Audio from this past week’s discussion. This is from the Friday afternoon chat.

I had a wonderful opportunity to discuss the upcoming Clarion Call 2011, a free teleseminar for photographers, with the talent and brains behind it, Selina Maitreya. You can listen here on the page if you like, of see the link below for going off to TinDeck to listen there. Please feel free to embed this info into your websites/blogs.

Download it here.

I am honored to be in such great company, and am looking forward to having a terrific amount of information for you all on that day. Mark your calendars and stay tuned. Clicking on the graphic below will take you to the sign up page – and signing up and listening is free. We all are pulling for your success, so take the opportunity to get some great information.

Wednesday evening, January 12, 2011, 6PM PST. We discuss the new assignment, photographing strangers, and review assignment on Vision Statements.

Lighting Essentials LIVE for our UK and European followers will be Friday at Noon MST. Adjust accordingly, but that should be evening for you all.

Information regarding Project 52.
I have been asked if it is too late to join in. No. Join in at any point. Becoming involved and having a great experience with each and every assignment is the point. Learning and progressing is the point. Making photographs, learning about the business and feeling more confident is the point. Not whether you did one thing or another, but that you did it period.

This is the halfway point of the first Project 52 assignment – a vision statement (mission statement). There are a bunch of them already at the Flickr page. Upload yours there for discussion. We start to discuss them this week, with plenty of time for you to adjust and rework it as we move forward.

Remember, the point of this ‘vision statement’ is not something for public consumption – it isn’t a ‘tag line’ or something for your business, it is for you. A way of pulling your vision from your heart and mind and giving it a dimension. It is what drives the consistency of your work.

Of course we all want to make good, even great, pictures. And we want to be rewarded. We also want to make photographs that work for us on a personal, aesthetic plane. Images that mean something to us.

Here’s mine: “I make photographs that reveal the moments between, with an emotional and graphical environmental experience.”

Does that mean I won’t take photographs of food? Or cars? Nope… love to, but they are the wonderful ancillary to the work I want to do and be known for. And that little sentence, that little vision statement, drives so much of my work. Some examples below.

On to the Project 52, Assignment #2

Assignment #2:
Photograph a Stranger.

Criteria:

• The person should be unknown to you.
• It can be a street portrait, studio portrait or environmental portrait.
• The portrait should be simply lit.
• Tell us a little bit about the person – through the image and the caption.
• Tell us how you approached and worked with the subject(s) for the project.

Photographing someone you don’t know can be a scary proposition for many of us. I am fairly shy, or at least not that comfortable with walking up to someone and striking up a conversation. I usually will not do that.

UNLESS… I have my camera around my neck or in my hand. When I am ‘a photographer’ I can easily and without hesitation walk up to people and ask to make their picture. I do it a lot, actually.

You see, the camera gives me cover. The camera makes it about the photograph, not me. The camera is both a shield and a passport to meeting people.

In the photograph that is the cover shot of this post, I saw this guy sitting on the cold pier with his 6-pack and I walked right over to him. I smiled and introduced myself, told him I liked his beard and his lunch and asked if I could make a few photographs. He smiled and agreed and I brought some lights over and set them up.

All the while we were chatting about the weather and how it had affected the fishing that week. He told us about having three boats sink under him and how he had great respect for the sea.

I got my shots, and met a very cool guy. It also gave me an idea for a project we are doing at the end of this year.

Here are some links and videos to get your imaginations going. (Oh, and to that little voice that holds you back from walking up to someone you don’t know… tell that little voice to go away, you are a photographer and this must be done. Period.)

Here is Lee Friedlander’s wonderful book: America by Car:

There are many portraits of strangers interspersed with the shots from his car.

Watch Mark Cohen at work:

Not my style at all, but he gets some pretty interesting photographs. If this kind of portraiture appeals to you, here is how Mark does it.

Here are two videos of Joel Meyorowitz:

This photographer set out to do 100 photographs of strangers:

Photographer Zack Arias talks about photographing strangers on this post.

One of my favorite photographers is Eliott Erwitt. See his work here. Lots of photographs of strangers with a very humanistic and humorous approach.

Here are some wonderful portfolios and videos by photographers shooting portraits of strangers.
Dawoud Bey
David Eustace
Richard Rinaldi
Sylvia Plachy

One more for this post… more to come this week.

Robert Frank photographed the people he met… strangers. His book, “The Americans” was a landmark collection of photography and he influenced countless photographers in the ‘street’ photography genre. Here is a link to his images and this is the book to add to you collection of important photographic books.

Discussion in the comments. Hold the posts of images till this weekend. I will create a new post on Flickr for them.

Please encourage friends and colleagues to join us for this project. They can join anytime, and take advantage of all the discussions.

Follow me on Twitter and visit my Facebook page and be sure to check out the workshop schedule at Learn to Light.

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2. Selina Maitreya: Trends… or Not. (Interview in Three Parts) We present the second of a three part look at...
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John Groseclose shot our cover this post. Fitting, since John and I are teaching a CLS (Creative Lighting System) workshop tomorrow at my studio. It will be an event to remember. For me anyway… for a lot of reasons. If you want to know all about how incredible the Nikon CLS System is, watch the site for a lot of incredible information from John.

This week starts a terrifically busy two weeks ever for me. I am doing something that will take a ton of time and organization, but in the end we will have something that will make the workshops here in Phoenix even more fun. Stay tuned.

There are a lot of good posts on this site that I want to bring to this front page. Not sure a lot of folks are hitting the archives, so here are some oldies but goodies for your perusal.

• Using Lighting and Posing to Create the Effect You Want
• Subtractive Lighting: Creating Drama with Contrast
• The First Assignment: Pitfalls and Opportunities
• Something to Think About: Should Photography be Easy?
• Creating Good Headshot Lighting in ‘Bad Light’
• Using Light to Create Drama On Location
• Getting A White Background with Speedlights

We are getting ready for the end of the year workshops now, and Florida’s incredible 3 day workshop is now open for registration. See the LearntoLight page for more information. We are also starting to get our next years workshops in line. If you have a destination for us, let us know.

I love good photography, and I follow a lot of shooters online and through print. There is so many incredible images being made these days. Wow, it knocks me out. And I love to see the images that flow through our Lighting Essentials Flickr Pool as well. Seeing the people who belong and some of the images from the workshops just… well, it just makes me smile. Photography is going through a lot of changes these days. But in the end, the power of the still image is not diminished.

Take a few moments and view some 40 images from the pool here. As usual, each image is linked to the photographer’s page, so if you especially like the work, drop by and tell them how much.

As always, I appreciate my sponsors on the right side, and please take a look if you are in the hunt for a website, online proofing, gear, or lens rental.

Thanks for taking a moment to view these amazing pieces of art by the photographers who belong to the Flickr Lighting Essentials Forum. We are doing the a workshop this weekend for CLS, so there will be more shots coming soon from our talented photographers.

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3. 25 New Images from the Lighting Essentials Pool Well, the pool keeps gettin’g deeper, ya know. I was...

Tom Miles joins us for an LE Interview that I know you will find fun and inspiring. August is traditionally a slow month for me, but not this one. Big event taking place all month (secret – you’ll have to wait) and it is keeping every spare moment filled. Seriously.

Last weekend was a Seattle Workshop at SPA, and it was really amazing. They have a great studio there and provided models and MUA’s and a terrific stylist and the students were simply on fire. I don’t know what it is about Seattle, but there is some really vibrant photography going on in that town. To all of you who came and worked with the workshop gang, thank you.

We started Friday evening with a 3 hour discussion on the business side of photography, preparing for becoming professional even part time. It was the first time I had presented this talk, and it went really well. I am thinking that I might add a slide show to the presentation. If so, it will be available to all the workshop attendees ever… that is my policy. We don’t do no upsell, kids.

Saturday we were in the studio and worked with 1 and 2 light setups. Cloudiness became less dark in the afternoon so teams went to a small area and made some amazing shots with big lights outside – gotta love those Vagabonds.

Sunday started with rain while we calibrated our speedlights and worked with some modifiers. Blending and beating ambient was academic part and we worked outside to perfect distance/power understanding.

Then the sky cleared, we had sun and headed to the water for a most amazing daylight shoot. Students mixed flash and sunlight and shot natural light and it was amazing. Watch for a Seattle post soon of some of the shots they did. If you may be interested in a workshop this Fall, take a look at Learntolight.com for more information.

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UPDATE:
A wonderful blog post on Microstock by Mark Stout was just sent to me. If you are considering MicroStock, you may want to take a moment to read this well written and researched article.

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BTW… if you want to keep up with the exploits of your host, you can follow me on twitter. And I am on FaceBook as well. If you are a Facebook member, look me up.

I hope to be able to share some wonderful changes with you on the first of September, so stay tuned.

Now on to Tom Miles and a wonderful interview as he answers the (in)famous LE 12…

1. How long have you been in business? Was it a slow transition or did you just open shop?

Amateur at 13 (1991), and mucked about for 2 years. Did work experience at the local paper when I was 15, and never really looked back. Worked for them and myself for the next 2 years whilst still at school, then went to study at Blackpool for a degree in photography. Got more work experience whilst there, but this time down in London with advertising and fashion photographers. After leaving college (1998) I started out as a photographers assistant and had a fantastic time working for about 30 different photographers over 3 years. Digital wasn’t on the scene yet, and I worked with almost any and every technical setup you can imagine, from huge film sets to still lives, and from 35mm up to 10×8”, in which I became a bit of an expert. I’m convinced I hold the world record for the most 10×8” polaroids processed in a day (286 if anyone fancies challenging it)

I got a lucky break within 9 months of starting assisting. One of the photographers I worked for was also the creative director of a magazine, so could commission work as well as shoot it. He started handing me some of his smaller jobs, and I built things up from there. In May 2001 I officially retired from assisting, and have been shooting for myself ever since.

2. How did you get started? Any mentors or great stories here?

I’ve kind of answered the first part, but can provide more detail for the second.

I was blessed with some marvellous mentors. John Robertson, who took me under his wing when I was 15 at the local paper, and Geoff Clarke, who was my tutor at college, were probably the main two. Besides these guys I had the benefit of assisting some awesome photographers, and was able to learn lots of business and technical stuff from them, whilst also getting paid. I still believe that assisting is the best way into the business, but recognise that these days it’s harder and harder to make a living.

As far as great stories goes I could probably ramble on for ever, but since we’re talking about starting out I’ll stick to a faintly relevant one! When I applied to Blackpool college I was in the all too familiar situation of being on my own – I didn’t have the required basics to get on the course, and should have done at least a year’s study of Art Foundation. However, I was allowed through the door, and got to the interview with 2 tutors (one of whom was the aforementioned Geoff Clarke). They looked through my portfolio in about 15 seconds and then started to grill me. The fact that I had no art background obviously concerned them, but they latched on to my A-level in English literature, and mined that seam. Questions like “which themes within Shakespeare do you feel reflect on your daily life?” and “How do you stand on the argument between a traditional Omnipotent God, and the idea of an Omnipresent natural deity, as put forward in “Tess of the D’Urbervilles”? I answered as best as I could, and walked out thinking I’d blown it. 2 weeks later, an unconditional place arrives on the mat, and I’m very pleasantly surprised.

Cut to the first night at college, and there’s a small welcome do, upstairs in a pub (Blackpool’s not a big college….) After a little dutch courage I wandered over to one of the tutors from the interview and asked him in no uncertain terms, what the hell the interview was about. He scowled at me, as if trying to recall who I was, then a wave of recognition crossed his face:

“Oh yeah, you were that young kid who had no Art. Well, we knew you could take a decent photograph, but we wanted to know if you could THINK. And you could, so you’re in.”

3. Describe an average week at your studio.

Don’t have a studio, as I hire them when required (rents in London are prohibitive, and would add massively to my overheads). I also genuinely don’t have an average week. Last week I was in the studio twice, once to shoot some covers for Men’s Fitness as well as some features stuff, and then the second studio shoot was for Inside Poker, again covers and features stuff. I was also shooting on location in a Gym with some guys doing Krav Maga. And I shot an old friends wedding on Saturday, but never charge for that sort of thing and don’t consider it work. This week I’ve only been shooting once, and that was more Men’s Fitness covers and features in the studio. Next week I’m shooting some Judo, followed by flying over to Corsica for a few days to photograph something called Mouvement Naturelle, which looks very cool.

On average I probably shoot about 3 times a week, 2 of those would be on location (and that can be literally anywhere) and 1 would be in a studio. I tend to use the same studios for shooting in, my favourite probably being the Lemonade Factory, as they’re great people to work with.

4. Why London? Have you considered anywhere else?

London is the centre of the publishing, advertising, design and media industry in the UK, hence the vast majority of my clients are here. When I first left college I was determined to only come down to London for a brief period, then move back to somewhere with better access to mountains for a different quality of life. This pipe dream was soon stifled when I realised that:

a) The commercial photography market outside London is considerably smaller. It’s possible to make a living, and I know a few mates who do, but the opportunities are fewer and further between.

b) Things were going so well, so soon after moving to London that I realized I’d be stupid to leave it.

11 years after moving here, and now of course I can’t contemplate moving. I love the city, probably 80% or more of my friends live here, and I’ve got everything (apart from mountains) on my doorstep. I can get on a bus and go and watch Ian Mckellen and Patrick Stewart at the theatre, and walk home if I feel inclined, just like I did the other weekend!

5. What motivates you, or gets you going? What do you use for inspiration?

These days I’m usually motivated slightly more by situations and things, rather than images. I’ll read about something, or chat to someone, and think “that’d be cool to photograph”, and then go out and try and do it. Besides that I’m generally motivated by the job itself, and the opportunities it creates – see next question for more extrapolation.

Inspiration still comes from visual sources as well though. Other photographers work, exhibitions, web sites, magazines, books, well-shot films and so on. Ever since college I’ve got into the habit of building a “sourcebank” of visual reference material, and with the internet these days it’s mostly become a huge bookmarks folder of websites and images I love as well as an ever-growing folder on the computer. What I enjoy these days is the ease with which stuff can be tracked down. I can watch a film, track down the cinematographer on IMDB, and then find everything else they’ve done, for example. Just the other week I watched the surprisingly good Outpost, expecting it to be a proper turkey. Not only was it an enjoyable film, but it was beautifully shot, and the DP has his own site, which also looks very cool.

I’m also lucky that I have a very inspirational group of friends. Amongst my mates I can count animators, curators, radio producers, designers, policemen, doctors, pilots, biologists, teachers, soldiers, sportsmen, authors, along with a host of other diverse and interesting people. I’m never short of a new outlook or approach with people like this around me, and they’re a never ending source of inspiration. I learnt at college that a creative person is best served by having lots of differing opinions around them, as long as these opinions are well argued rather than simply dogmatic. Once you start to add such a breadth of experience as I’m exposed to it only makes the mix all the richer.

6. What is it you like the most about being a photographer? Do you do anything else for a hobby or avocation?

There are many things I love about my job, but after all these years I think the best thing is getting to meet and work with truly exceptional people, on a regular basis, and being placed in interesting situations all the time. When I’m sent to photograph someone it’s usually because they’re exceptional in some way. They may be Olympic Athletes, cancer survivors, millionaires, or any number of things. I’ve always been attracted to people who stand out from the crowd a bit, and I guess that side of my nature is very fulfilled shooting what I shoot.

There are 2 other great aspects of this. Firstly I get to actually “hang out” with these people, often quite closely, and sometimes for a decent period of time, or we get to share a good experience together. It’s really very special to end up having beers in the pub with a comedian who provided you with such enjoyment throughout your teenage years, and having them invite you along to their next gig. Secondly is the fact that I get to contribute to the story, if that makes any sense, and take something away with me from the shoot in the form of images that I created.

As far as hobbies goes, I run, play squash, and swim fairly regularly, though not competitively, I go Lindy Hopping as often as I can, and I hike up in the hills of northern England and Scotland whenever I get the chance. Living in London I’m lucky to have a vast wealth of cultural stuff on my doorstep, and I take as much advantage of that as I can – plays, gigs, exhibitions, cinema etc. I also enjoy exploring the city, particularly from the river (I can highly recommend the Rib Voyages). I cook whenever I’m able, and I used to love gardening, before I bought my flat and no longer have the opportunity. I read probably too much, and get through about 50 books a year. I’m a big fan of history, and that makes up about half of what I read, the other being pretty much anything from trash to science. I’ve been known to spend a certain amount of time playing Company of Heroes against a friend of mine who works in Military Intelligence, but we’re both so bad it usually becomes a catalogue of errors rather than a brave campaign. I try and catch up with my mates as often as possible, and this is starting to sound like a lonely hearts ad. I’ve got a good sense of humour, and would like to meet someone who enjoys firelight and romantic music.

7. Are there any downsides to being a commercial photographer that you would like to change? How would you change them?

Late payment of bills. However, I don’t see how you could change it unless you managed to change the entire financial structure of the capitalist system, and that’s a little beyond me! It may be possible to make charging interest on late payments compulsory, rather than the ineffective “opt-in” system we have in the UK at the moment, but even then I suspect there’d be either a loop-hole, or an unpleasant hidden cost.

Other than that, I really have very few complaints. One recurring problem is the state of photographic education, and how badly it prepares students for the real world. However, through my efforts on my own blog, my work with the Education group at the Association of Photographers, and my lecture tour I think I’m doing almost everything one person could to correct that problem!

8. What was your most memorable assignment?

Tricky that, as I really do get a superb range of jobs and adventures. Rather than try and pick the best one ever, which would be almost impossible, I can think of a few recent ones that were very cool. Shooting a 3 peaks race whilst also competing in it (about 30 miles walking, 3000m climbing, and 10 hours driving, all in 24 hours), shooting a Golf Marathon – 4 rounds in a day – a week later, shooting a catalogue for a friends’ charity at Richmond Rugby Club, which turned into a kind of school sports day, and spending the night in the New Forest with an SAS survival instructor. I could go on, but you’d be better off just subscribing to the blog!

9. Any ‘war’ stories you would like to share? You know, the ones that always start with “There was this one job where….”

You mean war stories that are also unlikely to get me sued for libel, and don’t involve nudity, foul language, personal injury or flammable materials? Hmm, they may be a bit thin on the ground.

I’ll confess to a couple of stupid mistakes if you like. Sitting on a bus on my way to a job in Maidenhead (before I bought the car), phone rings, and the art director calls to say “blah, blah, blah, Maidstone, Blah blah blah”. “I’m sorry” says I, “did you just say “Maidstone”, only I’m on my way to Maidenhead?” Luckily I was still in Central London, and could divert fairly easily, but that could quite quickly have become an unpleasant day. Did a similar thing in Gateshead once, as there were 2 streets with exactly the same name, and I wondered why the old lady answering the door wasn’t the middle-aged bloke I was looking for!

I’ve also seen my fair share of colleagues – usually journalists, hospitalized, thankfully with no lasting consequences. One particular incident in Borneo a few years ago involved me having to photograph a 180km, 2 day cycle trek. I started out on a bike myself, but gave up by the first lunchtime, as I realised I was never going to be able to keep up and shoot stuff. Throughout the afternoon the journalist I was with, and who I was supposed to be photographing, was nowhere to be found. Eventually when all the support vehicles regrouped I discovered him at the back of one of them with 3 full plastic bags of vomit around him. He’d eaten some spicy Tom Yam soup the day before, and it didn’t like him. On admission to hospital the doctor simple wrote “Tom Yam” on his sheet, and attached him to a drip. He made a full recovery, and was back on his bike the next day, but not before he’d made some truly awesome noises in the toilet!

10. What would be your ideal assignment?

Photographing Humphrey Lyttleton. Oh bugger, he’s dead. That’ll teach me to put things off!
Or photographing Frankie Manning. Oh bugger, I sense a theme developing here…..

11. Future plans for Tom and his photography?

Get off my arse and do some marketing! I hardly ever take my portfolio round, as I’m usually too busy, but I’d like more of some of the work I’ve been doing lately (bigger PR jobs, design agency jobs, and book covers) and I won’t get these without a bit of marketing. I’ve also got another lecture tour coming up in the autumn – full details of which are steadily being added to the blog I’m building. I’ll be going round about 15 or more colleges all over the UK talking to students about business, marketing, creativity, portfolios, and all the other aspects of professional photography which are normally overlooked on an academic course. All this in collaboration with the nice people at Nikon and Calumet.

12. Tell us a little about your new work…

I’m currently focusing on more polished location stuff along the lines of sports/action stuff. It’s a little vague right now, and is slightly market led as well as being personally motivated.

I’m also keen on improving my lighting and general studio work more. To the untrained eye there’s not much difference between some of my recent studio stuff and what I’ve always shot. To me however, I know how much more focused and polished it is, and my clients are starting to notice. I’m keen to continue this trend as much as I can. None of this recent work is published yet, I should point out, so it’ll be a bit hard for others to draw a comparison!

I’ve also got the lecture tour coming up in the autumn, and at some point I really must learn how to use photoshop better. I probably use about 2% of it, and feel like I’m missing out. Oh, and I need to learn some more about video too, but that should be obvious to any working professional photographer in the current market.

13 Oh, and what is on the music box right now at your studio?

Was listening to a “mix tape” made for me by my girlfriend this morning, but am now well and truly stuck into Test Match Special, it being the third test of the Ashes series. I realize that Cricket means nothing at all to anyone outside the Commonwealth, but that’s your loss! It’ll only be marred by the fact that Geoffrey Boycott’s going to be on air several times, and he has a tendency to make my blood boil!

Contact Tom:
Tom Miles
Tom Miles Photography

T: 020 7564 0661
M: 07770 787 249
e-fax no: 44-7006-000-033

W: www.tmphoto.co.uk
E: tom@tmphoto.co.uk
Alt email: miles.tom@gmail.com

Blog: www.photosmudger.com

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We thank Tom and hope that his blood stops boiling soon enough for him to get out and make some more images. And we appreciate him taking the time to talk with us here at Lighting Essentials.

Next up… a review of some gear to make shooting a little easier… right tool for the job, so to speak.

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Briana is back with part two of her article, “Trust the Model” and I am sure it will be of high interest to many of you who are starting down the road of fashion, beauty and editorial photography. Briana’s take on the other side of the lens is kinda fun and brings some insight into that perspective.

This weekend is Seattle. I am here as I write this, with gray clouds outside and no real knowledge of what this day will bring. Working from the road has become so much easier with the tools that we have available. I do all my writing in Google Docs, and use Box.net for my online storage. With my 4GB thumb drive and my 500GB smart drive, I can move files and bring files from the office on the road.

Of course that means I must keep working even when I am not in the office. Tradeoff I guess.

I have so many things to review, that August may turn out to be Review Month. Lighting modifiers, an incredible beauty dish modifier, some wonderful books and a very clever set of free online tools that can help get the up and coming photographer more organized and productive. And, there will be an editorial shoot dissected as well.

I am hoping to meet many of you as I continue the workshops. In response to many, many requests, we are modifying them to include some real, no-nonsense business discussions as well. Whether you are interested in going into photography as a business or not, some of these insights will help you get focused on what needs to be done. In what order. And how to do them. More on the workshops at the Learn to Light page.

Well, I am turning it over to Briana now. So take the plunge, trust the model and read what this model has to say on that subject – trust.

Model Behavior
Trust the Model
By Briana Shaker

Part II:

It’s been written that trust equals suffering. Yet a great poet once said that to create great art one must suffer. If such is true, then I can’t imagine not suffering a little to create great art. Like wearing heels for an 8 hour shoot. Like dancing and gaining an assortment of new and complimentary bruises. Or even like listening to another’s ideas regardless of their experience or lifestyle or job. In the end, it may create something phenomenal. Then again… you may just want to lose the footage in the recycling bin.

Try following these steps:

1. Preparation – simple enough. Set the stage. Get what you need ready, choose backgrounds, wardrobes, etc. You know the drill. It’s the most natural thing in the world for you now.
2. Focused direction – talk to your talent. Explain what you want out of the shoot. Then shoot it. Trust your model and just focus on the shot you’re looking for.
3. Free for all – let the model set the pace now. React to his or her changes in bearing and composition.
4. Edit what you wanted – simple too. You’re already a master here… right?
5. Experiment with the new – kind of self-explanatory… just be a kid. Try new things. Break the rules. The end result might get your name in the next cool method, like the “Dave Hill.” I’m looking forward to the “Briana Shaker Method”
6. Greatness or flop – it doesn’t matter which, it’s all about experience. And that… makes all the difference.

Boldly Going Where You Never Went Before

Letting go of control and picking what to focus on, or what is wanted, may net results beyond your expectations. For instance, on a shoot in Florida (Anna Maria Island – I miss that place), the photogs had taken their shots of me, model in a swimsuit, on the beach, with the waves, and the sun (great stuff) and then I decided to…. Jump. And they shot. The result has become sort of my thing. I use my dance skills to jump. And in so doing there have been a number of spectacular shots that I’m quite proud of having been a part. I’ve even added a few kicks and punches to my repertoire. Nothing like a model that can figuratively and literally… knock you out

The Good the Bad and the Inexperienced.

Models? Trust them? What if they have little experience?

Often the inexperienced can offer the most new opportunities. Similarly to children, the inexperienced are not burdened with the norms and conventions of a field. It’s easier for them to break free. That doesn’t guarantee that their break will be original or even good, but it does guarantee a new perspective, and, like betting on a 50 to 1 horse, it’s a chance at a great win fall.

Yet what about client based photography? Take a chance there?

Well… that’s different. As the photographer you can offer all the advice in the world, but in the end it’s up to the client and in his or her ability to trust you. But it doesn’t hurt to suggest. It doesn’t hurt to ask if they want to try a few things. They may. But like anything, you have to go by the feel of the situation and the desired outcome. When you’re a pro you have to make pro decisions.

What if the client is only paying for a set time and you have to ensure you get the results you want? In such an instance there is no time for “free for all.”

True. But art is usually (not always) that work we do when we’re not working for a client. This is your passion and your art. Some of it is about pleasing the clients and the rest is about pleasing yourself. I did a shoot with Sexy-Rid and I gave my all… professionally. In the end, I love the results. I didn’t jump. I didn’t dance. And I didn’t punch anyone. I still made art.

Conclusion

Trust. It’s a simple monosyllabic word. Yet, this simple word is one complex and problematic concept. From poor foreign relations between neighboring countries to the artist and his or her subject, trust is the basis for change and subsequent potential greatness. By just “letting go” and giving the model a “shot”, a photog can then draw on his or her wealth of experience and interests to maybe… just maybe… create something new. Now whether that “new” is ready for prime-time, that common hour we all tune in our flat-screens… well, what artist really wants to be known as being commonly accepted? None I know. So little kitty, hanging off a branch on that poster on the dentist’s ceiling, just let go… it doesn’t matter where you land, you’ll always land on your feet

– — – —
Thanks Bri, well done. For more of Briana’s articles, click the “Model Behavior” category on the category menu. And watch for her upcoming book. We will announce it here first!

Monday we feature an interview with a photographer from England, and Wednesday will be a feature on small strobe modifiers for creating subtle, and very controlled light.

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2. One model? No worries, it’s called Range! (Part One) Range beyond the ordinary: All the world’s a stage, and...
3. Muse and Inspiration: The Model’s Role A Two Part Article By Briana Shaker Part I What...

We have been looking at business practices for a while now, and I have had some questions about the Photoshop Processing on a few of my recent images. I thought it may be a good idea to show a Photoshop Tutorial on how I create the Antique/Old Camera look.

For those who may be visiting for the first time, there is a lot of information on this site. Hit the Archives button above and settle in. From single light portraiture to big studio shoots, there are a lot of deep articles to peruse.

I have workshops coming up all over the country. Take a look at the Learn to Light site for the schedule. I hope to see you at one.

Here is a list of recent articles:
10 Things You Can Do Right Now for Your Photography Business
10 Pricing Strategies and Challenges for Photographers
Creating a Studio Still Life Shot for Advertising
Deconstructing a Location Portrait
Mixing Strobe and Ambient Light for a Natural Effect

There are more, and I hope you enjoy them. Hit the Tech Sheet Link above for some long-form PDF’s to download and reference when you need the technique.

The shot we are starting with is a digital color capture of a model in Mexico at the April Workshop. A total natural light shot, I liked the large cactus thing. The model struck a pose that I thought had a whimsical look to it and seemed fitting to the scene.

Later in editing, I knew that the image, while OK, was not what I was seeing in my head. I decided to work it out as an antique camera look, with a rough old camera “film edge”.

Here is the original shot, right out of the Canon RAW converter:

First thing I do is make a new duplicate layer from the original file layer.

To this layer I apply a Radial Blur at these settings:
Radial Blur / Spin / Good / Amount = 1

I then apply a second Radial Blur at the below settings:
Radial Blur: Zoom / Good / Amount=2

This layer now has the soft focus look of an old camera. We now need the grain of the old films.
I add grain by first adding noise:
Noise / 4% / Gaussian / Monochromatic

I now add the Grain to the image… not the same thing as Noise, but I do it softly so it looks like film grain, not digital noise.
Filter / Texture / Grain / Intensity = 25 / Contrast = 0 / Grain Type: Enlarged

This Layer I now call Blur-Grain and lower the opacity to 60% to blend the two layers.

I duplicate this layer and desaturate it. I move the opacity back to 100% at this point.

I then create a new layer above the Desaturated Layer and do a radial fill, from white to black, from the center out. Setting this layer to Blend Mode / Overlay creates a vignette. You can now calibrate how much you want the vignette to be with the opacity slider.

I clone this layer to a layer above and change the Blend Mode to Soft Light. Again, you can now tweak the amount of vignette you want to achieve with the opacity sliders. Both layers of vignette can be adjusted separately for different effects.

Creating a border for the image is done on a new layer. I use guides to add the distance and then make a selection inside the guides. Invert the selection and fill it with black. (Select / Invert / Fill with black)

Here you see the border filled with black.

Spatter Brush of the black border. Radius=19 / Smoothness=2. Don’t worry about the edge at this moment, we will blend it on the blend mode by changing it to Multiply.

Changing the Blend Mode to Multiply will eliminate the fringe look to the spatter brush work we just did. If it doesn’t look like enough to you, simply run it a second time.

I now add a Curves Adjustment Layer and tweak a small “S” curve to get a bit more contrast to the image. You will tweak as necessary for your image, but remember that older film was very contrasty.

Here are the layers as we now have them. You can see that we can also lower the opacity of the curves layer for even finer control.

We used a Levels adjustment layer to further tweak the shadow detail to allow the shot to breathe a little more in the shadow / midtone areas.

A new Adjustment Layer is now created as a Hue and Saturation Layer. Click on Colorize, and adjust the sliders to get the color that you like. You can see my settings in the image below.

At this point you can add a little color back into the image by changing the opacity on the Desaturation layer. You will also have to lower the opacity on the layers above as needed.

Opacities:
Hue-Saturate – 70%
Curves – 34%
Both Vignettes at 35%
Desaturation at 70%

Here is the final shot, with all the Photoshop work in place. I like this look, and hope you try it and tweak it your way.

See you next time.

Related posts:

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We haven’t done a lot of Photoshop tutorials on LE, but I plan on doing more. The amount of requests I have been getting tell me that there is a lot of interest. And we will be responding.

This tutorial shows you a simple way to add a texture to an image. As with almost anything dealing with Photoshop, there are a lot of ways to get to the same end. This way is mine and it works very well for me. I hope you enjoy the tutorial and have some creative ideas in mind.

Before we get going, here are a few websites where you can get some great textures.

DesignFeed
100+ Textures for Design
And here is a great collection of texture tutorials.

And here is a great list of Photoshop Beauty Tutorials courtesy Smashing Magazine.

There are a lot more out there, try Deviant Art for one, and even Flickr has a couple of forums where textures of larger size are offered free. Look around for some cool ones you like.

This week will find us in Omaha (June 6, 7, 2009), and then we will be heading to Missoula and Chicago for workshops. If you are interested in taking a workshop, consider the Lighting Essentials workshops for a fantastic weekend experience.

Check out our previous posts:
An Interview with Kirk Tuck, an Austin based commercial photographer.
Shooting an Ad from a Sketchy Layout.
Mixing Ambient with Strobe: Seeking Balance.

The photograph of Vanessa on the beach was shot during the Anna Maria Island workshop this winter. We were at the tip of the island, and it was mid-day. I liked that little passage of sand and grass so I placed Vanessa in the middle. Lighting was added with a 430EX on 1/2 power on a pole over my camera and just out of the frame. The strobe and the white sand helped open up the shadows a bit. I had Vanessa throw her hair for a dramatic gesture. Working with a wide angle lens, the sense of “place” was brought into the portrait. I knew when I shot this image that I wanted a textured, desaturated look to the final print.

Now let’s take a look at how I added texture to the image above.

First we have the original file of Vanessa on the beach, straight out of the camera.

It is not a bad shot, but it isn’t the shot I saw in my head when I was shooting. Digital is flat, and that needed to be corrected. I wanted the surreal look of her pose and gesture to be heightened by the presentation with texture and a desaturated, muted color look. I knew that I was going to do some post processing on the image and add some texture to give the shot some context. I knew what the shot was going to look like before I started shooting it.

First I duped the layer and set the blend mode to softlight. This enriches the color and adds some saturation, but it also makes Vanessa too dark. (Drag the background to the new layer icon at the bottom of the layers pallet. Blend mode is found at the top of the layers pallet.)

Wanting to get Vanessa the subject back to a more natural exposures, I added a layer mask to the top layer, and painted her back with a black brush at 30%. It took some time, but with careful work, it reveals the lighter color below. I worked the image until I got it the way I wanted it. You could choose to use other tools to bring her back, this masking is the one I use. I am slow and deliberate. If I reveal too much, I can undo my work with a white brush.

At this point I did the editing on the face and body. Using a clone brush with blending mode set to lighten and the healing brush, I was able to clear the face of anomalies and open the shadow a little bit. I wanted the face to look great without destroying the cool look that the sun had added. Shadows are important for this shot. You can do this on a layer above the shot for a non-destructive working method, but I sometimes skip this part when going for a texture look. This was minor work and didn’t take long. We will be doing a Photoshop tutorial on face retouching soon.

Thinking that the skin still looked a little flat to me, I added a new layer above, filled it with 50% gray and set the Blend Mode to “Soft Light”. With a soft white brush set to an opacity of 8% I gently lightened the arms and shoulder areas, and opened up the shadow area. Be very careful and work slowly to build the look you want. I normally use between 6 and 8% and build the highlights up gently.

I then created a new composited layer to keep working (control / alt / shift / e). This lets me go back to the highlight layer and make adjustments and replace the composite layer if needed. You may not need to do this, and can continue with the layers as is. It is something I chose to do at this point.

I added some highlights to the reeds, clouds, sand and other small areas with the white brush. Changing the color to black we added some darkness to the sky. Remember to keep that opacity low and use a large and soft brush. Work slowly and diligently. It is better to add the highlights with several passes than with one big gesture.

Open a texture that you like. You have some choices to make at this point. You can leave it as full color or change it to black and white. You can work with it any way you like, and you should experiment with the different ways to use the color in your textures. For this shot, I am using it as a monochrome image. After you have the texture where you want it, drag it over to your image, adding it to the top layer of the file.

Size the texture layer down to fit or do what you need to do to make sure it covers the entire image. When you have it ready, double click it to apply the resize and move to the next step. You could resize it before bringing it to your image file, it is up to you.

Set the Blend Mode of this layer to Softlight. This blends the texture into the image. It is not looking all that good to me at that point, seeming rather harsh and over the top. We can control that with our next move.

We then add an Adjustment Layer / Levels and adjust it to taste. I like to keep the midtones depressed a bit and lower the highlight adjustment as well. I want the texture, but I don’t want it to be too overwhelming. Flattening the dynamic range seems to work well for my work.

At this point I add a color layer. I used a very faint orange/yellow color and then lowered the opacity down to about 30%. Try different colors and opacity settings to find what looks good to you. I shifted the layer down for effect. You should experiment with the layer placement of the color. Don’t be locked in to where it is placed in the layers, try different places for a different look.

I added another mask to the texture layer and with a black, soft brush, painted the texture back to reveal non-texture in those areas that seemed to much for me. I also lowered the opacity of the texture layer down to about 60%. This reduces the amount of texture and makes it seem more a part of the image.

I readjusted the adjustment layer Levels at that point. You may or may not choose to do this, but I did. Many times I will readjust at this point after adding the color and doing the reveal. Slight tweaks, but important as well.

Adding a Hue and Layer Adjustment Layer, I created a sepia look to drain some of the color from the image. I wanted a more subtle hue to the image. On Hue and Saturation, check ‘colorize’ and adjust the sliders to get the sepia look you like. You can desaturate a little here if you want.

The image looks like Now it is time to lower the opacity of the sepia layer until the image looks like you want it to. I dropped mine to about 55% for this look. I added another layer filled with 50% gray and with a soft brush added a bit more highlight / shadow. This is optional, but it is something I like to do… just tweak it up a little.

Here is the final Photoshop file. You can see the layers and how it was assembled.

And this is the final image.

Hope you enjoyed the Texture tutorial. See you next time on Lighting Essentials.

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I get asked a lot about how my methodology works. What am I thinking about when setting the light? How do I know what the settings should be.

For this post I have pulled some shots from last years workshop tour. I will explain the exposure planning as we go along. From mixing the ambient with the speedlights or overriding the ambient altogether, the knowledge of what the image should look like will help you decide.

And what should the image look like? Well, that is up to you. In photography there seems to be an endless amount of possibilities and you can pretty much do what you want. Stylistically and artistically, you can make the image you want by working with the light your way.

The neat thing is that the light works the same way, every time. So you can “learn” the light and its abilities and controls and be comfortable that the light will do what you expect it to.

I always carry a little book with me to sketch ideas in and also to document how I do something for later review. I decided to scan those extemporaneous drawings so you can see how simple it is to do the shots, and how important it can be to carry a small notebook for making notes. You don’t have to be an artist, but it sure helps to LEARN what you are doing by writing it down. I don’t do every shot, but sometimes I like to just sketch it quick and then see if there is anything else I could do.

Before we get going on this post, I want to remind you about the upcoming workshops: Akron, Omaha, Montana and Chicago. These workshops are intense and full of information that goes even beyond lighting. From professional working methods to using social media to gain exposure, we talk about photography all day long. For two full days. Visit the Learn to Light website for more information.

If you are currently looking for a new way to present your work, take a look at our Professional Photographer Websites built on the power of WordPress. Just click the Essentials link on the menu bar for more information.

Now lets look at five different portrait setups that use speedlights and ambient light.

You may want to take a look at this post for some information on calibrating your lights and learning exactly what the power is going to be at the distances you choose. My 430 and 550 are both right at f-8 at 1/8 power at about 5.5 feet. That knowledge means I have total control by power setting and distance

The shot above represents a neat ambient blend of speedlight and soft ambient light that wraps all around the subject. After getting the exposure with my Minolta meter I could begin to plan the lighting and what it should be. I usually take an ambient light shot without strobes so I can see how the light is falling and get an idea of the image as it will be presented.

The shot on the left shows the ambient only photograph. You can see that it isn’t bad at all, but the one on the right has a little more snap to it. F-4 at 1/160 was the meter setting and I took several shots with the ambient only before adding the strobes. The ambient shot isn’t bad, and we shot several shots with the ambient as it has a nice, soft look to it.

When it came time to add the strobes I knew exactly what I wanted to achieve. I wanted the ambient look but with a little pop from the strobes to open the shadows on her face and give the skin a brighter look. I didn’t want the strobes to overpower the ambient, just to add a little bit to the shadows. I did not change the exposure of the image with the strobes, as I knew they were so close to the ambient exposure.

Here is the diagram for the light:

Below I have the shot of Briana after some minor Photoshop work.

You can see how gentle the light is here. We didn't want to overpower the ambient, just add a little spark to the image.

Here is a shot of Briana on the sand bridge heading over the hill. It was very cold and blustery at this time. We were both cold, so we wanted to make the shot and get it in the can before we both froze…

The shot with the ambient is terrible. To open the shot with the ambient would have meant that the sky would have gone white and the shot would be very flat.

I needed then to add some strobe to it to bring the shot up in value and leave the sky dark. To add light to the subject and not change the shutterspeed was the goal. That allowed the shutterspeed to control the background (the dark gray sky) and the strobe to fill in the light up front and the subject.

Looking at the shot now, I realize I should have used a flag on the front part of the image to darken it a bit. I had to lower the values in Photoshop, as I didn’t want the image to look flashlit so much. Below is the shot at ambient and with the flash. I used a 430 on a stand, bare with no modification.

Here is the diagram for the above shot:

And here is the final shot. I brought the values down a bit in the front with photoshop and some layer blends. Creating a more even transition of light from the foreground to the background keeps the shot from looking too “over lit.”

Next up is this shot of Briana in Nova Scotia:

I like the look of the light and background matching.

This shot shows what the background looks like without the strobe. I generally make a few shots to see what the background is going to do before I start to add the strobe. I want to see how the light would look without my added lights. What happens to the leaves and the shadow that is being thrown forward? Will there be any issues with the bench?

I find it very important to “build” a shot. Starting with the ambient exposures gives me a great starting point. I new that 1/160 was within my strobe sync speed on the Canon, so all I really had to do was add my strobe at the position I wanted and at the power I need to get f-14. Since I know that at 1/8 power at 5.5 feet it would be f-8, I simply had to change the power to get to f-14. 1/4 power would give us f-11 and 1/2 power would give f-16. I simply moved the light back about 6-7″ and it would give me f-14.

Lighting Diagram:

I made sure that the flash would not throw any shadows across the face or create any difficult lighting problems. I do that by making sure that the axis of the light was straight onto Bri, not too far to the side or too high. At the level I have the light, it throws a shadow under her chin, but it is nearly straight back. It is one of only a few flash “tells’ Making the light seem natural was my goal.

In Photoshop, I was able to make sure that the light was nice and smooth and I added a bit of contrast with Tony Kuyper’s Luminance masks, and painted some gentle highlights on the arms and dress. Overall, there was a little Photoshop, but not too much.

Here is the shot after the Photoshop:

I wanted to match the background: after a shot with no strobe, I knew that it would be easy to add a strobe.

It is so important to make some shots first and to see what the light is going to do before you add some of your own. Knowing what the strobe output at specific distances makes this rather quick. At that point it is angle to subject, the angle to the camera and camera angle to the subject… the triangle that is the basis of lighting.

There are two more in PDF form if you would like to download them. Thanks for stopping by. And please let your friends know about Lighting Essentials – a place for photographers.

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This post features two shots from this past weeks workshop in Phoenix. My Phoenix Workshops are fairly intimate affairs because I draw smaller groups and my studio is rather intimate as well.

In the first half of Saturday we work on portrait lighting and working with basic lighting setups. We start with one light and work it until we need to add a second light for some reason. Hairlight, more wrap, additional side lighting, 3-point and more are added to the mix.

For these two shots, I used a single light on the subject. The shot of Briana does have a second light for the background but it is not affecting the subject lighting.

Before we get into that… New Workshop dates are being nailed down now. I have some people wanting me to come to the twin-cities, and we are looking into cleaning up that East Coast month. Maybe moving one of the mid-Atlantic dates to a west coast. Montana is a go and so is Chicago. Watch the signup page for a location near you.

So let’s go look at how we can work with one light to create this look. Some of you who are very familiar with this kind of lighting – it is a favorite of mine – may also find some new things as well.

Starting out with the shot of Hayley we will examine the image closely. Here is the image as processed.

Camera: Canon, 100MM 2.8 Macro

The light on Hayley is one strobe on a boom. Over her about 3 feet, and back behind her about 3 feet. The V-Card in front of her is about 3 feet away and wrapping on both sides of her. Camera is aimed through the slot cut in the middle of the V-Card, and we have to check for possible flair.

Here is a lighting diagram:

I call this lighting “Beach Lighting” and it is one of my favorites. I call it beach lighting because it resembles the light I used to shoot under on the West Coast all the time. Bright, very bright, hazy sun and natural reflection from the sand. It can be somewhat contrasty with the hair blowing out a little in order to get that front light correct, but that is OK within the genre.

If you want the light to be a little less on the top of the hair, take a small boom and put a 10″ square flag or scrim directly above the hair… you will see it go dark as you place it in the angle to create a shadow on the hair. Move and adjust to taste. Be sure it isn’t much bigger than 10″ because you don’t want to kill the light on the V-Card in front of her.

There are so many fun ways to change this lighting up. Adding a small light from camera for a catchlight, adding a couple of small lights to each side of the V-Card to give a softer 3-point light and more. Caution… be aware that the light is turned toward the V-card so if you get too close, you can get some considerable flare. Watch for flare, flag it if necessary.

We had finished shooting white on white, and decided to do some black on black. Briana put the black fur (a studio wardrobe staple, and a fake… so now stop hatin’ on me, got it) and a bright turquoise top for a splash of color.

Our main light is a medium (42″) satin white umbrella in bounce mode. It is on a boom and very close to Briana… close enough to use the ‘wrap’ to add light on both sides of her face. Standing behind your model, you will be able to see how the light from the umbrella helps to wrap around the side of the model’s face. If you can see the umbrella from behind her, the side of her face is being lit.

We added a couple of V-Cards on each side of her to further open the shadows, and then put a shiny board under her to add some edge to the fur. Without these close, very close, V-Card fills, the fur would simply have no texture. Adding some bright cards to create speculars on the tiny hairs of the fur was what was needed.

You can see the bright, open shadows this light created under Briana’s chin and eyes. Keeping the eyes bright is one of the concerns I have when lighting. I find I can keep them open and bright by working the light close to the subject.

I wanted to keep the background dark, but also have some gradient to help bring out the texture of the fur. The eye sees the fur and its subtle texture while the background is subtle but smooth in transition.

We chose a small 33″ umbrella with a black back aimed at the black seamless. It is nearly on the floor and mounted on a short “background” stand. Keeping it about a foot from the background allowed a very soft, subtle light-to-dark background light. I tip my umbrella down very slightly when I do this, not wanting too much of the light to wash up the seamless wall.

The last thing we did was take a 12″ by 36″ white reflector and put it over her head at a totally oblique angle… in other words it is vertical to the light and behind her head about 6″. This gives a very subtle, but visible, hair separation light.

We hope you are enjoying Lighting Essentials, and tell your friends. You can sign up for an RSS feed to stay on top of our posts. See top right of the home page. Also, if you like the posts, add them to the social networks you like by clicking the “Save/Share” link at the bottom of this post.

See ya next time.

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One of the ways to separate the subject from the background is to use a spray light. The light creates a ‘halo’ of light to dark behind the subject and helps make a flat background more dynamic. It is a fairly simple technique with a lot of variations possible.

We can do this with all kinds of lights, from speedlights to normal reflectors and beauty dishes. Each can add its own look to the spray, and make it work within the framework of your image.

Before we get to this technique, I would like to let you know we are adding Montana to our workshop schedule this summer. If you are a photographer in Montana / Wyoming area, be watching the site for our Montana workshop date. UPDATE: Montana is June 20 and 21, 2009. Signup is active on the schedule page.

We are also having a pair of advanced workshops in Phoenix in February and March. We will only be taking photographers who are already familiar with lighting tools, but need to step out and get some real experience with models and shoot situations. Limited to only 3 photographers per day, the workshop is fully focused on shooting. We have models for the day, and will be working in studio and on location. Portfolio / Web Site review will be required. See the Learn to Light site for more information on January 26, 2009.

Now… on to some simple ways to create a spray light and a gradient background for your work.

The portrait of Vanessa shows how the background works to create a light-to-dark base for the face and shoulders. The background is behind her about 10 feet. This helps create a dynamic background for the portrait to sit above. The look is far different than a flat background… and keeps the eyes right on our subject.

Keeping the wall 10 feet or so behind her helps blur it from limited DOF. I am shooting here at about f8 at 1/60 at ISO 100. With an 80-200MM L at this distance, the background drops out pretty fast. I am out to about 160-170mm with the lens, so it is quite a telephoto.

Adding a hair light gives a nice shoulder accent. For this shot there is a silver/white ‘Zebra’ over the top of her and slightly back. It creates a nice little accent that is still there even against the bright background gradient. You should really watch this area, because if it the background is too bright, it can kill the separation between the highlight on the shoulder and the spray light.

Marissa is wearing a white shirt in this shot, and it separates fine from the backlight.

The closer the light, the tighter the spread of light. This shot shows the background light at 6″ from the wall.

This close up shows how close the light is actually to the wall. Just about 6″. I think being very careful with the heat is a great idea.

Now we pull the light back about 2″ to 8″ from the wall. Notice the wider spray, and slightly less contrast from center to edge.

Now to 12″ from the wall or background. The light is now very widely spread and there is a soft gradient from center to edge.

The color for the background here is “Thunder Gray.” You can get that color in seamless, and we have our back studio wall painted that color. This technique works best on the grays and darker colors.

One more shot of Marissa here:

This last shot shows how subtle the look can be. We have a hair light on Marissa, and the spray light is adding a dynamic look behind her. The hair seems to be lit, and yet in the corner we can see some dark background to let the blonde stand out.

I like the spray light look. It can be done with far more subtlety than these as well. Photographers like Platon, who shoot a lot of editorial portraiture, depend on variations of this kind of light to provide subtle definition to their subjects.

Try using a Gary Fong diffuser for some softness, or add a few layers of gel for a color. I find that spray lights work well on dark to medium gray backgrounds. Colored seamless, old canvas, walls and wallpaper can also be used to advantage.

If you try this, post a shot or two to the Flickr Lighting Essentials pool and tag it: le_spray_light. I would love to see how some of you take this idea and change it up.

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Our Natural Light Assignment this week is a lot of fun and so easy to do. You only need a model or subject, a camera and lens, and a setting sun. And maybe a building or two… your call.

These shots were taken in downtown Phoenix at a fun group shoot we were doing at a place called “Boo’s Warehouse.” We had some motorcycles and old cars and such. It was a lot of fun and I wanted to do some very simple shots with the direct light and the soft shadow line light we were getting.

As the sun gets lower and lower on the horizon, it starts to throw a softer edge to the light. I like to use that edge as a great place to shoot.

One of the things you notice when using that edge light is how fast it moves. I mean, it can literally move up the person’s body as you watch it. And if you are on assignment, it can move even faster. Yeah… I’ve seen it.

Before we take a look at that cool light, I want to remind everyone that we will be starting our monthly assignments in February. We have some great award premiums that I will be announcing as well as some great judges. The assignments will be professional in nature and should be within most shooters ability to produce. (Getting shots of a model hanging from a hangglider over the sea won’t be assigned… heh)

Here is the first shot we did as the sun was late in the day above the horizon, approximately 1 hour before sunset. There are no clouds in the sky.

You can see the edge area and where I have placed her face just above it so there would be no shadow line over it

Below you can see how I segmented the light with the portrait. It is very important to watch the face as you do this kind of light. It can be shadowed or even end up with a gradient on it if you aren’t very precise in placing the face.

The edge placed just below her face.

There are a lot of different effects you can use when shooting in this direct light. I took this image through some rather extreme Photoshop contusions (coming up in a future post) to end up with this illustrative look. Adding a very slight noise at the end helps add a little patina to the image.

This image was cross processed with increased contrast.

After a quick wardrobe change – and I mean quick, Briana knows how the light is – we tried a few more shots. The sun was much farther down the horizon now and closing in on dark fast. The first shot is one

Briana on the edge of the light waiting for Carlos to take a snap.

You can see the edge of the light as it modulates up the side of the wall. This edge not only gives a nice light, it gives a very nice background/foreground look as well. Once again I repeat that this edge moves very fast. Within 5 minutes we had chased the light for nearly half a block as the buildings behind us kept throwing shadows from the ever setting sun.

Here is a look at the placement of the shadow line.

You can see the light and the way it works around her body and face in this shot.

I had Bri go on down the wall a bit to get some good light on her face. I wanted the skirt in the shade and her face in the light. I put her face right in the edge again and slightly toward the sun side. This gave me a very soft, yet directional light.

Notice the light as a background element in this shot. Working Bri in the edge, I got very soft directional light.

However, this image resulted in some cooler light in the shade, and warmer in the sun. I processed the image direct from RAW and worked with the image in Photoshop. I made the normal correction and edits to the image and then worked on the color.

Drawing a selection of the shaded part of the image, I feathered the selection at 30 pixels and raised the selection to a new layer. The easiest way to warm the selection was to use the photo filters.

Image / Adjust / Photo Filters / 85 Warm 40%

That warmed up the shade part to a more acceptable color.

Warming up the cooler shade in Photoshop with a layer and simple adjustment

Right at that point I saw how dramatic her face was lit in that soft, directional light. I had her throw all of her hair to the side away from the camera and look right at the sun. I was able to get about a dozen shots off before we really did lose the light. I am so glad that I saw this happening as it ended up being one of my favorite shots of the day.

Briana looks straight into the very late setting sun.

I used a Canon and 100MM 2.8 lens for most of these images. I also use the lenses wide open whenever I can, preferring a limited DOF.

Try working a subject in that very soft edge of the setting sun. You can get some very striking photographs with a minimum of equipment.

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