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| The shiny wood paneling reflected everything. This looks great in person, but can be difficult to accurately photograph. |
The materials in the room ranged from dark glossy wood paneling and tile to flat white linen and shiny chrome vases. I knew that I would not be able to capture the extreme latitude of the room with a single exposure, so I planned to find the best angle and then lock the scene down on my tripod.
To complicate things, there were at least five different light sources with their own color temperature…. blue daylight, green fluorescents, yellow tungstens, white LEDs and my flashes. Each light source was affecting colors and creating pools of localized color zones.
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| There were large areas of white in this room which were easily affected by colors of the different light sources. |
Since I could not simply gel my flash to match all the light temperatures, I ended up shooting each part of the scene separately and composting them later. This allowed me to expose for highlights, midtones and shadows to create a high-dynamic range photo while controlling the color casts. This also allowed me to combine the bright scene outside the window with the relatively dark interior… impossible to do in one shot.
When lighting rooms with flash, try not to overpower ambient light sources that give the room its character. In the photo above, I shot a flash through the frosted glass shower wall which is a key feature of the room’s swanky design. You can see they spent a lot of money on custom glass walls in the restroom.
I also took photos of the room next door which was more of a standard hotel room. It’s pretty interesting to see the difference between the two. This room had the gauze-like sheer curtain that would have helped tame the other room’s extreme lighting conditions. Oh well.
The last shot looks easy, but it was difficult to hide the flashes while lighting both rooms. Again, the shiny materials revealed all light sources so I had to be sneaky where I put my lighting.
I was contacted by Daraka who had just moved to Atlanta and needed a headshot for his company’s web site. He agreed to come to the studio and we proceeded to make several styles of headshot. I like to give clients a variety of lighting styles and or clothing options.
I can use very traditional backgrounds and lighting techniques for a conservative, timeless look. Or I can use edgy lighting and compositions to give the portrait a modern look… in this case my subject preferred no smiling.
Many times, a client will use one style for business and the other for social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, match.com, Linked-In or their email avatar.
Part of being a photographer is making lemonade out of lemons which was the case when I took family portraits on a very ugly, about-to-rain, dark-and-dreary day for a wonderful gal named Christy. I had been watching the weather with hope that the sun might pop out for a brief guest appearance, but I had no such luck. I was afraid that all my photos would not have much color like the vintage style photo.
Normally, if the client is flexible, I give them the option of picking a different day if the weather is terrible. Sometimes that is not possible, especially if the portrait is to include out of town family members or rare occasions when all family members are present. I know in my own clan how precious this time can be when we are all under one roof.
In poor lighting situations like these, I bring my own sun in the form of a Paul C. Buff Parabolic Light Modifier (PLM). What the heck is that you ask? It’s a huge 5 foot umbrella for my Einstein flashes. On set I call it my moon dish because I am pretty sure that the aliens can see that thing flash from outer space. It literally looks like a gigantic silver radar dish.
The advantage of the PLM is that it can create soft but directional light over a focused area that can look a lot like natural sunlight. I use a warming gel to enhance the effect. Many people would not know that these photos were taken on a day sans sunshine.
I took one dramatic shot where I decided to keep the storm clouds in the photo to prove it was about to rain…
UPDATED: 10/20/2012
Many months later, I found out what happened with the photos… they got turned into a big poster seen below. I think that is cool.
We have all seen actors that get picked to play Santa in holiday commercials. Some of them kind of look like famous St. Nick, but others just look like geriatric fat guys pulled out of a local BBQ joint. Not his Santa… he was impressively authentic.
I am here to tell all those other fake Santas to step aside, because I think that I finally met the real Santa. The only thing missing was the bag of toys and the reindeer which he could name in order. I could not.
This jolly old elf was not like those sidewalk Santas in their in their stuffed, poorly fitted red suits. This Santa had style and was dressed in such a way that he felt like a timeless character from a different century.
He had lace at his wrists, heavy leather boots and a twinkle in his eye letting everyone know that he was having a grand time talking to the children and adults alike. The beard was real and spectacular.
We were all put under his magical Christmas spell and there was no doubt that the real Santa had taken time off from his hectic pre-Christmas schedule to visit us. He was so good with the children, and their eyes were wide with wonder.
Everyone at the party took turns telling Santa what was on their list. I overheard everything from Legos and video games to new cars and fancy bottles of wine. How he can keep track of all of this is anybody’s guess.
I can barely remember what my wife asked me to get at the store. I hope Santa has modernized his operation with computers and a database of who is “naughty and nice”.
Some of the adults at the party were very naughty trying to get Santa to have a mixed drink. Don’t they know what would happen if Santa got a DUI? Christmas would have to be canceled!
I printed the portraits on location so that everyone got a 4×6 picture souvenir. The rest of the photos went online so that parents could print or download them.
I just checked and it has been almost half a year since I have regularly posted a blog article. A lot has happened since that time. Most of it has been very good, but there have been a few tragedies too.
Mainly, I have been burning the candle at both ends keeping up with a hectic and demanding freelance schedule. At times I felt like a juggler tossing knives and flaming torches… and luckily, nothing got dropped… except this blog and maybe cleaning the house on a regular basis.
Anyway, stay tuned in the coming weeks as I try to catch up with the backlog of articles and thanks for reading.
I met Dean Stevenson many years ago when I was taking classes at Showcase School of Photography. He is the best photography teacher that I have ever had. I never missed the opportunity to improve my knowledge and skills with a camera when he was teaching class. Sometimes I would get on the waiting list to take his classes, but it was worth the wait. Over the years I ended up taking every class that he taught until there were no more left.
I also had the opportunity to work with him professionally assisting him in a wedding shoot. I could see his work ethic up close. No detail was overlooked and the job was a success.
For years, Dean’s dream has been to open his own school of photography in his own studio space, and now that dream is a reality as Atlanta Photo Workshops opens for business. Dean has designed several photography classes based on his experience teaching literally thousands of students. He has rewritten several of his core classes to be even better than before.
Students have the choice of taking 5 week courses that involve weekly assignments, a fieldtrip and critiques. Or, they can take a intensive lecture-based class in one day. Students also have an opportunity to have personal tutoring with his one-on-one courses. Large groups and photo clubs can hire Dean for seminars.
Courses include:
Recently, my friend, Megan, invited me to do a little location scouting for future photo shoots. This is something that I wanted to do more of since Atlanta is a big town with lots to see. I had tried scouting last year resulting in me bottoming out the car on a sandy car trap of a road. I was able to use a boulder and loose board to free the car before the tow truck arrived. Whew…saved $100.
I hate to admit that I do not fully take advantage of this beautiful city so we set off in search of some interesting vistas. We went to 2 parks which I could not name. Magically the GPS got us there. The first was a park with a Civil War era homestead. The second was literally a ghost town with many rustic shacks. It was a fun day.
This year I participated in the nationwide event called the Help Portrait Project. For years I had heard about the annual event where photographers give back to people in need. For a day, volunteer photographers set up studios at charities and churches that help the poor, the sick and the homeless. Here is the promo video below.
We spent time with the families, take their portrait and give them each a framed 8×10 photo before Christmas. It may not sound like much to give someone a portrait of themselves, but many of the participating families do not have any pictures of themselves. I am told that some of the people never had photos taken before and it can have a powerful effect.
One the surface, this might sound like a lot of sad people showed up to get their photo taken, but that is not what I experienced. The people that I met were warm and friendly… even fun. Some of the children were the cutest hams and had us all laughing.
I will not be showing any of the photos we took that day since there are confidentiality promises in place, and the event was not about any particular photographer getting a great portrait for his portfolio. It was about connecting with everyday people and giving them a simple gift of compassion.
As a side note, Chik-Fila was kind enough to supply the Atlanta area locations with lunch. Here is a photo of me in front of a mountain of chicken sandwiches before they were distributed. I am glad they did not fall on me… I would have had to eat my way to the surface. Darn!
This week at Graphic Works I had the opportunity to take head shot portraits of 12 lawyers of a local Atlanta law firm. They are going to use the photos for their web site profiles and for publications when needed.
I love making these kind of photos because it gives me a chance to connect with people one-on-one. I also like delivering photos that the subject will be happy to use… even ones who inform me that they “hate to have their picture taken”. My goal is to win those people over and make them change their mind about having a portrait made… or at least to make the process seem painless.
The mood during my portrait sessions is laid back and fun. I will adjust my shooting style based on the particular person sitting in front of me, but I always want my subjects to feel at ease because that makes the best portraits.
My typical workflow for corporate portraits involves setup on in the client’s office or in our studio. Then I schedule about 15 minutes per person to shoot, review and pick the final image. I shoot with my camera tethered to a computer so that we can make an “on-the-spot” review and choose the final photo. We discuss any retouching requests at that time too. Clients love seeing the photo that they will get and it saves me from their second guessing later. Everyone is happy this way.
Check out my business photography portfolio at AtlantaBusinessPhotos.com
