This is the last of my three blog entries where I built up a studio lighting setup that looks great for shooting portraits (If you missed part 1 and part 2 be sure to check them out since they help this blog entry make sense). A lot of what I’ve done so far has been in my portrait studio but the principles apply to any location where you’ll be shooting. The portrait shots we’ve captured up to this point have all looked great and there’s not a lot more we can do with the light on Dug. What we haven’t looked at so far is the background.

We’ve been shooting on white seamless paper (available in rolls of various lengths) and up to this point we haven’t talked much about it. In every shot so far the background has looked neutral grey because we haven’t allowed much light to hit it. If we completely blocked light from hitting the background then the color would have been much darker grey (or even black). For the rest of the shots we’ll be using a third flash to create some unique looks for the background.

Continue reading →

Having flash is no guarantee of getting great shots. Taking control of the light you introduce into a shot helps and with some practice you’ll start creating better images. This entry will be the first of three blog entries where I’ll build up a full lighting setup one piece at a time. We’ll start with a super simple and quick solution and we’ll build it up until it’s totally awesome.

To start my lighting setup I’ll use a white seamless paper background and a single flash shooting into a convertible umbrella. Umbrellas are common, popular and incredibly inexpensive. I have about a dozen in various styles and sizes that I use for creating different looks. My favorites are convertible white umbrellas (with a black backing that easily removes to change from bounce to shoot through). My 30″ convertible umbrellas cost me less than $15 each and they get plenty of use. My biggest is a 7′ parabolic that creates incredible looking light. If you’re going out on location (or on a very tight budget) and you only want to bring one light modifier with you a convertible umbrella is a great choice. For this shoot I’ll be using one of my 30″ convertible umbrellas.

Continue reading →

After reading my blog entry Why use flash? you might be wondering how to get your flash off of your camera and what it costs. I have some big studio strobes but I love to use the more portable hot-shoe style flashes. If you already own an on-camera flash you’re half way there. If you don’t have an on-camera flash you can get my new favorite small flash for less than $160. All you need after that is a way to put the flash where you want it and a way to trigger to it. For this blog entry I’ll be concentrating on some of the ways I get my flash positioned to achieve my signature photographic style.

There’s plenty of really great gear designed to get your flash in exactly the right place. You can spend thousands of dollars or you can spend very little. The super expensive solutions are sturdier, can handle more weight and often they solve very specific problems. On the less expensive side of the scale there’s some really good solutions including light stands (starting around $20) clamps (starting under $20) and simple plastic stands (starting under $10 but your flash might have come with one). For this blog entry I’ll show some examples of my favorites that I use when I go out on location and I’ll use one of my Lumopro LP-160’s as an example.

Continue reading →

Before I moved to Virginia and started my own photography business I spent years working as a designer for Ford Motor Company. After spending the better part of a decade I learned a lot about how people see shapes and how I can be more effective with my lights when I’m taking pictures.

I used to work 50 hour weeks in the design studios and a lot of my time was spent working in Photoshop. I’m still good friends with the designers at Ford and I even do special assignment work for Ford Design every so often. I credit my time at Ford with helping me to achieve my current understanding of flash photography and it continues to influence my personal photographic style. With this blog entry (and a few more after this one) I hope that I can explain a bit about how shadows and reflections of light create a three dimensional look on a two dimensional picture.

Continue reading →