Category Archives: workshop
Thank you for the Workshop!
Well…last week was interesting. We got the blizzard of the century, then it got crazy cold, and on Saturday I was having my workshop. I figured, “Early February…no one does anything…” Well, ok…aside from Superbowl weekend! That’s ok, it didn’t include the Bears (sigh). But, everyone made it to the workshop, and from what I can see was pleased! I was completely stressing out over the agenda, and making sure it was a little something for everyone. The night before…or morning of…I woke up at 5 AM, and could not get back to sleep. For the record…I NEVER get up at 5 AM on Saturday. Well, at least not since my job in manufacturing.
The day flew by CRAZY fast, and was a lot of fun. We went through setups, mistakes, options, manual flash, TTL, and everything in between, and around. Our model Jax was fantastic as usual, and Marcin got us some behind the scenes shots. Here are a few:
I’m not sure why, but I decided to break out into the Macarena while Pat shot photos of my drapes.
Then I got serious. While Jax is considering her escape route…I’m trying to telepathically communicate with the Ezybox.
The Ezybox never talked back, so it was me back to dancing. This is my drunk white guy at a wedding move:
I didn’t shoot much, but took a few snaps during instruction. Here, we use ambient as fill, and an Ezybox as key light. All TTL. Oh yeah…a little 1/2 cut of CTO on the hairlight.
Some studio light instruction…fun with one light. AB800 in a 60 inch umbrella:
It doesn’t get any easier…or more fun than this. Single bare, Canon 580EX II on a Manfrotto “Justin Clamp” shot through my front door window:
So…that was it! I had a blast, and I’m already cooking up the next flavor of workshop, so stay tuned.
A Room with a View
Happy 2011 to everyone! Yes, I know…it’s almost 1/12th finished, but better late than never…right? Well 2010 wrapped up great for me, and 2011 has started off just the same. Part of the reason was I spent 10 days out of the miserable Chicago cold. Part of my lack of activity on this blog is the weather. I absolutely hate winter. I hate the cold, and I think the government should ban it. Something about short days, dried out sinuses, and shivering makes me hide out. I need my sunlight. Perhaps I’m part green plant?
So, Marta and I spend the end of 2010, and the start of 2011 in Grenada (yes, it’s the country we invaded). It’s our second trip there, and a truly magical place. We weren’t at an all-inclusive, there weren’t drinking contests by the pool (there isn’t a pool), and no one asked us to come listen to a presentation on timeshares. Instead, we were ultra close to La Sagesse bay, and this was the view from our porch:
It was incredible falling asleep and waking up to the sounds of the rolling tide. It’s like nothing else in the world. While the beach did have some people on it, there was far from a crowd. Getting photos like this were no problem:
The vacation was 95% relaxation (30% of that me recovering from the worst cold/sinus infection EVER), but Marta and I did exert some energy. We wanted to go for a hike in the rainforest. So, calling up THE hiking guide on the island, Telfour was in order. We met Telfour in front of the KFC (of course), and hopped on a bus to the Grand Etang area. Then we walked…and walked…and walked. Armed with a granola bar, and bottle of water, we bit off a little more than we could chew. Telfour, on the other hand never drank any water, and had some of a granola bar we gave him…for over 5 hours of hiking.
The experience was worth it, and Marta and I made it to the top of Mt. Qua Qua. Here’s a shot of the 71 year old Telfour. Sir…you kicked our butts!
So…back in the cold, and I have a busy week and weekend ahead. First of all, I’m INCREDIBLY excited about the workshop! I’m also flattered that it’s a sell-out. It’s going to be a blast and we’re going to do a lot of lighting tricks, and things not so tricky. We’ll do setups from simple, working to advanced, and throwing in there common mistakes. Then, we’ll break it all down, and start again. The day is full, but will go fast!
Also, on the website side…I should have the RSS feed thingy working now. I read a Seth Godin blog post about using a RSS reader to save time on the interwebs, and have no idea why I didn’t look into this earlier. The reader I have is the Pulse RSS reader for my Android phone. It is great, and eliminates all the ads and “noise” from websites so you can read what you came there to read and get on with your day.
Leading up to the workshop, I’m going to throw up a couple of things I’ve been trying and really like. One which is no secret is the Canon Speedlite system. No, it’s not Nikon CLS, but it is REALLY good. Those who say otherwise just don’t get it. You don’t…ok…it’s not an arguement. I’ve found otherwise, and so have others. Another is the Lastolite Ezybox. This thing is top-notch! The construction, portability, and quality of light. Sure, it’s almost $200, but there is a reason for it.
Stay tuned…Happy New Year…and until next time…
Lighting for Post Processing
I’ve seen it too many times. Someone tries to use post processing to save an image. Usually, it’s too late by then. When you’re lighting an image, think about how you want to process it. Perhaps minimally. Clean a few things up, and export to JPG, and then print it, or post online. But, other times you want to create a different effect than the lights and camera provide. I like to call this thinking ahead to how the image will look. Here are a few simple examples.
First, and editorial shot. Casual, fashion type image, nothing too much. This was done with window light at high ISO (1000), and using two speedlites ETTL for additional lighting. In the first image, the skin tones are ok for this, but the blacks are a little dark. That’s not hard to bring out in post processing. First, the SOOC (straight-out-of-camera) image:
I knew I wanted a slight retro editorial look to it. Plus, I was lazy, and now have to remove the lamp from her head. Bad move on my part. But, the image has a slightly different feel, and it’s a little more about the clothes since I brought out some detail.
Next…I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this one. The shot is window light, and two speedlites, ETTL. It throws light everywhere, and eliminates most of any “mood”. Here is SOOC:
But, I knew I was going to add a lot of contrast, enhance the blacks, and bring out some colors. I can do this because it started out as a flat, but very “crisp” image.
Now…a simple fashion shot. This is bare strobe, no reflector, and everything goes flat again, but with a lot of detail. I add back in contrast, and color post processing.
and after…
This is one of my favorite, simple, two light portrait setups. I have a softbox high, on axis to the camera, and a speedlight near the floor bouncing into the reflector. This is an easy shot, but watch your fill. You NEED it. I’m shooting at f/11, and there is a lot of detail. If the shadows get too muddy, I won’t be able to recover them. But, get it just right, and your post processing with added fill, spot removal, skin smoothing, and added blacks and contrast are just perfect. This is less than 10 minutes of editing.
SOOC:
After retouching:
You can make a LOT of friends taking photos like that. I’ve used this formula for all skin tones and types. All beautiful. It’s great on black too substituting the softbox for the beauty dish.
Last, a little of an experiment gone well. 
We have only available light. I cranked the camera to ISO 1600, kept on a fast lens, and added the modeling lamp from my softbox. The white everywhere helps a little too, and I threw a silver reflector on the ground. You MUST fill in as many shadows as you can. White balance was set to tungsten, and this is SOOC:
Some editing, fill, cooler white balance, etc…and we’re good!
Here is another example:
SOOC:
…and processed:
I hope that helps. You see that nothing is dramatic. Lighting was mostly taken care of when the frame was shot. I don’t use Lightroom and Photoshop to save images, rather to make them how I originally saw the shot in my head. Want to learn more? Sign up for my workshop early 2011!
2011 Lighting and Portrait Workshop
I’ve officially set the date for early next year. It will be on a Saturday, February 5th. More details will be posted this week on my website, but here’s a teaser. Send me an email if you’re interested in signing up. Spots will be reserved with a $50 deposit.
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