Photographs © Rick Sammon

DPE co-founder Juan Pons and I, as well as several members of the Digital Photo Experience gang, are just back from the 2010 Maui Photo Festival & Workshops. What fun, and what a fantastic learning experience.

One of the highlights of the event was the "Hula Dancers at Sunset" shoot, organized by DPE contributor Randy Jay Braun, a local photographer on Maui. Many of the presenters chimed in with tips on using reflectors, diffusers and a flash. Here is just one example.

We made the opening picture for this post by controlling the strong, direct and unflattering sunlight. Two diffusers were held between the sun and subject to soften the shadows, and a gold reflector was held to bounce some light onto the darker side of the subject. The gold reflector also added a beautiful glow to the subject's face.

See! It's easy to turn a snapshot into a great shot - and it's easy to control the light.

Best,

Rick