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Tuesday, 13 April 2010 06:12 |
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One of the first questions that pop into my mind when planning how to shoot something on location is that of which lights to bring.
Do I bring speedlights? How many? Bigger flashes? Just one big flash as a key and some accent speedlights?
For a recent shoot for Earth Treks, the answer was simple: Bring everything.
Seemed to make sense, given that the canyons we were going to light were five stories tall.
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Dark is Not Your Problem
The first thing you notice when you walk into Earth Treks' Timonium climbing gym is that it is huge. The 5-story height is not even the long dimension -- that canyon just keeps going.
Which is, of course, a delight to the insane mountain goats who climb there, seemingly with no regard for things like "gravity," or "the laws of physics."
The second thing you notice is that it is dark, which is a big relief to a photographer. And if it wasn't dark, I'd be looking to get the shoot scheduled for the evening and get some lights turned off.
Reason is, you are gonna be throwing your light a long way, which is gonna cost you some serious aperture. Shooting at f/11 would not make my flashes happy.
If my ambient is in the "30th at f/2.8" neighborhood, I know I can work with that. In short, when you walk into a room with an ambient level that makes available light photogs curse silently under their breath, it should make you happy.
An SB can reach out pretty far if your aperture is wide open, and the AlienBees we were using could swing it without even sucking much juice out of our Vagabond II portable power packs.
So, the first step is to control the ambient. You want an ambient exposure that will do a few things for you. First, it needs to be below the "correct" exposure so when you add flash you will not combine the two for an overexposure. You have to have something dark enough to light against.
Second, it should be bright enough so that unlit areas will still be somewhat legible -- if only because there is no way I can light every cubic inch of this space. Those two limits bookend my ambient exposure choice. And where I place the ambient within that range will in large part determine the contrast level of the photo.
It's exactly like doing a flash-and-available-light portrait, but on a bigger scale.
And once you choose how bright you are going to make the ambient you should make your shutter/aperture combo something that will give you sufficient depth of field and/or avoid camera shake -- whichever is more important. That would be the difference between a 30th at f/5.6 and a 125th at f/2.8. They are the same exposure, but with different priorities.
In the end, we opted for both, shooting this at 1/80th at f/5. I knew the climbers would be moving (if pretty slowly) and I wanted a little extra aperture from wide open to keep things sharp corner to corner. Remember, that is an underexposed ambient exposure, so you have to compensate in some way to boost both aperture and shutter.
So we just raised the ISO to 1000, which doesn't even make a D3 blink -- files look great. But it is important to know that the ambient component of the exposure does not care how big your flashes are. You have to deal with your ambient with a combination of shutter, aperture and ISO.
We were working pretty run-and-gun (off of a shot list) all day on these shoots. But that thought process allowed us to light both large and small areas quickly.
Add Light to Shape and Define
Next step is to add light and bring some of the surfaces up to our shooting aperture. We were lucky in that we had a ~3rd-story balcony, off to camera right, which ran the length of the canyon. So the first light (an AB800) went there, about halfway back, and lit the main climbing wall in the center of the frame. No meters -- just dial it in until it was as bright as we wanted.
We then placed another AlienBee on the balcony in the back, to bring up some of the other climbers. Same process, and it added some depth into the photo. We passed on lighting the far climbers, to let it go a little dark in the back of the frame.
Next, we added another light (an AB800) at far camera left to light the wall and climber as it goes around the corner where the first light would not reach. All of the lights were standard reflectors, as an umbrella is not going to get you any real softness at that distance and would only suck up light.
Last was a domed SB-800 speedlight, stuck up into the bouldering cave at center bottom to highlight it. We had used PocketWizards on the various other lights, but just slaved the cave light and stuck it on the floor.
One For Shape, One For Detail
 In other situations, such as their climbing gym in nearby Rockville, you can light the whole area with just one light.
In this case the one light is a Profoto Acute head set at 150 watt-seconds. (I was test driving them at this point -- more on that later.) Doesn't sound like much, but remember that it is a zoomed, undiffused head and the angle at which the light is skimming off of those walls is very efficient.
It is way back in the gym, hidden behind Josh's head. The flash is pointed right at us and feathered up a little, which is what creates all of the three-dimensional shadows on the various facets and planes in the gym.
That leaves Josh in full shadow, of course. That is easily fixed with what I call a "special," a term borrowed from my friends in the theater for a light that is tasked to do just one thing. More accurately, I tend to think of a special as a mobile, one-task light on a voice-activated light stand -- in this case, Erik.
Erik just floats an SB-800 in an umbrella above Josh's face and keeps it at a relatively constant distance as he moves with Josh. Erik is just holding the rig on a small lightstand, which doubles nicely as a boom in this instance. A VAB kills a boom in this instant because a person will start to get intuitive about where and how you want the light to hit the subject's face, and move around to compensate.
This shot is built almost entirely on flash, so the ambient is not really an issue. We just worked above it, so it wouldn't be a factor.
 I left the background light in this frame, just because I thought it looked cool. We shot it both ways, but when it is visible in the frame you can see the location of the light and how it interacts with the different planes.
In this case, the "special" is again being held by Erik and pointed at the front dangling climber from the direction of hard camera right. No umbrella this time, as Erik was keeping the flash pointed at the climbers as they moved through the internal space of the gym.
Again, we're not lighting the whole space, but rather lighting the planes selectively.
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To be continued in Pt. 2, wherein try to light a hole -- with a climber in it, and no place to hide the lights in the frame...
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Tuesday, 13 April 2010 06:12 |
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Way cool: Not only did PhotoShelter sponsor a Robert Seale lighting workshop at South by Southwest this year, but they also have uploaded a one-hour-plus presentation to the web, free to all.
A Picture's Worth, the blog over at PhotoShelter, is really killing it lately. They are pushing the boundaries on photographer education -- which of course comes right back to them in the form of smarter customers.
I love seeing both photogs and businesses doing stuff like this. And you are not gonna get much better than a solid hour of video, QA and resulting pics with a photographer of Seale's caliber.
For more info (including specific gear used, etc.) check out the post on A Picture's Worth. And you can see more of Robert's work here.
-30- 
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Wednesday, 07 April 2010 10:24 |
 Four years ago today, the very first messages went out on a couple of photography message boards to spread the word about a new lighting blog called Strobist.
It's been a crazy ride, and I sometimes shake my head at all that has happened since. Keep reading for a sneak peek at a couple of things in store for the upcoming year.
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First of All, Thanks.
To say this has been a life-changing experience would be to put it mildly. I have met readers from all around the world, and watched so many people -- myself included -- grow their passion for photography.
I can imagine nothing more exciting than swirling around at the center of this vortex for the last few years.
And the path is even more stark when compared to what would have happened had I just plodded along at The Sun, where I was happily (and, I thought, securely) employed four years ago today.
All of that would have come to an abrupt end on April 29th of last year when about half of the photo staff were laid off on almost no notice. Not that The Sun had much choice -- the state of newspapers right now is pretty obvious. But to see it happen to such a talented and motivated group of friends was like watching a bomb go off in a crowded room.
And I would have been in that room. That would have been the end of most of the income that was supporting our family. Susan had made the admirable choice to stay home with the kids, and we were willing to make some sacrifices for that. But losing 90% of our income certainly was not in our plan.
So it is with profound gratitude that I say thanks to all of you for reading, for being such a cool community and for creating such a positive vicious circle when it comes to learning about light. You are the reason my family is safe and happy, and I will always be grateful for that.
What to Expect This Year
First of all, do not expect anything like a Lighting 103 anytime soon. It would be repetitive, and you guys are way past spoon-fed lighting exercises at this point. L101 and L102 will always be there, and covers most of what you can do with a speedlight.
However, I will be going back through Lighting 101 and updating the posts with more current information and maybe some better example photos, diagrams, etc. It's amazing how much has changed in the small-flash lighting world since 2006. You guys have sorta created your own weather patterns.
Significant changes to L101 will be noted on the front page as they are posted. I hope to make Lighting 101 more comprehensive, detailed and up-to-date.
And speaking of spoon feeding, one thing that I have found with many of the site's readers is that it is possible (even easy) to geek out on lighting tips and tricks. They are just techniques -- not and end-all. The point is to learn the basics and then apply them to your own vision.
It's not the parlor tricks that are important -- it's what you can accomplish through your photography with newfound techniques and abilities. It's like, okay, you know how to light -- what now?
To that end, the biggest new direction you will see this year speaks directly to the "what now" part. For the last few months I have been working on a project that will serve as a template for those of you who want to create something of value in their community with their cameras.
It's fairly simple, free and can be adapted to include multiple potential revenue streams for those of you who may wish to monetize it. But more important, it will provide an easy vehicle through which to explore your own vision -- within your own community. As a 20+ year community photojournalist and a full-time blogger, I am kind of excited about it. You'll be hearing more about it soon.
Also, I want to continue the site's work with Kiva and other grant-related projects. I have already spoken to some of you about developing a framework for us to actually fund some photography-related projects. That's in the on-deck circle, too.
All of this, of course, will be done in the context of an ongoing exploration of light and lighting. I'll be writing up many of my own shoots in the On Assignment section, but also hoping to introduce you to other photographers around the world doing cool stuff with their flashes.
And while we're at it, if you come across a photographer doing amazing stuff with light, please drop me an URL in the comments. I very much appreciate your tips -- they bring so much to the site and to the other readers.
Thanks for a great year, and buckle up for the next.
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Wednesday, 07 April 2010 10:24 |
Welp, your Monday just got a little better.
Seriously, what would you rather do, catch up on your weekend emails or watch Gregory Heisler walk you through his iconic Time cover of Bruce Springsteen? Exactly. Your work can wait.
Heisler is one of my all-time favorite lighting photographers. I would watch him make toast.
But wait, there's more: A three-part video series of him talking about his broader approach to portraiture, inside.
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(Note: If you are reading this post via RSS or email and cannot see the videos, just click on the post title above.)
I hope this kind of photographer interview is a new trend from Profoto, 'cause this is the kind of thing the web needs more of.
Heck, I'm even gonna include the gear porn video where he talks about his favorite two Profoto light modifiers, too:
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Related:
:: GregoryHeisler.com ::
:: Profoto.com ::
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Wednesday, 07 April 2010 10:24 |
 Regular readers of this site are long familiar with Belgian photographer Bert Stephani. His easy-going manner and slightly warped sense of humor always make for fun learning in his behind-the-scenes shoot videos.
For the last several months, Bert (along with partner Peter Van Impe) have been working pretty much nonstop to produce a new lighting tutorial, "Motivational Light."
Hit the jump for a trailer, links and impressions after 3.5 hours of non-stop Bert.
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When I say working nonstop, I am not kidding. Case in point, the in-the-library moment that is shown briefly at the 18-second mark in the trailer above. Anyone who knows Bert will tell you that he is not one to take himself seriously, and this video series is certainly no exception.
That is not to say that he does not deliver a large amount of info. The tutorials are very relaxed and conversational, with a lot of working-through-the-concepts for each shoot before you go out with him.
And he pretty much views the math anxiety stuff the same way I do: You need to acknowledge it, but you certainly don't wanna get bogged down by it.
To that end, he hits you with the serious concepts -- including inverse square rule -- first. But only after donning a professor's outfit, beard, wig and fake accent. That'd be Bert for ya.
It is important to note that this is not just a flash thing, but a lighting course in general. He embraces ambient light first, and how to use it to best advantage. He's essentially teaching you how to mold ambient light to do what you want it to do. Then he moves on to being able to both recreate and improve the ambient light you like, but this time using flash.
He works almost equally between speedlights and big flashes, and moves between them seamlessly -- as anyone who considers speedlights nothing more than small versions of manual big lights would.
Several things distinguish this series from the other lighting videos to date. First, he ended up shooting more than he could fit on the DVDs (and the 5GB download file limit.) So he will be putting the extra material on his site for free in the near future.
Second, in addition to 2.5 hours of lighting, he includes an hour of post-production techniques at the end -- in Lightroom. Those of you who use that program instead of Aperture or Photoshop will be happy to see someone speaking your post-production language. And for the DSLR video folks, you'll be interested to know that it was shot in HD on a Canon 5D MkII.
Is it Worth the Money
The smartass answer is, "it depends."
Motivation Light sells for $170 as a download. And for an extra $70, you get a shipped set of DVDs as a hard copy. If you just want to kill an afternoon or evening watching a movie, go see Hot Tub Time Machine instead. I mean, Bert's not that entertaining.
But if you are intimidated by lighting and want someone to help you to work through the concepts, techniques and learn to create the light you want, your dollars (or Euros) are far better spent on education than they being thrown at more gear. If you consider something like this to be a self-paced course -- and actually get out and practice what you are learning -- the value of assimilating someone else's knowledge and experience is very good bang for the buck.
In comparison, think about the cost of a typical college class, and what you walk away with in the end. The expense is significant, but its value depends largely on the work you are willing to put into it.
It's the same with an in-person seminar. And from the perspective of someone who occasionally gives seminars in various places around the world, I can vouch for the fact that there is simply no way it is feasible to get to more than just a handful of places. Teaching (and learning) via video is a very good compromise on both ends. And with video, you can view it and practice repeatedly until you get it. There's certainly something to be said for that.
More information (and how to order) at Motivational Light.
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See also: Josh Brewster's review
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New Bright Apples - whats inside