Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Spring Fashion
It's Spring ... if only in the fashion world. For the past two seasons I've been doing some catalog work for Hu's Shoes and their clothing store a block away, Hu's Wear - two very fine, very hot little boutiques in G-Town. If you ever want to learn how to light fast and light well, catalog work is an experience you need to have. I've posted a few of my favorites here:
( ... and in case you are wondering, I've very much learned to appreciate some of these very cool shoes.)
The basic idea when working with a white background is to light the model and the background separately. That's the only way to get the exposure you are looking for for both. Usually this means having a bit of distance between the two. I used a touch of high-pass filter in PS on these just for fun (You can see the "unfiltered" version on Hu's site). Very little, however, was done to touch up the background - just at the models feet
( ... and in case you are wondering, I've very much learned to appreciate some of these very cool shoes.)
The basic idea when working with a white background is to light the model and the background separately. That's the only way to get the exposure you are looking for for both. Usually this means having a bit of distance between the two. I used a touch of high-pass filter in PS on these just for fun (You can see the "unfiltered" version on Hu's site). Very little, however, was done to touch up the background - just at the models feet
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
A-Salon (#1)
Members of my photo group met yesterday afternoon at A-Salon in Takoma Park to try out a new studio space, and practice and share some lighting techniques. Here are a few portraits from the session.
All set ups are variations on simple 2 light set ups plus a light for the background. My main objective was to check out the space - 3oo square feet and a double cyc wall - and its rental possibilities. Infinite Space.
All set ups are variations on simple 2 light set ups plus a light for the background. My main objective was to check out the space - 3oo square feet and a double cyc wall - and its rental possibilities. Infinite Space.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Interiors (#1)
I just started shooting for on-line restaurant review magazine "Urban Daddy". Here is the first of what looks like will be more.
The whole shoot took an hour including set up and break down. Because things were moving quickly (we asked a patron or 2 to move at the bar) I shot everything with 2 speedlights. The color balance with these things are always the trick. I set my camera to daylight and gelled the flashes with a 1/4 CTO. I let the lights read just a bit to warm things up. The warm paint and wood created another layer of tonality.
You can read the article here.
The whole shoot took an hour including set up and break down. Because things were moving quickly (we asked a patron or 2 to move at the bar) I shot everything with 2 speedlights. The color balance with these things are always the trick. I set my camera to daylight and gelled the flashes with a 1/4 CTO. I let the lights read just a bit to warm things up. The warm paint and wood created another layer of tonality.
You can read the article here.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Style Profile (#3)
Damn ... It's been a long while since I put one of these up. I've been busy, busy with "work" photography and much less so with things that I care to put up on line. At some point I'm sure they will make it ... For now another Brightest Young Things shoot.
BYT has been working on a list of best dressed - I've been told the list's origins, but it slips my mind. I've wanting to work on some editorialish, fashiony, portrait-type work for a bit now. I love people and lighting and I am looking to find a way to take my technique up - and especially to see if I can discover the limitations of the lighting gear that I own - happily I think I still have some room to grow. When I was asked if I would be willing to do some photography for this project I jumped at the chance. The shots here are from the 3rd shoot, Tyler Lee Larish, a stylist with Immortal Beloved in Logan Circle. I'll be sure and get some pics of the other two shoots at some point.
Here are a few of my favorites from the interview - go here for the BYT post.
The rest are on my flickr page.
For 2 of the interior shots I was lighting with 3 speedlights - one light aimed at the wall behind the camera to create an ambient light level, the second with an umbrella aimed at the subject for a bit of fill (the light that created the ambient tended to be the strongest source in the small space - I suppose I could have reversed it, but that's the set up that I liked that I "found" first. Or, maybe it isn't as easy as I think, because I was trying to stay with a small f-stop??), the third light with a snoot aimed at the subject to get a bit of punch on the face and to create a little vignette in the frame.
I was really happy with the play of hard and soft shadows and the evenness of the light. The speedlights are a bit hard to control with the slow recycle time, but I think it turned out well ... with a happy accident or two - note my elbow shadow in the first portrait. My next goal is to try to add some shadows with a bit more intent and to control the shadows and specular on the background a bit more. I'm renting a studio for an afternoon with some friends next Monday, hopefully I'll be able to work on this and a few other things then.
BYT has been working on a list of best dressed - I've been told the list's origins, but it slips my mind. I've wanting to work on some editorialish, fashiony, portrait-type work for a bit now. I love people and lighting and I am looking to find a way to take my technique up - and especially to see if I can discover the limitations of the lighting gear that I own - happily I think I still have some room to grow. When I was asked if I would be willing to do some photography for this project I jumped at the chance. The shots here are from the 3rd shoot, Tyler Lee Larish, a stylist with Immortal Beloved in Logan Circle. I'll be sure and get some pics of the other two shoots at some point.
Here are a few of my favorites from the interview - go here for the BYT post.
The rest are on my flickr page.
For 2 of the interior shots I was lighting with 3 speedlights - one light aimed at the wall behind the camera to create an ambient light level, the second with an umbrella aimed at the subject for a bit of fill (the light that created the ambient tended to be the strongest source in the small space - I suppose I could have reversed it, but that's the set up that I liked that I "found" first. Or, maybe it isn't as easy as I think, because I was trying to stay with a small f-stop??), the third light with a snoot aimed at the subject to get a bit of punch on the face and to create a little vignette in the frame.
I was really happy with the play of hard and soft shadows and the evenness of the light. The speedlights are a bit hard to control with the slow recycle time, but I think it turned out well ... with a happy accident or two - note my elbow shadow in the first portrait. My next goal is to try to add some shadows with a bit more intent and to control the shadows and specular on the background a bit more. I'm renting a studio for an afternoon with some friends next Monday, hopefully I'll be able to work on this and a few other things then.
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