4 Light Setup

I am about back to 100%, so lets take a minute to review a solid lighting strategy that will work for any situation using multiple lights. This example uses 4 but it could be used for 2 or 600 or how many ever lights you want to have.

This setup involved 4 lights. 2 speedlights, 2 strobes. The key light was a strobe with an octagon softbox just over head. The fill light was to the subject’s right and was a rectangular soft box. Both softboxes had grids equipped. The hair light was an open speedlight and there is a back light with a green gel aimed at the back drop.

So, to get this to work, go through each light individually starting with the light that will need to be worked around the most – usually the backlight. For this one, it would be easier to adjust all other lights around the backlight so I started there. Then I turned it off and set up the hair light. Then I turned that off and set the fill light. Finally, I set up the key light and brought them all together.

Obviously, I had a stand in to have it setup before my young subject arrived. You may still need to make an adjustment or two after your subject arrives but a minor adjustment is a lot less time consuming for them then a full light setup after they arrive.

Quick single light test.

I’m recovering from a stomach bug so here is a quick post with a simple setup.

I like to go back, experiment, and practice with just one single light aspect. That way, if and when I need to utilize that light aspect I will be ready. Alternatively, if the situation comes up where I am looking for a light technique to add to a setup, but I am not quite sure which one, experimenting like this keeps my mental library informed. After all, you can only use lighting techniques you know and only as effectively as you have practiced them and understand them.

That stated, this is obviously a single light setup. My light is equipped with a snoot to condense the light down to a small area. The snoot also has a yellow gel on it. When experimenting with light I make sure to have my subject do different poses to be sure I see how the light works with it with my own eyes. I get very familiar with it when I do the processing.

A few more tips from the parade.

I ran out of space to mention a few things in the previous post so here is a little more. From an equipment standpoint, I’d highly recommend grabbing a neutral density filter to help bring down some of the harsh sunlight. What I mean is that parades usually take place midday, which is a tricky time to shoot because of the harsh sunlight. A neutral density filter can help with that. Just be sure to practice with it ahead of time using it in sunny areas and in shadowed areas to get a feel for what it does exactly.

Getting away from gear advice, understand the politics involved. Politicians are to parades like moths are to light – they just can’t resist them. If you know the local political people, you can know who is walking past your camera and work from there. Also, since these usually take place in political parts of town, take the opportunity to snap shots of buildings from locations you can’t normally be at. For example, I snapped a few shots in the middle of a road you’d be insane to try and stand in during a normal day.

 Also, don’t forget to keep an eye out for wild animals or strange graffiti. You never know what you will find and just go for what you can find.

Finally, consider that there are usually events after the parade. Seek them out and see what you can grab photos of. There will be crowds but if you were photographing during the parade then you already have some practice photographing around crowds. Just make sure you put away that ND filter if you go indoors.

#marylandphotographer #annearundelphotographer #photographytips

St. Patrick's Parade in Annapolis

I always say try things outside of your normal photography focus and this weekend I did just that – I photographed a parade. This is way out of my normal photography wheelhouse so here are a few tips I learned form doing this.

First, learn the parade route, the extra events, and understand lots of other people there meaning get there early. I arrived about an hour before the parade and parked at a garage I felt was away from the parade route and still just managed to get one of the last parking spots; get there early. As for knowing the parade route and the extra events, I already was a aware of that stuff but you can always look it up online.

Second, be mindful of the setting. People drink on Saint Patrick’s Day, so I knew there would be people drinking alcohol and some people might be drinking a little too much alcohol. On top of that, large crowds always have a thief or two walking around looking for easy targets not to mention photographing in public also has the chance of the occasional person who doesn’t understand or respect photographer rights popping up. My point is all these are situations where you could see your camera get damaged or go missing. Have fun but be mindful. Situational awareness goes a long way.

Finally, go for the obvious stuff – the parade, but look around too. You might luck out and see other things going on just roll with that. If all else fails, photograph dogs and buildings, you’ll see lots of them.

A quick review working with young children.

The short version of working with young children:

1)      Give them an area to explore.

2)      Keep the session quick.

3)      Know your route.

Starting with the first one and working from there, give these kids a place to explore. Kids are programmed to learn so they want to explore. If you give them something to explore they give you something to work with. Often, this is as simple as taking them someplace new or giving them a new take on an old place. In the case of these photos, this little lady is used to being behind that fence, not outside it – that’s why she’s pointing in the picture. It’s new to her so it feeds that curiosity.

Next, keep the session quick. Young kids tire out quick. When they get tired, they get frustrated. When they get frustrated, they get to crying. So, try to keep it shorter. How short? That is something you will have to gauge the kid on. Some can go longer and some need it done very quickly. Not to mention all the variables like time from the last nap, how recently they ate, and other things.

Finally, and this goes hand in hand with keeping the session quick but that is to know your route. Have a plan for where you are photographing your subject. You know you need to keep it quick, so what are 2 to 5 areas within a few seconds of each other in your immediate area? Have a plan for that so you can keep things quick but also keep things different with each step of the photo session.

Bonus tip:  Get down to their eye level for the photos. Things will work out so much better that way.

A quick break.

Taking a quick rest. Posts will resume on Thursday.

To those who attempted to get tickets to this weekend’s show at Indian Creek School of Frozen Jr., word of mouth spread quick, and it sold out both Saturday and Sunday so you probably weren’t able to get them. That’s too bad too because you missed an amazing performance.

But good news, their upper school will be performing Shrek the Musical and if their middle school pulls off amazing performances you can rest assured their upper school does even better. They aren’t selling tickets yet but save the date for:

Thursday, April 27, 7:00 p.m

Friday, April 28, 7:00 p.m

Saturday, April 29, 3:00 p.m

Sunday, April 30, 3:00 p.m

You’ll likely get a reminder when I do another Tech/Dress rehearsal write up pending permission.

More on Dress Rehearsals

Once again, Indian Creek School are performing Frozen Jr. at their campus, if you missed the first two shows, then you missed some amazing shows but you are in luck because there are two more this Saturday and Sunday at 3 PM. The school does great performances, and this show meets that bar, if you need a break from everything I suggest checking out their show – you won’t be disappointed. For more information check out Indian Creek School’s website at: https://indiancreekschool.ludus.com/index.php?show_id=200433386

I noted bringing a step stool in my last post. The reason for that is you can get up closer to the performer’s level without being on stage. This will make it easier to line up some shots. I actually like to bring 2 with me so I can have them positioned on both sides so less movement is involved. That stated, make sure you know what the performers are doing during the whole performance. For Froze, I knew that Elsa would be walking through the front row. Since I knew when and where I could be sure the stools would be out of the way before that part of the show.

Speaking of which, always be thankful. You may be photographing the show, but the performers, tech and stage crew, directors, costumers, makeup artists, choreographers, and everyone else who adds to the show adds to the shot you are composing. So be nice to everyone. It is their theater, after all, and you are there by their invitation. Theater is a bunch of different arts coming together in the form of a bigger production – use your art to work in sync with them, not against them.

Finally, know the show, know the show, know the show, and know the show. You don’t have to memorize everyone’s lines but if you know the plot it is going to be easier get the shots you are trying to get. This is especially important if you have only one dress rehearsal to work with.

Photographing a Dress Rehearsal: Frozen

I’ve been photographing a dress rehearsal again. Don’t worry, I have permission to post these photos.

Up front, these are from Indian Creek School’s performance of Frozen Jr. which will be performed on their campus on February 22, 23, 25 and 26. I strongly encourage you to check out their website for more information on how to get tickets to check out their show – you are in for a great performance if you do.

Or just click here: https://indiancreekschool.ludus.com/index.php?show_id=200433386

Anyway, when photographing stuff going on stage, I try to focus on 3 things.

1)      Emotion.

2)      Interaction.

3)      Space.

Emotion is obvious. All performances are different, but if you take the time to learn the material ahead of time or at least watch the movie before the dress rehearsal you can have a pretty good idea what emotions will be happening and a general idea of when they will occur. Be ready and photograph those emotions. Keep in mind the performers may be speaking or singing while showing the emotion so be ready.

Interaction is also obvious but can be easy to lose if you become too focused on individual characters. Look for the character interactions and photograph that. It isn’t often that you can get someone getting hit with ice magic or photograph someone having a sword being swung at them but you can in plays. But also go for the regular character interactions or dancing.

Finally, for space, look for ways to give your subjects space. In musicals, especially during solo parts, I enjoy giving the subject space to sing into. This especially works well if they are using their arms in the performance.

Bonus tip: bring step stools if you have the audience section to yourself during the dress rehearsal.

Bring toys.

Don’t ever be afraid to give your kid toys during a photo session. Kids play and if giving them toys gives them something to do then that’s great. As I always say, people look awesome doing something -especially something they like doing. Kids tend to like playing with toys so give them toys and let’s get some awesome photos of them playing. Toys can also work as an awesome ice breaker to get rid of those nervous jitters and get that smile out.

In other words, this is just another way to say that if you want great photos of your kids then let them be kids! Whether it is a formal dress event or just a nice day at the park, photos of your kids will be much more authentic if you just let them be themselves as opposed to someone you want them to be for that event. There may be a wedding, but your kids are still kids. There may be some sort of political inauguration with powerful men and women in every seat in the house and your kids are still kids. Let them be kids and that friendly chaos will give you photography gold at some point and give you photos worth having on your wall.

Let toddlers explore.

I have been very busy so here is a quick session I did the other day. When working with kids, especially young kids, give them something to explore. In this case, I gave her some of my juggling gear. Generally, the more they can pick the items up and look at them from different angles the better it will work out for you. Within reason though, obviously I am not giving her my juggling machetes or juggling torches. Use your best judgement.

This shot was done with just two lights. The key light was just off to the side and equipped with a softbox that had a grid attached. The hair light was up above and had a snoot with a grid on. The trick with snoots and two year olds is that two year olds move around and snoots tend to cover a narrow area. So, keep your subject in mind when using a snoot.

Two light Low-Key

Most times when I am demonstrating a low-key lighting setup, I am keeping it simple and demonstrating a single light low-key setup. But you can always add more lights. In these photos we did a two light low-key setup. The first set is of me but to be honest this lighting technique works better with an athlete or someone wearing hat. So, I brought in someone wearing a hat.

This is the bare bones of this technique, and it is worth practicing occasionally because you can build on it. You could throw in a key light and fill light and use this as a rim lighting or just add a key light. Regardless, it is useful to know how to do if you have the lights to pull it off. Once again, everything you practice, regardless of whether or not you use it consistently in your actual work, is stuff you can pull out when it’s moment arrives. If you have been practicing, it will come out with ease, if you haven’t you may stumble at that moment.

Anyway, obviously this was done with two lights. The only modifier were reflector dishes on each light. The lights were strobes, but I could have easily used speedlights instead. Each light was just off to the side and back to my subject and adjusted as needed from there to meet the need of each individual shot. Thankfully, with such simple modifiers moving things around was easy.

Props and Wardrobe

As always, props, props, props. You don’t need a lot of them, in this case its just a rocking chair from some grocery store that was acquired a long time ago, but even one good prop can go a long way in terms of giving your subject intrigue and something to do. After all, having something to do just makes for a better photos usually when it comes to people.

Next, of course, is fashion. I suggest working with the parents on this when it comes to kids. At least one parent will have nice set of cloths to work with but do take it a step further and tell them what you have in mind. That way you can coordinate your photo shoot with their wardrobe options. I guess the point I am trying to make is the communication aspect of photography extends well beyond what you are saying in your photos. Talk to everyone involved as information is key for everyone to do what they need to do.

This is a two-light setup. One strobe with a softbox and a grid up high aimed down at the subject – the key light. Then the kicker light – a speedlight in back just off to the side with no modifiers. Photography doesn’t have to be complicated or it can be extremely complicated, it really is a matter of what you are going for.

Finally got around to testing out a new backdrop I got ahold of. This is a paper backdrop that comes in a large roll. Obviously you can get them in lots of different colors and they tend to be cheaper relative to Muslin backdrops. Also, being paper they tend to have a surface that works a little different from other backdrops as they tend to have a paper texture surface so light on them can look different depending on the angle. Plus, if they tear, they usually have lots extra, so you just cut a that point and start from there.

There are downsides though, as with everything, the fact of the matter is that they do tear after you use them a lot, even if you are being careful. It’s paper and after a while it tears. Furthermore, these are even less water friendly then most other types of backdrops because, well, paper. The rolls can be heavy and tricky to put up and might benefit from some assistance. Finally, if you don’t have a good setup up to hold the backdrop then you are going to have a problem. I would only use this roll on my expensive heavy-duty backdrop stand as I have no doubt the light backdrop stand would collapse under the weight.

As for lighting, I am using a clamshell light setup for these photos. Two strobes with softboxes. The key light had an octagon softbox with a grid and was just in front of the subject but high aimed down. Then a gap then on the floor was a rectangle softbox aimed up at the subject acting as a fill light, no grid with this one. It looks like a clamshell sort of, so they call it a clamshell setup.

Rembrandt and butterfly

A quick post as I am knee deep in work. Here are two single light techniques that tend to work well. The first is a Rembrandt technique which results in a heavy shadow on part of the face with a triangle of light on that side of the face. You can notice I don’t exactly look thrilled in that shot. This is because I find it tedious to setup which means I probably need more practice at it. Seriously though, it can be a challenge to do but it worth the effort. To set it up your light will be slightly higher than your subject and just off to the side. You want the light at about a 45 degree angle to your subject aiming down that is. But some adjustments will be necessary.

The next shot is a bit easier and called the butterfly technique. The butterfly is the shadow formed under the nose which tends to look like a butterfly. The light is close to overhead and directly in front of the subject. This is one of the easier single light techniques and is one of the first ones you might want to get the hang of.

In both cases, you can complement it with a reflector to fill in some shadows on the dark side of the face but don’t over do it so much that you lose the effects that make these what they are.

5 different ways to utilize a backlight.

All these photos were taken with the key light in the exact same spot – just off to the side and just over the subject. It was a strobe with an octagon softbox. What is changing for these is the back light position. In all shots the backlight had a reflector dish on and a pinkish gel (my subjects current favorite color).

In the first shot, the light is behind my subject on the floor aimed straight up. As you can see it hits the back and some spills off on her hair a little. Next up is one you’ve seen me use before, which is as a rim light. The light is directly behind her and aimed about at upper torso level. Notice that the color shining through her hair looks more reddish – what is happening there is that her hair is acting as a different color gel, mixing to produce a reddish color. The pink is still there, you can see it spilling over on clothes a little. That’s just something to keep in mind for this type of lighting with a gel. The third and fourth ones are similar. The third one the light is off to the light and aimed right mostly at the backdrop. That’s why there is a cone effect. The fourth is similar in that the light is on the ceiling aimed down. In both cases the light goes from pinkish to purplish ever so slightly.  Finally, the last one has the light aimed at her hair acting as a hair light while also lighting up the background.

There are more ways to do this, but that’s 5 basic ways to utilize a backlight in photography.

Anyway, I currently have openings for photos sessions especially with Valentine’s Day just around the corner. Now would be a great time to start booking that. Book during the next two weeks and I will do a session in the park for $150, that’s $100 off my normal asking price.

More single light with a reflector work.

Here is another single light with a reflector. The strobe has an octagon softbox on it. It is overhead and aimed down at a 45-degree angle aimed at the subject. Just off to the side and a little lower than the subject is my reflector with the white side. The reflector utilizes the light from the softbox and acts as a fill light.

When doing a simple light set up like this, one of the main things I use to gauge quality is the reflection of the light in the eyes. Do not make this the only thing to adjust off and don’t let sticking to it hold you back but it is a good place to start.  Those lights tend to help pull the subject in to the photo so if you need to move a light to get a better light in the eyes do that. As to where exactly you want that light, well that is up to you.

Finally, another trick when working with one-year olds is go with what gets them to move. In her case, me singing “the wheels on the bus” got her smiling and doing the round motion with her hands. Sometimes it’s a toy, sometimes it’s a song, but try everything you got to make it happen.

More faking golden hour.

These photos were taken at golden hour on a cloudy day, so we had to make some of our own sunlight. There are several ways you can do this and how you do it will depend on your gear. Obviously first and foremost you need some sort of light and the light you have will decide everything. Speedlights have considerably less power as opposed to strobes but that just means you need to get them closer. Strobes offer a little more leeway but keep in mind you need to consider where that spread of light is coming from to make it convincing.

In the case of these photos, I used my strobe with an orange gel just off to the side and angled aiming slightly down to the subject. If you were using a speed light, you’d likely want to do this as well but due to the size and strength of the light. In this case, I did it that way because I didn’t really have any brush or trees to hide it behind to make it look like the sun was just over the horizon, so I made the light just off to the side. You’ll also notice the slight glow and lens flare on some of the photos – that’s what having a strobe just off to the side can do.

This technique sound easy on paper but it really requires practice because you are trying to recreate something that people see almost every single day. If it isn’t right, they will notice but if you can figure it out this trick just might save a photo session that needs that sunlight on a cloudy day.

Also, don’t forget the orange gels. Get a pack that has various hues of orange and don’t be afraid to stack them if need be.

Self Portraits. Also, you should have a business plan.

This is another reminder to do self portraits every now and then. This will help you relate to anyone you take pictures of which can only help make the session go more smoothly. Furthermore, it helps you practice poses from the perspective of the subject. This can only help you pose other subjects later. It is easier to tell someone how to get into a pose if you have been in the pose yourself already. Finally, it just makes for good practice.

Anyway, this is a short post because I am finishing up our business plan at the time of this post (and the time of these photos). If you lack a business plan, now is the time to working that out. Assume your competition has one, and if you don’t, they are going to be one step ahead of you at every point of the year.

Sometimes projects go sideways - learn from them.

Welcome to the new year. I was playing around with a few items and to be perfectly honest it didn’t pan out, until I switched them to black and white. This makes sense because it was a heavy mix of shadows and lights.

The original concept was light coming in from window hitting the subject and the flower (fake, fake flowers are awesome) However, the harness I use to secure my fake window and the fake window I use were in my storage unit, so I had to use a small plexiglass piece and secure it in a less secure manner which just didn’t end up panning up. The light did reflect through it though but the gel I was testing out didn’t quite work once I got back to my desk to processing.

This happens and the two things you can do when it does is first learn from it and see what you can salvage from it. In this case, I learned quite a bit, I have lots of notes to carry into the next practice session, but I was also able to salvage it by grayscaling it. Never assume you will luck out though, sometimes will have nothing but a lesson and that’s okay as long as you are willing to learn it.