ARCHIVED ARTICLES
Enough Modifiers to Keep It Interesting… Real Interesting
I use my speedlights frequently when on location, but truth be told I would rather have a more robust selection of tools to modify the light. I will admit to sucking pretty bad at the DYI approach. I will simply not go into a shoot with grubby or 'home-made' equipment...
Spend a Day Shooting Portraits
Sorry for the long absence. A stolen laptop put me back a lot farther than expected. Add to that the traveling and being without internet, well, reliable internet anyway, in some of the locations. Whew... Hey, enough whining. We will make it up to you really quick...
Amazing and Astounding… and Cool Too! Twenty Seven Images From the Pool
We are so blessed with talent over at the Lighting Essentials Flickr Pool. This weeks selection is wonderful and exciting, cool and hot - all at the same time. This group has 27 very nice images to inspire you and lift your spirits. Before we go down the pool to see...
Mexico Spring Workshop is Enrolling Now
I don't use this site to overly promote the workshops, but this Mexico workshop is rather special. We have people from all over the country coming to these Rocky Point Workshops. Location: Las Palmas Resort in Rocky Point, Mexico Flying in to Phoenix International?...
Tech Sheet: Using a Tilt-Shift Lens
Tilt-shift lenses provide the small camera shooter with the functionality of a view camera. At least some of the functionality of a view camera. The front half anyway. The ability of the camera to change the relationship between lens placement and film or sensor...
Using a Location to Full Advantage
This is a post from the old site, and I thought I would redo it for the new one. There are many things you can do when you find a great location. When Bri and I stumbled upon this one, I thought it would be fun to work out several different ideas. We used flash,...
Images from the LE Flickr Pool, 26 Amazing Shots
Some amazing work gets shown on the Lighting Essentials Flickr Group, and we like to take a few minutes and share some of our favorites. There are many that I am sure should be on this list that didn't make it, and our apologies. I need to do this more often. Just...
Our First Contest and Sponsor Acknowledgement
We are excited to announce our first Lighting Essentials Photography Contest. February 2009 Contest. Editorial Assignment: Portrait in an environment. Show the subject's relationship to the environment. Final Submission Date: February 28, 2009. Special thanks to our...
Shoot Thru Umbrella and Bounce Umbrella – a Comparison
There is so much talk on some forums about the 'softness' of shoot-thru umbrellas and how much it works to provide a soft light. And there is certainly some truth to that statement... especially with umbrellas at a distance. But finessed lighting that is done close to...
Tech Sheet: Beating the Sun with Small Flash
Our Tech Sheet on using a meter will be next time, we decided for a variety of reasons to bring you this Tech Sheet on beating the sun for effect instead. Explanation could come soon on why, but I wouldn't wait for it... heh. It just happens when you are a one man...
Our Desktop Calendars for February, 2009
Well, it is tech-sheet Friday, but that will have to be tech-sheet Saturday this week. The tech sheet I am working on is about using a meter, and there are a few more images that must be shot before it is ready to go. So I have instead decided that it would be good to...
Two Portraits with One Light
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...
Creating a Simple Spray Light for Backgrounds
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...
Creating an Ambient Look with Speedlights on Location: Tech Sheet
Here we are for our second Tech Sheet of the year. How to create a natural light look to a photograph when there is little to no ambient light to be had. We will be using a couple of speedlights for this Tech Sheet. It has been a wild first couple of weeks for me, and...
Using a Speedlight for Environmental Images that Pop
I have been working on a personal project, shooting some of the old mining towns in Eastern/Central Arizona. Sometimes I shoot natural light and sometimes I like to pull out my speedlights for a little drama. Let's take a look at some easy ways to add a sense of...
Working on the Edge of the Light: A Natural Light Assignment
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...
Three Hot Shooters to Watch: Kate Orne, Nick Onken and Jake Chessum
Sometimes the fun of looking at images takes over and you just want to feast your eyes on pictures that amaze, involve, stimulate and motivate. The three photographers here are some of my favorites and I return again and again to their wonderful imagery. In particular...
25 New Images from the Lighting Essentials Pool
Well, the pool keeps gettin'g deeper, ya know. I was perusing it last night and realized how many incredible pics had been added recently. This pool is really rich with excellent photography. I want to build the forum up a bit, and if anyone has questions and such,...
Tech Sheet: Two Speedlights and the Sun for a Dramatic Portrait
Our first Tech Sheet of 2009 is kinda fun. I have been working on getting a client to approve a project I want to do and they did over the holidays. It will be a series of images of athletes and artists in environments that may not be their regular habitat. This image...
Welcome to the Best Year Ever! 2009 Will Rock!
Well, the last year of a strange and rocky decade draws to a close tonight. I know this past year has been an emotional roller-coaster for me as well as a very successful one with the workshops and the business. I hope you will join me in saying 'hasta la vista, baby"...
Real Simple Headshots on Location
Occasionally you may have a situation where you have to do a lot of images in a very short amount of time. These kinds of gigs can be a little disconcerting if you over think them and get caught in a web of setting up and production as time slips ever so quickly by. I...
The First Assignment: Pitfalls and Opportunities
Every photographer has a first assignment. There simply has to be one. The culmination of lots of hard work, a great portfolio and perhaps a little luck and there it is... a job. The first assignments can be very stressful or they can be a thrilling moment in the...
Tech Sheet – 12/19/08: Two Bare Speedlights for Drama
Today's tech sheet looks at using two speedlights for a dramatic headshot. We aren't doing anything really special, although I did modify a Gary Fong diffuser to give me a round light instead of the oblong/square light that a normal speedlight gives off. I wanted to...
One Setup, Two Different Shots (from the Archives)
Well this one is kind of fun. I found this in the archive box and remembered that it was a kinda fun little slide show. This "soundslide" offers a look into how I took a single lighting setup and shot it two ways. I use a big softbox often when I am working with...
25 Excellent Images From the LE Pool
Well, as the year grows to a close, I am happy to see so many wonderful images in the Lighting Essentials Flickr Pool. I went through the last 10 pages or so last night and found these excellent examples of using light to make a shot more interesting. They are all...
ON LOCATION: with Jerry OConnor, Jim Vigileos and Christina
Photographers in Phoenix like dramatic skies. We get so many days in a row of bright, blue that when it gets dark and moody up there some of us grab cameras. My friends Jim Vigileos and Jerry OConnor did that recently and along the way they grabbed Christina to add to...
Modeling the Light: A Model’s Role in Lighting
' Britney Spears "Kill the Lights! Don't be scared, make a move, see me now" A model has a role in lighting? What? Unheard of? Crazy? Not so much. A model has to do more than smile prettily and pose, she has to be aware of her environment, from the objects in place to...
One Light for a Highly Reflective Item
A simple product shot can sometimes present a lot of challenges for the photographer not used to thinking about reflected specular lighting. In this shot, the product is practically lit with specular reflection. There is very little direct light on the Hard Drive...
An Editorial Portrait Assignment on a Short Schedule
There are occasions when you need to work very, very fast and still deliver a shot that makes both client and subject happy. These types of shoots can be frustrating and challenging, but it keeps the adrenaline going and when it results in an image that everyone...
December 2008 Lighting Essentials Desktops
Here they are... a day late, but here nonetheless... Lighting Essentials Free Desktops. This time I will explain a little about the lighting so you can get some brain exercise as well as some fun desktops for your monitor. NOTE: Our schedule for the first half of next...