Lighting

Bounce Lighting + Basic Skin Softening = Cool Photo

in , , ,
Westcott kicked off its nationwide Top Pro Tour yesterday in NJ with yours truly. As usual, I handed over my tethered Canon 5D Mark II camera and let several of the participants shoot!

Oh yeah! Before it was my turn to present, Dave Piazza illustrated the beautiful lighting effects that can be achieved with constant lights (Spyder Lights). So, it was Dave on constant lights and me on flash. :-)

The lighting for the above image was simple: We bounced my camera-mounted Canon Speedlite 580 EX flash into a Westcott large reflector, which softened and spread the light.

Here is one of my favorite images, shot by one of the participants. It started out as a color file, which I converted to black-and-white using Nik Software's Silver Efex Pro. I added the drop shadow and thin black line in Photoshop.

To soften the model's skin, I used this skin-softening technique in Photoshop:
- Duplicate the layer.
- Change the blending mode of the top layer to Overlay.
- Go to Filters > Others > High Pass.
- Press Command/I.
At this point, the entire top layer should be softly blurred.
- Use the eraser tool over the eyes and mouth to sharpen those areas.

Thanks to all the photographers who participated in this fun event! And thanks to our model, Laurence Yang, for helping to make the photographs look great. Tip: never underestimate the importance of a good subject.

I hope you can join some of my photographer friends in the other stops on the Top Pro Tour! You can save $20 by using this code when you register: TPT7231.

To learn more about lighting, check out my latest app, Light It!

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. You can get a 15% discount on Silver Efex Pro, and all Nik plug-ins, here.

Hudson River Photography Workshops: Week One Wrap Up

in , ,
Week One of my Hudson River Photography Workshops came to a close tonight – after a great day in the studio, wonderful pizza party and nice sunset. As always, we had a small, intimate group – so everyone had the opportunity to shoot and get personal digital darkroom advice.

We are preparing for Week Two, which begins in two weeks. Can't wait for the photo fun to begin – again!

Here are some shots from the workshop. Above: New Croton Dam (HDR). Photographer: Keith Plumstead.


Above: Bella Paula in our local bed and breakfast. Photographer: Ellen Harasimowicz.

Above: Buddhist Monastery (HDR pano). Photographer: Tom Barry.

Above: Keith Plumstead sizes up his first HDR pano print – which I printed on my Canon IPF 6350 printer.

Above: Controlling the light in the studio. Westcott light controllers were used to control the light from a flash. The little device that's attached to my flash (top right) is the Rogue FlashBender. The Rogue FlashBender is an very affordable accessory for enhancing the light from a flash. Photographer: Susan Sammon.

Above: Our small, intimate great group of talented photographers. Photographer: Susan Sammon.

Thanks to everyone for making the event productive, successful, rewarding and... fun!

Explore the light,
Rick

Turning a Snapshot into a Great Shot in Maui: Controlling the Light

in ,


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



Fashion Week Day 2: Try the KIS Lighting Technique

in , , ,
When I'm shooting on location, I like to keep the lighting simple and easy – using only one light whenever possible. It's called the Keep It Simple (KIS) technique. My graffiti wall shot is an example. It's amazing what one can do with just one light!

For the main added light, I used my Canon Speedlite 580EX II in a Westcott softbox. I fired the flash remotely with my Pocket Wizard. I say added light because the daylight also played a major role in the lighting.

My goal was to use a mix of the two light sources. Setting my camera on manual, I controlled that mix. As I increased the shutter speed, the amount of natural light entering the camera decreased – increasing the effect of the added light . . . and therefore increasing the shadows in the image.

You will notice some shadows in the opening image for this post. Look closely at the model's face. Below you see the effect of balancing the light from the flash to the available light: virtually no shadows. Again, look at her face.

When shooting with only one added light source, I always have reflectors and diffusers on hand.

Below, my good friend/excellent photographer, Vered Koshlano, who found the model and who styled the shoot, is holding a reflector. In this case, the reflector helps to fill in the shadows that were caused by the added light falling on the face of the model, Minyoung Cheong.

Vered is using the reflector from my Rick Sammon's Light Controller and Tote, produced by Westcott.

I use a diffuser when strong, natural light needs to be diffused.

Re using a soft box (or any light source):
• The closer the light, the softer the light.
• The larger the light, the softer the light.
• For a softer light, don't aim the light directly at the subject. Rather, feather it (tilt it away from the subject) so that the light "spills" onto the subject.

Tomorrow's topic: Styling.

For more on lighting, see my book, co-authored with Vered, Studio and On-Location Lighting Secrets.

To see more of Vered's work, click here.

For a list of my gear, click here and scroll down to the bottom of the page.

For this shoot, I used my Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 24-105mm IS lens.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. If you are a scuba diver, you may have noticed a wight belt on the base of the light stand. When using a soft box or umbrella outdoors, using a weight of some sort may save your light (which can become a sail) from crashing to the ground in a gust of wind. Weights are a good idea indoors, too.