Looking back over my career for the last 20 years, there is a distinct line of when my work went from predominantly black & white to taking an immediate turn to color. It happened when I captured that first medium format digital image in 2004 and I never looked back.
Here are five commonly used video lighting scenarios that you should know if you’re making any sort of film. I’ll admit these are over-simplifications because there are many ways to do each of these setups.
I have had the honor of photographing hundreds of weddings across the globe, and along the way learned invaluable lessons about how to approach and prepare for event lighting. Take the pressure out of the fast-paced and ever-changing lighting conditions of the wedding day with these six tips.
If you’re not taking your time to preserve the details they’ve worked so hard on, you’re missing out on a huge marketing opportunity! If you’re only sharing your couple creatives, you’re not being found when they search for something like “Moroccan wedding decor.” And of course, capturing images of these details is a great way to earn referrals from your fellow wedding vendors.
I hope my use of light to create unique images has inspired you to try something new. Push yourself and experiment with light in new and creative ways. I promise you, your work will improve dramatically and your clients will be willing to pay for the uniqueness that is solely yours.
I think we are living in exciting times for photography. There are a lot of amazing developments in the photography field. Some of them will help us to do our job easier, but also can transform us into lazy photographers. Competition as pro photographers is going to be bigger and harder. Now more than ever photographers have to be really well-prepared and develop their unique style.
The details of a wedding reception are often the touches that distinguish a wedding and show the unique personality of the bride. From the flowers harvested from her sister's personal greenhouse to the heirloom mismatched china to the handmade, DIY, clock-themed centerpieces... this is her chance to show off her creative side and make the reception unique to her, her family and friends, and her relationship with the groom.
Over the last couple of months, we’ve picked out and set up a WordPress theme, then used a page builder to create the pages and blog posts on our site. Now all the pages are designed and the site is live, but there is still more to be done.
As photographers in today’s world, we have so many options. We have strobes, natural light, constant light, reflectors. We have differing modifiers like octaboxes, softboxes, beauty dishes, strip boxes, umbrellas, gels and so on. There are lighting setups with five, six, seven, eight or more lights. The subject of lighting is endless. With so many possibilities, it can be overwhelming.
Sal said it best and it is the mantra that I have tried to live my young photography life by: “Innovate or die.” Innovation can always come from seeking education from others in our industry, but it must begin with you. Ask yourself a simple question: “What am I consistently struggling with?” Focus on that until you have a grasp on it.
