Try "Trade Show" Lighting?

Shooting in a small booth at a crowded trade show with lots of other photographers is not the ideal lighting set up.

But wait, that's exactly what photographers did at the Westcott booth at the recent Photo Pro Expo, where I had the honor of being one of the instructors.

My main gig was speaking to 500 or so enthusiastic photographers in the main hall. My presentations, Exploring the Light and Social Media Marketing, were sponsored by Canon USA as part of its Explorers of Light program.

Light is a favorite topic of mine, as is composition. If you can't get to one of my seminars, check out my on-line seminars.

Canon 5D Mark III HDR image.

After my main talks, I gave two presentations on HDR, and illustrated the benefits of the built-in HDR feature of the Canon 5D Mark III.

Always wanting to keep busy, I swung by the Westcott booth were I helped photographers make good pictures, again in a challenging situation.

Our gear, listed below: Westcott TD6 Spiderlites - which provide continuous, daylight-balanced light.

Basically, I talked about one of my favorite topics: using shadows. I suggested that if a photographer wants an interesting and dramatic photograph, he or she should work with shadows. I also reminded everyone of a basic lighting tip: the larger the light, the softer the light; the closer the light, the softer the light. The opening photograph for this post illustrates that point.

I used a Paper Toner filter and an Image Border filter in Nik Color Efex Pro to enhance the image.

The picture below is a behind-the-scenes shot that shows the tight, but cool, set up.

Both of the lights in the photograph were turned on when I took the opening image for this post. Not bad for "trade show" lighting. :-)

For even more dramatic lighting, I suggested using only one light. One of my favorite shots is below, accompanied by a black-and-white version of the image I made using Nik Silver Efex Pro. Whenever I get a shot I like, I try a black-and-white conversion.

Below is a behind-the-scenes shot that show just how close the model was positioned to the light.

Note the grid over the soft box. A grid is an essential accessory for serious portrait photographers. It lets you shape and control the light for dramatic portraits.

Hey! If on-the-fly shots like this are possible at a trade show,  just imagine the kind of images you can create in your home or studio with this easy-to-use gear.

Gear used for this shoot:
Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 24-105mm IS lens
and
Westcott Spiderlite TD6 7-foot Parabolic Umbrella Kit
and
Westcott Spiderlite TD6 and 12x36-inch Strip Bank
and
Westcott 40-degree egg crate 12x36-inch grid for Strip Bank
and
Nik Color Efex Pro and Nik Silver Efex Pro (info on my Save On Plug-ins Page)

Explore the light,
Rick

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P.S. Here's another behind-the-scenes shot, one of me shooting at the Westcott booth. Yup! I'm using my favorite lens: Canon 24-105mm IS.

Thank you Nelson Charatte for the fun photo!

And the winner is: Andy Schneider!

At my seminars and on my workshops, I like to challenge the participants to come up with creative images - in new setting and under pressure. That's how we grow as photographers.

My session this past weekend at Photo Pro Expo was no different. My assignment to the 500+ photographers who attended my Canon Explorer of Light-sponsored presentation: Take a creative picture of me playing the piano and post it on the Digital Photo Experience Community on Google+. The person with the most creative image would get $300 off my Iceland, Spearfish, SD or Provence workshop.

Lots of good images, but the winner is Andy Schneider. Andy's image, shown here, is a cool creative montage.

Good job, Andy, and thank you all for playing along.

Andy, shoot me an email and tell me where you'd like to go.

Explore the light,
Rick
P.S. I was playing "500 Miles High."

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My "Women's Touch in Photography" Series Continues with Guest Blogger Judith Monteferrante

My series on "The Woman's Touch in Photography" continues today with guest blogger Judith Monteferrante.

Your turn Judith.

First, I'd like to thank Rick for asking me to participate in this series. What a good idea.

I first met Rick at a presentation he was giving at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. Several months later I took one of his workshops in Croton on Hudson, NY. We've been friends ever since.

Do women shoot in a feminine way? When you look at portrait lighting styles, men are usually photographed with side or rim light to enhance the grit, lines and texture of their being. Women, on the other hand, are photographed with soft beauty light to make them glow and seem wrinkle free.  Do you think that this influences how women shoot? I do not think so. I believe all photographers are influenced by a particular style or a school of photography.

I like to emulate Pictorialism where soft focus, limited color palate and/or application of texture or brush strokes seek to evoke a more painterly, romanticized look. Most of the followers of Pictorialism were men; such as Arthur Stieglitz and early in his career, Ansel Adams!

I like to set a mood; to create a picture. Being “In the moment”, as I remembered it.

Beacon Marine Gold: Time of Day (opening image)

We all know about the Golden Light of predawn and dusk. The deep shadows and side lighting that enhance texture along with the soft honey light. The White Balance temperature slider in Lightroom or Photoshop RAW processor can be moved towards yellow to also increase this golden mood. Also, remember when shooting, to set your in-camera white balance to cloudy for a subtle warming effect or to shade for a stronger one. You can collect your own surface or painterly textures to overlay or download them from the web. In this image, I reinforced the dusk feeling by adding a golden texture layer in Photoshop and then blending it in with the original.

Blue Dahlia: Macro with Soul

Flower macro photography can be enhanced by adding tones or textures as well. This alone, will not bring magic to a poorly conceived shot. Remember, to look for the center of interest – what draws the eye, as well as its position in the field of view and then the surrounding elements. Do they add or detract from the key zone? Circular elements or a border help contain the interest in the image to this key zone and not wander off the page. The rule of thirds composition may not work for this type of image. Macro photography with subjects at close distances will have minimal depth of field at typical F stops. Therefore, if more DOF is desired, a smaller aperture or higher F stop number (which is a fraction, such as f/22 or higher) will be required. But remember, often less is more.

The Bath: Reminiscent of a Degas Nude

Look to be inspired! Visit museum, art association and gallery art shows, and peruse art books, not just photography books. Learn how these giants used light and shadow to enhance their works of great art! Study LIGHT. I viewed the “Degas and the Nude” exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and was inspired to create my own painterly nude. My choice of natural lighting through shutters as well as location by a tub, then enhanced by painterly textures, were all important elements to create “The Bath”. Remember, to CREATE an image, not just take one.

Pear Antique: Still life Study

Practice doing a still life. You can control the lighting as well as all the other elements to produce the image you envision. Window light is ideal but can be duplicated with flash or strobes. This image of pears was photographed on black acrylic with a bla

ck background with side strobe lighting to add texture and dimension to the image. A painterly texture was added in post processing.

Lincoln: Candlelight

I like looking to the painting masters from the past to help explore other light sources, such as candlelight.  Here I used mainly straight tungsten modeling light from my strobes to recreate the look of candlelight. I added the rifle, bugle and book about Lincoln and then added color in the form of fruit to enhance the feeling of reading by candlelight.

Lobster Feast: another example

Candlelight with warm tones created with the old master look. No filters or textures were added in post processing. The look was achieved by the lighting alone.

In summary, looking at these images, I do not think you would see a feminine touch but an artistic one. Perhaps, women have more patience in the current world to spend the extra time to create. What do you think?

For more of my work, please visit my site.

• • • • •

Thank you Judith for a wonderful guest blog post. I knew you when you got started. You've come a long way. Your photographs are works of art.

Explore the light
Rick

This post sponsored by x-rite. X-Rite is the global leader in color science and technology. The Company develops, manufactures, markets and supports innovative color solutions through measurement systems, software, color standards and services.

Check out these cool x-rite products:
ColorMunki
Passport Color Checker 

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Take My Digital Photography Survey. You Could Win a $250 Adorama Gift Certificate!

I've been teaching photography for a long time. I usually teach what I like to teach - and what I think most folks want to learn.

Now it's your chance to tell me what you'd like to learn!

Click here to take my 2013 Digital Photography Survey. Complete the survey and you have a chance to win a $250 Adorama gift certificate!

Explore the light - and keep on learning!
Rick

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onOne Software Announces Special Perfect Photo Suite 7 Upgrade for Nik Software Customers

The Perfect Photo Suite 7 Premium Edition Upgrade for Nik Customers is now available from onOne Software. Customers who own Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, HDR Efex Pro, Dfine, Viveza, Sharpener Pro, or the Nik Software Complete Collection may purchase the Perfect Photo Suite 7 Premium Edition for only $149.95.

This upgrade offer is only available for the purchase of the Perfect Photo Suite 7 Premium Edition. Customers will be asked to verify the Nik Software product they have upon purchase. This offer will be valid for a limited time and may not be combined with any other offer or discount.

Click here to take advantage of this cool offer.

Click here to save on some of the other plug-ins I use.

Explore the light
Rick