Studio Lighting and Your Wallet
I have been a professional photographer for 22 years and one thing that I learned many years ago is to not be cheap when it comes to lenses. Go ahead and pay more, it’s worth it. Camera bodies are usually a little more flexible. A good quality DSLR can be found in the mid-range area. Lighting is something entirely different.
I have had the opportunity to work with top of the line lighting and also with lighting that is much (MUCH) less costly. What I have found is that price has little effect on your final image.
Pretend for a moment that you mortgage the house and shell out for some really expensive German gear. It recycles a little faster and the consistency is a (very) little better from one flash to another. You can drive a truck over the equipment and it will still work.
Now take that same photographer only this time they don’t mortgage house. Instead they stock up on less expensive lighting. We aren’t talking cheap. We are talking less expensive.
If you look at the final images from that photographer I doubt you will find much if any difference at all no matter which lights they used. This photographer may have to wait a second longer to shoot, which in most caes makes no difference at all. He will have to avoid running the truck over the lights, but now he has no mortgage on the house. He can acquire more lighting, spend less and still get the same images.
Some lights are poor quality. A little bit of research can help you weave through this maze of lighting.
I shoot exclusively with Westcott Lighting. I used to shoot with a very expensive brand of lighting and the truth is that I really just can’t see a difference other than in price. I also used to work with Alien Bees. I am not going to sit here and tell you that they are bad lighting. They aren’t. I just found that the quality and price of Westcott is more appealing. They are better quality. They are relatively inexpensive and still have the feel of higher end lighting and function fantastically.
The appeal of expensive lighting is the same appeal in owning a super expensive car. A Bentley will get you from point A to point B just like a Ford Focus. That Bentley sure makes ya feel good though doesn’t it? Same goes with lighting. The one argument to be made is that there are definitely marked differences in comfort and amenities with the Bentley. The differences are far less noticeable with less expensive lighting.
A tech guru and gear geek can certainly wax eloquent about how great the differences are between the lighting companies. I had a buddy once go on for a long time about the differences between his expensive Nike golf ball and a less expensive Titelist. Which golf ball does a pro choose to play with? The one that endorses them – as long as they can perform at the top of their game with it. The same goes as a photographer.
Westcott has chosen me as one their Top Endorsed Pros. I work with them because they endorse me and I can shoot at the top of my game with them. The results of my shoots are no worse between them and the uber expensive lighting I used to work with. I could be endorsed elsewhere, but I chose Westcott. The customer service is so much better than that expensive company that I used to work with and that matters to me a lot more than the recycle time.
I was speaking with a rep from a high end lighting company and he relayed a story about a day at his company’s factory. He explained how he passed a room where there was a bank of lighting from an inexpensive company that was firing over and over and how all of the engineers were trying to figure out how the quality could be so good at such an inexpensive price. You won’t find that story on that company’s marketing materials.
No matter what company you choose to go with ask yourself if the cost/benefit is really worth it. Drive the Bentley if ya can, but don’t get confused. It won’t change the destination, but it will make you feel more important. Just get ready to be saddled by the bill.
Shoot with Shante in Curacao
Shot for the Travel Channel’s Best of the Best
Livin’ the Dream
I’m sitting on my boat in the Caribbean, listening to waves gently lap against the side as the yacht softly creaks. The sun is gently beating down on a perfect day. It isn’t too hot–it isn’t too cold. Charlize Theron hands me a cool drink and gently leans forward to …
BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…BEEP
I smack the alarm clock, only to come to the realization that my cat is licking my face and telling me ”It’s time for breakfast!” Yuck! I wipe my cheek clean of cat drool and force my eyes open. Another day in Atlanta.
This is the curse of dreams: waking up. Reality. The dream world is gone, and daily life takes over. At first glance, this may seem to have nothing to do with photography; but believe me–it certainly does. I meet so many photographers who desperately dream of shooting full-time. They say it is their dream. They treat it as a dream, as well.
The truly successful photographers are not dreamers–they are visionaries. They have a vision, and they set out to make it happen. That vision becomes a part their everyday reality. There is no waking up. It isn’t something that is set aside until the realities of fleshing out daily life are through. Making this vision become a reality is as much a part of their everyday life as their “day job.” They don’t wait for the day job to finish and then start dreaming again, only to once again face “wake-up time.”
The ultimate test in finding out if you are a dreamer or a visionary is this: What are you doing to make it a reality? Taking pictures has very little to do with making shooting full-time your reality. What are you doing to contact potential clients? What are you doing to get published? What are you doing besides talking about plans or dreams? How are you fleshing it out?
I have met so many dreamers through my workshops. They tell me how they want to be a fashion photographer or glamour photographer. They tell me how much they love photography and how it is so much a part of them. That passion is wonderful and inspiring. The love of capturing a beautiful image is something not everyone truly understands.
Think about it. You are photographing a beautiful model. She is moving gracefully, and you are really on top of your game that day. Everything is going right. Her makeup is perfect. Her attitude is great. The wardrobe matches the perfect environment. The light is magnificent. Dead on! The shoot concludes.
BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…BEEP
Now what?
Shoot with Summer and Carrie in Curacao
Shot for the Travel Channel in Curacao
Photoshoot with Jill in Curacao
Shot for Best of the Best in Curacao
Sample After Metting Letter
Ginger Sharp – Old Hollywood Style
Photographing Black Models
It wasn’t too long ago that this subject was taboo to openly discuss. Thankfully we have grown enough as a society to talk about subjects like this without fear of criticism.
Photographing dark skin presents unique challenges that intimidate a lot of photographers. When I first started shooting I remember that people made comments about the lack of black models in my portfolio. It wasn’t an attitude problem that I had. I was an aptitude problem. I did not know how to capture great images on models with darker skin.
My first problem was the advice I had received. I was first told to change my exposure by one and a half stops, but that brightened the entire image and that made the entire image look washed out and even the skin on the model looked over exposed. The whites of the eyes and the teeth looked way off. When I was shooting in a studio I was told to raise the power of the main light or move it closer to the model. This created all kinds of new havoc with shadows and color.
I would see beautiful images of black models in magazines and books, but I just couldn’t seem to get it quite right. I would get lucky from time to time, but I never knew why a certain image worked. Then I stumbled across the secret. I don’t know why no one ever explained this to me because of its simplicity. It isn’t about how much light you use, but rather the direction of the light.
The late Monty Zucker said, “If I am lighting a black person, I’m not going to change the light, I’m not going to bring it in any closer. I’m not going to open up an extra f-stop.
“The only thing I’m going to do is use the light coming from the side and around the subject. What we need to do when we’re photographing a black person is to bring an extra light in from a 90-degree angle.”
This was the secret that no one ever told me. I had to find it on my own. Where was Monty when I needed him?
The truth is that you do need just a little extra light to truly bring out the specular highlights. These are the key to photographing people with darker skin. If you make them really pop without over exposing the overall image you will have created a beautiful portrait.
The one mistake that you don’t want to make and I think it is most common, is to turn your subject yellow. I see so many white photographers do this. The skin tone is critical and if captured correctly you will see how much more powerful the luster is of African American skin. If you don’t feel confident in seeing this with your naked eye while looking at your LCD monitor on your camera than use a grey card to custom white balance your images.
Once you grasp this simple understanding and technique you will radically change your confidence in shooting black models.
Photographing Celebrities
In the 20 years I have been a photographer I have had the opportunity to work with several celebrities from the music and sports world. Whether it is a magazine cover or spread, an ad or promotional shot for the celebrity themselves, the experience is usually one that requires a great deal of patience.
Rule #1: Celebrities Are Just Normal People – Don’t be in awe and don’t be so star struck that you forget how to be a good photographer. Light falls on the face of a celebrity just like it does on anyone else. Shadows don’t dance differently based on number of Oscars, Emmys or Grammys. You still have a person in front of your camera and you need to capture a fantastic image for them.
Rule #2: Celebrities Are Not Just Normal People – Once you have a firm grasp on how must think about the person in front of your lens remember that they are actually a famous person. They are coddled and taken care of most of the day and will expect to be thought of and treated as royalty. They will probably show up late, give you mere minutes to capture an image that they expect to dazzle everyone that sees it.
Take your ego out of the equation when you shoot celebrities. Unless you are one of the top celebrity photographers in L.A. or New York you will need to check your pride at the door and just do the job at hand and reap the rewards later. You will not be treated as a great photographer. You will be treated as though you are lucky to be there, and the truth is that they may be right.
Sports stars are intriguing to shoot. They can be so confident and commanding in their sport, dominating other powerful athletes with consistency, but they are amazingly vulnerable on camera. This is not a comfortable situation for them. They may be able to tear down a backboard or throw an amazingly precise pass with a 300 lb. lineman bearing down on them, but they are not comfortable on camera many times. The studio is usually not their ideal field of play and photography is not their arena. If you put any powerful creature in a vulnerable position their actions can be unpredictable.
Some may be surprisingly gracious, but that is rare. Shaquille O’Neil was actually fun to photograph. Julius Irving was hilarious and teased my makeup artist while we shot a magazine cover. These are exceptions, not the rule. Most celebrities just want out of there as quickly as possible. My shoot with Grammy winner Nelly lasted just a few minutes. The preparation for the shoot took all day. I can honestly say the he spent more time getting a haircut in my studio than he did in front of the camera, and I couldn’t even see any difference before or after the haircut.
Celebrity photography is entertaining and the rewards are certainly worth the challenges and headaches that come to pass.
Developing Your Personal Style
Have you ever looked at a photograph and immediately known who shot it? That photographer has a style so clear that it is unmistakable. Herb Ritts had a style so identifiable that it launched him from his still fashion work into music videos for artists as renowned as Michael Jackson at the peak of his career. David LaChapelle has a style like that.
There is no real way to define what a photographer’s style is. You can identify characteristics of an individual style, but I don’t think that I have ever heard any style completely defined. A style is as unique as a snowflake. Can you tell me how one snowflake is so radically different from another? It isn’t…yet it is.
The ultimate question is what is YOUR individual style? How do you develop it and refine it?
When I started shooting 20 years ago I used to look at my work and think it had no style. Sometimes black and white, sometimes color, sSometimes higher contrast and other times flat. No discernable style. At least that is what I thought. A few clients came to me and made comments that opened my eyes to what my style actually was. I like to shoot very clean images. I gravitate towards beauty crossed with both fashion and glamour.
While I struggled trying to decide what style I would settle on, one emerged on it’s own. Others could see it before me and the same will go for you. Your style will emerge. You DO have a style. You don’t need to adopt one. Just shoot and it will emerge. Don’t make the usual mistake of trying so hard to adopt a style that your lose what is uniquely you.
Look at photography books and magazines that show the kind of photography you like. Shoot images similar to what you like. Don’t be afraid to fill a folder with pages that you have torn out of magazines and keep it in your camera bag for inspiration when you shoot. You are not copying a shot that inspires you unless you are truly copying absolutely every element in the shot. Take a shot that you like and tweak it. Make it your own. Your style reveals itself.
Some people like black and white and shoot it almost exclusively. Some people have embraced the whole tattooed pinup model genre. Even within those types of shooting there are subtle, but clear differences from one photographer to another. Look at your images. What do you see that you genuinely like? What do you want to improve?
If you spend the bulk of the time looking deeply into your images and the images of others you will find elements that you like. There are poses, lighting techniques, colors, tones and shades, expressions that ring true to you. Experiment with those things and your style will emerge. You already have a style just allow it to come out by not giving up. Pick up that camera and fire away!