How the size and placement of studio lights affect the photos
Mateos, a model & fitness trainer, in the studio. More than just a fitness photograph (via dramatic light to show off his physique), I wanted these to be portraits as well of this athlete. With fitness photography, the approach is usually to have photos where you show detail and contouring. This is usually done with more contrasty light - small light sources at an angle to your subject.
To get the rim-lighting shown here, there was the typical setup of two gridded stripboxes to the side and behind Mateos. Pretty Read more inside...
Dramatic studio lighting: Using the beauty dish as a single light source
I love the forgiving nature of large light modifiers - you don't have such precision with a huge softbox as you do with a smaller, more contrasty light modifier. But you also have less opportunity for dramatic light, as you do with smaller light sources. In line with the idea that a smaller light = harder light = dramatic light, I wanted to create a series of portraits that had a darker, moodier feel.
Brian Calabrese, a photographer friend of mine, met up with me in my studio, and through various iterations Read more inside...
Photographic composition - A few guidelines (but no rules!)
“There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.” - Ansel Adams
For me, if a photograph is intended for an audience, and not just my own records and memories - then its success hinges around impact. Does the photograph make you stop for a few seconds at least to take it in? Then you're at least in part successful already with the portrait. With portraits so many elements kick in to make a photograph resonate with us: The moment. The expression. Gesture. Movement. Pose and position. Read more inside...
Post-processing workflow: How to deal with color banding / posterization
If you've ever noticed banding or posterization in your photos, where you'd expect solid colors, then there's a relatively easy fix for it. This posterization effect appears as bands of colors, where the transitions between similar tones aren't smooth, but have jagged edges instead.
It is caused by the 8-bit JPG not having enough data to give you a smooth gradient when large blocks of color slowly change. You'll often see it in the blue sky in landscapes, or as in this case, with large areas of color in the Read more inside...
Studio photography: Low-key lighting for a dramatic portrait
Randy has a look reminiscent of Ava Gardner, so I asked her to be a subject for my book, Lighting & Design. I wanted to create a portrait of Randy in the Hollywood Glamor style of lighting, similar to the vintage styled boudoir photo session (with Olena). And it looked great! But while I had someone so photogenic and with such dramatic styling, I wanted to take further photos of Randy, and she happily indulged me.
For one of the setups, I wanted to explore again using the Profoto beauty dish (affiliate) as a Read more inside...
Thoughts on using a beauty dish as a single light source
A beauty dish is one of those light modifiers that sound attractive just by name already. And when photographers start exploring other options than direct off-camera flash and umbrellas or a softbox, a beauty dish is usually one of the first alternate light modifiers that catches attention. Mine too. Right after I bought my first Profoto kit, I purchased a beauty dish for it and started exploring using a beauty dish.
A beauty dish is ideally used at a closer distance for portraits, with the light "focused" on the face, Read more inside...
As my daughter, Janine, grew up from being a baby, it became more difficult getting photos of her. I think most parents can relate to that increased resistance by your children to having their photo taken. This is Janine, a few moths after her 16th birthday - since I have so very few recent images of her that are of professional quality, I was able to cajole her into this on this snow-bound afternoon. She loved the results: "Facebook profile photo FTW!"
I set this up in our living room, with a grey paper backdrop to create a quick home Read more inside...
