Why It’s a Good idea to Test
Back when everybody shoot film, testing was an important part of improving your photography and most people wouldn’t shoot an assignment or any critical images before testing the concept or gear beforehand. Before clicking the shutter, medium and large format studio shooters used (expensive) Polaroid film and others would shoot test rolls or run clip tests before trying anything new. Along comes digital capture with its instant...
Shooting with Cold Continuous Light
The problem with traditional “hot lights” is that they are, well, hot and are not all that comfortable to work under for subject and photographer alike. Welcome to a world of continuous light sources that are powered by fluorescent bulbs. I know what you’re thinking, don’t fluorescent lights produce horrible green light? As it turns out daylight-balanced fluorescents are the perfect light source for digital photography. By...
Two Photographers, One Model, One Location
Today’s Post by Joe Farace A great photographer once advised me to work with as few light control devices as possible. I try to do that because the less time spent working with my gear, the more time I can spend putting my subject at ease. If you give me a doorway I’ll use it as a prop. Doorways give subjects something to do with their hands as well as—I think anyway—provide a natural frame around the subject adding interest to...
LED Lighting for a Nostalgic Portrait
When shooting with Rotolight’s Anova Pro BI-S Bi-Color LED Light, the optional ($250) barndoors are an ideal way to control the output. The barndoors’ lightweight metal six-leaf design folds flat for easy storage and comes with mounting hardware and hex wrench just in case the doors loosen. The barndoors were helpful whether I was trying to focus the light on a subject, allowing it to go more low key by keeping light off of a...
When it Comes to Glamour Photography: Light is Light
“Light,” as a wise photographer once told me, “is light.” The most important characteristics that any studio lighting system can have are its output’s quality and quantity. The kind of hardware you use will have an impact on both aspects but the quality of the light can further be affected by using light modifiers, such as umbrellas and softboxes. Studio lighting equipment can be divided into two basic categories: Continuous or...
Finding Glamour Models: Finale
My series on how I find glamour models come to a conclusion this week with secrets number seven and eight. If you’ve been reading the series you know that some of these “secrets” are not really secrets at all but just common sense. But in case you hadn’t thought of any of the others, here’s two that might jog your mind. Friend of Another Model. Another good source of glamour models referrals is from other...
Finding Glamour Models: Part V
Readers often ask me: Where do you find models for your boudoir and glamour photographs? I’ve been trying to answer that in this series of posts. Here is the latest installment in the series. Secret Number 6: The Internet. There are many different modeling websites on the World Wide Web that let photographers and models post images and notices on a visitor’s forum. These sites vary in effectiveness depending on where you’re located in...
