on the photographs to see more of the amazing images from the photographers presented here. And of course, thanks to all the photographers who participate in the Lighting Essentials

Thanks for stopping by. I am so proud of the work on the Lighting Essentials Flickr page that I love to share these images. Makes a heck of an inspirational post, ya know.

If you enjoyed the post, please share it through Flickr, Facebook and any of a bunch of Social Media sites. See the panel on the top right of this page.

See you later this week with another post.

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I am so proud of the Lighting Essentials Flickr Forum. There are some truly amazing photographs here. Thanks to all that participate. Now if we could get the discussions going a bit… oh well.

Remember to visit the photographer’s Flickr page by clicking on each image.

Before we get started some housekeeping:

We are postponing Detroit and New York. Seems we picked a bad weekend for both. My Washington DC group pulled a lot of interested New Yorkers and the timing is not good.

Omaha is gonna rock. I mean it you Midwestern shooters… you will learn and shoot and learn some more. And the Missoula workshop should pull a lot of interest from the north western states. What an incredible location and opportunity for cool images. Chicago is out there as well, so it could be great for those of you interested in a ‘Big City” approach to the workshop.

I have been so busy that I feel like a crazed man sometimes. But the good news is that the new workbook is taking shape as well as the new DVD series. I stopped the sales on the old one and it is only available at the workshops. We are adding a “continuing education” component to the workshops and will only be available to the workshop attendees… and at no cost. We start in May. Watch the site for more information.

Well, on to the newest collection of images chosen by an AD friend of mine who wants to be anonymous. She is a little shy when it comes to these things.

Thanks and remember to click on the images to visit the photographers Flickr page. Leave them a comment and let them know if you like their work.

Thanks for coming by. We will be adding some stuff on Wednesday. See you then.

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